The key concepts in UK care compliance, explained clearly
Authoritative, plain-English definitions of the frameworks, standards and models of care that shape CQC and Ofsted inspection — from the Single Assessment Framework to data security. Each page links to related guides and articles.
Regulation & Inspection
CQC Single Assessment Framework
The CQC Single Assessment Framework is the Care Quality Commission’s model for assessing health and social care providers in England using one consistent framework built around five key questions — safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led — evidenced through quality statements.
Read more →CQC ‘I’ and ‘We’ statements
“I” statements describe what good care looks and feels like from the perspective of the person receiving it, while “We” statements set out what providers and staff commit to do to deliver it. They underpin the CQC quality statements.
Read more →Models of Care
Outcome-focused care
Outcome-focused care is an approach to care and support that is organised around the results a person wants to achieve in their life — their goals, wellbeing and quality of life — rather than only the tasks delivered or the symptoms treated.
Read more →Holistic care
Holistic care is an approach that considers a person’s life as a whole — addressing physical health, mental and emotional wellbeing, and spiritual and social needs in equal measure — rather than focusing only on physical symptoms.
Read more →Person-centred care
Person-centred care is an approach that places the individual at the centre of their own care — respecting their preferences, choices, dignity and rights, and designing support around what matters to them rather than around the routines of the service.
Read more →Frameworks & Standards
Making It Real
Making It Real is a framework developed by Think Local Act Personal (TLAP) that describes what good, personalised, strengths-based care and support looks like, organised around six themes and expressed through “I” and “We” statements.
Read more →Supported accommodation quality standards
Supported accommodation quality standards are the standards that providers of supported accommodation for 16- and 17-year-olds in England must meet, set out in regulations and inspected by Ofsted since the introduction of mandatory registration.
Read more →Data, Digital & Cyber
Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT)
The Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) is an online self-assessment that health and adult social care organisations in England complete each year to demonstrate they are handling personal and sensitive data safely and meeting the National Data Guardian’s ten data-security standards.
Read more →Record of Processing Activities (RoPA)
A Record of Processing Activities (RoPA) is a documented inventory of how an organisation collects, uses, shares and stores personal data. It is a requirement under UK GDPR Article 30 and forms the foundation of a care provider’s data-protection compliance.
Read more →Cyber incident response in social care
Cyber incident response in social care is a care provider’s planned approach to detecting, containing, communicating about and recovering from a cyber attack or data breach — protecting people’s data and the continuity of their care.
Read more →Turn knowledge into an Outstanding rating
MyCareAudit helps care providers evidence every one of these standards — with digital audits, action tracking and inspection-ready reporting.