Forest View – Care Home Upper Walthamstow

What families say

What strikes families is how the staff here seem to genuinely enjoy their work. They're described as friendly and compassionate, taking time to really connect with residents rather than just getting through tasks. The atmosphere feels relaxed, with families able to drop by whenever suits them — no need to book ahead or stick to set hours.

Based on 16 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth55
• Compassion & dignity55
• Cleanliness55
• Activities & engagement50
• Food quality50
• Healthcare55
• Management & leadership60
• Resident happiness50

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-02-09 · Report published 2019-02-09 · Inspected 1 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the February 2021 inspection. This rating covers staffing levels, medicines management, infection control, and how the home manages risk. The published report does not include specific observations, quotes, or data to explain what inspectors found in this domain. The July 2023 monitoring review did not raise any concerns about safety.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating is a meaningful baseline, but it tells you relatively little on its own. Good Practice research consistently identifies night staffing as the point where safety is most likely to slip in small residential homes: for a 26-bed home with dementia residents, knowing exactly how many staff are on duty overnight matters enormously. Our family review data shows that 14% of positive reviews specifically mention staff attentiveness as a reason for choosing a home, and families frequently describe the difference between a safe feeling and an unsafe one as something they noticed on an evening visit. Because the published report does not record staffing numbers or incident-learning examples, you will need to ask these questions directly.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that agency staff reliance is one of the clearest predictors of inconsistent safety standards in care homes, particularly for people with dementia who depend on familiar faces and consistent routines to feel secure.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you last week's actual staffing rota, not the template. Count how many permanent staff versus agency names appear on the night shifts, and ask what the minimum staffing level is if someone calls in sick overnight."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the February 2021 inspection. This domain covers training, care planning, healthcare access, nutrition, and how well the home applies its knowledge to meet individual needs. The home lists dementia as a specialism, which implies some level of specific training and adapted practice. No specific detail about the content of training, how care plans are constructed, or how GP access is arranged was published.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For a home that lists dementia as a specialism, what matters most is whether staff training translates into observable daily practice. Good Practice research found that dementia training is most effective when it goes beyond basic awareness to cover non-verbal communication, understanding behaviour as communication, and adapting environments to reduce distress. A Good Effective rating suggests the basics were in place at inspection, but the published findings do not tell you what that training actually covers. Food quality is also part of this domain: 20.9% of positive family reviews mention food by name, and mealtimes are one of the clearest indicators of whether a home genuinely understands individual needs. You cannot tell from the published report how well Forest View performs on either of these.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that care plans function best as living documents updated after any significant change in a person's condition, with family members actively involved in reviews, rather than as static records completed at admission.","watch_out":"Ask to see a sample care plan (anonymised if needed) and ask when it was last updated and who was involved in reviewing it. Specifically ask whether family members are routinely invited to care plan reviews."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the February 2021 inspection. This domain covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, privacy, and whether residents are supported to maintain independence. No inspector observations about staff behaviour, no quotes from residents or relatives, and no specific examples of caring practice were included in the published report.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of positive family reviews in our data, mentioned by name in 57.3% of positive responses, and compassion and dignity together account for a further 55.2%. A Good Caring rating suggests inspectors were satisfied, but without published observations you cannot tell whether staff use your mum's preferred name, whether they move at her pace, or how they respond when she is distressed or confused. These are things you can only assess by visiting at different times of day, ideally including an early evening when staffing is often reduced and the pace of care changes. Good Practice research shows that non-verbal communication, such as tone of voice, eye contact, and physical proximity, matters as much as what staff say, especially for people whose dementia is more advanced.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that person-led care requires staff to know the individual's history, preferences, and communication style in detail, and that this knowledge is most reliably held by permanent rather than agency staff.","watch_out":"On your visit, notice whether staff address your parent by their preferred name without being prompted, and observe whether any interactions feel rushed. Ask a staff member directly: what do you know about this resident's life before they came here?"}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the February 2021 inspection. This domain covers whether the home meets individual needs, offers meaningful activities, responds to complaints, and supports people at the end of life. No detail about the activities programme, individual engagement, complaint handling, or end-of-life arrangements was included in the published report.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities matter more than many families expect when choosing a home. Our review data shows that 27.1% of positive reviews mention resident happiness and engagement by name, and 21.4% specifically mention activities. For people living with dementia, Good Practice research is clear that group activities alone are not enough: individuals whose dementia is more advanced often cannot participate in groups and need one-to-one engagement tailored to their history and interests. A Good Responsive rating suggests the inspection found this was adequate, but without published detail you cannot tell what the activity programme actually looks like, how often activities run, or whether your parent would genuinely have something purposeful to do each day. Visit at a time when activities are scheduled and see what is actually happening.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review highlighted Montessori-based approaches and the use of familiar everyday household tasks as particularly effective for people with dementia, enabling a sense of purpose and continuity even as cognitive ability changes.","watch_out":"Ask to see the activities schedule for the past two weeks, not just the planned programme. Ask specifically what the home offers for residents who cannot join group sessions, and whether a dedicated activities staff member is employed full time."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the February 2021 inspection. The home has two registered managers, Mrs Susan Anne Crowley and Ms Oksana Shakhunova, as well as a nominated individual, Mrs Catherine Heath. This suggests a defined leadership structure. No detail about management culture, staff empowerment, governance processes, or how the home responds to concerns was included in the published report.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time, and Good Practice research found that homes where staff feel able to speak up, and where managers are visibly present on the floor rather than office-bound, consistently perform better. Having two registered managers listed could indicate good succession planning or it could reflect a period of transition: it is worth asking which manager is most regularly present on site and how long each has been in post. Our review data shows that 23.4% of positive family reviews mention management by name, often describing a manager who knew residents individually and was easy to contact. The published findings do not tell you whether Forest View's management culture feels like that.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that leadership stability, specifically manager tenure of two or more years, is one of the clearest predictors of sustained quality, and that homes experiencing frequent management changes show measurable deterioration in care consistency.","watch_out":"Ask both how long the current day-to-day manager has been in post and how you would contact them if you had a concern about your parent's care. Ask whether there is a key worker system so your parent has one named member of staff who knows them best."}

  Verified by inspector

Source: CQC inspection report →

What the evidence base says

Against the DCC Good Practice in Dementia Care standards, this home’s evidence aligns most strongly on Forest View specialises in dementia care and supports adults over 65. The home's approach focuses on creating stability through consistent staffing and flexible family involvement.. Gaps or open questions remain on For residents with dementia, the settled staff team means fewer confusing changes in routine and faces. Families report seeing real improvements — less agitation, better settling, and a general sense of calm that wasn't achievable at home. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.