Silver Howe

What families say

The atmosphere at Silver Howe strikes visitors as calm and pleasant. Family members mention how their loved ones seem content here, which speaks volumes when you're navigating such a difficult transition.

Based on 4 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth52
• Compassion & dignity52
• Cleanliness52
• Activities & engagement50
• Food quality50
• Healthcare50
• Management & leadership58
• Resident happiness52

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-03-15 · Report published 2019-03-15 · Inspected 6 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"Silver Howe received a Good rating for safety at the February 2021 inspection. This means inspectors were satisfied that risks were being managed and that the home's systems for keeping people safe u2014 including medicines management and infection control u2014 met the required standard. The home had previously received a Requires Improvement rating, so this Good rating in Safe reflects an improvement from an earlier position of concern. No specific safety incidents, staffing shortfalls, or infection control failures are noted in the available summary. The detail behind this rating u2014 including staffing numbers, falls data, and medicines records u2014 is not available in the published extract.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating is reassuring, but for a dementia care home, the details matter enormously. Our family review data shows that staffing attentiveness u2014 whether someone responds quickly when your parent needs help u2014 is one of the things families mention most when they feel confident in a home. The Good Practice evidence base highlights that safety often slips at night, when staffing is thinnest and supervision lightest. Because this inspection is from 2021, you cannot assume conditions today are identical. Ask specifically about night staffing levels and how incidents such as falls or medication errors are recorded and acted on.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research / Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that night-time staffing ratios and agency staff reliance are among the strongest predictors of safety shortfalls in residential dementia care u2014 yet these are rarely visible from published inspection summaries alone.","watch_out":"Ask the manager: 'How many permanent staff are on duty overnight, and how is a dementia resident who becomes distressed at 3am supported?' If the answer involves agency staff as a routine rather than exceptional measure, probe further."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"Silver Howe received a Good rating for effectiveness at the February 2021 inspection. This domain covers whether staff have the right skills and training, whether care plans reflect what each person needs, whether healthcare is well-coordinated, and whether nutrition and hydration are properly managed. A Good rating here indicates inspectors found the home competent in these areas. However, the published inspection summary provides no specific detail on dementia training content, care plan quality, GP access frequency, or how food choices are managed for people with dementia who may have difficulty eating. The home's dementia specialism registration means it is required to demonstrate relevant competence in this domain.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For your parent living with dementia, effectiveness is about much more than ticking boxes. It means staff knowing how to communicate when words become difficult, care plans that are genuinely updated as your parent's needs change, and food that is adapted u2014 in texture, presentation, and support u2014 if eating becomes a challenge. Our family review data shows that dementia-specific care and food quality are among the themes families feel most strongly about. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that care plans should be living documents, reviewed with families, not filed and forgotten. Ask when your parent's care plan would next be reviewed and how you would be involved.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that care plans in dementia care are most effective when they are genuinely person-centred, regularly updated, and co-produced with families u2014 and that this standard is inconsistently met across the sector even where homes are rated Good.","watch_out":"Ask: 'If my parent's dementia progresses and they start refusing food or losing weight, what is your specific process u2014 who assesses them, who is called in, and how quickly?' The quality of the answer will tell you more than the rating."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"Silver Howe received a Good rating for caring at the February 2021 inspection. This is the domain that most directly captures whether staff are kind, whether your parent is treated with dignity and respect, and whether their independence is supported rather than eroded. A Good rating indicates inspectors were satisfied on these points. No direct quotes from residents or relatives are included in the available inspection summary, and no specific observations of staff interactions u2014 the most meaningful evidence for families u2014 are available to us. The absence of quoted testimony does not mean it was absent from the inspection; it reflects the limits of what is published in the extract provided.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single most heavily weighted theme in our family review data u2014 57.3% of the positive signals families report come down to whether staff are genuinely warm, not just technically competent. Compassion and dignity follow closely at 55.2%. A Good Caring rating tells you inspectors were satisfied; it does not guarantee the quality of the small moments that define daily life for your parent u2014 whether someone uses their preferred name, sits with them when they are anxious, or gives them time to eat at their own pace. Visit at a time you have not announced, and watch how staff move through the corridors and respond to residents who are not directly asking for help.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base confirms that non-verbal communication u2014 tone, eye contact, unhurried physical presence u2014 is as important as verbal interaction for people living with dementia, and that this quality is most visible in spontaneous, unscripted moments rather than during formal activities.","watch_out":"During your visit, watch what happens when a staff member passes a resident in the corridor who is not asking for anything. Do they make eye contact, use the person's name, pause even briefly? That small moment is one of the most reliable indicators of the home's culture."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"Silver Howe received a Good rating for responsiveness at the February 2021 inspection. This domain covers whether the home tailors care to individuals, whether there are meaningful activities, how complaints are handled, and whether end-of-life care is planned. A Good rating here is a positive sign, particularly for a dementia specialism home where individual engagement u2014 rather than generic group activities u2014 is essential. No specific activities are described in the available summary, and no detail on how the home supports people with advanced dementia who cannot participate in group sessions is provided. The absence of this detail means families need to ask directly.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Our family review data shows that resident happiness u2014 whether your parent seems content and engaged u2014 accounts for 27.1% of the positive signals families report. Activities and engagement contribute a further 21.4%. For someone living with dementia, 'activities' should not mean a bingo session three times a week. The Good Practice evidence base highlights Montessori-based approaches and everyday meaningful tasks u2014 folding laundry, tending plants, looking through familiar photographs u2014 as more effective for people with dementia than formal group programmes. Ask the home specifically what happens on a typical afternoon for a resident who prefers not to join groups.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that one-to-one engagement, particularly drawing on a person's life history and former roles, produces significantly better wellbeing outcomes for people with moderate to advanced dementia than group-only activity programmes.","watch_out":"Ask: 'If my parent doesn't want to join a group activity u2014 or can no longer follow what's happening u2014 what would a member of staff do with them for half an hour?' A confident, specific answer suggests genuine person-centred practice; a vague one suggests activities are more about timetables than individuals."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"Silver Howe received a Good rating for well-led at the February 2021 inspection, and this is particularly meaningful given the home's trajectory: it previously held a Requires Improvement rating and has since achieved Good across all five domains. A named registered manager (Miss Katharine Mary Murray) and a nominated individual (Mrs Alyson Joyce) are confirmed in post. This structure indicates defined accountability. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of sustained quality in care homes u2014 so a key question is whether the same manager is still in post more than three years after this inspection.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For families, leadership quality often becomes visible only when something goes wrong u2014 how quickly you are told, how clearly it is explained, and what is done to prevent it happening again. Our family review data shows that communication with families accounts for 11.5% of the positive signals reported. The improvement from Requires Improvement to Good is the most positive signal in this report: it means someone in charge cared enough to identify what was not working and change it. However, leadership changes can happen quietly between inspections. Ask directly how long the current manager has been in post, and whether the care team is largely the same as it was a year ago.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research / Leeds Beckett evidence review found that manager tenure and staff stability are among the strongest predictors of care quality over time u2014 homes with high manager turnover or significant recent staffing changes are more likely to show quality decline, even when ratings remain positive.","watch_out":"Ask: 'Is the registered manager who was in post during the last inspection still here, and what has changed in the leadership or staffing team since then?' A settled, confident answer is reassuring; hesitation or a story of recent changes warrants further questions before you commit."}

  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 Silver Howe provides residential care for adults over 65, with particular experience in dementia support.. Gaps or open questions remain on The home accepts residents living with dementia as part of their care provision. For specific approaches to memory care, it's worth discussing your loved one's individual needs directly with the team. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.