Ratings for care homes and domiciliary support services launches in Wales

Quality care, clear choices

The new ratings system aims to empower people when making decisions about care for themselves or their family and friends. Ratings will be awarded across four key themes:

• Well-being - how the service supports people's physical and mental health, rights, independence, and relationships.
• Care and support - the quality and appropriateness of care provided to meet individual needs.
• Leadership and management - how well the service is run, including staff support and quality assurance.
• Environment - the suitability, safety and maintenance of physical spaces (for accommodation-based services only).

Services will receive one of four ratings for each theme:

• Excellent
• Good
• Requires improvement
• Requires significant improvement

The benefit of ratings

The introduction of ratings offers several key benefits:

• transparent information - clear, accessible information about the quality of care provided
• support for decision-making - helping people compare services when making important care choices
• promoting high standards - encouraging continuous improvement across the sector
• peace of mind - greater confidence when selecting care services for loved ones

Benefits for care providers

The ratings system also offers important benefits for care providers:

• recognition of excellence - a chance to showcase high-quality care and dedicated service
• identifying strengths - clear feedback on what works well in services
• targeted improvement - focused guidance on areas for development
• staff motivation - recognition of teams delivering excellent care
• enhanced reputation - the opportunity to demonstrate quality to potential service users

Chief Inspector of CIW Gillian Baranski commented: 

"Our new ratings system puts people at the heart of care quality assessment. By focusing on the outcomes that matter most to people using services, we aim to drive improvements that enhance people's lives and well-being while recognising the excellent care already being delivered across Wales."

Guidance and resources

To support the implementation of ratings, we have developed a range of resources which can be found on our ratings page:

For care providers:

• getting ready for ratings: your pre-launch checklist - a practical guide to help providers prepare
• framework for Inspection including ratings - comprehensive guidance on how ratings will be awarded
• a guide to displaying ratings - detailed information on the legal requirements for displaying ratings physically and online

For the public:

• understanding care ratings guide - explaining what ratings mean and how they can help with decision-making
• online directory - a searchable database of care services with their ratings

Legal requirements for displaying ratings

Under the Regulated Services (Inspection Ratings) (Wales) Regulations 2025 (External link), all care homes and domiciliary support services must display their ratings on their website (where they have one). Most services must also display their ratings at their service. However, the following services are exempt from displaying a poster at their service address:

• services for people under 18
• small services with 4 or fewer residents (unless they choose to display ratings)
• domiciliary support services where the service location is not accessible to the public, or where the service is provided from someone's private home
• domiciliary support services where the service location is not accessible to the public, or where the service is provided from someone's private home

You will also be able to view ratings on the CIW directory.