Preparation is easier to manage when each document tells the same story about your service. Use this guide to organise your work, alongside CQC’s current requirements for your service type.
Start with a service description
Write a short, clear account of who you intend to support, what you will do and where you will operate. Agree the boundaries of the service as well as what it will offer. Use this as a reference when developing the rest of your documents.
Build a document tracker
Check CQC’s current document guidance and list the materials relevant to your application. Give each item an owner, a status and a review date. Record where the latest copy is kept so that different people are not working from conflicting versions.
Check that the details agree
Read across your business plan, Statement of Purpose, policies and staffing arrangements. Look for differences in names, service scope, client groups and responsibilities. Resolve the differences before treating a document as final.
Explain how the service will work
A useful preparation exercise is to talk through an ordinary day and a disrupted day. Who makes decisions? How do staff get advice? How are concerns recorded? Where is the evidence that agreed actions have been completed?
Prepare your leaders
Give your proposed leaders time to discuss the arrangements they will oversee. Use examples to explain how a written policy becomes everyday practice. If an answer depends on a system you have not yet designed, add that gap to your preparation plan.
Your takeaway checklist
- I can explain the service and the people it is intended for.
- I have checked the current application guidance for my service type.
- My documents use consistent details and responsibilities.
- The proposed leaders understand how the service will operate.
- Outstanding actions have an owner and a target date.
Official guidance to read alongside this guide
Register as a provider Documents for a new provider application Additional documents for homecare agencies Additional documents for supported livingThis is practical preparation guidance. Check the current requirements relevant to your service and obtain advice on your own arrangements where needed.