Dementia Care Home

Highfield House

4 Highfield Road, Shanklin, Isle of Wight, PO37 6PP

Residential homes

At a Glance

The information you need to decide whether this home warrants a closer look.

DCC Family Score
81/ 100
Weighted from family reviews
Dementia SpecialismConfirmed

Residential homes

Families Rate The Staff85 / 100

Staff warmth score

“Well Looked After”82%

of reviewers answered yes

Good to know

  • Registered beds20
  • SpecialismsCaring for adults over 65 yrs, Caring for adults under 65 yrs, Dementia, Physical disabilities, Sensory impairment
  • Last inspected2019-05-31

Save Highfield House to your shortlist

Keep a running list, add visit notes, and compare homes side-by-side. Free account — it takes a minute.

The Evidence

What the review data, the inspection reports, and the dementia-care evidence base tell us about this home.

Section 01

What families say

The eight family priority themes

  • Staff warmth85
  • Compassion & dignity88
  • Cleanliness72
  • Activities & engagement82
  • Food quality65
  • Healthcare68
  • Management & leadership85
  • Resident happiness82
Section 02

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-05-31

  • Is this home safe?

    Good
    The inspection rated this domain Good, which means inspectors found the home to be managing safety adequately across staffing, medicines, infection control, and risk management. With 20 beds and a specialism in dementia, safe staffing ratios and consistent staff presence are particularly important. No specific concerns were identified that would require improvement. However, the full detail of what inspectors observed — including falls data, medicines management processes, and night staffing arrangements — is not available in the published summary.
    Verified by inspector
  • Is the care effective?

    Good
    The inspection rated Effective as Good, indicating that care planning, training, and healthcare access met the required standard. The home lists Dementia as a specialism alongside physical disabilities and sensory impairment, which means inspectors would expect to see appropriate training and adapted practice across all three areas. Whether care plans are reviewed regularly with family input, and how the home manages GP access and medication reviews, is not detailed in the available summary.
    Verified by inspector
  • Is this home caring?

    Outstanding
    Caring was rated Outstanding — the highest possible rating — meaning inspectors found compelling, specific evidence of kindness, dignity, respect, and person-centred interaction. For a 20-bed home, this rating is significant: smaller homes can more easily build genuine relationships between staff and residents, but they also have less cover when things are stretched. The Outstanding rating suggests the home goes beyond compliance in how it treats the people living there. Without the full report text, the specific observations and quotes that earned this rating are not available to share here.
    Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded
  • Is the home responsive?

    Outstanding
    Responsive was rated Outstanding, indicating that the home tailors its offer to individual needs rather than running a one-size-fits-all programme. For a home caring for people with dementia, physical disabilities, and sensory impairment, this requires genuine flexibility — activities, communication styles, and daily routines all need to be adapted. An Outstanding here suggests inspectors found meaningful, individualised engagement rather than just a group activity timetable. The specific activities offered, their frequency, and how one-to-one engagement is provided for people who cannot join groups are not detailed in the available summary.
    Verified by inspector
  • Is the home well-led?

    Outstanding
    Well-led was rated Outstanding, the strongest possible signal that the home has stable, effective leadership with a clear culture of accountability and continuous improvement. Mrs Teresa Hope is the registered manager and Mr Ian Bennett is the nominated individual, providing named, visible leadership. An Outstanding here typically means inspectors found a manager who is known to residents and staff, a team that feels supported to raise concerns, and governance systems that actually change practice rather than just generate paperwork. The specific tenure of the manager and details of any recent staffing changes are not available in the published summary.
    Verified by inspector
  • Source: CQC inspection report →

    Section 03

    What the evidence base says

    The team supports people with sensory impairments, making adjustments to help residents with hearing or vision loss stay connected and engaged. They also care for younger adults with physical disabilities, providing age-appropriate support for people under 65. Highfield House includes dementia care as part of their services, supporting residents who need memory care alongside those with physical support needs. All areas worth probing directly during a visit.

The DCC Verdict

Our editorial view, built from the three lenses: what families tell us, what inspectors record, and how the home sits against good dementia-care practice.

81/ 100

DCC Family Score

Highfield House scores strongly across the themes families care most about — kindness, dignity, and management quality — reflecting its Outstanding ratings in Caring, Responsive, and Well-led, though the absence of detailed inspection text limits how specific we can be about day-to-day evidence.

Homes in South East typically score 68–82.
DCC Recommendation

Worth a visit

Highfield House in Shanklin was rated Outstanding overall at its last full inspection, published in February 2021, with Outstanding ratings for Caring, Responsive, and Well-led, and Good for Safe and Effective. A monitoring review in July 2023 found no evidence to change that rating. For a 20-bed home serving people with dementia, physical disabilities, and sensory impairment, this combination of ratings — particularly Outstanding for Caring — is a meaningful signal that inspectors found genuine kindness, respect, and individuality at the heart of how staff work. The main limitation here is that the full inspection report text was not available for this analysis, which means we cannot point you to specific quotes, named observations, or direct evidence across all the themes families care about most. The scores above reflect what can reasonably be inferred from domain ratings rather than granular evidence. When you visit, focus on the things inspectors cannot easily measure in a snapshot: how staff speak to your parent when they think no one is watching, whether the home feels unhurried at mealtimes, and how clearly the manager can answer your questions about night staffing levels and what happens when something goes wrong.

The three questions to ask when you visit

Save this home. Compare it against your shortlist.

Let our analysis show you how Highfield House measures up against the other homes you’re considering. Free account.

Create free account →

In Their Own Words

How Highfield House describes itself — collected from its own website. DCC has not edited or independently verified the content in this tab.

What Highfield House says about itself

Specialist care for younger adults with complex needs in Shanklin

Compassionate Care in Shanklin at Highfield House

Highfield House in Shanklin provides residential care for people with a range of support needs, including younger adults under 65 and those living with physical disabilities. The home welcomes people with sensory impairments and offers dementia care alongside their general residential services. Located in this peaceful Isle of Wight town, they support residents with varying levels of physical and cognitive needs.

Care & specialisms

Who they care for

    The team supports people with sensory impairments, making adjustments to help residents with hearing or vision loss stay connected and engaged. They also care for younger adults with physical disabilities, providing age-appropriate support for people under 65.

    How they describe their dementia care

    Highfield House includes dementia care as part of their services, supporting residents who need memory care alongside those with physical support needs.

    “If you're looking for residential care that can support complex physical needs or sensory impairments, it's worth arranging a visit to see how they work.”

    DCC does not edit or curate content in this tab. For independently curated information, see The Evidence and DCC Verdict.

    Free download – Dementia Stage 4

    Not sure if it's dementia or just ageing? Here's the checklist your GP will use.

    Twelve signs to observe. A simple scoring framework. A printable, one-page record you can take to your next GP appointment, so you go in with specifics, not anxiety.

    Download Your Checklist

    No registration required to download. Free.

    Related:

    What Real Families Say About Dementia Care Homes: The Eight Things That Matter Most

    A Which? Report for Care Homes: Real Family Reviews, Not Just Official Inspections

    Step-by-Step Guide to Finding a Care Home for Your Mum in the UK

    What Does 'Dementia Specialist' Actually Mean? How to Tell If a Care Home Really Is One

    Best UK Website for Comparing Dementia Care Homes (Beyond CQC Ratings)

    Dementia care gifts that help

    The Thoughtful Gift That Makes a Difficult Day Easier

    The things that make the greatest difference to someone living with dementia are rarely the most obvious ones. They are the things that ease the day — that give a carer a moment to breathe, or give the person they care for a moment of calm or quiet joy. Every item here was chosen because it works, and because it reduces stress for everyone in the room.

    Comforting Memories

    Britain 1940 to 1970: Memory Lane

    Card Game

    The Card Game That Turns Familiar Phrases Into Open Doors

    Memory Box

    The Box That Holds a Life

    Digital Photoframe

    The Frame That Brings the Family Into the Room

    Digital Calendar

    The Clock That Knows What Day It Is

    FAQs Related to Care Homes increasing support care

    How often to visit a parent with dementia in a care home — and what makes a visit actually matter

    read this FAQ

    Care home fees and dementia — who pays, who doesn't, and what determines the difference

    read this FAQ

    Do you have to sell the house to pay for dementia care? The options most families don't know about

    read this FAQ

    The 7-year rule and care home fees — what it actually means and why it's misunderstood

    read this FAQ

    How much the NHS will pay for a care home — and what happens when the home costs more

    read this FAQ

    NHS Continuing Healthcare and dementia — who qualifies, how to apply, and what to do if refused

    read this FAQ

    When the NHS pays for dementia care — the two situations and how to access both

    read this FAQ

    What the NHS actually covers in dementia care — and the funding most eligible families never claim

    read this FAQ
    We use cookies in order to give you the best possible experience on our website. By continuing to use this site, you agree to our use of cookies.
    Accept