England

Rated:GoodResidential

Sandpiper Care Home

16 South Street, Alford, LN13 9AQ

01507462112

Care Type

Residential Care

Assessment date

5 March 2026

Provider

Tanglewood Care Services Limited

Beds

30 beds

How this home compares nearby

Of 16 care homes for older people within 10 miles, none are rated higher by CQC, 12 are the same and 4 are lower.

None of these nearby homes has been inspected more recently than this one.

Based on CQC ratings, updated 21 October 2026. How we compare homes | See the nearby homes

Rating history

GoodMay 2026

First inspected by CQC in 2026, rated Good.

Source: CQC inspection reports. Contains CQC data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Costs and who runs this home

Run by Tanglewood Care Services Limited, which runs 6 care homes in England: 5 rated Good and 1 Requires Improvement.

Average care home fees in the East Midlands: £958 a week for residential care and £1,250 for nursing care (2024-25 averages). Self-funders usually pay more. See our care home costs guide.

This home lists dementia care, which usually costs more than standard residential care. See dementia care home costs. NHS Continuing Healthcare may apply where someone's needs are primarily health needs.
How to pay for a care home explains the council means test, what counts as capital and the funding you can ask to be assessed for.

About Sandpiper Care Home

Sandpiper Care Home is a residential care home in Lincolnshire, providing personal care without nursing for older people. The findings below set out the CQC's most recent assessment of the service.

Sandpiper Care Home in Lincolnshire provides personal care without nursing for older people, including those living with dementia and physical disabilities. The CQC rated the service Good overall. Inspectors found medicines, infection control and safeguarding well managed, and staff were generally warm, kind and respectful, with people supported to maintain choice and independence.

Food and mealtime experiences were particularly praised.

However, leadership was rated Requires Improvement. Staffing levels and gaps in skills sometimes affected support during distress, records and involvement of relatives were inconsistent, and not all staff felt confident to raise concerns. The CQC found governance systems identified problems but did not clearly show how improvements benefited people or staff.

Source: CQC assessment, 28 May 2026

Specialist Care

DementiaMental healthOlder peoplePhysical disabilitiesSensory impairmentsYounger adults

Photographs of the home

Practical details from the provider

Facilities include a hair salon, bar, shared lounges, landscaped gardens and restaurant-style dining room.
Residents can take part in gardening in the greenhouse, sewing and crafts with local volunteers.

Published on the provider's website, checked 21 September 2026. Confirm arrangements with the home before deciding.

Fees and availability

We have not verified a current weekly fee for this home. Ask for a written quote based on the room and care needed, including any extra charges.

Check current vacancies, the admission assessment and visiting arrangements directly with the home.

Care and inspection details

Checked against the CQC register on 21 September 2026. This is a check of published information, not a visit to the home.

Registered service: Care home service without nursing
Registered capacity: 30 places — this is not a vacancy count
Registration checked: Registered · LN13 9AQ

Registered care categories

Caring for adults over 65 yrs; Caring for adults under 65 yrs; Dementia; Mental health conditions; Physical disabilities; Sensory impairment.

These describe the registration. The home must assess whether it can meet the individual person's needs and whether a place is available.

CQC ratings in more detail

Overall rating shown by CQC: Good.

Assessment published 28 May 2026. Assessment date recorded: 5 March 2026.

Read CQC's assessment overview

The following is CQC's published account of its assessment, published 28 May 2026. References to “we” mean CQC. It describes findings at that time.

Date of inspection: 7, 8 and 14 April 2026. The service is a care home without nursing, supporting older people and people living with dementia and physical disabilities.
Safeguarding, medicines management, infection control and the environment were safe and well managed. Systems for transitions and risk management worked well. However, staffing levels and some gaps in skills meant people were not always supported consistently at times of distress. Records and staff knowledge about responding to distress needed improvement, although action had started.
People’s needs were assessed and care was based on evidence and good partnership working. Staff supported people to live healthier lives and consent was managed well. Monitoring systems focused more on tasks than on people’s experiences and outcomes. Records were sometimes inconsistent and relatives did not always feel involved in reviews.
Most people experienced kind, respectful care and staff were observed to be warm and supportive. People were treated as individuals and supported to maintain choice, independence and control and gave positive feedback about their care. However, the language used in some records and by some staff was not always respectful. Support to anticipate and reduce emotional distress was not always effective and staff wellbeing was not consistently supported.
Person-centred care was promoted and coordinated, with good information sharing and accessible communication. People generally felt listened to. However, feedback and involvement did not always lead to clear improvements and outcomes were not consistently shared with people. The service planned well for future and end of life needs, though staff training in this area was limited.
Leaders promoted an open and inclusive vision and worked well with partners. Governance systems identified risks and learning and leaders responded quickly to concerns. However, the culture was not fully embedded. Some staff did not feel confident to speak up, felt unfairly treated and did not always feel supported. Governance and improvement work did not clearly show how actions improved people’s experiences or supported staff wellbeing, so it was not clear if care improved quality of life.

Safe: Good
Effective: Good
Caring: Good
Responsive: Good
Well-led: Requires Improvement

Questions prompted by these ratings

Well-led: What has changed in management, checks and oversight since this rating?

These are questions for your visit, not a claim about conditions today.

Read Sandpiper Care Home's CQC record and reports.

Contains Care Quality Commission information under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Ratings and registration details can change after the date checked.

5 Questions to Ask on Your Visit

When visiting Sandpiper Care Home, consider asking...

1.What specific dementia training do staff receive and how recently?
2.How do you support a resident who becomes distressed or confused?
3.How does the home keep a record of a resident's life history and personal preferences?
4.How do you involve families as dementia progresses and communication becomes harder?
5.What happens when a resident's dementia reaches an advanced stage?

5 Things to Look For on Your Visit

When you visit Sandpiper Care Home, look out for...

1.Is the environment calm, uncluttered and easy to navigate?
2.Do staff speak to residents with patience and dignity, even if they repeat themselves?
3.Are there memory cues around the home -- photos, familiar objects, clear signage?
4.Do residents seem settled and safe, or agitated and unsupervised?
5.Is there meaningful activity happening, or are residents just sitting quietly with nothing to do?

Could the NHS fund Sandpiper Care Home's fees?

The average nursing home costs £1,535 per week. That's £79,820 a year. NHS Continuing Healthcare could cover all of it. No means test, no contribution from you.

Find out if the NHS could fund these fees