Simonsfield Care Home

What families say

The environment here feels settled and inclusive, according to families who've spent time at Simonsfield. People mention how comfortable they feel visiting, with staff making an effort to include everyone in the daily rhythm of the home.

Based on 6 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 & leadership55
• Resident happiness52

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-06-13 · Report published 2019-06-13 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection awarded a Good rating for safety. Beyond that headline, the published report does not contain specific detail about staffing levels, medicines management, falls recording, infection control practices, or night staffing arrangements. A desk-based review in July 2023 found no evidence requiring a change to that rating. The home cares for people with dementia, which makes safety systems particularly important to understand in depth.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating means the inspector found no significant concerns, and that matters. But the absence of specific published detail means you cannot verify from this report alone how the home manages night staffing, how often agency staff cover shifts, or how falls and incidents are logged and learned from. Good Practice research consistently identifies night staffing ratios as the point where safety most often slips in care homes, particularly on dementia units. Our review data also shows that families who later raise concerns about safety almost always say the warning signs were visible on a first visit, in how quickly staff responded to a resident in discomfort or how a call bell was answered. Visit at a quieter time, not just during the managed tour.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that agency staff reliance undermines consistency of care, and that homes with robust incident-learning processes have measurably better safety outcomes for people living with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the past two weeks, not the template rota. Count how many shifts were covered by permanent staff versus agency staff, and ask specifically how many carers are on the dementia unit after 8pm."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good. The published findings do not include specific detail about care plan content, review frequency, dementia training programmes, GP access arrangements, or how food quality and dietary needs are managed. The home supports people with dementia as a named specialism, which means training and care planning depth are particularly relevant questions. No specific records, observations, or staff training data are cited in the available report.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Effectiveness in a dementia care setting means knowing your parent as an individual: their history, their food preferences, how they communicate on a difficult day, and when to call the GP before a small health change becomes a crisis. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that care plans function as living documents, updated regularly with family input, rather than paperwork completed at admission and filed away. The inspection did not record whether care plans here meet that standard. Food quality is flagged in 20.9% of positive family reviews as a meaningful indicator of genuine care, yet the published report gives no detail on meals or dietary management. These are areas to probe directly on your visit.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that regular, meaningful review of care plans with family involvement is one of the strongest predictors of good outcomes for people living with dementia, particularly in managing health changes early.","watch_out":"Ask to see a sample care plan (with personal details removed) and ask when it was last updated and who was involved in that review. Then ask how the home would contact you if your parent's health changed between planned reviews."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain received a Good rating. The published report does not include direct observations of staff interactions, resident testimony about how they are treated, or specific examples of dignity and privacy being upheld. Staff warmth and compassion are the two highest-weighted themes in family satisfaction data, together accounting for over half of what drives positive reviews, making this the domain where the absence of published detail is most significant for a family choosing a home.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth accounts for 57.3% of positive mentions in family reviews across the UK, and compassion and dignity account for a further 55.2%. These are not abstract values: they show up in whether a carer knocks before entering a room, whether your dad is addressed by the name he prefers, whether staff move without hurry when he needs help. The Good rating tells you the inspector found the standard acceptable, but it does not tell you what caring looks like here on a Tuesday afternoon when the home is busy. Non-verbal communication matters as much as verbal interaction for people living with dementia, and that is something you can only assess by being present.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that person-led care requires staff to know each individual deeply, and that non-verbal communication, pace, and tone of voice are as important as spoken words for people living with dementia.","watch_out":"On your visit, watch how staff interact with residents in the corridor or communal lounge when they do not know they are being observed. Notice whether they make eye contact, use the resident's name, and whether they stop and give time or move through quickly."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good. The published report does not describe the activities programme, whether activities are tailored to individuals or primarily group-based, how the home supports people who cannot join group sessions, or how end-of-life preferences are recorded and honoured. The home's dementia specialism makes individual engagement particularly important, as people at different stages of dementia have very different activity needs.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Resident happiness appears in 27.1% of positive family reviews, and activities are mentioned in 21.4%. The Good Practice evidence is clear that group activities alone are not enough: people living with advanced dementia often need one-to-one engagement, and approaches that incorporate familiar everyday tasks, such as folding, sorting, or simple cooking activities, provide a sense of purpose and continuity. The inspection does not tell you what a typical Tuesday looks like for your mum if she cannot join a group session. That is the question that matters most, and it is not answered by the published findings.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research rapid evidence review identified that Montessori-based and individual activity approaches, including familiar household tasks, produce measurably better wellbeing outcomes for people living with dementia than group-only activity programmes.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator to describe specifically what happens for a resident who is living with advanced dementia and cannot join group sessions. Ask to see the actual activity schedule from last week, not a printed programme, and ask how one-to-one time is recorded."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good. The home has a named registered manager (Miss Deborah Anne Smith) and a nominated individual (Mrs Mandy Vernon) recorded with the regulator. Beyond those details, the published report does not describe management visibility on the floor, staff culture, how the home handles complaints, or what internal quality audit processes are in place. A named manager in post is a positive indicator, but stability of leadership over time is what the Good Practice evidence identifies as the stronger predictor of quality.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management and communication with families account for 23.4% and 11.5% of positive family review themes respectively. Leadership stability is identified in the Good Practice evidence as one of the strongest predictors of quality trajectory: homes where the manager has been in post for several years and is known by name to residents and staff tend to maintain and improve their standards. The inspection does not tell you how long the current manager has been in post, whether staff feel they can raise concerns freely, or how the home communicates with families when something goes wrong. These are the questions that will tell you most about whether leadership here is genuinely accountable.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that leadership stability and a culture where staff can speak up without fear are stronger predictors of sustained care quality than any single inspection rating.","watch_out":"Ask the manager directly how long she has been in post at Simonsfield, and ask how the home would tell you if your parent had a fall or a significant health change. Then ask to speak briefly with a senior carer who is not in the management team, and notice whether their account of the home matches what the manager describes."}

  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 The home provides specialist support for adults over 65, younger adults who need care, and people living with dementia.. Gaps or open questions remain on For residents with dementia, the team works to maintain familiar routines and create moments of connection throughout each day. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.