Woodlands Care Home

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

Well-led – this means we looked for evidence that service leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture.

At our last assessment we rated this key question requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to good. This meant the service was consistently managed and well-led. Leaders and the culture they created promoted high-quality, person-centred care.

This service scored 68 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

We did not look at Shared direction and culture during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.

Leaders did not always have the skills, knowledge and experience to lead effectively.

Systems were in place to review people's needs and record decisions about their care and treatment. However, records did not always clearly show how some decisions had been reached or why changes had been made. Leaders recognised areas where improvements could be made and were receptive to feedback.

We observed the management team to be supportive to both people and staff and were motivated to ensure the people living in the home were living their best lives. Throughout our inspection, leaders were responsive to feedback and motivated to develop their knowledge and improve the service.

People benefited from a service that was committed to learning and improving, although further work was needed to strengthen oversight and ensure records consistently reflected best practice.

We did not look at Freedom to speak up during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.

We did not look at Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.

The provider did not always have clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. They did not always use these to manage and deliver good quality, sustainable care, treatment and support. They did not always act on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, or share this securely with others when appropriate.

Whilst improvements had been made following our previous inspection in October 2025 in relation to care planning and risk management, we found governance processes were not yet fully effective in identifying the shortfalls in relation to medicines management, health and safety, and mental capacity assessments.

Whilst governance processes had improved, these had not identified and addressed shortfalls we identified in the quality and safety of care. This included appropriate safety checks to identify the risk of medicines being accessible due to a faulty lock on a medicines trolley.

This also included processes for monitoring the safe use of bedrails did not provide sufficient guidance to support staff to comply with relevant Health and Safety Executive guidance. In addition, mental capacity assessments had not been fully reviewed and completed in line with the principles and framework of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. These shortfalls demonstrated that governance systems did not consistently provide effective oversight or assurance that staff were working in accordance with legislation, guidance and safe practice.

However, the provider responded promptly to the concerns identified during the inspection and took immediate action to review and strengthen their auditing tools and auditing processes. Leaders demonstrated a willingness to address the identified shortfalls and improve the effectiveness of their governance arrangements.

We did not look at Partnerships and communities during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.

The provider focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They encouraged creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people. They actively contributed to safe, effective practice and research.

Following on from our last inspection in October 2025, the provider had a robust quality improvement and governance audit plan in place. This demonstrated an oversight of actions and improvements that had been made and when they were completed.

The provider told us that following on from our last inspection in October 2025, that learning and development was shared between other homes in the provider’s group.