The Laurels

What families say

Families describe seeing genuine warmth between residents and the care team. When relatives visit, they've noticed staff are quick to offer refreshments and make sure everyone feels comfortable.

Based on 5 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 & leadership72
• Resident happiness70

What inspectors found

Inspected 2023-09-26 · Report published 2023-09-26 · Inspected 3 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The home received a Good rating for safety at its September 2023 inspection. The published summary does not include specific detail about staffing levels, medicines management, falls prevention, or infection control practices. With 11 residents, including some living with dementia, safety arrangements are a critical area to explore directly with the home. No concerns or requirement notices were raised in this domain.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating tells you the inspector did not find serious concerns, which matters. However, Good Practice research consistently highlights that night staffing is where safety most often slips in small homes, and the published text gives no information about how many staff are on overnight for 11 residents. In our family review data, staff attentiveness accounts for 14% of positive reviews, meaning families notice and value visible, responsive staff. Because this home specialises in dementia care, you need to know how it manages situations where a resident is distressed or at risk of falling at night, and the inspection findings do not answer that question.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that agency reliance and low night staffing ratios are among the strongest predictors of safety incidents in small dementia care homes. A Good rating does not rule out reliance on agency staff, so asking about permanent versus agency cover is essential.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you last week's actual staffing rota, not the template. Count how many permanent staff were on overnight on each of the seven nights, and ask how shifts are covered when a permanent member of staff is off sick."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The home received a Good rating for effectiveness at its September 2023 inspection. The published summary does not include specific observations about care plan quality, GP access, dementia training, or food provision. The home lists dementia as a specialism, which implies some structured approach to dementia care, but the published text does not describe what that looks like in practice. No concerns were raised in this domain.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Food quality is mentioned in 20.9% of positive family reviews, making it a meaningful signal of how well a home understands and responds to individual needs. Care plans that are genuinely personalised, reviewed regularly, and updated when your parent's needs change are one of the strongest markers of effective dementia care, according to the Good Practice evidence base. The inspection confirms standards were met but gives no detail about how often care plans are reviewed, whether families are included in those reviews, or what dementia training staff have completed. These are gaps you will need to fill yourself before making a decision.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that care plans function best as living documents updated collaboratively with family members, rather than as static admission records. Homes where families are routinely included in care reviews show better outcomes for people living with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask to see a blank care plan template and ask when your parent's care plan would first be reviewed after admission, who would be involved, and how you as a family member would be invited to contribute."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The home received a Good rating for caring at its September 2023 inspection. The published text does not include direct observations of staff interactions, resident testimony about how they are treated, or specific examples of dignity and respect in practice. No concerns were raised. The absence of detail is a limitation of the published summary rather than a negative finding.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data, mentioned in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity follow closely at 55.2%. These are qualities you can observe directly on a visit in ways an inspection report cannot always capture. Watch for whether staff knock before entering rooms, use your parent's preferred name, make eye contact, and move without hurry. The Good Practice evidence base confirms that non-verbal communication matters as much as words for people living with dementia, so how staff are physically present with residents is at least as important as what they say.","evidence_base":"Research reviewed by IFF Research and Leeds Beckett found that person-led care requires detailed knowledge of the individual, including their life history, preferences, and communication style. Homes that gather and use this information actively produce better wellbeing outcomes for people with dementia than those that treat it as an administrative exercise.","watch_out":"When you visit, ask a staff member what your parent's preferred name is and watch whether the staff you meet address residents by name without checking notes. Notice whether staff pause to chat or move past residents without acknowledgement."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The home received a Good rating for responsiveness at its September 2023 inspection. The published summary does not describe the activities programme, how individual preferences are recorded, or how the home supports residents whose needs change over time. No concerns or complaints-related findings are mentioned. At 11 beds, the home is small enough to offer genuinely personalised attention, but the published text does not confirm whether this potential is being realised.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Resident happiness is cited in 27.1% of positive family reviews, and activities and engagement account for a further 21.4%. For people living with dementia, meaningful activity is not a luxury: the Good Practice evidence base shows that structured individual engagement, including everyday household tasks and Montessori-based approaches, reduces anxiety and maintains a sense of purpose. The key question for a small home like this is whether activities are genuinely tailored to each person or whether they amount to a group television session. The inspection does not tell you, so this is one of the most important things to observe on a visit.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett review found that one-to-one engagement for people with more advanced dementia, who cannot join group activities, is a strong predictor of wellbeing outcomes. Homes that rely solely on group programmes effectively exclude the people who most need meaningful stimulation.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to describe what happened yesterday for a resident who has more advanced dementia and cannot easily join a group activity. If the answer is vague or defaults to television, ask how the home plans individual engagement for that person specifically."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The home received a Good rating for leadership at its September 2023 inspection. The Laurels is run by Mrs M Mitchell. The published text does not describe the manager's visibility, relationship with staff and residents, governance systems, or how the home responds to complaints and incidents. No concerns were raised in this domain. A consistently Good rating across three inspections suggests leadership stability, which the Good Practice evidence base identifies as an important predictor of quality over time.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management quality accounts for 23.4% of positive family reviews, and communication with families adds a further 11.5%. Leadership stability matters particularly in small homes, where the manager often sets the tone for everything from staff culture to how families are treated. The fact that The Laurels has been inspected three times and maintained a Good rating is a modest positive signal, but the published text does not describe what the governance arrangements look like day to day. Communication with families when something goes wrong is one of the hardest things to assess before choosing a home: ask directly how the home would contact you if your parent had a fall or a change in health.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of sustained quality in small care homes. Homes where the registered manager has been in post for more than two years and is known to staff by name tend to have lower staff turnover and more consistent care practices.","watch_out":"Ask how long Mrs Mitchell has been the registered manager and whether she is present on site most days. Then ask how the home would contact you if your parent had a fall overnight, and what the process is for investigating and sharing the outcome with you."}

  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 Laurels provides specialist dementia care for people over 65.. Gaps or open questions remain on As a home specialising in dementia care, The Laurels focuses on supporting residents with memory loss and cognitive changes. The team understands the unique challenges dementia brings for both residents and their families. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.