SafeAre people protected from abuse and avoidable harm?Good
EffectiveDoes care achieve good outcomes and a good quality of life?Good
CaringAre staff kind, compassionate and respectful?Good
ResponsiveAre services organised to meet people's needs?Good
Well-ledIs the home well managed, with a culture of high-quality care?Good
CQC hasn't inspected this home for more than 5 years. It re-inspects based on risk, so an old rating doesn't count against a home on this site, but it may not reflect the home today. ?
Birchwood Bungalow is a 7-bed residential care home in St Albans, Hertfordshire, run by Voyage 1 Limited. It is registered to care for older people, younger adults and people with a learning disability or autism. The typical home in Hertfordshire has 30 beds, so this one is on the small side.
Its CQC rating, from September 2019, is Good across the board: overall and for every key question. That matches its previous rating, from February 2017. The rating is more than 5 years old. In Hertfordshire, 53% of ratings are that old (see how rating age varies by council).
Voyage 1 Limited runs 241 care homes, and 217 of the 238 rated are Good or Outstanding. About 0.9 km away, Tenterden House Care Home is rated Outstanding. Across Hertfordshire, 76% of rated homes are Good or Outstanding, against 82% for England. The kitchen has a food hygiene rating of 5 (very good), from January 2026. That is true of 92% of homes in Hertfordshire.
