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Highbury RiseHertfordshire

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Rated:Requires ImprovementResidential

Highbury Rise

6 Highbury Road, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, SG4 9RW
01462437495
Care Type

Residential Care

Assessment date

18 November 2025

Provider

Benslow Management Company Limited

Beds

23 beds

How this home compares nearby

Of 20 care homes for older people within 5 miles, 16 are rated higher by CQC, 4 are the same and none are lower.

2 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

  1. GoodNov 2015
  2. GoodOct 2017
  3. Requires ImprovementOct 2023
  4. Requires ImprovementJan 2026

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

Run by Benslow Management Company Limited, which runs 3 care homes in England: 1 rated Good and 2 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 Highbury Rise

Highbury Rise is a residential care home in Hertfordshire, providing accommodation and personal care for older people, including some living with dementia. Further details on the CQC's most recent findings are set out below.

Highbury Rise is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 23 older people, some living with dementia. The CQC rated the service requires improvement, finding breaches relating to safe care and treatment and to governance, including missed statutory notifications. Medicine management and repositioning for pressure care were not consistently reliable, and staff recruitment files lacked complete information, issues also raised at the previous assessment.

Inspectors found people and relatives spoke positively about staff, describing them as kind and attentive, with good mealtime experiences and enough staff available. Care plans involved people and reflected their needs well. Management were visible and supportive, though oversight systems had not fully addressed earlier concerns.

Source: CQC assessment, 27 January 2026

Specialist Care

DementiaOlder 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
23 places — this is not a vacancy count
Registration checked
Registered · SG4 9RW

Registered care categories

Caring for adults over 65 yrs; Dementia.

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.

Assessment published 27 January 2026. Assessment date recorded: 18 November 2025.

Read CQC's assessment overview

The following is CQC's published account of its assessment, published 27 January 2026. References to “we” mean CQC. It describes findings at that time.

Date of Assessment: 2 December to 17 December 2025.

Highbury Rise is a residential service providing accommodation and personal care to older people, some of whom may be living with dementia. The service is registered to support up to 23 people. At the time of our visit, 21 people were living at the service with 2 people in hospital.

This assessment was carried out due to information we received about the service and due to the previous rating and breach. The assessment was unannounced and the provider’s first assessment under the single assessment framework.

At our last assessment we rated this service as requires improvement (published 07 September 2023) and found the provider was in breach of regulation in relation to safe care and treatment. Improvements were not found at this assessment, and the provider remained in breach of this regulation. In addition, at this assessment, we also found the provider in breach of the legal regulations relating to governance which included the submission of statutory notifications.

Medicine management systems were in place but not robust, this had been identified as an issue at the last assessment. The provider had implemented systems to address this however this required more consistency.

People required repositioning for pressure relief. We found this was not being done as needed. This placed people at risk of developing pressure ulcers. Following our feedback, the provider ‘positioning audit’ was reintroduced to help ensure better monitoring of people’s pressure care needs being met.

Recruitment processes were used to help ensure staff employed were safe to work in a care setting. However, staff files did not always include all the required information. This was identified as an issue at the previous assessment. Following our feedback, information was added to staff files. However, the oversight of this had not been robust.

The provider had systems in place to help ensure people received a good standard of care and that staff were supported and trained. However, these systems were not always used robustly. The systems had not identified the shortfalls we found as part of this system and had not fully and consistently, addressed the improvement points on the action plan from the last assessment. There were further systems being implemented to improve people’s lives and experiences.

Staff knew how to recognise and report any concerns relating to abuse. Information was displayed and safeguarding concerns were discussed with the local authority. However, notifications were not always sent to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as required.

Infection prevention control was practiced. However, some areas of cleanliness, such as woodwork, could be improved.

The management team spent time around the home providing support and guidance. People, relatives and staff were positive about their presence, guidance and approach.

People, relatives and staff had opportunities for meetings and sharing their views. People’s choices were sought, and they were supported in accordance with their wishes and needs. Relatives were involved with people’s care planning and reviews.

Mealtime experiences were pleasant, staff checked on people to help ensure people ate well and enjoyed their food. People felt they had enough to do, and they had appropriate access to support services. People were supported by staff who knew them well. They had good relationships with each other.

There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. People and relatives told us staff were available when needed and they were kind, caring and helpful. Staff were positive about the service they provided, the management team and liked working there.

We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.

Safe
Requires Improvement
Effective
Good
Caring
Good
Responsive
Good
Well-led
Requires Improvement

Questions prompted by these ratings

  • Safe: What changes have been made to medicines, staffing and safeguarding since this rating?
  • 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 Highbury Rise'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 Highbury Rise, consider asking...

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

5 Things to Look For on Your Visit

When you visit Highbury Rise, look out for...

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

Could the NHS fund Highbury Rise'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.

Location

6 Highbury Road, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, SG4 9RW

CQC Logo

Highbury Rise

CQC overall rating

Requires Improvement

Assessment date: 18 November 2025

View full inspection report
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