Grace Manor Care Centre
At a Glance
The information you need to decide whether this home warrants a closer look.
Nursing homes
Staff warmth score
of reviewers answered yes
Good to know
- Registered beds60
- SpecialismsCaring for adults over 65 yrs, Caring for adults under 65 yrs, Dementia, Learning disabilities, Mental health conditions, Physical disabilities, Sensory impairment, Substance misuse problems
- Last inspected2023-07-05
- Activities programmeThe home has been recently renovated and families regularly comment on how clean and well-maintained everything is. There's live music and seasonal celebrations that bring residents together, plus daily activities that give structure to the days.
- Visit Website
The Evidence
What the review data, the inspection reports, and the dementia-care evidence base tell us about this home.
What families say
Families often mention how their relatives are treated with genuine respect here. The atmosphere feels welcoming rather than institutional, and residents find plenty to keep them engaged throughout the day. There's a real sense that dignity matters in every interaction.
Based on 20 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 happiness55
What inspectors found
Inspected 2023-07-05 · Report published 2023-07-05 · Inspected 6 times in the last three years
Is this home safe?
{"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the May 2023 inspection. This represents an improvement from the previous Requires Improvement rating, which suggests that issues identified earlier have been addressed. The published report does not include specific detail about what was observed, such as medicines management, falls monitoring, or staffing numbers on individual shifts. The registered manager is named, which indicates continuity of leadership in the period leading to this rating.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating in Safe tells you the home met the threshold at inspection, but the evidence available to you is thin. Good Practice research consistently identifies night shifts as the point where safety is most likely to slip, particularly in homes with a high proportion of residents living with dementia. With 60 beds and a broad range of specialisms including dementia, learning disabilities, and mental health, the staffing picture at night matters a great deal. The previous Requires Improvement rating makes it worth asking directly what changed and how the home now monitors safety over a full 24-hour period.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that agency staff reliance undermines the consistency of safe care. Homes with lower agency use and stable permanent teams showed better safety outcomes, particularly on night shifts.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota from the past two weeks, not the planned template. Count how many permanent carers and nurses covered night shifts, and ask how many of those shifts used agency cover."}
Is the care effective?
{"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the May 2023 inspection. No specific detail about care plan quality, GP access, dementia training, or food provision is recorded in the published summary. The home supports a wide range of needs including dementia, learning disabilities, physical disabilities, and mental health conditions, which requires a broad range of staff competencies. The improvement from Requires Improvement suggests training and care planning practice was strengthened before this inspection.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Effective care for someone with dementia depends on staff who know your parent as an individual, not just as a set of needs. Good Practice research from the Leeds Beckett review found that care plans function best as living documents, updated frequently and shaped by family input, rather than forms completed at admission and rarely revisited. The inspection does not tell you how often care plans are reviewed here or whether families are invited into that process. Food quality is another marker of genuine care: it is the theme families mention in 20.9% of positive reviews in our data, and it is worth observing at a mealtime rather than relying on the menu on the wall.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review identified that dementia-specific training, when regularly updated and delivered by experienced practitioners, directly improves the quality of individual care planning and reduces distressed behaviour.","watch_out":"Ask the care manager to walk you through how a new resident's care plan is built, how often it is reviewed, and whether families receive a copy. Then ask when the last dementia training was delivered and who delivered it."}
Is this home caring?
{"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the May 2023 inspection. No specific observations about staff warmth, use of preferred names, response to distress, or unhurried interactions are recorded in the published summary. The Good rating indicates that inspectors were satisfied with the standard of care at the time of inspection. The absence of detail means this finding cannot be independently verified from the published text alone.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data: 57.3% of positive reviews mention it directly, and compassion and dignity feature in 55.2%. A Good rating in Caring is encouraging, but the inspection does not record what inspectors actually saw in corridors, during personal care, or at mealtimes. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that non-verbal communication matters as much as verbal communication for people with advanced dementia. On your visit, watch how staff approach your parent's room, whether they knock, whether they use your parent's preferred name, and whether they move at the resident's pace rather than their own.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett evidence review found that person-led care, grounded in detailed knowledge of individual history and preferences, is strongly associated with reduced distress and better wellbeing for people living with dementia.","watch_out":"When you visit, spend at least 30 minutes in a communal space without the manager present. Notice whether staff use residents' preferred names, whether interactions feel hurried, and how a member of staff responds if a resident becomes unsettled."}
Is the home responsive?
{"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the May 2023 inspection. No specific detail about the activity programme, individual engagement, or end-of-life planning is recorded in the published summary. The home caters for a wide range of conditions, which means the activity and engagement offer needs to be flexible enough to reach residents at very different stages and with very different abilities. The Good rating suggests the home was found to meet the standard, but no examples of specific activities or individual tailoring are described.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Our family review data shows that activities and engagement feature in 21.4% of positive reviews, and resident happiness in 27.1%. For someone living with dementia, group activities are often not enough on their own: Good Practice research highlights the importance of one-to-one engagement and everyday meaningful tasks, such as folding, sorting, or gardening, for people who cannot participate in structured groups. The inspection does not tell you whether Grace Manor provides this level of individual engagement. With a 60-bed home covering multiple specialisms, the risk is that activity provision defaults to group sessions that suit the most able residents.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett review found that Montessori-based and task-led individual activities, rather than group entertainment, produced the strongest improvements in wellbeing and reduced agitation for people with moderate to advanced dementia.","watch_out":"Ask the activity coordinator what happened last Tuesday for a resident who was too unwell or too distressed to join the group session. If the answer is that they stayed in their room, ask what one-to-one engagement was offered and by whom."}
Is the home well-led?
{"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the May 2023 inspection, having previously been rated Requires Improvement. A named registered manager, Ms Gabriele Jerome, is in post, and Mr Jonathan Catterwell is recorded as the nominated individual. The improvement in this domain is significant: Well-led underpins the quality of every other domain, and a previous Requires Improvement rating here would have affected the whole home. The published report does not describe the manager's visibility on the floor, staff culture, or how the home handles complaints and learning from incidents.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management and leadership feature in 23.4% of positive family reviews, and communication with families features in 11.5%. Good Practice research is clear that leadership stability predicts quality trajectory: homes where the registered manager is well-known to residents and staff, and where staff feel able to raise concerns, consistently perform better over time. The move from Requires Improvement to Good in Well-led is a positive signal, but the inspection does not tell you how long the current manager has been in post, whether there have been recent staffing changes, or how the home communicates with families when something goes wrong.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that homes with visible, stable leadership and a culture that empowers staff to raise concerns without fear show better and more sustained quality outcomes than homes where management is less accessible.","watch_out":"Ask the registered manager how long she has been in post, what the biggest change she made after the previous inspection was, and how a family member should raise a concern and what they can expect to happen next."}
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 Grace Manor supports residents with dementia, learning disabilities, mental health conditions, physical disabilities, sensory impairments and substance misuse problems. They care for adults both under and over 65.. Gaps or open questions remain on For residents living with dementia, the person-centred approach means staff take time to understand each individual's needs and preferences. The structured daily activities and familiar routines help create a sense of security. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.
The DCC Verdict
Our editorial view, built from the three lenses: what families tell us, what inspectors record, and how the home sits against good dementia-care practice.
DCC Family Score
Grace Manor Care Centre scores 63 out of 100. Every domain was rated Good at the last inspection, which is a meaningful improvement from the previous Requires Improvement rating, but the published report contains very little specific observational detail, so scores reflect confirmed ratings rather than rich evidence.
Homes in South East typically score 68–82.The three-lens summary
What families tell us
Families often mention how their relatives are treated with genuine respect here. The atmosphere feels welcoming rather than institutional, and residents find plenty to keep them engaged throughout the day. There's a real sense that dignity matters in every interaction.
What inspectors have recorded
The care teams are consistently described as compassionate and professional, with management who stay visible and approachable. Families appreciate that leadership is available during difficult moments and that staff seem genuinely dedicated to their work.
How it sits against good practice
If you're looking for care that sees your loved one as more than their diagnosis, Grace Manor might be worth exploring.
Worth a visit
Grace Manor Care Centre, at 348 Grange Road, Gillingham, was rated Good across all five inspection domains at its last inspection in May 2023, with the report published in July 2023. This is a meaningful improvement: the home had previously held a Requires Improvement rating, and reaching Good across every domain represents real progress. A named registered manager is in post, and a nominated individual is recorded, which are basic but important signs of governance structure. The main limitation is that the published inspection summary is brief and contains very few specific observations, quotes from residents or families, or detailed descriptions of day-to-day practice. A Good rating confirms the home met the standard at that inspection, but it does not tell you what mealtimes feel like, how staff speak to your parent in the corridor, or what happens overnight when the building is quieter. Before making a decision, visit in person, ask to stay for lunch, and use the checklist questions above, particularly around night staffing numbers, agency use, and what one-to-one engagement looks like for residents who cannot join group activities.
The three questions to ask when you visitSave this home. Compare it against your shortlist.
Let our analysis show you how Grace Manor Care Centre measures up against the other homes you’re considering. Free account.
In Their Own Words
How Grace Manor Care Centre describes itself — collected from its own website. DCC has not edited or independently verified the content in this tab.
Where residents are seen as individuals, not just care needs
Grace Manor – Expert Care in Gillingham
When families describe Grace Manor Care Centre in Gillingham, they talk about staff who remember the little things that matter. This South East care home has built its reputation on treating each resident as the unique person they've always been, with dedicated teams who understand that good care means seeing beyond the daily routines.
Who they care for
Grace Manor supports residents with dementia, learning disabilities, mental health conditions, physical disabilities, sensory impairments and substance misuse problems. They care for adults both under and over 65.
For residents living with dementia, the person-centred approach means staff take time to understand each individual's needs and preferences. The structured daily activities and familiar routines help create a sense of security.
Management & ethos
The care teams are consistently described as compassionate and professional, with management who stay visible and approachable. Families appreciate that leadership is available during difficult moments and that staff seem genuinely dedicated to their work.
The home & environment
The home has been recently renovated and families regularly comment on how clean and well-maintained everything is. There's live music and seasonal celebrations that bring residents together, plus daily activities that give structure to the days.
“If you're looking for care that sees your loved one as more than their diagnosis, Grace Manor might be worth exploring.”
DCC does not edit or curate content in this tab. For independently curated information, see The Evidence and DCC Verdict.
