Care Inspectorate Wales New Rating System: What We Know So Far
CIW – Care Inspectorate Wales
From April 2025, The Regulated Services (Inspection Ratings) (Wales) Regulations 2025 will come into effect, requiring certain social care providers – such as care homes and domiciliary care services – to publish inspection ratings on their websites and in their premises.
Between April 2023 and March 2024, the CIW piloted a new regulatory approach in which services were given ‘silent’ (unpublished) ratings after inspections. To assess the effectiveness of this new approach, the CIW commissioned a third-party company, Practice Solutions Ltd, to conduct an independent evaluation of the pilot programme.
This was the first phase of the Government’s four-phase initiative to introduce a rating system to regulate social care in Wales, similar to that of the Care Quality Commission in England. The different stages are outlined below:
Phase
Action Plan
Phase 1
June – August 2024
Consider all the recommendations offered by the evaluation report. Plan for engagement and collaboration with relevant stakeholders in preparation for the publication of ratings in April 2025.
Phase 2
October 2024 – February 2025
A stakeholder group will review the architecture of the ratings and co-design any changes. Specific work packages will be established to ensure the ratings are effective and consistent.
Phase 3
January 2025 – April 2025
The inspection framework, including the guidance, will be finalised. This will be a period of training, support and reflection for inspectors.
Phase 4
October 2025 – October 2026
The final phase is to review and learn from the ratings. The CIW will continue to develop their approach to ratings and to support further improvement.
The current rating system
In January 2023, the CIW published their Interim Guidance for Providers on Ratings, in line with the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016. This outlined a provisional ratings system to be implemented in April 2023 for the pilot scheme.
As part of this, there are four key inspection themes:
- Well-being
- Care and Support
- Leadership and Management
- Environment
Each of these themes is awarded a rating using one of the following descriptors:
- Excellent
- Good
- Needs Improvement
- Poor
Once these ratings have been issued, they are kept electronically for the purposes of reviewing the pilot scheme. They are not shared with anyone other than the service provider and registered manager during feedback.
Results of the independent evaulation
In June 2024, the Evaluation of unpublished (silent) ratings for Care Inspectorate Wales was published. This provides a detailed analysis of how the current rating system operates and a total of 15 recommendations for improvement.
Care Inspectorate Wales responded to two of these recommendations, the first being Recommendation 5: The change programme should include a review of the four existing themes which are subject to ratings (well-being, care and support, leadership and management, and environment). This should look specifically at the function of the well-being theme and consider severing its link with the other three themes in terms of ratings levels.
CIW Response: “We have listened to your feedback, and we have decided we will sever the direct link between the well-being theme and the other three themes (care and support, leadership and management and environment). We will now focus our efforts on how we can evaluate the well-being of those receiving services.”
The CIW also considered Recommendation 6: A review of the current ratings levels and descriptors should be undertaken, to give a more effective indication of a provider’s performance against each theme and, in particular, providing a more nuanced position for those currently rated as ‘Good’.
They responded:
“We agree that the ratings descriptors need to be reviewed. We will be working directly with the sector (via our newly established stakeholder task group) to review all our descriptors.
The evaluation report also provided some ratings framework options for us to consider including:
- Introducing an additional rating, or ratings, for example including ‘very good’
- Reviewing the current descriptor for the ‘Excellent’ rating.
- Developing a simple visual axis containing the ratings levels and enabling the precise position of a service to be clearly displayed.
- Adopting a star rating like that used in the Food Hygiene Standards, to show clearly the current position of a service
In order to maintain consistency, we have decided to continue with the four ratings that were introduced in June 2023. However, we will develop a visual representation of the four ratings along with a revised ratings framework and accompanying guidance.”
At ClouDoc, we are keeping track of the latest changes and expect more information at the start of next year. Our team is keeping updated on the development of this new approach to ensure your documents remain compliant throughout this period of change.
What next?
The CIW are currently establishing an ongoing training programme for all inspectors, in addition to regular sessions in which they can share any concerns about the system. This is due to begin in November 2024.
The finalised information and guidance will be published on the Care Inspectorate Wales website in January, ready for its implementation in April 2025. The CIW then plan to evaluate how well the system is working in October 2025 and arrange support for services who have not received positive ratings.
Other updates
Updates to the registration process
Alongside this new regulatory system, the CIW are planning changes to their registration process. Currently, certain information is requested from providers at the start of their application, and further information as their application is being assessed. This can cause lengthy registration processes and unnecessary delays, particularly if a provider does not have the required information readily available.
As a result, from early 2025, the CIW will be requesting all the key information at the start of the application, rather than at different points in the process.
New deputy chief inspector
As of 19th August 2024, Kevin Barker is now the new deputy chief inspector of the Care Inspectorate Wales. He is replacing Vicky Poole, who was in the role for 10 years before officially retiring in September 2024.
Commenting on his new position, he said:
"I am delighted to take up the role of Deputy Chief Inspector for CIW. It is a privilege to be in a position to help lead a great organisation. As importantly, I look forward to working in partnership with all concerned in social care and childcare – including people who use the services we register and inspect. Only together will we achieve lasting change for the better."
To keep track of all the latest developments, you can visit the CIW announcements page for more information.
If you have any questions relating to Care Inspectorate Wales or how your documents may change, give ClouDoc a call on 0330 808 0050 or email support@cloudoc.co.uk.
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