England

Forest HomeEssex

Illustrative image. Photographs of this home have not yet been added.

Rated:Requires ImprovementResidential

Forest Home

58 Swan Street, Sible Hedingham, Halstead, Essex, CO9 3HT

01787460361

Care Type

Residential Care

Inspection date

29 August 2023

Provider

St. Giles Homes Limited

Beds

39 beds

How this home compares nearby

Of 26 care homes for older people within 10 miles, 16 are rated higher by CQC, 9 are the same and 1 is lower.

13 of these nearby homes have been inspected more recently than this one.

Based on CQC ratings, updated 22 October 2026. How we compare homes | See the nearby homes

Rating history

GoodJun 2015
GoodJul 2017
Requires ImprovementSept 2023

Rating dropped from Good to Requires Improvement in 2023.

Source: CQC inspection reports. Contains CQC data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Costs and who runs this home

This is the only care home St. Giles Homes Limited runs in England.

Average care home fees in the East of England: £1,034 a week for residential care and £1,411 for nursing care (2024-25 averages). Self-funders usually pay more. See our care home costs guide.

How to pay for a care home explains the council means test, what counts as capital and the funding you can ask to be assessed for.

About Forest Home

Forest Home is a residential care home in Essex, offering older people and their families a place where they can feel genuinely supported and at ease. The team there understands how much it means to find somewhere that feels like a real home, and that commitment to warmth and familiarity runs through everything they do. If you are exploring care options for a loved one, Forest Home may be worth getting to know a little better.

Forest Home provides residential care and accommodation for up to 39 older people and those living with dementia across one adapted building, including a wing specializing in dementia care. At inspection, 36 people were using the service.

Inspectors found that management oversight was inconsistent in some areas, with quality assurance monitoring not always effective at identifying shortfalls that became apparent during the inspection. Medicine management also lacked robustness, though the manager addressed concerns identified at inspection immediately with support from the assistant.

Source: CQC inspection report, 30 September 2023

Specialist Care

Older people

Fees and availability

We have not verified a current weekly fee for this home. Ask for a written quote based on the room and care needed, including any extra charges.

Check current vacancies, the admission assessment and visiting arrangements directly with the home.

Care and inspection details

Checked against the CQC register on 20 September 2026. This is a check of published information, not a visit to the home.

Registered service: Care home service without nursing
Registered capacity: 39 places — this is not a vacancy count
Registration checked: Registered · CO9 3HT

Registered care categories

Caring for adults over 65 yrs.

These describe the registration. The home must assess whether it can meet the individual person's needs and whether a place is available.

CQC ratings in more detail

Overall rating shown by CQC: Requires improvement.

Rating report published 30 September 2023. Latest inspection date recorded: 29 August 2023.

Safe: Requires improvement
Effective: Requires improvement
Caring: Requires improvement
Responsive: Requires improvement
Well-led: Requires improvement

Questions prompted by these ratings

Safe: What changes have been made to medicines, staffing and safeguarding since this rating?
Effective: How are staff training, nutrition and health outcomes checked now?
Caring: How do staff protect privacy, dignity and each person’s choices?
Responsive: How are care plans, activities and complaints adapted to each resident?
Well-led: What has changed in management, checks and oversight since this rating?

These are questions for your visit, not a claim about conditions today.

Read Forest Home's CQC record and reports.

Contains Care Quality Commission information under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Ratings and registration details can change after the date checked.

5 Questions to Ask on Your Visit

When visiting Forest Home, consider asking...

1.What happens if my relative's care needs increase significantly -- will they have to move?
2.How do you handle concerns or complaints from families?
3.What does the monthly fee cover and what will cost extra?
4.How do you keep families informed about their relative's day-to-day wellbeing?
5.What happens if my relative is unhappy here?

5 Things to Look For on Your Visit

When you visit Forest Home, look out for...

1.Do staff greet residents by name and stop to chat?
2.Are residents dressed, up and occupied, or sitting alone in front of a TV?
3.Does the home smell fresh and feel clean without being clinical?
4.Do residents look comfortable and at ease, or anxious and withdrawn?
5.Does the manager answer your questions openly or deflect?

Could the NHS fund Forest Home's fees?

The average nursing home costs £1,535 per week. That's £79,820 a year. NHS Continuing Healthcare could cover all of it. No means test, no contribution from you.

Find out if the NHS could fund these fees