If you run a care home or oversee a care service, the way CQC will assess you is about to change significantly. In March 2026, CQC published a new draft assessment framework specifically for adult social care — and it represents the most substantial shift in inspection methodology in years.
The consultation closed on 12 June 2026. Pilots begin this summer. Implementation is expected by the end of 2026.
Here is what is changing and what it means for your service.
What Is Changing
From quality statements to Key Lines of Enquiry
The current Single Assessment Framework (SAF) uses 34 quality statements. They have been widely criticised by registered managers as overlapping, vague, and difficult to apply in practice.
The new draft replaces them with 24 Key Lines of Enquiry (KLOEs) — structured questions specific to adult social care. KLOEs are designed to be clearer and more directly tied to what inspectors observe during assessments.
Numerical scoring is being removed
Under the current framework, providers receive numerical scores at quality statement level. Those scores are being scrapped. Instead, rating judgements will be made directly at the key question level — meaning inspectors judge you as Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement, or Inadequate based on what they observe across each of the five key questions.
Rating characteristics are returning
Each KLOE will be accompanied by rating characteristics — detailed descriptions of what Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement, and Inadequate looks like in practice for that question. This is a significant change. For the first time in years, registered managers will be able to read exactly what Good evidence looks like before an inspector arrives.
The five key questions remain
Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive, and Well-led are unchanged. What is changing is how they are evidenced, interpreted, and judged.
A new emphasis on outcomes over process
A strong theme throughout the draft framework is a shift away from process compliance — having policies, completing audits, ticking boxes — towards real-world outcomes. Inspectors will not just ask whether a process exists. They will ask whether it is working, whether staff understand it, and whether residents experience better care as a result.
One notable addition: Listening to and responding to feedback is now a named KLOE. How you capture, respond to, and learn from feedback from residents and families will be assessed.
More Inspections, Not Fewer
While the framework is being updated, CQC is simultaneously ramping up inspection volume. The regulator is on track to publish 9,000 assessments by September 2026 — more than 50% more than the same period in 2024.
Unannounced inspections are becoming more common. Risk-based prioritisation means that services with older ratings, complaint histories, or flagged concerns are more likely to receive an early visit.
If your last inspection was more than two years ago, the probability of an assessment before the end of the year is high.
What This Means for Registered Managers
Your documentation needs to answer specific questions
Under the new KLOEs, inspectors will assess whether your records actually answer structured questions clearly and consistently. Having documentation is not enough — it needs to reflect what is happening in practice.
Care plans that are out of date, risk assessments that were never followed through, and daily notes that say nothing meaningful are exactly what the new framework is designed to surface.
Evidence will need to be findable under pressure
When an inspector is in your home, you need to produce evidence quickly. That means knowing where your records are, knowing which care plans have been reviewed recently, and being confident that what is in the system reflects reality.
Gaps that you know about but have not addressed are far more likely to be found under this framework than the previous one.
Leadership will be scrutinised closely
The Well-led domain remains, and under the new KLOEs it is broader. Inspectors will look at how you identify problems, how you act on feedback, whether your governance processes catch issues before they escalate, and whether the culture in your home supports good care.
A well-led judgement is harder to demonstrate without an organised, consistent approach to oversight.
What You Should Do Now
1. Review your current care plans and risk assessments. Identify which residents have plans that are overdue for review. CQC expects plans to reflect the current needs of each resident — not what was documented at admission.
2. Audit your daily notes. If your team is writing "had a good day" or "resident settled overnight", that is a known documentation gap under any CQC framework. Address it now, not the week before an inspection.
3. Map your evidence against the five key questions. Take each of the five key questions and ask honestly: if an inspector asked for evidence on this today, what would I show them, and how long would it take to find it?
4. Read the draft framework. CQC has published the draft for adult social care publicly. Reading it takes less than an hour and will tell you precisely what inspectors will be looking for when it goes live. Read the CQC draft framework here.
How Bool-care Helps
The problems the new framework surfaces — outdated care plans, poor daily notes, incomplete risk assessments, slow evidence retrieval — are the same problems Bool-care is built to address.
Bool-care gives registered managers clear visibility over documentation quality across their service, flags records that are overdue for review, and helps teams write care notes that actually reflect what is happening with each resident.
When an inspector walks through the door, you should be able to answer their questions confidently — not spend the visit searching for paperwork.
Book a demo to see how Bool-care works in a real care home environment.
Summary
| What Is Changing | What It Means |
|---|---|
| 34 quality statements → 24 KLOEs | Clearer questions, more specific evidence required |
| Numerical scoring removed | Judgement at key question level — Outstanding to Inadequate |
| Rating characteristics returning | You can read exactly what Good looks like before inspection |
| Outcomes over process | Having policies is not enough — they must be working |
| Feedback now a named KLOE | Structured evidence of how you listen and respond |
| 9,000 inspections by Sept 2026 | More services will be assessed this year |
The change is coming. The question is whether your home will be ready when the inspector arrives.
Sources and further reading:
- CQC: Our improvement plans for 2026
- CQC Unveils Draft Sector-Specific Assessment Frameworks — The Carer
- CQC framework update 2026 — Log my Care
- CQC inspection framework changes 2026 — CareT utor
- From 34 Quality Statements to 24 KLOEs — Care Learner
- Rebuilding oversight: CQC announces key changes — Clyde & Co
- March 2026 CQC Care Home Reports: Inadequate Compliance Themes — Cloda AI