The Old Vicarage Care Home

What families say

Some residents have found contentment here, with one family noting how well their relative has settled into what they now consider their home. The grounds and building itself have real character, offering spacious surroundings that can feel less institutional than newer builds.

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

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth25
• Compassion & dignity25
• Cleanliness30
• Activities & engagement20
• Food quality20
• Healthcare25
• Management & leadership20
• Resident happiness20

What inspectors found

Inspected 2023-08-09 · Report published 2023-08-09 · Inspected 5 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The safe domain was not individually rated at the August 2023 inspection. The published findings do not record specific observations about medicines management, staffing levels, falls prevention, or infection control. It is not possible to determine from the published text what specific safety concerns were identified or how severe they were. For a 41-bed home specialising in dementia care, the absence of recorded safety evidence is itself a significant gap.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Safety is the foundation of everything else, and our Good Practice evidence base is clear that night staffing is where safety most often slips in homes of this size. With 41 beds and a specialism in dementia, your parent could be at risk if staffing overnight is thin or if agency cover is used regularly. The inspection findings give no reassurance on this point either way, which means you need to ask directly. Good Practice research also identifies learning from incidents as a key marker of a safe home: a provider that cannot explain how it investigates falls or medication errors and uses those findings to change practice is a provider worth approaching with caution.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that agency staff reliance and poor night staffing ratios are the two factors most consistently associated with safety failures in dementia care homes. Consistent, named staff who know your parent's routines reduce risk significantly.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the past two weeks, not the template. Count how many shifts were covered by permanent staff and how many by agency workers, and ask specifically how many staff are on duty overnight for the 41 beds."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The effective domain was not individually rated at the August 2023 inspection. The published findings contain no specific observations about care plan quality, GP access, dementia training, or nutrition and hydration. There is no evidence of how frequently care plans are reviewed or whether families are routinely included. The absence of recorded detail prevents any confident assessment of how well the home understands and meets individual care needs.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Our Good Practice evidence base treats care plans as living documents, updated regularly and shaped by the person's own history and preferences. When a home cannot demonstrate this, people with dementia are at real risk of receiving generic rather than individual care. Food quality is also a reliable signal: 20.9% of positive family reviews across our dataset specifically mention food as a marker of genuine care. The inspection findings give no information on either point for this home. If your parent has specific dietary needs, complex health conditions, or a detailed life history that shapes how they should be supported, you need to see concrete evidence that the home can hold and act on that information.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that dementia-specific training, including content on non-verbal communication and behaviour as communication, is strongly associated with better outcomes for people with dementia. General care training without dementia-specific components is not sufficient for a home with this specialism.","watch_out":"Ask to see a sample care plan, with personal details removed, and check whether it records the person's preferred name, daily routine, life history, and what helps them when they are anxious or distressed. A care plan that reads like a medical record rather than a portrait of a person is a warning sign."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The caring domain was not individually rated at the August 2023 inspection. The published findings contain no direct observations of staff interactions, no testimony from residents or relatives about kindness or dignity, and no specific evidence about how privacy is maintained. Staff warmth and compassion are the two most frequently cited themes in positive family reviews across our dataset (57.3% and 55.2% respectively), which makes the absence of any recorded evidence in this domain particularly significant.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"When families write positively about a care home, warmth is the thing they mention most, by a wide margin. The inspection at this home recorded nothing specific about how staff interact with the people who live there. That does not necessarily mean the interactions are poor, but it means you have no independent verification of what daily life actually feels like for your parent. Good Practice research is clear that non-verbal communication matters as much as spoken words for people with dementia: tone of voice, unhurried body language, and a genuine response to distress are the things to watch for on your visit.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that person-led care, care shaped by knowing the individual rather than by task completion, requires staff who can recognise and respond to non-verbal cues. This is a skill that develops through consistent relationships, not through agency cover or high staff turnover.","watch_out":"Arrive a few minutes early for your visit and sit in a communal area before you are taken on a formal tour. Watch how staff speak to the people who live there when they think they are not being observed. Are they using preferred names? Are they stopping, making eye contact, and responding? Or are they moving through tasks without engaging?"}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The responsive domain was not individually rated at the August 2023 inspection. The published findings contain no description of the activity programme, no evidence of one-to-one engagement for people who cannot join groups, and no testimony about whether the people who live here feel that their individual preferences and routines are honoured. For a home specialising in dementia care, the responsive domain covers some of the most important quality-of-life questions, and the absence of evidence here is a significant gap.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Resident happiness accounts for 27.1% of positive family reviews in our dataset, and activities account for 21.4%. These are not peripheral concerns: they are the difference between your parent spending their days engaged and stimulated or sitting unstimulated in a chair. Good Practice research is particularly clear that group activities alone are not sufficient for people with moderate or advanced dementia. One-to-one engagement, including familiar household tasks, reminiscence, and sensory activities tailored to the individual, is what makes the difference. The inspection provides no evidence on any of these points.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that Montessori-based and individually tailored activity approaches, including everyday tasks such as folding, sorting, and gardening, produce measurably better outcomes for people with dementia than group entertainment-style activities. Homes that rely only on group activities leave the most vulnerable residents unstimulated.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator to describe what they would plan for your parent specifically, based on their life history and current abilities. If the answer is a list of group sessions (bingo, singalong, film afternoon), ask directly what happens for your parent on a day when they cannot or do not want to join the group."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The well-led domain was not individually rated at the August 2023 inspection. The overall Inadequate rating, combined with the decline from a previous Good rating, suggests that leadership and governance have been a significant concern. The published findings do not record specific observations about the manager's visibility, staff culture, or how the home handles complaints and incidents. The registered provider is Hewitt-Hill Limited, with Ms Christine Mary Skellham as the nominated individual.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Our Good Practice evidence base is clear that leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time. A home that has declined from Good to Inadequate has experienced a failure of governance somewhere, whether in oversight, staffing decisions, training, or the management of risk. That failure may have been addressed since August 2023, particularly given that a more recent inspection report appears to exist from late 2024. However, you should not assume improvement without seeing evidence of it. Management communication with families accounts for 11.5% of positive family reviews in our dataset: ask specifically how the home will keep you informed about your parent's health, any incidents, and any changes to their care.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that homes where staff feel able to raise concerns without fear, and where managers are visibly present rather than office-bound, have consistently better outcomes for the people who live there. A culture where problems are hidden rather than surfaced and addressed is the single biggest risk factor for care quality decline.","watch_out":"Ask the manager directly: what were the specific concerns identified at the August 2023 inspection, what actions did the home take in response, and can they show you evidence that those actions have been completed? Also ask how long the current manager has been in post, since leadership continuity is one of the most reliable signals of a stable culture."}

  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 residential care for adults over 65, with particular experience in supporting those living with dementia.. Gaps or open questions remain on Supporting someone with dementia requires specialized understanding and approaches. While the home lists dementia care as a specialism, some observations suggest their practices in this area may benefit from closer examination when you visit. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.