The Old Vicarage
At a Glance
The information you need to decide whether this home warrants a closer look.
Residential homes
Staff warmth score
of reviewers answered yes
Good to know
- Registered beds19
- SpecialismsCaring for adults over 65 yrs, Dementia
- Last inspected2018-09-27
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STAGE 4 — RESEARCHING CARE HOMES
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Most of us will view care homes the way we view houses, impression, atmosphere, the feeling in the corridor. We go home, try to remember what we saw, and make a permanent decision from a blurred memory.
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The Evidence
What the review data, the inspection reports, and the dementia-care evidence base tell us about this home.
What families say
Families describe how staff take time to understand each person during those crucial first weeks. The team stays in regular contact with relatives, providing updates and working together to help residents feel comfortable in their new surroundings.
The eight family priority themes
- Staff warmth55
- Compassion & dignity55
- Cleanliness55
- Activities & engagement52
- Food quality52
- Healthcare52
- Management & leadership58
- Resident happiness55
What inspectors found
Inspected 2018-09-27
Is this home safe?
Is the care effective?
The inspection rated this domain Good. Effectiveness covers training, care planning, health monitoring, GP access, and food quality. No specific findings are recorded — no detail on dementia training content, care plan review cycles, medication competency checks, or how the home monitors weight and nutrition. The Good rating suggests these processes were found to be in place, but without specifics it is not possible to confirm how robust they are in practice.Is this home caring?
The inspection rated this domain Good. Caring covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, privacy, and whether your parent is treated as an individual. No direct observations, resident comments, or relative feedback are recorded in the available text. The absence of any concerns in a Good rating is meaningful — inspectors observed nothing that warranted a lower score — but without quotes or specific descriptions it is impossible to convey what interactions actually look like in this home.Is the home responsive?
The inspection rated this domain Good. Responsiveness covers activities, individual engagement, how well the home responds to each person's preferences and needs, and end-of-life care planning. No activity schedules, individual engagement records, or examples of person-centred responses are recorded in the available text. The home's small size of 19 beds could mean a more responsive, less institutional environment — but this is an inference, not an inspection finding.Is the home well-led?
The inspection rated this domain Good. The home is run by a named provider (Mr Kamal Dawood Siddiqi) with a registered manager (Mrs Susan Wilson). Well-led covers management visibility, staff culture, governance, and whether the home learns from incidents. No detail is available on manager tenure, staff turnover, audit processes, or how the home has responded to any complaints or incidents. The July 2023 monitoring review found no reason to change the rating, which suggests no serious concerns have emerged in the period since the 2021 inspection.
Source: CQC inspection report →
What the evidence base says
The Old Vicarage specialises in caring for people over 65, with particular experience in dementia care. The home's approach to dementia focuses on gentle transitions and maintaining familiar routines. Staff adapt the environment and daily structure to help each person feel secure and settled. All areas worth probing directly during a visit.
The DCC Verdict
Our editorial view, built from the three lenses: what families tell us, what inspectors record, and how the home sits against good dementia-care practice.
DCC Family Score
Every domain rated Good at the last inspection, but the report text contains almost no specific observations, quotes, or direct evidence — scores reflect a Good rating with insufficient detail to go higher than the mid-range of the 'mentioned' band.
Homes in North West typically score 68–82.The three-lens summary
What families tell us
Families describe how staff take time to understand each person during those crucial first weeks. The team stays in regular contact with relatives, providing updates and working together to help residents feel comfortable in their new surroundings.
What inspectors have recorded
Staff here show genuine respect and kindness that families notice stays consistent over time. The team keeps relatives informed through regular phone calls and updates, particularly helpful when visiting might be difficult.
How it sits against good practice
Worth arranging a visit to see if this tranquil Cumbrian home could be the right place for your family.
Worth a visit
The Old Vicarage is a small, 19-bed residential home in Grange-over-Sands specialising in care for older adults and people living with dementia. At its last full inspection in January 2021, it received a Good rating across all five domains — Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive, and Well-led. A monitoring review in July 2023 found no reason to reassess that rating. On paper, this is a home that is doing its job adequately and consistently. The significant limitation here is that the published inspection report contains almost no detail — no direct quotes from residents or relatives, no specific inspector observations, and no descriptions of day-to-day life in the home. A Good rating is genuinely meaningful, but it tells you very little about what life actually looks like for your mum or dad. Before committing, you should visit at a quiet time (not just during a planned tour), ask specifically how many permanent staff are on the dementia unit after 8pm, request to see recent activity records, and find out when care plans were last reviewed with family involvement. The home's small size — 19 beds — can be a real strength for dementia care, but only if staffing ratios and individual attention are genuinely maintained.
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In Their Own Words
How The Old Vicarage describes itself — collected from its own website. DCC has not edited or independently verified the content in this tab.
Peaceful Cumbrian setting where residents settle in gently
Compassionate Care in Grange Over Sands at The Old Vicarage
When someone you love needs dementia care, finding somewhere that feels right matters deeply. The Old Vicarage in Grange Over Sands offers exactly that — a calm environment where new residents are given time and attention to feel at home. Set in this quiet Lake District town, the care home focuses on helping people adjust at their own pace.
Who they care for
The Old Vicarage specialises in caring for people over 65, with particular experience in dementia care.
The home's approach to dementia focuses on gentle transitions and maintaining familiar routines. Staff adapt the environment and daily structure to help each person feel secure and settled.
“Worth arranging a visit to see if this tranquil Cumbrian home could be the right place for your family.”
DCC does not edit or curate content in this tab. For independently curated information, see The Evidence and DCC Verdict.
The DCC Verdict
Our editorial view, built from the three lenses: what families tell us, what inspectors record, and how the home sits against good dementia-care practice.
DCC Family Score
Every domain rated Good at the last inspection, but the report text contains almost no specific observations, quotes, or direct evidence — scores reflect a Good rating with insufficient detail to go higher than the mid-range of the 'mentioned' band.
Homes in North West typically score 68–82.The three-lens summary
What families tell us
Families describe how staff take time to understand each person during those crucial first weeks. The team stays in regular contact with relatives, providing updates and working together to help residents feel comfortable in their new surroundings.
What inspectors have recorded
Staff here show genuine respect and kindness that families notice stays consistent over time. The team keeps relatives informed through regular phone calls and updates, particularly helpful when visiting might be difficult.
How it sits against good practice
Worth arranging a visit to see if this tranquil Cumbrian home could be the right place for your family.
Worth a visit
The Old Vicarage is a small, 19-bed residential home in Grange-over-Sands specialising in care for older adults and people living with dementia. At its last full inspection in January 2021, it received a Good rating across all five domains — Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive, and Well-led. A monitoring review in July 2023 found no reason to reassess that rating. On paper, this is a home that is doing its job adequately and consistently. The significant limitation here is that the published inspection report contains almost no detail — no direct quotes from residents or relatives, no specific inspector observations, and no descriptions of day-to-day life in the home. A Good rating is genuinely meaningful, but it tells you very little about what life actually looks like for your mum or dad. Before committing, you should visit at a quiet time (not just during a planned tour), ask specifically how many permanent staff are on the dementia unit after 8pm, request to see recent activity records, and find out when care plans were last reviewed with family involvement. The home's small size — 19 beds — can be a real strength for dementia care, but only if staffing ratios and individual attention are genuinely maintained.
The three questions to ask when you visitSave this home. Compare it against your shortlist.
Let our analysis show you how The Old Vicarage measures up against the other homes you’re considering. Free account.
In Their Own Words
How The Old Vicarage describes itself — collected from its own website. DCC has not edited or independently verified the content in this tab.
Peaceful Cumbrian setting where residents settle in gently
Compassionate Care in Grange Over Sands at The Old Vicarage
When someone you love needs dementia care, finding somewhere that feels right matters deeply. The Old Vicarage in Grange Over Sands offers exactly that — a calm environment where new residents are given time and attention to feel at home. Set in this quiet Lake District town, the care home focuses on helping people adjust at their own pace.
Who they care for
The Old Vicarage specialises in caring for people over 65, with particular experience in dementia care.
The home's approach to dementia focuses on gentle transitions and maintaining familiar routines. Staff adapt the environment and daily structure to help each person feel secure and settled.
Management & ethos
Staff here show genuine respect and kindness that families notice stays consistent over time. The team keeps relatives informed through regular phone calls and updates, particularly helpful when visiting might be difficult.
The home & environment
The kitchen prepares proper home-cooked meals daily, with fresh ingredients and varied menus that include proper puddings. Residents enjoy supervised walks in the village and time in the maintained gardens when weather permits.
“Worth arranging a visit to see if this tranquil Cumbrian home could be the right place for your family.”
DCC does not edit or curate content in this tab. For independently curated information, see The Evidence and DCC Verdict.
