Oakley Grange

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 inspection 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.

Oakley Grange had been registered for 1 year and 10 months at the time of our inspection. The provider, managers and staff were open and transparent that there had been challenges during that period due to changes in management and high staff turnover. However, it was acknowledged that the culture of the service had significantly improved in the last 6 months due to a stable management team and better staff retention. Longstanding staff spoke of improved staff morale because of effective communication, better teamwork and consistency in managers and staff. One staff member told us, “We have transitioned a lot from 1 manager to another, working with the same team to a totally different team. Right now, I think we are at the point where we are getting it right with good teamwork.”

Staff told us they understood their role and the ethos of the service because of strict adherence to the provider’s policies and procedures which were known and accessible to all. Staff consistently spoke of a shared commitment to respecting people’s individuality and promoting their dignity by enabling them to live their life as they wished to. One staff member told us, "Now it is coming together in a proper way. We don't have staff turnover and now it is very stable. We have [the provider’s] standards, and you have to follow those standards. All the staff have access to the policies.” The provider reinforced their values through staff induction, training, reflective practice and staff recognition awards.

Relatives spoke positively about the culture at Oakley Grange and the quality of care their family members received. One relative commented, “We went and looked at a variety of homes but then we walked into Oakley Grange and the thing that impressed us was just how open and transparent they were. We made no appointment, but we were made incredibly welcome. Walking round, the culture was super important to us, everyone smiled and acknowledged us and the culture cascaded down through the staff.”

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.

People and their relatives did not raise any concerns about the management of the home. People generally knew the management team and felt confident to approach them if they had any concerns. One relative told us, “I think [registered manager] is a very good manager, she’s got very good communication.” Another relative stated, “With any concerns, if I can’t address it with the carers office, I would approach [registered manager] and feel confident it would be dealt with.” A third relative commented, “Initially I would address any concerns with 1 of the leads on the top floor. If I wasn’t happy, I would speak to [registered manager] or [deputy manager].”

Staff spoke positively about the leadership of the home under the registered manager and deputy manager. Staff told us that whilst the management team were accessible and available, they could also escalate concerns to the members of the provider’s management team if they needed to. Comments included: “[Registered manager] is lovely, she has been great helping me settle in and constantly checking how I was getting on", "The deputy manager is there every day in handover, and you can say what you want to say. I can always walk in and tell the [registered manager] how I feel" and "If [registered manager] is not listening we have access to our regional manager and our quality manager. It is really connected but if any staff want to talk, [registered manager] is available all the time. They take our concerns very seriously."

Staff who had been promoted into more senior positions told us they received an induction into their new role and training to understand their responsibilities. One senior member of staff confirmed they had supernumerary time to complete designated tasks and duties.

The provider had processes and checks to ensure leaders acted in accordance with the duty of candour and informed all relevant parties when accidents or incident occurred.

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

Staff told us they would not hesitate to share feedback or raise concerns and felt confident they would be listened to. One staff member told us, “From the start, [registered manager] said if I saw anything worrying me to go to her and I have found it very easy to express any concerns I have had.” Another staff member said, “When you do speak up, things don’t always get done there and then but sometimes it is not an instant fix." A third staff member told us staff meetings were a forum where they could raise concerns, share ideas and collaborate to improve people’s experiences. They commented, "We will share our ideas about what we need to do and what we need to improve."

The provider had a confidential whistleblowing process which was managed by an external company to help foster a positive culture where staff felt confident to speak up and report poor practice.

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 provider had a zero tolerance to discrimination, with a clear equity and inclusion policy to prevent discrimination and inequalities within the home. One staff member told us, “It is equal support to everyone. Everyone will get opportunity and they support people's weaknesses to improve them."

Staff were asked about any health conditions so reasonable adjustments could be considered to support them in their role. Policies and procedures were available in different languages and formats to ensure information was accessible for all staff. The handsets used to record care notes had the facility that allowed speech to text to support effective communication and record keeping.

One relative shared how diversity within the staff team improved the culture in the home. They told us, “There’s a good broad spectrum of ages of care staff, there also appears to be good diversity, male and female and people who’ve perhaps come over to the UK. [Name of family member] has built good relationships with them all.”

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.

The provider had a framework of checks and audits to ensure standards were maintained and regulations met. The provider’s electronic governance system gave them oversight of checks and audits to ensure any actions were addressed and completed in line with identified timescales. This supported accountability across the service.

Some audits carried out by the provider focused on people and their lived experience at Oakley Grange. Records demonstrated how the outcome of these audits had resulted in improvements in care provision and people’s daily experiences. The provider’s quality assurance team assessed the impact of improvement plans to ensure they were effective and sustained.

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

The provider had established strong and meaningful partnerships to benefit people living in the home as well as the wider community. In collaboration with a local domiciliary care provider the service now offered a monthly support group for carers in the community. ‘Local vocals’ was an intergenerational community singing group at Oakley Grange supported by a local choir. The in-house cinema was opened regularly to offer immersive and relaxed cinema screenings to those with dementia in the local community and social events were used as opportunities to raise funds for other charitable organisations. This promoted good relationships with the local community and increased people’s opportunities for interesting things to do.

Staff worked in partnership with health and social care professionals to ensure people had the best outcomes for their health and wellbeing.

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

In January 2026, the provider had introduced a dementia strategy to support the delivery of evidence-based dementia care. Managers and staff at Oakley Grange were working towards a recognised accreditation in dementia care with training planned in sensory focused Namaste Care and Cognitive Stimulation Therapy. The provider’s quality assurance manager explained how this evidence-based approach would further support staff practice and lead to enhanced outcomes for those people living within the dementia community.

The provider explored innovations in technology to improve people’s safety and wellbeing in the home. For example, an electronic monitoring system had improved people’s experience at night because they were no longer being woken by physical checks.

Staff told us they were encouraged to complete further training to develop their career in health and social care and seek promotion within the provider group. One staff member told us, “[The provider] is really supportive if you want to learn. If you are capable and are eager to learn, they will support you."

There were processes to share learning and good practice with other services within the provider group which was a key contributor to service improvement.