Care home · Sunderland
Thornhill
Illustrative photo, not of Thornhill- Address
- 21 Thornhill Park, Sunderland, SR2 7LA
- Run by
- North East Autism Society (16 services)
- Service
- Residential care home
- Beds
- 7 (registered with CQC)
- Registered with CQC
- February 2013 (13 years)
- Registered manager
- Louise Irwin
- Company check
- Active, trading since 1993 (33 years), accounts up to date (Companies House 02859620)
- Last CQC check
- 4 Oct 2023
- Typical fees Estimated
- £1,070–£1,300 a week for residential care. Our figure, worked out from published prices in the region; the real price may differ. How we estimate
Registered activities: Accommodation for persons who require nursing or personal care
Full report at cqc.org.uk · CQC location ID 1-548267262
The service in brief
Thornhill is a CQC-registered residential care home in Sunderland, run by North East Autism Society. Its CQC registration covers adults under 65, including people living with learning disabilities.
At its most recent rating, CQC judged it Good overall (October 2023). It is one of 49 CQC-registered care homes in and around Sunderland; 46 of those are rated Good or Outstanding.
Track record
Thornhill has been registered with CQC since February 2013, about 13 years.
CQC has published 4 overall ratings for it (2016–2023), starting at Good and staying Good every time.
No new overall rating has been published for 3 years. CQC re-inspects based on risk, so an old rating is not a bad sign in itself, but staff and management may have changed.
5 reports have been published for this location, most recently on 4 October 2023.
The five key questions
- Safe80 of 87 in Sunderland
- Effective80 of 87 in Sunderland
- Caring75 of 87 in Sunderland
- Responsive77 of 87 in Sunderland
- Well-led76 of 87 in Sunderland
From CQC's latest report, published 4 October 2023. Under each rating: how many care homes in Sunderland share it.
The registered provider
Thornhill is run by North East Autism Society (company 02859620), incorporated in 1993, 19 years before this service registered with CQC.
At Companies House, the company is listed as active, its accounts are filed on time, its confirmation statement is overdue, it has 11 active directors and there is no insolvency history.
Its registered business activity is care for people with learning disabilities, mental health problems or substance misuse.
North East Autism Society runs 16 CQC-registered services across 2 council areas; 15 of the 16 with a rating are Good or Outstanding (94%), against 83% for the same mix of services across England.
14 of its services are in Sunderland.
Rating history
- Jan 2016
- Feb 2018
- Apr 2021
- Oct 2023
- Today Rating 3 years old
Overall ratings CQC has published for this location, oldest first. The latest rating is an improvement on the one before.
Reports on the CQC website
- CQC inspection report 4 October 2023
- CQC inspection report 22 April 2021
- CQC inspection report 8 February 2018
- CQC inspection report 15 January 2016
- Inspection report 13 August 2013
Food safety inspection
The kitchen has a food hygiene rating of 5 (very good), from an inspection on 6 March 2020 by Sunderland. Meals matter in a care home: ask to see a menu and whether residents can choose.
From the Food Standards Agency (listed as "North East Autism Society - Thornhill Unit (21 Thornhill PK)"). Open Government Licence.
Location and local area
- Ward
- Tunstall & Humbledon
- Council
- Sunderland City Council · paying for care
- Parliamentary constituency
- Sunderland Central
- NHS integrated care board
- NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board
- Area classification
- Urban: nearer to a major town or city
- Neighbourhood deprivation
- Among the 40% most deprived areas in England
- Postcode district
- Care homes in SR2 (30)
Open the full map · Plan a journey · © OpenStreetMap contributors
Around the building
- Bus stop 70 m (1 min walk) · 41 stops within 600 m
- Railway station University, 500 m (6 min walk)
- GP surgery Park Lane Practice, 550 m (7 min walk)
- Pharmacy Boots, 970 m (12 min walk)
- Shop Ashbrooke Store, 390 m (5 min walk)
- Park 340 m (4 min walk)
- Café Phase 2 Cafe, 580 m (7 min walk)
- Place of worship Burn Park Methodist Church, 420 m (5 min walk)
- Library The Murray Library, 590 m (7 min walk)
From OpenStreetMap data (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), measured in a straight line, so allow extra for the actual route on foot.
Local area facts: ONS and NHS geography via postcodes.io, Open Government Licence.
Choice nearby
Choice is wide here: the 25 nearest other care homes are all within 3 miles, 24 of them rated Good or Outstanding, and the closest is Thorncliffe House, under 0.5 miles away.
10 of the 25 nearest rated care homes have a more recent rating than this one.
It sits in Tunstall & Humbledon ward, classed by ONS as urban (nearer to a major town or city), among the 40% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. NHS services here are planned by NHS North East and North Cumbria ICB.
Within about a 10-minute walk there is a GP surgery (7 min), a shop (5 min), a park (4 min), a café (7 min), a bus stop (1 min) and a railway station (6 min), which matters for residents who can go out and for visiting family.
What inspectors found
- The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of right support, right care, right culture.
- Right support: The service maximised people's choice, control and independence.
- Staff were safely recruited and received an induction followed by training from the provider.
- Training was monitored and staff were supported with regular meetings and supervisions.
Inspected 5 July 2023; report published 4 October 2023. From the regulator's own summary (Open Government Licence). Read the full report.
Costs to expect
We estimate Thornhill at £1,070–£1,300 a week for residential care, based on published prices in the region. Over a year that is roughly £56k–£68k.
Get the extras in writing: items such as hairdressing and outings are usually charged on top.
If savings are under the upper limit (£23,250 in England), Sunderland Council may pay part of the cost after a free care needs assessment.
Reading Thornhill's CQC ratings
Thornhill has an even profile: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led are each rated Good.
For leadership (Well-led), it shares its Good rating with 75 of the 86 other care homes in Sunderland that CQC has rated.
Registered specialisms
From the CQC register; ask how each need is met in practice.
Family reviews
Be the first to review Thornhill. Your experience helps other families choose.
Reviews are from families and clients and are separate from CQC ratings. Each one is checked against a real email address; we publish good and bad reviews and providers cannot edit or remove them. How reviews work.
How Thornhill compares
- Rated Good. Across Sunderland, 93% of the 87 rated care homes are Good or Outstanding and 7 are Outstanding.
- Its rating (October 2023) is more recent than 66% of care home ratings in Sunderland.
- With 7 beds it is smaller than 72% of care homes in Sunderland, where the typical home has 35.
- Registered with CQC in 2013: it has been registered longer than 53% of care homes in the area.
- It lists 2 specialisms with CQC; the typical care home in Sunderland lists 3.
All figures compare it with other care homes in Sunderland; CQC register, Oct 2026.
Other care homes close by
Guides for families
Sunderland: care homes inspected recently
- MoorpineApr 2026
- InverthorneApr 2026
- The CourtApr 2026
Thornhill: common questions
- Can Thornhill care for someone with dementia?
- No dementia specialism is recorded with CQC. Ask the provider directly if this is likely to matter.
- When was Thornhill last inspected?
- CQC published the current rating on 4 October 2023, 3 years ago. Older ratings are common, so ask about changes since.
- What type of care does Thornhill provide?
- Thornhill is registered with CQC for: residential homes. Ask the provider which needs it can meet now and as needs change.
- Where is Thornhill based?
- It is at 21 Thornhill Park, Sunderland, SR2 7LA.
- Is Thornhill regulated by the Care Quality Commission?
- It is. The CQC register records Thornhill as a care home, location ID 1-548267262 and was rated Good overall in October 2023.
- How much does Thornhill charge?
- We don't have published prices from Thornhill yet. Residential care home typically costs £1,095 a week (average 2026 self-funder fees in North East). Ask for written prices covering weekends, bank holidays and any travel or set-up charges.
- Is Thornhill rated well for safety?
- The five CQC areas: Safe: Good; Effective: Good; Caring: Good; Responsive: Good; Well-led: Good. Safe and Well-led are the two to read first in the report.
- How big is Thornhill?
- Thornhill is registered for up to 7 residents. Ask about current vacancies and whether rooms have en-suite facilities.
- Who runs Thornhill?
- North East Autism Society is the registered provider for Thornhill.
Care homes in neighbouring towns
In Sunderland
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CQC register information as at Oct 2026, reused under Open Government Licence v3.0. Where the provider has written text, we say so. We list and compare services; we do not run any.