Old School House Care Home First in Yorkshire to be Rated Outstanding

The Old School House in New Walkergate, Beverley, has become the first registered council-run care home in Yorkshire to be rated as “outstanding” after the Care Quality Commission (CQC) conducted an unannounced inspection.

The East Riding of Yorkshire Council-run care home maintained its outstanding rating in the “Well Led” section when the CQC visited the premises on 21 and 22 March and the support provided was rated as “outstanding” in the “Effective” and “Caring” categories.

The home, which provides residential care for to up to 40 people who have dementia and complex care needs, has been rated “outstanding” overall and is the first registered local authority home in Yorkshire to receive these results.

Yvonne Rhodes, head of business management and commissioning at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said:

“I could not be prouder to be associated with this service; the care provided every day by Barry Cansfield, the registered manager and his staff is exactly what I would want for someone I loved.

“The report said it all for me when it talked about people being placed “at the heart of the home”, staff who “consistently went the extra mile to deliver tailored care to support people”, who “were passionate and committed about providing people with exceptionally good care” and where the “culture of the service was positive and person-centred” with “inspiring leadership”.

“The team at The Old School House includes our staff along with the families of residents, past and present, who work together to try to create an atmosphere that allows residents to live well with dementia despite the many challenges this brings along the way.
“It is humbling to see how dedicated our carers are, not just at The Old School House but across the sector, and how much of a debt of thanks we owe them for the work they do for our vulnerable citizens.”

John Skidmore, director of corporate strategy and commissioning at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said:

“I am delighted that The Old School House has been recognised for the excellent work of the carers and their continued commitment to providing a dedicated service.

“We take the same approach with all 140 of our registered resident-owned care homes across the East Riding and work together with partner organisations towards achieving the very best quality and care for our residents.

“Our carers have an incredibly important role to play in the residents’ everyday lives and this report shows just how well they bring their expertise into the workplace with appropriate support and enthusiasm for what they do.

“The report is testament to the excellent work by everyone involved in providing such an invaluable service.”

Jane Hawkard, chief officer at East Riding of Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, said:

“To receive an “outstanding” rating overall is a commendable achievement.

“It is great to see a real commitment to care which is organised around people’s individual needs.

“In particular, relationships with families and friends are highly valued and developed so that people living at the home are able to maintain and grow their bonds with people who are important to them.

“This is central for a person with dementia to feel valued and included.

“The team should be extremely proud of the work they do and for achieving an outstanding rating.”

Debbie Westhead, Deputy Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care in the North, said:

“We saw an exceptionally caring service that was planned in partnership with people and their families, and really met their individual needs.

“Without exception, people told us they were extremely happy with the level of care received and we saw staff who enjoyed their jobs, and treated people professionally but also with kind-heartedness and consideration.”

The leadership of care services is critical to supporting and developing staff teams to be able to deliver good care in all areas of the East Riding and East Riding of Yorkshire Council will be focusing newly-acquired funding on a leadership programme to support care providers to continue to improve services across the sector.