Care home · Worthing
Larkswood
Typical fee here £1,400–£1,710 a week Estimate
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Illustrative photo, not of Larkswood- Address
- 3 St Botolphs Road, Worthing, BN11 4JN
- Run by
- Sound Homes Limited
- Type of provider
- Independent (private company)
- Service
- Residential care home
- Beds
- 18 (registered with CQC)
- Nursing care
- No, residential care only (CQC registration)
- Dementia
- Not listed as a specialism with CQC; ask the provider
- Garden
- Garden for residents (as stated on larkswoodcarehome.com)
- Registered with CQC
- January 2011 (15 years)
- Registered manager
- Kerry Ann Helyar
- Company check
- Active, trading since 1989 (36 years), accounts up to date (Companies House 02446531)
- Last CQC check
- 15 Nov 2024
- Typical fees Estimated
- £1,400–£1,710 a week for residential care. Our figure, worked out from published prices in the region; the real price may differ. How we estimate
Licensed by CQC for: Accommodation for persons who require nursing or personal care
More in Worthing: Care homes in Worthing (67) · Best rated care homes in Worthing · Care homes for elderly care in Worthing
CQC page for this service · CQC location ID 1-127627698
Introducing Larkswood
Larkswood is a CQC-registered residential care home in Worthing, run by Sound Homes Limited. It is registered to support older people.
At its most recent rating, CQC judged it Good overall (November 2024). It is one of 67 CQC-registered care homes in and around Worthing; 53 of those are rated Good or Outstanding.
Ratings for safety, care and leadership
- Safe72% score267 of 317 in West Sussex
- Effective75% score289 of 317 in West Sussex
- Caring70% score294 of 317 in West Sussex
- Responsive71% score286 of 317 in West Sussex
- Well-led64% score233 of 317 in West Sussex
Ratings from CQC's most recent report, published 15 November 2024. Under each rating: how many care homes in West Sussex share it.
Scores behind the rating
Behind each rating sit scores of 1 to 4 for individual quality statements, which CQC turns into a percentage for the area. Averaged across the five areas, Larkswood scores 70%.
Safe 72%
- Learning culture2 · Some shortfalls
- Safe systems, pathways and transitions3 · Good
- Safeguarding3 · Good
- Involving people to manage risks3 · Good
- Safe environments3 · Good
- Safe and effective staffing3 · Good
- Infection prevention and control3 · Good
- Medicines optimisation3 · Good
Effective 75%
- Assessing needs3 · Good
- Delivering evidence-based care and treatment3 · Good
- How staff, teams and services work together3 · Good
- Supporting people to live healthier lives3 · Good
- Monitoring and improving outcomes3 · Good
- Consent to care and treatment3 · Good
Caring 70%
- Kindness, compassion and dignity3 · Good
- Treating people as individuals3 · Good
- Independence, choice and control3 · Good
- Responding to people’s immediate needs3 · Good
- Workforce wellbeing and enablement2 · Some shortfalls
Responsive 71%
- Person-centred Care3 · Good
- Care provision, Integration and continuity2 · Some shortfalls
- Providing Information3 · Good
- Listening to and involving people3 · Good
- Equity in access3 · Good
- Equity in experiences and outcomes3 · Good
- Planning for the future3 · Good
Well-led 64%
- Shared direction and culture2 · Some shortfalls
- Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders3 · Good
- Freedom to speak up3 · Good
- Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion2 · Some shortfalls
- Governance, management and sustainability3 · Good
- Partnerships and communities2 · Some shortfalls
- Learning, improvement and innovation3 · Good
How to read the numbers: 4 exceptional, 3 good, 2 some shortfalls, 1 significant shortfalls. Published by CQC, assessed 18 April 2024, published 15 November 2024 under the Open Government Licence; a blank score means the statement was carried over unchanged.
How its rating has changed
- Dec 2015
- Mar 2017
- Aug 2018
- Aug 2019
- Jan 2023
- Nov 2024
- Today Rating 1 year old
Published CQC ratings in date order. The latest rating is an improvement on the one before.
Published inspection reports
- CQC inspection report 31 January 2023
- CQC inspection report 29 August 2019
- CQC inspection report 25 August 2018
- CQC inspection report 10 March 2017
- CQC inspection report 14 December 2015
- Inspection report 4 March 2015
Kitchen hygiene rating
The kitchen has a food hygiene rating of 5 (very good), from an inspection on 5 May 2022 by Worthing. Ask how special diets are handled and whether residents can eat when they like.
From the Food Standards Agency (listed as "Larkswood Residential & Convalescent"). Open Government Licence.
Where it is
- Ward
- Heene
- Parliamentary constituency
- Worthing West
- NHS planning area
- NHS Surrey and Sussex Integrated Care Board
- Type of area
- Urban · nearer to a major town or city
- Neighbourhood deprivation
- Among the 30% most deprived areas in England
- Postcode district
- Care homes in BN11 (56)
View on OpenStreetMap · Get directions · OpenStreetMap (ODbL)
Local amenities
- Bus stop 200 m (3 min walk) · 27 stops within 600 m
- Railway station West Worthing, 470 m (6 min walk)
- GP surgery Heene Road Surgery, 140 m (2 min walk)
- Pharmacy Paydens, 780 m (10 min walk)
- Shop Heene Convenience Store, 240 m (3 min walk)
- Park Victoria Park, 470 m (6 min walk)
- Café Heene Road Coffee, 250 m (3 min walk)
- Place of worship St Botolph, 260 m (3 min walk)
- Library Worthing Library, 1.1 km (14 min walk)
Distances are as the crow flies, from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); real walking routes will be longer and may include hills or busy roads.
Geography: ONS and NHS lookups (postcodes.io), Open Government Licence.
Key points from CQC's visit
- At the previous inspection we had concerns about safety and leadership at the home and we rated the home requires improvement in Safe and Well Led.
- Staff were now following infection control guidance and the staffing levels had improved.
- We saw there were now enough staff to support people safely.
- People knew the manager well and told us they would complain if they needed to, when we asked if there was anything they would change a person told us, “Not really.
Inspected 13 December 2022; report published 31 January 2023. In CQC's words, from its published findings (Open Government Licence). Read the full report.
What the ratings tell you
All five areas CQC looks at are rated Good for Larkswood: no single area stands out above or below the rest.
For leadership (Well-led), it shares its Good rating with 232 of the 316 other care homes in West Sussex that CQC has rated.
Under CQC's newer scoring, its strongest area is Effective at 75% and its lowest is Well-led at 64%, averaging 70% overall.
The local picture
Choice is wide here: the 25 nearest other care homes are all within 3 miles, 21 of them rated Good or Outstanding, and the closest is Hollywynd Rest Home, under 0.5 miles away.
9 of the 25 nearest rated care homes have a more recent rating than this one.
It sits in Heene ward, classed by ONS as urban (nearer to a major town or city), among the 30% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. NHS services here are planned by NHS Surrey and Sussex ICB.
Within about a 10-minute walk there is a GP surgery (2 min), a pharmacy (10 min), a shop (3 min), a park (6 min), a café (3 min), a bus stop (3 min) and a railway station (6 min), which matters for residents who can go out and for visiting family.
What it may cost
We estimate Larkswood at £1,400–£1,710 a week for residential care, based on published prices in the region. Over a year that is roughly £73k–£89k.
Ask what notice is given before a fee increase and what triggers one.
If savings are under the upper limit (£23,250 in England), West Sussex Council may pay part of the cost after a free care needs assessment.
Ownership and company checks
Larkswood is run by Sound Homes Limited (company 02446531), incorporated in 1989, 21 years before this service registered with CQC.
At Companies House, the company is listed as active, its accounts are filed on time, its confirmation statement is overdue, it has 2 active directors and there is no insolvency history.
Its registered business activity is nursing care.
How long it has been running
Larkswood has been registered with CQC since January 2011, about 15 years.
CQC has published 6 overall ratings for it (2015–2024), starting at Requires improvement; it has gone up 2 and down 1 time, and is now Good.
CQC lists 6 reports for this location, the latest dated 31 January 2023.
Registered specialisms
From the CQC register; ask how each need is met in practice.
Family reviews
No reviews yet. If you or a relative have used this care home, your review helps other families choose.
Reviews are from families and clients and are separate from CQC ratings. Each one is checked against a real email address; we publish good and bad reviews and providers cannot edit or remove them. How reviews work.
Compared with other care homes locally
- Rated Good. Across West Sussex, 84% of the 317 rated care homes are Good or Outstanding and 12 are Outstanding.
- Its rating (November 2024) is more recent than 68% of care home ratings in West Sussex.
- With 18 beds it is smaller than 70% of care homes in West Sussex, where the typical home has 28.
- Registered with CQC in 2011: it has been registered longer than 71% of care homes in the area.
- It lists 1 specialisms with CQC; the typical care home in West Sussex lists 3.
All figures compare it with other care homes in West Sussex; CQC register, Oct 2026.
Nearby options
Guides for families
Recently rated care homes near Worthing
- ChantryJun 2025
- Tenby HouseJun 2026
- Pentlands Nursing HomeSep 2026
Larkswood questions answered
- How much does care from Larkswood cost?
- Larkswood has not published its fees with us. Residential care home typically costs £1,100–£1,600 a week (typical 2026 prices in West Sussex). Get the quote in writing, including any extra charges.
- How is Larkswood rated for safety and leadership?
- By key question, CQC gave: Safe: Good; Effective: Good; Caring: Good; Responsive: Good; Well-led: Good. Safe and Well-led are the two to read first in the report.
- How many beds does Larkswood have?
- CQC registers Larkswood for 18 residents; ask about vacancies, room sizes and en-suite bathrooms.
- Which provider runs Larkswood?
- CQC lists Sound Homes Limited as the provider responsible for Larkswood.
- Does Larkswood support people with dementia?
- Its CQC registration does not list dementia. If that is a need now or later, check with the provider before deciding.
- When did CQC last rate Larkswood?
- CQC published the current rating on 15 November 2024, 1 year ago. Older ratings are common, so ask about changes since.
- What services is Larkswood registered for?
- Larkswood is registered for residential homes. Ask which of these it provides at the moment.
- What is Larkswood's address?
- It is at 3 St Botolphs Road, Worthing, BN11 4JN.
- Is Larkswood regulated by the Care Quality Commission?
- Registered, yes: location 1-127627698 on the Care Quality Commission register, listed as a care home and was rated Good overall in November 2024.
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