St Mary's Residential Care Home
- Care home
- 29 beds
- No nursing
- Dementia care
- Registered since 2016
- Norfolk, East of England
Requires improvement
Rated on
Rating from the Care Quality Commission.
At a glance
5 ratings
Its last inspection moved it down from Good to Requires improvement.
5 months
since the latest rating was published.
86 of 288
rated care homes in Norfolk are rated Requires improvement, like this one.
St Mary's Residential Care Home: inspection record
Rated Requires improvement in May 2026, down from Good.
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | ||||||||||||
| Safe | ||||||||||||
| Effective | ||||||||||||
| Caring | ||||||||||||
| Responsive | ||||||||||||
| Well-led |
Ratings published by the Care Quality Commission.
Compare nearby
Nearest rated Good or Outstanding: Fairland House (Good, 3.7 miles away) and St Elmos (Good, 3.8 miles away).
Nearest care homes:
- RI The Willows Requires improvement, 3.5 miles away
- G Fairland House Good, 3.7 miles away
- G St Elmos Good, 3.8 miles away
- G St Edmunds Good, 3.9 miles away
- RI Brooklyn House Nursing Home Requires improvement, 4 miles away
What inspectors found
From the Care Quality Commission's assessment published 11 May 2026 (assessment visit 18 February 2026). Quoted under the Open Government Licence.
We carried out our assessment between 2 March and 20 March 2026.St Mary’s Residential Home is a care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to29 people. The service supports people over the age of 65 and people living with dementia.
- Safe No rating
- Effective Good
- Caring Good
- Responsive Good
- Well-led No rating
Read the rest of CQC's summary
We carried out our inspection due to concerns we received about the service.
We found a lack of effective governance, oversight and monitoring of the service. Governance processes did not identify the issues which we found during this assessment.For example, not referring a person’s unexplained bruising to safeguarding, people using emollient cream did not all have a risk assessment,the use of stair gates on communal stairs were not risk assessed, the unsafe storage of gas cylinders in the service’s garden, and staff did not always seek medical advice following unwitnessed falls.This put people at risk of harm. We found no one had been harmed. Quality assurance systems and processes were not effectively implemented to ensure safety and drive change.These concerns constituted 1 breach in the regulation relating to good governance.
However, we found staff knew people well, spoke positively about their roles and felt supported by the leadership team. We observed staff being respectful and kind to people.
The provider had been working to improve the service with support from the local authority,and we saw changes had started to be made. The service did not have a manager in place at the beginning of our assessment;the new manager joined during our assessment.
The provider accepted feedback from this assessment and took immediate steps to affect change where required.
-
Safe
No rating
Safe – this means we looked for evidence that people were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. At our last assessment we rated this key question requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has remained requires improvement. This meant some aspects of the service were not always safe and there was limited assurance about safety. There was an increased risk that people could be harmed.
-
Effective
Good
Effective – this means we looked for evidence that people’s care, treatment and support achieved good outcomes and promoted a good quality of life, based on best available evidence.
At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant people’s outcomes were consistently good, and people’s feedback confirmed this.
-
Caring
Good
Caring – this means we looked for evidence that the provider involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good.
This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.
-
Responsive
Good
Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs.
At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good.This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.
-
Well-led
No rating
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 changed to requires improvement. This meant the management and leadership was inconsistent. Leaders and the culture they created did not always support the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care.
The service was in breach of legal regulation in relation to good governance.
Questions to ask when you visit
- Safe was rated Requires improvement on 11 May 2026. Ask how medicines are managed, how staffing levels are decided and how incidents are reviewed.
- Well-led was rated Requires improvement on 11 May 2026. Ask about changes in management and what has changed since the report.
- Ask to see the most recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) report and what the home did about any points in it.
Registration details
- Registered manager
- Iwona Szumilas
- Registered with the CQC since
- What it provides
- Care home service without nursing
- Who it supports
- Dementia, Older People
Inspection report
Read the full inspection report (opens the Care Quality Commission website)4 inspection reports, latest 29 July 2021. Latest assessment published 11 May 2026; the Care Quality Commission's newer assessments are published on its website rather than as reports.
The rating is the Care Quality Commission's. We show it as published and do not change it.
Who runs it
- Provider
- V & V Care Limited
- Ownership type
- Organisation
- Companies House number
- 10056283 (opens Companies House)
Getting help from Norfolk County Council
The council can assess what care someone needs and tell them what help with the cost they may get.
- Adult social care at Norfolk County Council
- Ask for a care needs assessment
- Phone: 0344 800 8020, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
- Support for carers
- Paying for care: Norfolk County Council
Checked on the council's website, November 2026.
Common questions
- Does St Mary's Residential Care Home provide nursing care?
- No. The Care Quality Commission lists St Mary's Residential Care Home as a care home without nursing.
- How many beds does St Mary's Residential Care Home have?
- The Care Quality Commission's register lists 29 beds at St Mary's Residential Care Home.
- When was St Mary's Residential Care Home last inspected?
- The Care Quality Commission's latest rating for St Mary's Residential Care Home was published on 11 May 2026.
- Who runs St Mary's Residential Care Home?
- St Mary's Residential Care Home is run by V & V Care Limited.
- What is St Mary's Residential Care Home's CQC rating?
- Its overall rating from the Care Quality Commission is Requires improvement, published on 11 May 2026.
Contact
- Phone
- 01953 860956
- Address
- Market Place, New Buckenham, Norwich, NR16 2AN Map (opens Google Maps)
Compare nearby
Nearest rated Good or Outstanding: Fairland House (Good, 3.7 miles away) and St Elmos (Good, 3.8 miles away).
Nearest care homes:
- RI The Willows Requires improvement, 3.5 miles away
- G Fairland House Good, 3.7 miles away
- G St Elmos Good, 3.8 miles away
- G St Edmunds Good, 3.9 miles away
- RI Brooklyn House Nursing Home Requires improvement, 4 miles away