Check current guidance: CQC's assessment framework is continually updated. Everything below was checked against cqc.org.uk on 16 October 2026. Before relying on it, verify the latest quality statements directly in the CQC assessment framework.
What is a CQC mock inspection?
A CQC mock inspection is an internal review where you assess your own care service the way the Care Quality Commission would. You test your service against CQC's five key questions and quality statements, using real evidence such as feedback, observation and records. The aim is to find gaps and fix them before an actual assessment.
It's a rehearsal, not a pass mark. A good mock inspection gives you an honest list of what's working, what isn't, and who will fix it by when.
What's included in the downloadable workbook?
The template that goes with this guide is a single workbook (Google Sheets, Excel or printable PDF). It contains:
- A question bank tab with one row per key question, plus columns for "what good evidence looks like", "evidence found", and a RAG score (Red / Amber / Green).
- A staff file audit tab covering references, employment history, DBS, right to work, training and supervision dates for each worker.
- A records sample tab for care plans, risk assessments, MAR charts and daily notes.
- An action plan tab with owner, due date and re-check date columns.
- 1-day and 1-week mock inspection plans to choose from, depending on your size.
How does CQC assess services under the single assessment framework?
CQC's assessment framework is built around 5 key questions. CQC asks whether services are:
- Safe
- Effective
- Caring
- Responsive to people's needs
- Well-led
Each key question has a set of quality statements. CQC describes these as the commitments providers should live up to, written as "we statements" (CQC, Assessment framework). Each quality statement is linked to the regulations CQC considers when it makes judgements.
To decide how well you meet each quality statement, CQC groups evidence into 6 evidence categories (CQC, Evidence categories):
| Evidence category | What it means for a care agency |
|---|---|
| People's experience | What people who use your service, and their families, say about their care |
| Feedback from staff and leaders | What your care workers, coordinators and managers tell inspectors |
| Feedback from partners | Views of commissioners, GPs, district nurses, social workers |
| Observation | What is seen during care (in domiciliary care, through visits with consent and call monitoring) |
| Processes | Your policies, audits, recruitment checks, training records and governance |
| Outcomes | Measurable results for people, such as fewer missed calls or medication errors |
CQC says the categories it uses, and how many, depend on the type of service and the level of assessment. A good mock inspection should collect evidence from every category, not just paperwork.
How do you run a mock inspection step by step?
1. Pick the team
Ideally, use someone who doesn't run the service day to day. That could be a manager from another branch, a trusted peer, or an external consultant. Pair them with one person who knows where the records are kept. People are rarely objective about their own work.
2. Set the scope
Decide whether you're covering all 5 key questions or focusing on one or two weak areas. A small agency can do a full review in a day. A larger one may need a week (see the plans in the template).
3. Start with people's experience
Before you touch a single file, speak to people who use the service and their families. Try 5–10 phone calls or visits, with consent. Ask open questions: Do your carers turn up when expected? Do you know who to call if something goes wrong? Do staff treat you with respect?
4. Interview staff
Talk to care workers across shifts, including new starters and bank staff. Ask what they would do if they had a safeguarding concern, how they report a medication error, and when they last had supervision. Any gap between what they say and what your policy says is a finding.
5. Sample records
Pick files at random, not the ones you know are tidy. A useful starting sample:
- 5 care plans and their risk assessments
- 5 sets of MAR charts or eMAR records
- 5 staff files (include your newest starter)
- The last 3 months of complaints, incidents and safeguarding logs
6. Observe
In home care, observation could mean a spot-check visit alongside a carer (with the person's agreement), listening to how the office handles calls, or reviewing call-monitoring data against the rota.
7. Score and feed back
RAG-score each area. Hold a short feedback meeting the same day, with no blame, and turn every red and amber into an action with an owner.
Which questions should you ask for each key question?
These are audit prompts for your mock inspection. Map them to the latest quality statements in the assessment framework.
1. Safe
| Question / Audit Prompt | What good evidence looks like |
|---|---|
| Are people protected from abuse and neglect? | Staff can explain the safeguarding procedure; concerns are logged, referred and followed up |
| Are risks assessed and reviewed? | Current, personalised risk assessments, reviewed when needs change |
| Are medicines managed safely? | Complete MAR records, competency checks for staff, audits with actions |
| Are there enough suitable staff? | Rota matches commissioned hours; missed and late calls are monitored |
| Are lessons learned? | Incident log shows themes, actions and changes made |
2. Effective
| Question / Audit Prompt | What good evidence looks like |
|---|---|
| Are needs assessed before care starts? | Pre-assessment on file, signed and dated |
| Are staff trained and competent? | Training matrix up to date; Care Certificate for new care workers |
| Is consent sought and the Mental Capacity Act followed? | Consent recorded; capacity assessments where needed |
| Do you work well with other professionals? | Records of liaison with GPs, nurses and social workers |
3. Caring
| Question / Audit Prompt | What good evidence looks like |
|---|---|
| Are people treated with kindness, dignity and respect? | Feedback from people and families; spot-check notes |
| Are people involved in decisions about their care? | Care plans written with the person, in their words |
| Is independence promoted? | Plans show what the person can do for themselves |
4. Responsive
| Question / Audit Prompt | What good evidence looks like |
|---|---|
| Is care person-centred? | Plans include preferences, routines, culture and communication needs |
| Are complaints handled well? | Complaints log with responses, timescales and learning |
| Is end-of-life care planned where relevant? | Wishes recorded and shared with the team |
| Is care accessible? | Information in accessible formats when needed |
5. Well-led
| Question / Audit Prompt | What good evidence looks like |
|---|---|
| Is there a clear vision and open culture? | Staff can describe the service's values; whistleblowing policy known |
| Do governance systems work? | Regular audits that lead to actions, with re-checks recorded |
| Do leaders know their risks? | Up-to-date risk register or quality improvement plan |
| Are staff and people involved? | Surveys, team meetings, and changes made as a result |
What does good staffing and recruitment evidence look like?
Staff files are one of the most common sources of findings. They're also easy to check in advance.
Regulation 19 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 requires that people employed must be of good character, have the qualifications, competence, skills and experience needed for the work, and be able, by reason of their health and after reasonable adjustments, to properly perform their tasks. Recruitment procedures must be "established and operated effectively", and the information in Schedule 3 must be available for each person employed (CQC, Regulation 19; legislation.gov.uk, Regulation 19).
CQC's guidance makes several points worth checking in your mock inspection:
- "Person employed" includes volunteers, contractors, and agency or bank staff. They are not exempt.
- Schedule 3 information must be confirmed before someone is employed, not chased afterwards.
- If a third party does your checks, you must still assure yourself they are complete and satisfactory.
- You must regularly review the fitness of employees. Recruitment checks aren't a one-off.
- Competence should be assessed before staff work unsupervised, and CQC expects providers employing social care support workers to follow the Care Certificate standards.
Staff File Checklist (per worker):
- Application form with full employment history, and gaps explained in writing
- References, including from the most recent care employer where applicable
- Proof of identity and a recent photo
- DBS check at the right level, with the date and certificate number recorded
- Right to work check, with follow-up dates for time-limited permission
- Evidence of qualifications and professional registration where required
- Health declaration
- Induction and Care Certificate progress
- Training matrix entries with expiry dates
- Supervision and spot-check records
Also check staffing levels against Regulation 18: Staffing: are there enough suitably qualified, competent staff to cover every commissioned call?
What are the most common gaps mock inspections find?
In practice, these are the issues internal reviews tend to turn up:
- Expired documents. Lapsed training, right-to-work follow-ups that were missed, DBS details not recorded.
- Missing or weak references, or employment gaps with no written explanation.
- Incomplete care plans that haven't been reviewed after a hospital stay or a change in needs.
- No audit trail of actions. Audits are done, but nobody can show what changed as a result.
- Policies that staff don't know about, especially safeguarding and whistleblowing.
- Rota versus reality. Call times in the plan don't match call-monitoring data.
What should you do after the mock inspection?
- Write the action plan within 48 hours, while it's fresh.
- Give every action one owner and a due date. "Office team" is not an owner.
- Fix the reds first. Anything affecting people's safety comes before paperwork tidy-ups.
- Set a re-check date and test the fix the same way you found the problem.
- Feed it into governance. Add actions to your quality improvement plan and review them in management meetings. This is evidence for Well-led in itself (see Regulation 17: Good governance).
- Repeat. Run a focused mini-review each quarter and a full one at least once a year.
Inspected outside England?
CQC regulates health and adult social care in England. Elsewhere in the UK:
- Scotland: Care Inspectorate
- Wales: Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW)
- Northern Ireland: RQIA
The mock inspection method above still works anywhere. Swap in your regulator's own standards and framework.
Sources
- CQC: Assessment framework: key questions and quality statements
- CQC: Evidence categories
- CQC: Regulation 19: Fit and proper persons employed
- CQC: Regulation 18: Staffing
- CQC: Regulation 17: Good governance
- legislation.gov.uk: The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014