The Willows

The following is CQC's published account of its assessment, published 6 May 2026. References to “we” mean CQC. It describes findings at that time.

The Willows is a residential care home providing accommodation and nursing care for up to 50 people. The service supports adults with a range of care needs and operates across one purpose‑built building with communal areas and accessible facilities. At the time of our assessment there were 45 people using the service, 30 of those were people living with dementia. We completed this assessment as part of our routine programme and because of the length of time since our last assessment.

During this assessment we found a culture of kindness, safety and professionalism where management led by example. People using the service, their relatives and staff all had a positive experience of the service.

Staff were consistently respectful, warm and attentive, people experienced safe, compassionate and personalised care. Professionals praised the strong relationships between staff, people and their families.

The provider had a proactive approach to safety and there was a well-established learning culture, and reflective supervision systems were in place for reviewing incidents.

Professionals, gave highly positive feedback about the communication and responsiveness of the service, providing a high quality of joint working.

There was a full activities programme in place which was enjoyed by people and their relatives alike. The programme was planned a month in advance and local schools were contacted inviting them to choose what activities they would like the children to be involved in. A Catholic priest attended the service once a month and an altar was prepared in a quiet room to enable mass and prayer to take place for people wanting to take part.

There was a consistent and effective leadership in place, which helped ensure good quality care. The manager led by example, demonstrating compassionate, inclusive and values-based practice. This created a positive culture where staff reported feeling supported, respected and confident to speak up. Many staff described The Willows as the best place they had ever worked, and they felt incredibly proud of the care they delivered. This culture was reflected in people’s experience of the service. They consistently described an atmosphere of warmth, trust and safety with staff demonstrating genuine compassion in their interactions.