The Cyder Barn

The following is CQC's published account of its assessment, published 22 August 2025. References to “we” mean CQC. It describes findings at that time.

Date of Assessment: 5th June – 9th July 2025.

The Cyder Barn is a care home providing support to older people living with dementia and physical disabilities. At the time of the assessment there were 28 people living at the home.

People lived in a home where regular checks were completed to ensure the safety of the environment. However, actions identified during these checks were not always actioned in a timely way. During the inspection we identified concerns relating to fire safety that placed people at risk. The provider gave assurances during the assessment action was being taken to address the shortfalls. We also raised these concerns with the local fire service.

People had their needs assessed when they moved to the home. Care plans were developed using these assessments. Some improvements were needed to ensure care plans and risk assessments reflected people’s current needs.

Most people were able to give consent to their care and support. However, where people lacked the capacity to consent, the provider did not always work in accordance with the law and current best practice guidelines.

Staff were positive about working at the service and the training they received; however records did not always evidence some staff had received appropriate training.

A series of checks and audits were completed, but these had not been effective in monitoring quality or driving improvement.

The registered manager was responsive to feedback. Some improvements had been completed before the end of the assessment.

People were involved in decisions about their care. People knew how to give feedback and were confident the service took it seriously and acted on it.

Medicines were generally managed well. People were protected and kept safe and staff worked with agencies involved in people’s care.

People always had enough to eat, drink and stay healthy and all areas of the home were observed to be clean.

People could be confident that at the end of their lives they would receive high quality, kind and compassionate care.

Staff felt supported and were treated equally. Staff worked with the local community to deliver the best possible care and were receptive to new ideas. The service was involved in projects and used innovative technology to improve people’s quality of life.

We found breaches of regulations concerning risk management and governance. We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to some of the concerns found at this assessment.