Cedarwood Lodge (Active Prospects)

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 good. At this assessment the rating has remained 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 79 (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, equality and human rights, and diversity and inclusion.

Staff understood the provider’s values and demonstrated these in their attitudes and behaviours, providing people’s care in a kind and empathetic way which promoted choice and wellbeing.

The manager told us the provider was supportive of the service and responded positively to requests for improvements, staying, “Active Prospects try their best to support us. When you request something, whether it will benefit the residents or the team, there is rarely a no."

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

Relatives said the manager led by example in their approach to supporting and engaging with people who used the service, demonstrating empathy and promoting choice.

Relatives told us the manager thought proactively about how their family members’ lives could be improved. One relative said of the manager, "She is very good, very proactive. She has introduced a lot of new things. I have every confidence in her."

The manager understood their responsibilities under the duty of candour, which is a legal requirement for health and social care providers to be open and transparent when things go wrong. The manager described the action they had taken following an incident which a review had identified could have been managed better. The manager said, "I called the family and told them what happened. I explained what we could have done better. We also discussed it in our team meeting and it was shared across the organisation. It is important to be open and honest."

The manager told us they had received good support from the provider since taking up their post, saying, "The support system here is really good. When I started I had a whole month of induction, then a manager's induction. My area manager is very supportive. All I need to do is call her. If she needs to come here, she comes."

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. The provider had recently organised a coproduction workshop, the aim of which was to establish how people could best be supported to express their views about the care and support they received.

Each person had a keyworker, part of whose role was to advocate for the people they supported. Staff told us representing the views and wishes of the people they supported was an important aspect of their role. One member of staff said, “We are advocates for the people we are supporting as they cannot speak up for themselves.”

The provider enabled people to give their views in the way they preferred. One relative told us they preferred not to complete an annual survey, "As they may not ask questions relevant to [family member], or there may be something I want to raise. I ask to have a telephone conversation and they are happy to do it."

Staff said they were encouraged to speak up at team meetings if they had concerns or ideas for improvements. A member of staff told us, "Every month we get to give our views about what is working and what isn't."

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 regularly reviewed the culture of the organisation in the context of equality, diversity and inclusion.

The provider had achieved Disability Confident Leader status, the highest level of the government's Disability Confident scheme, awarded to organisations that demonstrate a commitment to actively creating an inclusive workplace for disabled people.

The provider had obtained certification by a nationally recognised scheme as a ‘Great Place to Work’ based on feedback from staff about their perceptions of leadership, opportunities for development, fairness, and the provider’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.

The provider had a stated commitment to improving representation of a diverse workforce and published its progress towards achieving this objective annually, alongside its ethnicity, disability, and gender pay gap figures.

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

Staff carried out audits of key aspects of the service, which were checked by the area manager as validation visits. Any issues identified for improvement were added to the service action plan. The provider had developed a business continuity plan to ensure people’s care would not be disrupted in the event of an emergency.

Service managers met as a group each month to share learning and good practice and discuss the training and development needs of their teams. The provider’s head of quality nominates a topic each month eg medicines, closed cultures. "Every month it is something different."

The provider’s commitment to sustainability and minimising the impact of its services on the environment was set out in the organisation’s Environmental Strategy. The provider had invested in reducing environmental impact and increasing sustainability, such as improving the energy efficiency of its existing homes and installing electric vehicle charging points at all new homes.

Staff and people using the provider’s services were able to become Environmental Champions, a group which aimed to identify ways to reduce environmental impact. The group had held a sustainability workshop in 2025 which developed environmental pledges to be met by all the provider’s homes.

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.

The manager and staff had established effective working relationships with other professionals involved in people’s care, which ensured people received the care and treatment they needed. Professionals told us the registered manager and staff communicated effectively with them, which promoted good outcomes for people.

The provider focused on continuous learning and improvement across the organisation and local system. They encouraged creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people.

Professionals told us the provider worked well with them to ensure people received safe, well-planned care. One professional said, ‘I have quarterly review meetings with [Operations Director], and communication is very good. They are responsive to queries and report appropriately.’

The provider used incidents, complaints and feedback as opportunities for improvement and shared learning with staff through a quarterly newsletter. Where areas for improvement were identified, the provider took action to address these. For example, when medicines errors were identified, the provider’s head of care led medicines workshops for managers to review protocols and procedures. The head of care shared learning through weekly emails to staff, which were also used to recognise the achievements of people using services, and staff.

The provider supported staff to develop their knowledge and skills. Some staff were working towards relevant national vocational qualifications (NVQs). A member of staff who was working towards a NVQ told us the provider paid for a study day every fortnight and that they received good support from the manager if they had any questions about their course.