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Holly Cottage
Residential Care
12 September 2024
Dons Care Limited
12 beds
Rating history
- May 2018
- Jun 2019
- Jul 2025
Rating dropped from Good to Requires Improvement in 2025. CQC has rated this home 3 times since 2018.
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 Dons Care 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 Holly Cottage
Holly Cottage is a residential care home in Norfolk, providing support to people with learning disabilities, autism, physical disabilities and sensory needs. Details of the most recent CQC assessment are set out below.
Holly Cottage is a care home supporting people with learning disabilities, autism, physical disabilities and sensory needs, with nine people living there at the time of assessment. The CQC rated it Requires Improvement overall. Inspectors found care plans were sometimes contradictory, risks were not always identified, and mental capacity assessments did not always properly involve people or follow legal requirements.
The provider was in breach of regulations covering consent, safe care and governance.
Despite this, people told inspectors they felt safe and well cared for, describing staff as knowledgeable and kind. The home was clean, well-maintained, and staffing levels were adequate, with medicines managed well. People were supported to access the community and raise concerns confidently, and the provider had begun improving its governance systems.
Source: CQC assessment, 2 July 2025
Specialist Care
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
- 12 places — this is not a vacancy count
- Registration checked
- Registered · NR20 5BU
Registered care categories
Caring for adults over 65 yrs; Caring for adults under 65 yrs; Learning disabilities; Mental health conditions.
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: .
Assessment published 2 July 2025. Assessment date recorded: 12 September 2024.
Read CQC's assessment overview
The following is CQC's published account of its assessment, published 2 July 2025. References to “we” mean CQC. It describes findings at that time.
Date of Assessment: 18 December 2024 and 15 January 2025. The service is a care home and provides support to people with a learning disability and autistic people, as well as those living with physical disabilities and sensory needs. There were 9 people in receipt of accommodation and personal care living at the service at the time our assessment. We conducted an announced site assessment on the 18 December 2024, and an unannounced out of hours assessment on the 15 January 2025. We assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities. Care plans were often contradictory, and not always clear about people’s needs. We found some risks had not been identified and mitigated. This placed people at possible risk of harm. People were not always involved in assessments of their needs and their ability to consent to care and treatment had not always been assessed appropriately. People had enough to eat and drink to stay healthy, although some health care plans required further detail to ensure people’s needs were fully met. Care was person-centred and promoted people’s dignity and privacy. The service was clean and well-maintained. Staff told us they felt valued and supported. There were enough skilled staff. Staff managed medicines well and worked well in partnership with professionals. However, some processes were not robust and required review. The provider did not always have a good learning culture, but people told us that they could raise concerns. We found gaps in processes; however, the service had started taking steps to improve governance systems. The provider was in breach of legal regulations relating to consent, safe care and treatment and good governance. We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns we found.
- Safe
- Effective
- Caring
- Responsive
- Well-led
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?
- 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.
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 Holly Cottage, 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 Holly Cottage, 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 Holly Cottage'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
32 The Street, Hindolveston, Dereham, Norfolk, NR20 5BU

Holly Cottage
CQC overall rating
Assessment date: 12 September 2024
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