Rowthorne Residential Care Home

What families say

The friendly atmosphere here seems to put both residents and their families at ease. Visitors mention feeling welcomed whenever they arrive, finding residents content and engaged rather than just sitting in silence.

Based on 9 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness70
• Activities & engagement65
• Food quality65
• Healthcare68
• Management & leadership75
• Resident happiness70

What inspectors found

Inspected 2023-11-23 · Report published 2023-11-23 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated Safe as Good, an improvement from the previous Requires Improvement rating. This domain covers staffing numbers, medicines management, infection control, and how the home responds to incidents. The published summary does not include specific staffing ratios, medicines audit outcomes, or details about how falls or safeguarding concerns are logged. The improvement from Requires Improvement indicates that earlier safety concerns were addressed to inspectors' satisfaction. No specific observations about the safety of the physical environment are recorded.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A previous Requires Improvement in this area will reasonably worry you, and it is right to ask what specifically went wrong and what changed. The Good Practice evidence base consistently identifies night staffing as the point where safety most often slips in care homes, particularly for people with dementia who may be more unsettled after dark. Our family review data shows that staff attentiveness accounts for 14% of positive reviews, meaning families notice and value visible, responsive staff. Because the published findings contain no staffing numbers, you cannot verify this from the report alone. You need to ask the home directly and, if possible, arrange an unannounced early-evening visit.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that agency reliance and low night staffing ratios are two of the strongest predictors of safety failures in care homes. A Good rating does not confirm adequate night cover; you need to ask.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the past two weeks, not the planned template. Count how many permanent staff versus agency staff appear on night shifts, and ask what the minimum number of carers on duty overnight is for 40 beds."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"Effective was rated Good, covering training, care planning, healthcare access, and nutrition. The home lists dementia as a specialism alongside mental health conditions, physical disabilities, and sensory impairments, which implies staff should hold relevant training across a range of needs. No specific detail is available in the published text about dementia training content, GP access frequency, care plan review processes, or how food quality and dietary needs are managed. The Good rating indicates inspectors were satisfied, but the evidence base in the published summary is thin.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Food quality is cited in 20.9% of positive family reviews, and healthcare access accounts for 20.2%, making these two of the most important practical concerns families raise. The Good Practice evidence base emphasises that care plans should be living documents, updated with family input after any significant change in your parent's condition, not filed and forgotten. Because the home supports people with dementia, mental health conditions, and physical disabilities, training quality really matters. Ask to see what dementia training staff have completed and when, and ask how care plans are reviewed and whether you would be invited to contribute.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that regular, structured dementia-specific training, rather than one-off induction modules, is associated with better person-centred care outcomes and lower rates of behavioural distress.","watch_out":"Ask specifically what dementia training staff have completed in the last 12 months, who delivered it, and whether it included communication with people who have limited verbal ability. Generic 'care certificate' answers are not sufficient for a dementia-specialist home."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"Caring was rated Good, covering staff warmth, dignity, respect, and support for independence. No specific inspector observations, resident quotes, or relative feedback are recorded in the published summary for this domain. A Good in Caring means inspectors did not find evidence of undignified treatment or systemic unkindness, but the absence of detail makes it impossible to say how far above the minimum standard the home sits. There is no information about whether staff use preferred names, how they respond to distress, or how residents' personal histories inform daily interactions.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single most important theme in our family review data, appearing in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity together account for 55.2%. These are not soft extras; they are what families remember and what most affects how settled your parent will be. The Good Practice evidence base highlights that for people with advanced dementia, non-verbal communication, tone of voice, unhurried movement, and gentle touch, matters as much as any spoken word. Because the published inspection text contains no observations about daily interactions, you need to observe this yourself. A first visit during a busy period such as lunchtime will tell you more than any document.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research review found that person-centred caring behaviours, including using preferred names, responding to non-verbal cues, and moving at the resident's pace, are reliably observable within a single visit and are strong predictors of overall care quality.","watch_out":"During your visit, sit near the dining room or a communal area for 20 minutes without announcing yourself. Notice whether staff stop to speak to residents or move past them, whether they use the person's preferred name, and whether any resident who appears distressed receives a prompt, calm response."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"Responsive was rated Good, covering activities, individualised care, and end-of-life planning. No specific activity programmes, examples of one-to-one engagement, or details about how the home tailors activities for people with more advanced dementia are included in the published text. The Good rating indicates inspectors were satisfied that the home responded to individual needs, but the published summary offers no examples of what this looks like day to day. The home supports a wide range of needs including dementia and mental health conditions, which makes individualised responsiveness particularly important.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Resident happiness accounts for 27.1% of positive family reviews, and activities account for 21.4%. Families who write positively about care homes almost always mention that their parent seemed engaged and purposeful, not just safe. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that group activities alone are insufficient for people with moderate to advanced dementia, and that individual, meaningful activity, whether that is folding laundry, looking at photographs, or tending plants, produces measurable reductions in distress. A Good rating does not confirm that this level of individual attention exists. You need to ask about it directly and observe it.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that Montessori-based and everyday-task approaches to dementia activities, where people engage in familiar, purposeful actions rather than passive entertainment, significantly reduce agitation and improve wellbeing.","watch_out":"Ask what your parent would do between 2pm and 4pm on a Wednesday if they did not want to join a group session. If the answer is vague or defaults to 'they can watch television', press for a specific example of one-to-one engagement the home has provided for a resident with similar needs."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"Well-led was rated Good, having previously been rated Requires Improvement. This is the most significant improvement in the inspection, as leadership quality shapes everything else in a care home. The published summary does not include the manager's name, their tenure, or specific examples of how governance and culture have changed since the previous inspection. Derbyshire County Council runs the service, with a Nominated Individual named in the registration. No staff feedback or examples of bottom-up empowerment are recorded in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management and leadership account for 23.4% of positive family reviews, and communication with families accounts for 11.5%. Good Practice research consistently finds that leadership stability, specifically a manager who has been in post long enough to know residents and staff by name, is one of the strongest predictors of sustained care quality. A previous Requires Improvement in Well-led means something was significantly wrong with governance or culture before. The improvement is genuine and important, but you should ask how long the current manager has been in post and what specifically changed. If the manager is new, ask about continuity plans.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett review found that homes led by stable, visible managers who actively seek staff feedback and act on it show lower rates of safeguarding incidents and higher family satisfaction scores over time.","watch_out":"Ask the manager directly how long they have been in post at this home and what the main change was between the Requires Improvement inspection and this one. A confident, specific answer is reassuring. A vague or defensive one warrants further questions before you make a decision."}

  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 Rowthorne supports residents with various needs including dementia, mental health conditions, physical disabilities and sensory impairments. They care for both younger adults under 65 and older residents.. Gaps or open questions remain on The home provides specialist dementia support as part of their range of services. Their person-centred approach means care adapts to each resident's changing needs. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.