England

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Frank Foster HouseEssex

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Rated:Requires ImprovementResidential

Frank Foster House

Loughton Lane, Theydon Bois, Essex, CM16 7LD

01992812525

Care Type

Residential Care

Inspection date

15 February 2023

Provider

Runwood Homes Limited

Beds

80 beds

How this home compares nearby

Of 23 care homes for older people within 5 miles, 18 are rated higher by CQC, 5 are the same and none are lower.

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

Based on CQC ratings, updated 21 October 2026. How we compare homes | See the nearby homes

Rating history

GoodNov 2015
OutstandingMay 2018
Requires ImprovementApr 2023

Rating dropped from Outstanding to Requires Improvement in 2023. CQC has rated this home 3 times since 2015.

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

Costs and who runs this home

Run by Runwood Homes Limited, which runs 58 care homes in England: 1 rated Outstanding, 47 Good and 10 Requires Improvement.

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.

This home lists dementia care, which usually costs more than standard residential care. See dementia care home costs. NHS Continuing Healthcare may apply where someone's needs are primarily health needs.
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 Frank Foster House

Frank Foster House is a residential care home in Essex, offering older people and their families a place where they can feel genuinely supported and looked after. The team there understands how much it means to find the right home for someone you love, and that sense of care runs through everything they do. For families in Essex and the surrounding areas, it can be a real comfort to have a local option worth exploring.

Frank Foster House provides personal and nursing care for up to 80 older people and younger adults, with some residents living with dementia, physical disability or sensory impairment. The service operates from an adapted building across two floors, and had 65 residents at the time of inspection.

Inspectors found that people were not always protected from harm, and the service's leadership required improvement. Concerns were identified around risk management, particularly regarding fire safety procedures and the management of personal emergency evacuation plans. The registered manager received recommendations relating to staffing levels and staff deployment.

Source: CQC inspection report, 19 April 2023

Specialist Care

DementiaOlder peoplePhysical disabilitiesSensory impairmentsYounger adults

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: 80 places — this is not a vacancy count
Registration checked: Registered · CM16 7LD

Registered care categories

Caring for adults over 65 yrs; Caring for adults under 65 yrs; Dementia; Physical disabilities; Sensory impairment.

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 19 April 2023. Latest inspection date recorded: 15 February 2023.

Safe: Requires improvement
EffectivePublished 15 May 2018: Good
Caring: Requires improvement
ResponsivePublished 15 May 2018: Good
Well-led: Requires improvement

Questions prompted by these ratings

Safe: What changes have been made to medicines, staffing and safeguarding since this rating?
Caring: How do staff protect privacy, dignity and each person’s choices?
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 Frank Foster House'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 Frank Foster House, consider asking...

1.What specific dementia training do staff receive and how recently?
2.How do you support a resident who becomes distressed or confused?
3.How does the home keep a record of a resident's life history and personal preferences?
4.How do you involve families as dementia progresses and communication becomes harder?
5.What happens when a resident's dementia reaches an advanced stage?

5 Things to Look For on Your Visit

When you visit Frank Foster House, look out for...

1.Is the environment calm, uncluttered and easy to navigate?
2.Do staff speak to residents with patience and dignity, even if they repeat themselves?
3.Are there memory cues around the home -- photos, familiar objects, clear signage?
4.Do residents seem settled and safe, or agitated and unsupervised?
5.Is there meaningful activity happening, or are residents just sitting quietly with nothing to do?

Could the NHS fund Frank Foster House'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