Wimbledon Common Care Home – Avery Collection

What families say

Visitors consistently mention feeling welcomed from the moment they arrive, with reception staff setting a warm tone that continues throughout the home. The atmosphere strikes a balance between professional care and genuine hospitality, with staff taking time to chat with residents and their families. Many people notice how the home maintains its hotel-like feel without losing sight of its caring purpose.

Based on 49 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness72
• Activities & engagement65
• Food quality65
• Healthcare68
• Management & leadership72
• Resident happiness70

What inspectors found

Inspected 2023-08-02 · Report published 2023-08-02 · Inspected 3 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"Safe was rated Good at the July 2023 inspection. The home had previously been rated Requires Improvement overall, meaning some safety concerns had existed before this inspection. The improvement to Good suggests inspectors were satisfied with medicines management, staffing levels, and risk assessment processes at the time of the visit. No specific observations, incident data, or staffing figures are recorded in the published text. The home accommodates 79 people across a wide range of needs, so safe staffing across all shifts matters considerably.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating in Safe is reassuring, particularly given this home moved up from Requires Improvement. However, the absence of specific detail in the published text means you cannot rely on this rating alone to answer the questions that matter most, such as how many staff are on at 2am, how often the same familiar faces are on duty, and how falls or incidents are recorded and followed up. Good Practice research consistently identifies night staffing as the point where safety most often slips in care homes. For a 79-bed home caring for people with dementia and other complex needs, you need to know the actual numbers, not just the rating.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that night staffing levels are the single most common area where safety deficits emerge in care homes, and that reliance on agency staff at night undermines the consistency that people with dementia particularly need.","watch_out":"Ask the manager: how many care staff and how many senior or clinical staff are on duty between 10pm and 7am on a typical weeknight? Then ask to see the actual rota from last week, not a template, and count how many of those names are permanent employees."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"Effective was rated Good at the July 2023 inspection. This domain covers care planning, staff training, access to healthcare professionals, nutrition, and how well the home adapts care as needs change. The home lists dementia as a specialism alongside mental health conditions, physical disabilities, and sensory impairment, which means staff training across multiple areas is important. No specific detail on dementia training content, GP access arrangements, or care plan quality is included in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good Effective rating means inspectors were satisfied that staff knew what they were doing and that care plans and healthcare links were working. What the inspection text does not tell you is whether your parent's care plan would be a living document reflecting who they are, or a form that gets updated once a year. Our family review data shows that healthcare access (cited in 20.2% of positive reviews) and food quality (cited in 20.9%) are among the things families notice most. Neither is described in any specific detail here, so both are worth investigating directly. Good Practice evidence finds that the depth and personalisation of care plans is one of the clearest markers separating genuinely person-led care from compliant-but-generic care.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that care plans treated as living documents, updated after any significant change and shaped by the person and their family, are one of the strongest predictors of good outcomes for people with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask to see a sample (anonymised) care plan and check whether it includes the person's life history, preferred name, daily routines, and food preferences, not just medical information. Then ask how often plans are formally reviewed and whether families are invited to take part in those reviews."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"Caring was rated Good at the July 2023 inspection. This domain covers the warmth of staff interactions, whether residents are treated with dignity and respect, how much independence is promoted, and whether people feel emotionally supported. A previous Requires Improvement rating means concerns had been raised in an earlier inspection; the current Good rating indicates improvement. No direct observations of staff interactions, no quotes from residents or relatives, and no specific examples of dignity in practice are included in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single most important driver of family satisfaction in our review data, cited in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity follow closely at 55.2%. The Good rating in Caring tells you inspectors were satisfied, but without specific observations or quotes it is hard to picture what daily life actually looks like for your parent here. On your visit, watch how staff interact in corridors and communal spaces: do they use people's preferred names, do they crouch to eye level, do they move without hurry? These small behaviours are the most reliable signal of a genuinely caring culture. Good Practice research is clear that non-verbal communication matters as much as spoken words for people with advanced dementia.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research rapid evidence review found that person-led care requires staff to know each individual's history, preferences, and non-verbal cues, and that this knowledge, rather than policy compliance, is what distinguishes genuinely compassionate care from technically adequate care.","watch_out":"During your visit, listen for whether staff use the name your parent prefers rather than a generic term. Watch a mealtime or a care interaction and note whether the pace feels unhurried. Ask a member of staff what they know about your parent's life before they came to the home."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"Responsive was rated Good at the July 2023 inspection. This domain covers whether activities are meaningful and tailored to individual interests, whether complaints are handled well, and whether care adapts to changing needs including at the end of life. The home supports people with dementia, mental health conditions, physical disabilities, and sensory impairment, which means the activity programme needs to work across a wide range of abilities and preferences. No specific activities, timetables, or examples of individual engagement are described in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and engagement are cited in 21.4% of positive family reviews, and resident happiness (which activities strongly influence) appears in 27.1%. A Good Responsive rating is a positive indicator, but the absence of any detail in the published text means you cannot tell whether your parent would have access to activities that genuinely suit them, including one-to-one engagement if group activities are not appropriate. Good Practice evidence is particularly clear on this point: for people with moderate or advanced dementia, group programmes are often insufficient, and individually tailored moments of engagement, whether that is folding laundry, listening to familiar music, or tending a plant, produce better outcomes than structured activities they cannot participate in.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that Montessori-based and individualised activity approaches, including familiar everyday tasks, produce significantly better wellbeing outcomes for people with dementia than group activity programmes alone.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator: what would you do to engage my parent if they could not join a group session? Ask to see the actual activity records from the past month for a resident with a similar level of need, not the planned timetable."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"Well-led was rated Good at the July 2023 inspection, having previously been part of a Requires Improvement rating. This domain covers the quality of leadership, whether staff feel supported and able to speak up, how the home monitors its own quality, and whether governance systems identify and address problems. The nominated individual is named as Mrs Natasha Southall, and the home is operated by Redwood Tower UK Opco 1 Limited. No specific observations about the manager's presence, staff culture, or governance mechanisms are included in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"The shift from Requires Improvement to Good across all domains, including Well-led, is a positive signal that leadership has been effective in making changes. Our family review data shows that management quality is cited in 23.4% of positive reviews, and Good Practice research consistently finds that leadership stability predicts quality trajectory over time. The key question here is whether the improvements are embedded or whether they reflect a concentrated effort around the inspection. Communication with families is cited in 11.5% of positive reviews and is not described at all in the published text, so this is worth exploring directly.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that homes where staff feel confident to raise concerns without fear of reprisal consistently outperform those where a top-down culture discourages candour, and that this staff empowerment is one of the strongest predictors of sustained quality.","watch_out":"Ask the manager directly: what specific changes did you make after the previous Requires Improvement rating, and how do you know those changes have held? Also ask how long the current manager has been in post, because leadership stability is one of the clearest predictors of whether a Good rating will be maintained."}

  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 supports residents with physical disabilities, sensory impairments, and mental health conditions, welcoming both younger adults under 65 and older residents. They also provide dementia care, though families considering this should discuss specific needs during their visit to ensure the right fit.. Gaps or open questions remain on While dementia care is offered here, it's worth having a detailed conversation about your loved one's specific needs and how the home can support them. The team can discuss their approach to dementia support and help you understand whether they're the right match for your family member's particular situation. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.