The Old Vicarage Residential Care Home

What families say

Relatives talk about feeling genuinely welcomed when they visit. They mention being offered meals and made to feel comfortable during their time there, which helps maintain those vital family connections.

Based on 5 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth85
• Compassion & dignity92
• Cleanliness72
• Activities & engagement72
• Food quality70
• Healthcare72
• Management & leadership75
• Resident happiness78

What inspectors found

Inspected 2018-12-11 · Report published 2018-12-11 · Inspected 1 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for safety at its October 2018 inspection. This suggests inspectors found no significant concerns around staffing, medicines management, or risk management at the time. The home cares for 26 people, including those with dementia, which means consistent staffing and a safe physical environment are especially important. The published summary does not include specific detail on night staffing ratios, agency staff use, or how the home logs and learns from incidents such as falls.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating is reassuring, but the inspection detail available to you is limited. Good Practice research consistently shows that night staffing is where safety most often slips in smaller residential homes, and that reliance on agency staff undermines the consistency that people with dementia particularly need. With 26 beds and a dementia specialism, you should expect to hear a clear answer when you ask how many permanent staff are on overnight and how often agency staff are used. If the home struggles to answer that question specifically, that is worth noting.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that agency staff reliance is one of the most consistent predictors of poorer safety outcomes in dementia care settings, because familiarity between staff and residents reduces risk and supports calm behaviour.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you last week's actual staffing rota, not a template. Count how many names are permanent employees versus agency staff, and ask specifically how many carers are on duty overnight for the 26 residents."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for effective care at its October 2018 inspection. This covers training, care planning, healthcare access, and nutrition. The home lists dementia as a specialism, which implies staff should have dementia-specific training, but the published summary does not describe what that training involves or how recently staff completed it. No specific detail on care plan content, GP visit frequency, or how food quality is monitored was included in the published findings.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating for effective care tells you that inspectors found the basics in place, but it does not tell you whether your dad's care plan would capture the things that matter most to him specifically, such as his preferred name, his routine, his food preferences, or his communication needs as dementia progresses. Good Practice evidence from the Leeds Beckett review emphasises that care plans should be living documents, reviewed regularly and updated as the person's needs change, not completed at admission and filed away. Food quality is cited in 20.9% of positive family reviews nationally as a meaningful signal of genuine care, and you should ask to see the menu and ideally taste a meal before you decide.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that dementia-specific training is most effective when it includes communication techniques for non-verbal residents, not just general awareness modules. Ask what training staff have completed and when.","watch_out":"Ask to see a sample care plan (anonymised) and ask how often care plans are formally reviewed and who is invited to contribute to those reviews. If family involvement in reviews is not standard practice here, ask why."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Outstanding

  {"found":"The home received an Outstanding rating for caring at its October 2018 inspection. This is the highest rating available and is awarded only when inspectors find consistently exceptional evidence of kindness, dignity, and respect in the way staff treat the people who live there. Outstanding caring ratings are rare nationally, which makes this a meaningful signal. The published summary does not include the specific observations or quotes that led to this rating, but the rating itself reflects a high threshold of evidence.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data, cited in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity appear in 55.2%. An Outstanding caring rating at inspection is the strongest official signal that what families most want to see was genuinely present here. What you are looking for on a visit is whether that culture has been maintained: do staff use your mum's preferred name without being prompted, do they move at her pace rather than their own, and do they speak to her directly rather than talking about her to you while she is in the room? These small behaviours are the everyday expression of what an Outstanding caring rating describes.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review highlights that non-verbal communication is as important as verbal interaction for people with advanced dementia. Staff who are genuinely caring adjust their tone, pace, and body language rather than relying solely on words.","watch_out":"When you visit, sit in a communal area for at least 20 minutes without announcing why you are observing. Watch whether staff make eye contact with residents, use their names, and pause to listen. If staff appear rushed or speak mainly to each other rather than to residents, that is worth weighing against the inspection rating."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for responsive care at its October 2018 inspection. This domain covers how well the home tailors its care and activities to individual needs and preferences. The published summary does not describe the activity programme in detail, and there is no specific information about how the home supports residents who cannot participate in group activities, which is a particular concern for people with more advanced dementia. The home lists sensory impairment as a specialism, which suggests some adaptation of activities and communication may be in place.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and engagement are cited in 21.4% of positive family reviews, and resident happiness in 27.1%. A Good rating here is positive but does not guarantee that your mum would have something meaningful to do each day, particularly if she is at a stage of dementia where group sessions are not accessible to her. Good Practice research is clear that individual, one-to-one engagement, including everyday tasks like folding, sorting, or simple cooking, can provide more benefit for people with advanced dementia than structured group activities. Ask specifically what happens for residents who cannot join the group.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that Montessori-based and task-oriented individual activities are among the most effective approaches for maintaining engagement and reducing distress in people with moderate to advanced dementia, and that these require staff time and training to deliver consistently.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator to describe a typical day for a resident with advanced dementia who cannot join group sessions. If the answer is vague or defaults to television, ask what specific one-to-one engagement that resident would receive and how often."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for well-led at its October 2018 inspection. At the time of the inspection, the home had two registered managers, Ms Samantha Adkins and Ms Vanessa Margaret Powling, alongside a nominated individual. A Good rating in this domain suggests governance, oversight, and staff culture were considered satisfactory. The published summary does not describe how long the management team had been in post, how staff were supported to raise concerns, or how the home responds to complaints and incidents.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management stability is one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time. Good Practice research identifies leadership continuity as a key factor in maintaining good care culture, because when managers change frequently, staff morale and consistency of care tend to suffer. Communication with families is cited in 11.5% of positive reviews as a meaningful marker of a well-run home. When you visit, ask whether the registered managers named in the 2018 inspection are still in post. If there have been significant management changes since then, ask how the home maintained its standards through those transitions.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that homes where staff feel empowered to raise concerns without fear tend to have better safety and caring outcomes. A visible, stable manager who staff know by name is a practical marker of this culture.","watch_out":"Ask the manager directly how long they have been in their current role and whether the management structure has changed since 2018. Then ask a care staff member the same question about the manager. If the answers do not match or staff seem uncertain, that tells you something about day-to-day management visibility."}

  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 Old Vicarage provides specialist support for sensory impairments and dementia, alongside care for physical disabilities. They focus on residents aged over 65 who need skilled, attentive support.. Gaps or open questions remain on For residents living with dementia, the home provides specialist care tailored to individual needs. Their experienced team understands how to support both residents and families through this journey. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.