Guides, tools & free resources

Practical CQC compliance guidance for managers across every regulated service — free to read, written by people who understand care.

CQC compliance resources

Framework Update

CQC's new sector-specific frameworks: what every provider needs to know in 2026

The Single Assessment Framework is being replaced. Here's what the four new sector-specific frameworks mean for your service, your evidence and your inspection readiness.

Read guide
Adult Social Care Coming soon

Care Homes & Supported Living under the new Adult Social Care framework

CQC groups care homes and supported living together as one provider domain. We explain the shared evidence requirements, what's common and where the nuances lie.

Join the waitlist to be notified
Five Key Questions Coming soon

Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive, Well-Led: a practical evidence guide

A complete breakdown of what CQC looks for under each of the five key questions — and the specific evidence you need in adult social care services.

Join the waitlist to be notified
Compliance Strategy Coming soon

Building a year-round compliance strategy: why waiting for inspection is the wrong approach

CQC can inspect at any time with little or no notice. Here's how to build a continuous compliance culture that keeps your team inspection-ready 365 days a year.

Join the waitlist to be notified
Well-Led Coming soon

Evidencing Well-Led for CQC: what inspectors look for and how to demonstrate it

Well-Led is often the domain where services struggle most. This guide covers what CQC expects, the common gaps found during inspection, and how to build a strong evidence base.

Join the waitlist to be notified
Action Tracking Coming soon

How to manage compliance gaps: a practical guide to the CQC action tracker approach

Red and Amber findings need more than a note in a folder. Learn how to build an effective action tracking process that closes gaps and provides evidence of continuous improvement.

Join the waitlist to be notified

More guides coming soon — join the waitlist to get them delivered to your inbox

Join the waitlist

CQC Compliance Checklist — Care Homes

The complete self-assessment checklist for care homes and supported living services. 109 items across all 5 CQC key questions, mapped to specific regulations and evidence requirements. Includes nursing and dementia add-ons, an action tracker, glossary, and sign-off pages.

Download free checklist Word document · Immediate download

We'll ask for your email so we can send you the download link and occasional CQC compliance updates.

What's happening with CQC in 2026

March 2026

CQC publishes four draft sector-specific frameworks

CQC has published draft frameworks for Adult Social Care, Mental Health, Primary Care & Community Services, and Hospitals. The consultation runs until 12 June 2026. AlwaysReady is designed around this new structure.

Ongoing 2026

Key Lines of Enquiry return to replace Quality Statements

The 34 Quality Statements from the Single Assessment Framework are being replaced by structured Key Lines of Enquiry — a return to a more familiar assessment format. Rating characteristics are also returning to provide clearer benchmarks.

Common questions

AlwaysReady is a web-based compliance platform for CQC-regulated services. It provides a structured self-assessment checklist, a live compliance dashboard and an action tracker — so your team stays inspection-ready year-round, not just before an inspection.

No. AlwaysReady is an independent platform that helps providers comply with CQC requirements. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Care Quality Commission. CQC is a registered trademark of the Care Quality Commission.

AlwaysReady is launching first with the Adult Social Care sector — covering care homes and supported living services. We'll roll out across domiciliary care, learning disability services and other adult social care types, then expand to Mental Health, Primary Care and Hospital sectors.

Most compliance tools are built by developers who've researched the sector. AlwaysReady is built by people who've worked in it. The content depth — 109+ checklist items, each mapped to a specific regulation and evidence requirement — reflects genuine clinical and operational expertise. We're also the only platform being built around CQC's new sector-specific frameworks from day one, rather than retrofitting the old SAF.

We're targeting £29–39 per home per month — significantly less than enterprise compliance platforms, with more functionality than static template packs. Waitlist members lock in launch pricing for 12 months. See our pricing page for full details.

Yes — download our free Word document checklist above. It contains all 109+ items in a printable format, complete with RAG status columns, an action tracker, glossary and sign-off pages. This is the same checklist content that powers the AlwaysReady platform.

Stay up to date

Join the waitlist for early access — and we'll send practical CQC compliance updates, including guides on the new frameworks, while you wait.

You're on the list!

No spam. Unsubscribe any time.