The CQC's Single Assessment Framework (SAF) represents the most significant change to how care homes are inspected in over a decade. If your home's last inspection was under the old Key Lines of Enquiry (KLOE) framework, you are now operating under fundamentally different assessment criteria — and the evidence bar has risen considerably.
What Changed — Old Framework vs. The SAF
| Old Framework (KLOEs) | Single Assessment Framework (SAF) |
|---|---|
| Key Lines of Enquiry with Prompts | Quality Statements — what good care looks like in practice |
| Inspectors seeking compliance with regulations | Inspectors seeking evidence of consistently good outcomes |
| Largely document-focused site visits | Intelligence-led, using CQC data, concerns, and notifications year-round |
| Single inspection report covering all 5 domains | Scores built continually from multiple evidence sources over time |
Key shift: Under the SAF, CQC is not just looking at what happens during the inspection visit. They build an ongoing picture using notifications, feedback, local intelligence, and concerns throughout the year. Your governance must be evidenced continuously — not just at inspection time.
The Five Domains and Their Quality Statements
The Statements Most Homes Struggle With
Governance, management and sustainability (Well-led)
This is the most commonly under-evidenced statement. It requires demonstrable proof of active governance — not just policies, but monthly board reports referencing governance data, a live risk register, and documented quality oversight.
Safe and effective staffing (Safe)
Inspectors look beyond rota compliance. They want to see staffing decisions made using dependency assessments, tracked agency use with rationale, and an up-to-date training compliance record accessible immediately.
Medicines optimisation (Safe)
No longer just safe storage and administration. It includes evidence that medication reviews happen regularly, PRN protocols are person-specific, and residents understand their medication where possible.
Learning, improvement and innovation (Well-led)
When an incident happens, what is your process? Root cause analysis, changes made, staff awareness of outcomes. This goes far beyond completing an incident form.
Three Things to Do Before Your Next Inspection
- Map your evidence against SAF Quality Statements — identify the gaps honestly
- Rebuild your action plan to reference SAF statements — not old KLOE language
- Establish a monthly governance report that goes to the board — this single activity evidences more Quality Statements than anything else
Need Help Navigating the Single Assessment Framework?
Keystone Compliance maps your home's governance against SAF Quality Statements and rebuilds your evidence infrastructure every month.
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