Working at The Old Vicarage
26 Cottage Road, Wooler, NE71 6AD
Operated by People First Care (Wooler) Limited
28 bedsResidential homes
Workplace Score
4.9/10
AI analysis of latest data
Our AI workplace review
PlainSight AI Review
Last updated: 10 February 2026
Score: 4.9/10
Key Finding
"Strong team culture and engaging activities, with safe staffing and good training, but weak risk assessments and management oversight are holding it back."
Safety & Risk
3/10
✕
Risk assessments were in place, but they did not always include appropriate mitigation or actions taken to reduce risks... Staff had not always reported accidents and incidents fully.
Staff Culture
6/10
✓
Staff said management were approachable. We observed staff working well as a team, supporting each other. A staff member said, “Yes we do (have good staff morale) - it is a good team.”
Staffing Levels
5/10
!
Staffing levels were safe with a good skill mix per shift. There were processes in place to safely care for people in the event of staff absences.
Training & Dev
5/10
!
Per 2022 comprehensive inspection: Staff were suitably trained and supported.
Management
4/10
!
The provider and registered manager had not identified several issues we found during the inspection relating to risk assessments, incident analysis and care plans.
Programmes
6/10
✓
Per 2022 comprehensive inspection: activities coordinator, 'Three wishes' project to help people engage including ice skating, swimming, seaside trips; people supported to library, walks, dances.
Points to consider
Risk assessments and accident records are weak and miss key fixes, so safety problems like falls keep happening.
Risk assessments did not always include appropriate mitigation or actions taken to reduce risks. Some information was generic... Staff had not always reported accidents and incidents fully.
Managers missed big issues with risks and care records, so leadership oversight is not strong enough.
The provider and registered manager had not identified several issues we found during the inspection relating to risk assessments, incident analysis and care plans. Governance checks had not identified the issues.
Staffing is adequate but gets stretched in busy mornings, with relatives saying more staff are needed then.
Relatives were concerned... whether there were enough staff at busy times of the day... It is terribly busy in the mornings... more staff could be employed for this time.
AI Generated
CQC Inspection Overview
CQC Inspection
Last inspected: November 2025
Requires improvement
Safe
!
Requires improvement
Effective
✓
Good
Caring
✓
Good
Responsive
✓
Good
Management Quality
Well-led: Requires improvement
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- Care Quality Commission (CQC) Inspection Data
- PlainSight staff reviews