How the ‘House on the Steep Hill’ Became the Home from Home

By Scott Chambers, Marketing and Communications Assistant

I was stood in the office at one of our homes in Nottinghamshire (Tigh Fruin) waiting to speak to Susan Williams about the recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) report for the home.

As I looked around, the first thing that struck me was how ‘homely’ it was and how everyone felt really close and happy. A bit of a cliché I know, but as I have only been in post for two months, that was the overwhelming sense that I got.

Susan walked through the door holding the hand of a resident who was leading her to the computer. “Can you just bear with me please”, she said as she leant over to the computer. “I’ve just got to put some music on.”

She spoke to the resident to see what music they wanted, and you could see the empathy, understanding and kindness she has radiate towards the person. The music started and the resident’s face lit up. They got out of their seat and walked towards me, reaching for my hand and started to dance with me – what a wonderful and joyful way to start a Friday and introduce me to the home!

Susan Williams was the registered manager for Tigh Fruin from April 2024 to November 2025 (she has since moved to another Kisimul home in Nottinghamshire).

Situated in Hayton near Retford, Tigh Fruin means ‘house on steep hill’ and is a six-bedroom property which was rated as ‘requires improvement’ by the CQC in 2021.

Susan’s mission was to create a home for people in which they could thrive and live a life that was truly meaningful for them, and in tandem, lead the service to getting a CQC rating that really reflected the quality of life for the people who lived there.

The most recent report, released in March 2026, now shows the home to be ‘outstanding’, something which Susan is very proud of, but says she could not have achieved without the support of the staff.

“When I opened the letter with the result, I screamed, I was delighted. The staff thought I had hurt myself and rushed in to see if I was ok, but I was simply overjoyed. It wasn’t so much a surprise, as I knew the home was performing well, but it was sheer joy and it gives you some reassurance to know that what you are doing is worthwhile and you are doing a good job.

“I couldn’t have done it without the staff. Yes, I was the registered manager, but without them none of this would be possible, so a lot of the credit goes to them.”.

With a background in caring, Susan has worked at Mencap, been a support worker and worked her way up to become a registered manager for Kisimul. “I knew I wanted to work in the health and social care setting as I often cared for a disabled relative, but didn’t know what sort of role, so I have done various jobs”, said Susan.

One of the key statements from the report stated they had:

Found significant improvements to the care people received. There was a clear cultural overhaul, which the registered manager is credited with being a central part of. Staff displayed exceptional kindness and worked tirelessly to give people a higher quality of life.

After I had read this statement to Susan, I simply posed the question “what was the first thing you did?”.

Susan said, “When I first got appointed as manager at Tigh Fruin, we did not have any residents, so it gave me chance to visit other homes, help out, see how it worked and what was being done, and then we started to get our first residents in June 2024.”

She went on to explain that she wanted to create a home for residents and for them to be involved in how their home looked. To start this process, all residents who move in undergo a transition period. So, together with her staff they would meet the resident on a regular basis so they can get used to each other.

The first resident was identified and a plan put into place.

“We would often travel in excess of 200 miles, where Paige and I would go and see them once a week and then when they did start to get used to us, they would come to the home”, said Susan. “During this period, it was essential for me that we created a bond, that they could trust us. We would show them around the home, get them involved in activities, showed them their room and what kind of things would be in there.

“The resident originates from a different country and their culture is really important to them, so one of the key things we did was to put their country’s flag on their wall. This made them feel at home.

“We have all been in homes that feel clinical and like a care home. We did not want that, we wanted to create a place that felt homely, that they called their home and they could personalise their own space to suit them as individuals and that their families could see and experience the type of fulfilling life their relative would live.”

This person-centric approach is continuously mentioned in the CQC report and runs through every aspect of the house. From personalising the residents own bedrooms to creating bespoke goal boards around a person’s interests; and actively involving the person in their own care planning to how they worked with education providers to ensure that learned skills were consistently reinforced. It is these points that have made Tigh Fruin outstanding.

It is the latter of these points that really makes Tigh Fruin stand out. Since opening the satellite education facility in the grounds of the home, the residents have gone from strength to strength. They are taught as individuals and the teaching practices are adapted to each person and their needs.

Nicola Lilley is the Satellite College Tutor and works very closely with the staff at the home to give the residents a fulfilling education.

She explained how pleased she felt after hearing the announcement. “The team’s worked really hard to get it from requires improvement to outstanding. I think the additional thing of us opening the satellite college here has really benefitted the people we support, offering them a meaningful life. I am absolutely delighted.”

I posed exactly the same question to both Susan and Nicola, which was, “what would you say to someone who was thinking of placing their son, daughter or relative with Kisimul?”. They echoed the same sentiments.

“As a mother, would I put my child in this placement? The answer would definitely be, yes. They do get a meaningful life, they are treated as individuals and we have the expertise, the knowledge and the staff to be able to care for people properly and give them the life they deserve in a home they deserve.”.

I started this story by saying that Tigh Fruin felt ‘homely’. And if anyone walked into the property they would be overwhelmed by the compassion and kindness shown by the staff and how at home you feel as soon as you walk through the door.

This was something Susan and her staff wanted to create from the outset and I can honestly say they have achieved this in abundance.

You can read the full CQC report by visiting their website.