Home care agency · Shildon
Highlea Care Limited
Typical fee here £29–£35.50 an hour Estimate
Free · 2 minutes · No obligation · 34,334 registered providers compared
Illustrative photo, not of Highlea Care Limited- Address
- Shildon Business Centre, Dabble Duck Industrial Estate, Shildon, DL4 2RF
- Run by
- Highlea Care Limited (2 services)
- Type of provider
- Independent (private company)
- Service
- Home care agency, Supported living
- Dementia
- Registered with CQC to support people living with dementia
- Registered with CQC
- April 2015 (11 years)
- Part of
- National Care Group
- Registered manager
- Julie Cowens
- Company check
- Active, trading since 2007 (19 years), accounts up to date (Companies House 06341478)
- Last CQC check
- 15 Jan 2026
- Typical fees Estimated
- £29–£35.50 an hour for visiting care, weekdays; live-in £1,450–£1,770 a week. Our figure, worked out from published prices in the region; the real price may differ. How we estimate
Regulated activities on its registration: Personal care
More in Bishop Auckland: Home care in Bishop Auckland (21) · Best rated home care agencies in Bishop Auckland · Dementia care at home in Bishop Auckland · Elderly care at home in Bishop Auckland · Physical disability care at home in Bishop Auckland · Live-in care in Bishop Auckland
Open CQC's full report · CQC location ID 1-1962396337
About Highlea Care Limited
Registered with CQC as a home care agency that also provides supported living, Highlea Care Limited is based in Shildon. It supports adults of all ages, with registered specialisms in dementia, physical disabilities, learning disabilities, mental health conditions and sight or hearing loss.
There is no published CQC rating yet; newly registered services are usually rated after their first inspection. It is one of 21 CQC-registered home care agencies that have an office within 7 miles of Bishop Auckland; 12 of those are rated Good or Outstanding.
Key points from CQC's visit
- The service is a supported living service providing support to adults of all ages living with learning disabilities, physical disabilities and mental health conditions.
- Staffing levels were monitored but were sometimes not enough to cover people’s support needs in a timely manner.
- The provider was taking action to try and improve this.
- We visited people living in 6 supported living services, spending time with them and observing interactions to gain an understanding of the support they received.
Inspected 26 November 2019; report published 7 December 2019. Source: CQC's published findings, reused under the Open Government Licence. Read the full report.
How long it has been running
CQC registration dates from April 2015, so the service has been operating for around 11 years under its current registration.
CQC has published 4 overall ratings for it (2016–2026), starting at Good; it has gone up 1 and down 1 time, and is now Requires Improvement.
Reports on record: 3, with the most recent dated 7 December 2019.
The company behind Highlea Care Limited
Highlea Care Limited is run by Highlea Care Limited (company 06341478), incorporated in 2007, 7 years before this service registered with CQC.
At Companies House, the company is listed as active, its accounts are filed on time, it has 8 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.
Highlea Care Limited runs 2 CQC-registered services across 2 council areas.
It trades under the National Care Group brand, which covers 49 services run by 17 registered providers.
What it may cost
We estimate visits from Highlea Care Limited at £29–£35.50 an hour (visiting care, weekdays), based on published prices in the region. As an example, an hour each morning and a 30-minute evening call comes to about £340 a week.
For live-in care, expect around £1,450–£1,770 a week in this region.
If savings are under the upper limit (£23,250 in England), County Durham Council may pay part of the cost after a free care needs assessment.
Needs it is registered to meet
As listed with the regulator.
The local picture
There are 10 other agencies within 3 miles, 7 of them rated Good or Outstanding; the nearest is Beechfield Care & Support Limited, 1.7 miles away.
It sits in Shildon & Dene Valley ward, classed by ONS as larger rural (nearer to a major town or city), among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. NHS services here are planned by NHS North East and North Cumbria ICB.
Ratings over time
- Apr 2016
- Jan 2019
- Dec 2019
- Jan 2026
- Today
Published CQC ratings in date order. The latest rating is lower than the one before.
CQC documents
- CQC inspection report 7 December 2019
- CQC inspection report 4 January 2019
- CQC inspection report 19 April 2016
Location and local area
- Ward
- Shildon & Dene Valley
- Council
- Durham County Council · paying for care
- Parliamentary constituency
- Bishop Auckland
- NHS area (integrated care board)
- NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board
- Type of area
- Larger rural; nearer to a major town or city
- Neighbourhood deprivation
- Among the 20% most deprived areas in England
Bigger map · Directions · Map data: OpenStreetMap contributors
Geography: ONS and NHS lookups (postcodes.io), Open Government Licence. Care happens at home, not here: this is where the agency is run from.
CQC ratings, area by area
- Safe
- Effective
- Caring
- Responsive
- Well-led
CQC key question ratings.
Family reviews
Nobody has reviewed Highlea Care Limited here yet. Have you used it? A short, honest review helps the next family decide.
We check every review against a working email address and publish positive and negative ones alike; providers can reply but cannot remove them. Reviews are separate from CQC ratings. How reviews work.
Highlea Care Limited against its area
- Registered with CQC in 2015: it has been registered longer than 69% of home care agencies in the area.
- It lists 7 specialisms with CQC; the typical agency in County Durham lists 6.
Benchmarked against all CQC-registered home care agencies in County Durham (Oct 2026).
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Questions about Highlea Care Limited
- How much does Highlea Care Limited charge?
- Highlea Care Limited hasn't shared a price list with us. Visiting care typically costs around £32–£34 an hour (typical 2026 prices across England). Ask for written prices covering weekends, bank holidays and any travel or set-up charges.
- Where is Highlea Care Limited based?
- Its office is at Shildon Business Centre, Dabble Duck Industrial Estate, Shildon, DL4 2RF. Carers travel to people's homes, so check it covers your street.
- Does Highlea Care Limited support people with dementia?
- Yes. Dementia is one of the specialisms on its CQC registration. Ask how many carers or staff have dementia training.
- What kind of care can Highlea Care Limited offer?
- Registration for Highlea Care Limited covers: homecare agencies, supported living. Check which of these it offers today.
- Is Highlea Care Limited registered with CQC?
- Yes: CQC lists it as a home care agency under location ID 1-1962396337, and has not yet been given an overall rating.
Agencies in neighbouring towns
In County Durham
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Details from the Care Quality Commission register, updated Oct 2026. Contains CQC data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Text marked "in the provider's own words" is supplied by the provider. The Care Panel is not a care provider.