Sylvian Care Farnham

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.

This is the first assessment for this newly registered service. This key question has been rated 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 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider had a shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and understanding challenges and the needs of people and their communities. Relatives’ comments included, “They [leaders] are very attentive as a service, they are just wonderful. [The provider and registered manager] have a personal approach and they are a god send” and “I think they're very, very efficient in all in all aspects and they take good of good care of [family member].”

The provider told us, “We're trying to have a very open culture when everybody is respecting, everybody is appreciated and I always remind them [staff] that they are the backbone of our business because without them we can't do anything.”

The provider had a clear vision and values which were set out in their ‘Statement of Purpose’ and supported by a range of policies and procedures. A statement of purpose sets out how a service will operate, Leaders used team meetings to discuss the service’s values and vision and to reinforce expectations about delivering high‑quality, person‑centred care. The provider told us, “Everybody [staff] here has to pass my interview, which is the mum test. So, if I wouldn’t let that person to look after my mum, I won't send them to look after my clients.”

Staff described the culture of the service as positive and supportive. One member of staff said, “We try to help people, to respect and help with their needs. To respect their rights and improve every person’s life.” This helped underpin consistent, compassionate care for people using the service.

The provider had inclusive leaders at all levels who understood the context in which they delivered care, treatment and support and embodied the culture and values of their workforce and organisation. Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. They did so with integrity, openness and honesty.

Feedback to the service from people and relatives about the care they received was consistently positive. Comments included, ‘I would recommend your services to anyone. Please know you are making such a positive difference in the lives of my [family member] and our whole family’, [Provider] is an angel! She is just so wonderful. I cannot speak highly enough of her. We absolutely know that [family member] is in the best possible hands’ and ‘I signed up to Sylvian Care Farnham and the person allocated to me has provided excellent care and attention. I'm completely satisfied with the service which is provided with kindness.’

Staff told us they felt listened to and able to raise concerns or seek guidance at any time. One member of staff said, “I am involved in meetings and we talk about everything. I feel listened to. I feel part of the company. I am just a part of the puzzle.”

This reflected an open and supportive leadership culture where staff felt valued and well supported in their roles, contributing to positive experiences for people using the service.

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard.

People, their relatives and staff told us they felt able to speak up and that their voices would be heard. One relative told us, “We have peace of mind knowing that [family member] is happy and he can speak up if anything changes.” Staff described an open and supportive culture where they felt comfortable raising concerns, sharing feedback or asking for guidance. One member of staff said, “I think every person has the right to raise if there is something wrong. I would speak to them about anything; I wouldn’t hesitate to raise a concern.”

The provider had a range of systems in place to encourage open communication. These included regular staff surveys, supervisions and staff meetings, which gave staff opportunities to share their views and discuss any concerns. The provider told us, “We are visible at the training sessions as well, so they know they can come to us at any time. We have an open-door policy. We discussed this through regular meetings that we have with them. They can always be open and transparent with us.”

The provider valued diversity in their workforce. They worked towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who worked for them.

The wellbeing of the workforce was actively promoted. Leaders held regular staff and team meetings, carried out regular staff surveys, and provided structured supervision and appraisal arrangements. These processes gave staff protected opportunities to discuss workload, wellbeing, inclusion and any concerns, and supported reflection on practice and development needs.

The PIR stated, ‘We regularly review our recruitment and selection processes to ensure they are fair, transparent, and inclusive. Our focus is on value-driven recruitment, ensuring that staff are selected and assessed not only for their skills and experience but also for their compassion, empathy, and professionalism.’ We saw that recruitment and workforce decisions were fair, transparent and values based, supporting equality of opportunity regardless of protected characteristics. This helped promote a respectful, supportive and inclusive workplace culture.

Staff told us they were encouraged to speak openly and felt listened to. Where issues were identified, leaders took action and reviewed the impact to ensure improvements were sustained. One member of staff told us, “I have been treated like a person, judged from what I do and not for my culture. [due to their personal circumstances] I said I can’t work weekends, they said this was not a problem.”
 

The provider had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. They used these to manage and deliver good quality, sustainable care, treatment and support. They acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and shared this securely with others when appropriate.

During our assessment we fed back to the provider and registered manager that some of the care notes made by staff could be improved upon. This related to the phrases used in care notes which, could be misinterpreted. Both the provider and registered manager told us they had also identified this and were working with staff to improve this. The provider said, “This was one of the topics that we discussed during our meetings in terms of writing notes.”

The PIR stated, ‘As a small franchise within a wider organisation, we also undergo regular internal inspections and audits.’ It stated that they had undergone an inspection by the quality manager of the Sylvian Care Franchise which they stated, ‘reinforced our confidence that our policies, procedures, and day-to-day practices are aligned with best standards of care and governance.’

Sylvian Care Farnham was a small but growing business and for the interim they were working with another care agency to emergency longer term cover for their ‘live in client’ if needed for. The provider told us, “We're not a big company because this was one of our goals from the beginning. We're not here in a rush, we're here to grow at a steady pace.”

We saw evidence of regular audits being completed to monitor the quality and safety of the service. Audit findings were reviewed and fed into an action plan, and leaders were able to demonstrate that actions had been completed to address identified areas for improvement.

The provider understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services worked seamlessly for people. They shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement.

Staff worked with a range of external professionals, including GPs, community nurses and specialist services, to respond to people’s changing needs. Information was shared in a timely manner to support safe decision‑making and joined‑up care, helping people avoid unnecessary duplication and ensuring they received the right support.

The provider also actively engaged with the community and promoted social value. The service further promoted inclusion and community connection by holding activity days with people using the service and their families.

They also held an initiative called, ‘Giving Back to the Community’ in the local area for those people that were at risk of social isolation. This initiative involved providing additional hours of support to people, without cost to the person, to take them to a community event they wanted to go to. They had also set up a social media group for people where local and nearby events were posted so people could attend if they wished with the support from leaders and staff.

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.

Care was delivered flexibly and creatively to enable people to achieve personal goals and experiences that mattered to them. For example, 1 person, who seldomly left their home, wanted to have their hair cut. The registered manager organised to support the person to the local hairdressers with careful planning with the person.

The service documented learning within incidents and accidents and took direct action to support people and keep them safe to prevent further occurrences. Staff felt they received feedback about incidents in a timely manner.

The service was recognised as the ‘Top 20 Rated Home Care Provider in Southeast England’ in 2025 by an online care reviewer. The provider had also been awarded the ‘Community Champions Award’ in 2025 by the Sylvian Care Franchise. Leaders also attended the Skills for Care Network and registered manager network to access peer support, share best practices, and stay updated on legislative changes and CQC standards.