Inspection ratings explained

Care Quality Commission (CQC)
The CQC is the independent regulator of health and social care in England. Its aim is to make sure better care is provided for everyone, whether that is in hospital, in care homes, in people’s own homes or elsewhere.

The CQC regulates all health and adult social care services, ranging from treatment centres to home care services, whether provided by the NHS, local authorities, private companies or voluntary organisations. They also protect the rights of people detained under the Mental Health Act.

A copy of the most recent inspection report for each service is available in the reception area of all our services and can also be found on the CQC website: www.cqc.org.uk

Each service is assessed against a number of ‘Outcomes’, based on the service users experience. The CQC reports detail the service’s compliance against each of the assessed outcomes.

Ofsted
Ofsted inspects and regulates to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages.

Ofsted brings together the wide experience of four inspectorates to make a greater difference for every child, and for all young people and adult learners, in England.
 More information can be found about OFSTED and the work they do on their website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

Care Inspectorate
The Care Inspectorate, whose formal name is Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (SCSWIS) was set up in April 2002 under the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 to regulate all adult, child and independent healthcare services in Scotland.

SCSWIS makes sure that care service providers meet the Scottish Government's national care standards and work to improve the quality of care. Providers are graded on the following scale: ‘excellent’, ‘very good’, ‘good’, ‘adequate’, ‘weak’ and ‘unsatisfactory’.

More information about the Care Inspectorate and Scottish registrations can be found on their website: www.scswis.com

Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW)
The role of the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales is to make professional assessments and judgements about social care, early years and social services and so encourage improvement by the service providers.

They do this through professional assessment and judgement about services and organisations. CSSIW inspects and reviews local authority social services, and regulates and inspects care settings and agencies.

In April 2009 CSSIW introduced a new overarching framework for local authority social services inspection, review and evaluation. It is a proportionate and integrated approach that is designed to be citizen focussed and to encourage improvement, innovation and ownership of change by local government.
More information about CSSIW and their work can be found on their website: www.cssiw.org.uk