Independent. Family‑run. Local since 1968.
One business, two CQC‑registered branches, and a team that has spent the better part of six decades caring for older people in this corner of Berkshire and South Oxfordshire.
We’re a home care provider, not a national chain. No franchise, no private equity — just an independent, family‑run business with deep roots in this corner of the country.
The fundamentals of good care aren’t complicated. We’ve simply spent a long time getting them right.
A bit more about who we are.
Three places to start, depending on what you’d like to know.
Family‑run since 1968.
Founded by Dorothy Gardiner in Caversham in 1968. Family‑run ever since — though not always by the same family. The story of how a small Caversham agency became one of the longest‑standing home care providers in Berkshire.
Read our history
The people who do the work.
Carers, coordinators, and managers — nearly all of whom live within a few miles of the people they look after. Our carers stay an average of eight years. Meet the office team, and learn how we recruit, train and look after the people we send into your home.
Meet the team
What we won’t compromise on.
Minimum visits of an hour. Continuity of carer. Carers paid above sector average, properly employed and properly trained. The principles aren’t marketing — they’re the constraints we run the business by.
Our valuesNot an average care company.
Most home care in the UK is delivered by national franchises, or by agencies running on tight margins and short visits. We’ve chosen to run the business differently.
- 01
Independent and answerable.
No franchise contract, no private equity or corporation in control. The directors are based in our office in Caversham — the same town the business was founded in. If something goes wrong, you’re speaking to the people who can put it right.
- 02
Good carers, treated well
Our carers are paid far above the sector average, get sick pay, holiday pay and proper training. It’s why most stay for years rather than months — and why your loved one sees the same familiar faces.
- 03
An hour, at minimum.
We don’t do fifteen‑ or thirty‑minute calls. There isn’t time in them to do the job, let alone the human bits around it. Every visit is an hour or longer.
- 04
Two separately registered branches.
Our visiting‑care branch in Caversham and our live‑in branch are each independently registered with the Care Quality Commission, with their own management and their own inspections. It’s how we make sure each side of the business is run on its own merits, not lumped together.
- 05
Local, actually local.
Our carers don’t commute in from another county. Most live within a few miles of the people they visit, in the villages and towns we’ve covered for decades. They know the area — and increasingly, the families.
Have a quick chat with someone who’s actually here.
Five or ten minutes on the phone. No script, no pressure — just an honest conversation about what you're navigating and whether we can help.
Mon–Fri 7:30am–5pm · Out of hours, leave a message and we’ll call back.
