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CQC report explained · a residential care home

What the CQC found at Rockfield House

Requires improvementpublished 11 October 2025, 11 months ago

Rated Requires improvement: inspectors found the home was not performing as well as it should and told it what to change.

The latest report, explained

What inspectors found, November 2019

Rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and person-centred care, with the home larger than current best-practice guidance.

This was an unannounced planned inspection on 21 October 2019. Inspectors spoke with four people living at the home, three staff members and a family member. They observed staff and people together, and checked care records, recruitment files, medicines records and management records.

The home was rated Good in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors found enough staff, safe medicines practices, suitable training and support, respectful care, personalised plans and good management oversight.

People had choice and control over their daily lives. They chose when to eat, helped shape their care and could choose which staff supported them. The annex was used to help people develop independence and prepare for living in the community.

The home supports up to 14 adults with learning disabilities, autism or mental health needs. Ten people were living there at the inspection. Inspectors noted that it was larger than current best-practice guidance, but said the design and location helped reduce any negative effect.

What inspectors praised
  • Choice and independence

    People had control over important parts of daily life, including when they ate. The annex supported people to develop skills for more independent living.

    “People chose when they ate their meals and there were no set meal times.” from the report
  • Kind and respectful care

    Inspectors saw staff offering choices and supporting people respectfully. Care plans included people's preferred names, routines and personal support needs.

    “We observed staff supporting people in communal areas, and speaking to them with respect, offering choices and empowering people.” from the report
  • Personalised support

    Care plans described people's backgrounds, preferences and goals. People could choose which staff supported them and were involved in recruiting new staff.

    “Care and support plans had enough detail about each person and what they wanted from their support.” from the report
  • Good management oversight

    Audits covered areas including care plans, incidents, accidents and medicines. Inspectors saw that feedback from the previous inspection had led to changes.

    “There were no outstanding actions from audits.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about
  • Larger than current guidance

    minor

    The home was registered for up to 14 people and was described as larger than current best-practice guidance. Inspectors said the building design and location helped reduce any negative impact, but families should still ask how the size affects their relative.

    “This is larger than current best practice guidance.” from the report
Questions to ask them, based on this report
  1. 01How does the home's size affect daily life, privacy and opportunities for quiet time?
  2. 02How will my relative be involved in creating and reviewing their person-centred support plan?
  3. 03How are risks and incidents involving people reviewed, and what changes have been made as a result?
  4. 04What opportunities are available for people to develop independence and move towards living in their own home?
  5. 05How will you support my relative's communication needs, including easy-read or pictorial information if needed?

This was an unannounced planned inspection covering all five CQC questions; the previous rating was also Good. This explanation was written from the published report of 14 November 2019 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.

An earlier report, explained

What inspectors found, April 2017

Rated Good; inspectors found safe, caring and personalised support, but not all staff had completed essential MAPA training at the visit.

This was an unannounced inspection on 24 March 2017. Two inspectors spoke with people living at the home, relatives, staff and other professionals. They reviewed care records, staff recruitment and training records, and records about how the home was managed.

The home was rated Good in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors found enough staff on shift, robust risk assessments, well-managed medicines, safe recruitment and suitable systems for reporting concerns.

People and relatives said staff were kind and supportive. Care plans reflected people's backgrounds, preferences and needs. People were involved in their care, activities and meals, and complaints information was clearly displayed.

The main shortfall was staff training. Less than half the staff team had completed MAPA training at the inspection, although the home later told inspectors that most of the identified staff had since been trained. The overall Good rating remained unchanged from the October 2014 inspection.

What inspectors praised
  • Safe medicines

    Inspectors found medicines stored correctly, with temperature checks and accurate records for the medicines they sampled.

    “Medication was stored in a dedicated, temperature controlled medication room.” from the report
  • Personalised support

    Care plans recorded people's backgrounds, preferences and how they wanted support to be given. Each person also had a short profile of important information.

    “Care plans we saw contained information about each person's background, likes, dislikes, and how they wanted their support to be delivered.” from the report
  • Involvement and improvement

    People's views were sought through regular meetings, and the home used audits and action plans to identify and address improvements.

    “Team meetings and resident meetings took place regularly and feedback from people who lived at the home was regularly requested and used to improve service delivery.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about
  • MAPA training

    needs fixing

    At the inspection, less than half of the staff team had completed MAPA training, which inspectors considered important for supporting people who may display challenging behaviour. The home later said most of the identified staff had been trained.

    “We checked the training matrix, and saw that less than half of the staff team were trained in MAPA.” from the report
Questions to ask them, based on this report
  1. 01How many staff currently have MAPA training, and when will any remaining staff complete it?
  2. 02How do you make sure there are enough trained staff on every shift?
  3. 03Who is currently responsible for managing the home, and what are the current management arrangements?
  4. 04How are each person's care plan and risk assessments reviewed and updated?
  5. 05How are residents and families asked for feedback, and what changes have been made as a result?

This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection covering all five CQC questions and included discussions with people, relatives, staff and other professionals, as well as checks of care, training, recruitment and management records. This explanation was written from the published report of 27 April 2017 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.

The story over the years

Every inspection of Rockfield House

3 rated inspections over 5 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.

  1. November 2019Goodcurrent ratingstayed Good
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read what inspectors found at Rockfield House →

  2. April 2017Goodstayed Good
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read what inspectors found at Rockfield House →

  3. February 2015Good
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  4. December 2013

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  5. February 2013

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  6. July 2011

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  7. December 2010

    Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 15 December 2010.

Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission, Open Government Licence v3.0. A home can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections.

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