Understanding CQC ratings: what they mean for your choice
Every care home in England is inspected and rated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) — the independent regulator of health and social care. Understanding what those ratings mean helps you make a more informed choice.
What is the CQC?
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator for health and social care in England. It inspects care homes, hospitals, GP practices and other care services against a set of standards. Inspection reports and ratings are publicly available and updated after each inspection.
The four overall ratings
| Rating | What it means |
|---|---|
| ⭐ Outstanding | Exceptionally high standards across all areas. The home is well-managed with strong evidence of excellent care. |
| ✅ Good | The home meets all standards and provides safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led care. The majority of UK care homes are rated Good. |
| ⚠️ Requires Improvement | The home is not meeting all standards in one or more areas. The CQC has asked for improvement and may re-inspect. |
| 🚨 Inadequate | The home is failing to meet fundamental standards. The CQC may place conditions on its registration or close it. |
The 5 inspection domains
Each CQC inspection assesses a home against five specific domains. You can view each home's sub-scores on CareDirectory:
- Safe: Are people protected from harm? Includes staffing levels, medicines management and infection control.
- Effective: Does care achieve good outcomes? Covers nutrition, healthcare access and evidence-based practice.
- Caring: Are staff compassionate and respectful? This looks at dignity, emotional support and involving residents in their care.
- Responsive: Is care tailored to individual needs? Covers personalised care plans, activities and complaints handling.
- Well-led: Is the home well-managed? Covers leadership quality, staff training, governance and continuous improvement.
How often are homes inspected?
There is no fixed inspection cycle. The CQC uses a risk-based approach, inspecting homes more frequently if concerns are raised. Homes rated Outstanding or Good are typically inspected every 2–3 years. Homes rated Inadequate may be re-inspected within 6 months.
This means a home rated Good in 2022 may have changed significantly by 2025. Always check the inspection date on the profile page and, if the inspection is older than 2 years, call the home to ask about any recent CQC correspondence.
What percentage of homes are Outstanding?
As of early 2025, approximately:
| Rating | % of homes in England |
|---|---|
| Outstanding | ~4% |
| Good | ~75% |
| Requires Improvement | ~17% |
| Inadequate | ~1% |
| Not yet rated | ~3% |
How to use ratings on CareDirectory
Every care home profile on CareDirectory shows the overall CQC rating plus individual sub-ratings for Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. You can filter search results by CQC rating to see only Good and Outstanding homes in your area.
Remember that a Good-rated home with an Outstanding score for Caring may be a better fit than an Overall Outstanding home with only a Good for Safe, depending on your loved one's needs.