Learn the CQC regulations together — face to face.
A manager-led spot check assessment for five staff on shift — no advance warning — so you catch real-time knowledge of the CQC regulations, and learning that stays in the room.
Exam-style sitting
I watch the assessment — side by side with you.
I will be there in person, sitting side by side with you, to watch the assessment. Afterwards we go through the sitting together — so you can see what the group knew, where training is falling short, and what to coach next.
How it works
How to run a spot check
Five staff from the same shift sit together with no advance warning. You lead from the manager book; they write their answers in their own words. The four steps below are how every sitting is run.
Important: staff should not be told in advance or be warned they are being assessed — this programme is a true floor spot check. You lead the sitting using my methodology and framework for learning and teaching; Thomas observes.
A group of five, writing in their own words.
The same thirty questions for everyone in the room. Staff write in their own workbooks — they do not look at the manager’s book — and only then is the teaching shared.
01 Select your group
Choose five staff members working on shift that day. Give no advance warning — catch learning in the moment and test real-time knowledge of CQC regulations.
02 Set up the books
Each staff member receives a workbook with thirty questions they must write in. You teach from the manager book; they write in theirs.
03 Ask and wait
Read each question aloud from the manager workbook. Staff write their answer in their own words. Wait until all five have finished writing before moving on.
04 Teach from the book
Ask staff to read aloud what they wrote, then use the focused check guidance — a correct example and an incorrect example — before the next question.
You stay in charge of the room — I do not take over the assessment this is about you leading your team to build a bond and a culture of learning together.
Pilot programme
An award that gives staff a reason to show up for training.
Spot Check Award doubles as a care home award competition for homes in the pilot. The winning home’s prize includes £100 for each staff member who takes part — because carers deserve a positive reason to engage with CQC learning.
For this pilot, I’m only looking for 5 members of staff per home to take part.
£1,200 assessment · £50 workbook · £250 award entry · £1,500 together.
Core aim
Still know it — twelve months on.
The core aim is this: in 12 months after the assessment, can the staff who took part remember and recite aloud from memory the 20 CQC regulations title names and the 6 safeguarding principles? The care home with the most staff who can do this wins the award.
Twelve months later Thomas will be revisiting the care home to do an in-person exam where staff recite the 20 CQC regulation titles and 6 safeguarding principles from memory, to enter the final stage of the sitting.
The result we are after: can you recite aloud from memory the 20 CQC regulations title names? That means the regulation and its title name.
Example
Regulation 12 Safe care and treatment
Focus
20 CQC regulation title names · 6 safeguarding principles
Method
Own words first · Five staff, one sitting
Outcome
Recite title names aloud · Still know them a year later
From the floor
Built by a care assistant who has lived what poor culture costs.
My name is Thomas. I have been a care assistant for eight years. I built Spot Check Award from lived experience: protecting people in my care, and watching services lead where CQC awareness came too late.
I want a small group of homes in this pilot to try a clearer way to learn the regulations together — and to incentivise staff so training feels worth turning up for. For now, I’m only looking for 5 members of staff per home to take part. I also want to grow more insight into leadership and culture in training, and offer training and leadership coaching — because how we teach matters as much as what we teach.
Spot Check Award is an independent training tool mixed with leadership coaching and a pilot award for care settings. It is a new CQC product and is not endorsed by CQC. Its aim is leadership coaching — helping managers and teams learn, lead, and improve together.
Why this exists
Off-site training rarely shows the manager what staff truly know.
Too often, carers attend training away from the home and never get to demonstrate that knowledge face-to-face. Staff are rarely incentivised to lean into learning. Spot Check Award brings training back into the home — so managers and teams learn the CQC standards together, and managers can guide the next steps afterwards.
Coverage
Built around the CQC standards that matter on the floor.
The assessment covers the core CQC regulations for providers and managers — Regulations 8 to 20A — and the six SCIE safeguarding principles. Staff start in their own words, then take a focused check. That mix shows real understanding, and gives the manager a clear opening to teach what comes next.
CQC regulations
Regulations 8–20A
Staff learn each regulation and its title name — so twelve months on they can recite them aloud from memory. Example: Regulation 12 — Safe care and treatment.
Safeguarding
Six SCIE principles
Empowerment, Prevention, Protection, Proportionality, Partnership, and Accountability — learned alongside the regulations, not as an afterthought.
How it is learned
Own words, then a check
Manager-led, face to face in the home. Five staff write in their own words; then they read aloud and listen to a focused check. Afterwards you coach the gaps.
Regulation title names
- Reg 8 General
- Reg 9 Person-centred care
- Reg 9A Visiting and accompanying in care homes, hospitals and hospices
- Reg 10 Dignity and respect
- Reg 11 Need for consent
- Reg 12 Safe care and treatment
- Reg 13 Safeguarding service users from abuse and improper treatment
- Reg 14 Meeting nutritional and hydration needs
- Reg 15 Premises and equipment
- Reg 16 Receiving and acting on complaints
- Reg 17 Good governance
- Reg 18 Staffing
- Reg 19 Fit and proper persons employed
- Reg 20 Duty of candour
- Reg 20A Requirement as to display of performance assessments
Safeguarding principles
- 01 Empowerment
- 02 Prevention
- 03 Protection
- 04 Proportionality
- 05 Partnership
- 06 Accountability
Why it matters
The point is not a score alone.
Spot Check Award is designed so managers and staff learn the CQC regulations together — and keep that knowledge alive long after the sitting. Seeing performance face-to-face gives you the chance to guide, encourage, and build a healthier culture around training.
Entry & prizes
Clear, professional pricing
£1,200 for the assessment. £50 for the paper workbook, which is yours to keep permanently. £250 to enter the award. Winning homes get the award fee back — plus £100 for each of up to 5 staff members who take part in the pilot.
What’s included
One clear offer, with a reason to take part.
| Assessment | £1,200 — training assessment for your home |
|---|---|
| Workbook | £50 — paper assessment workbook, Yours to keep permanently, for training records and CQC evidence of improvement workflows |
| Award entry | £250 — enter the pilot care-home award |
| Together | £1,500 at checkout |
| Pilot staff | 5 members of staff per home take part in this pilot |
| Staff prize | £100 for each staff member who takes part (winning home, up to 5) |
| Award returned | £250 award fee returned to the winning home |
| How you win | Most staff who can recite aloud from memory the 20 CQC regulations title names and 6 safeguarding principles, 12 months after the assessment |
FAQ
Straight answers before you join
Who created Spot Check Award?
Thomas, a care assistant with eight years’ experience — built so managers and staff learn CQC together, face-to-face.
Will you be there on the day?
Yes. I sit side by side with you and watch the assessment in an exam-style sitting. You run the questions as the home care manager; I observe. Afterwards we review the sitting together.
How is the sitting run?
As a group of five staff from the same shift — no advance warning. You read each question aloud; they write in their own words. Wait until all five have finished, then they read aloud and you teach from the focused check before the next question.
What does it cost?
£1,200 assessment + £50 workbook + £250 award entry (£1,500 together). The paper workbook is yours to keep permanently, for training records and CQC evidence of improvement workflows.
What can the winning home win?
£250 award fee returned plus £100 for each staff member who takes part (up to 5 staff in the pilot). The assessment fee is not refunded.
How many staff take part?
Five staff from the same shift, in one group sitting. For this pilot, I’m only looking for 5 members of staff per home to take part.
How is the winner decided?
Twelve months after the assessment, staff who took part are asked to recite aloud from memory the 20 CQC regulations title names and the 6 safeguarding principles. The care home with the most staff who can do this wins the award.
Why £100 per staff member?
To incentivise carers to engage with training and show their knowledge — not just attend off-site.
Is this endorsed by CQC?
No. Independent training mixed with leadership coaching and a pilot award. Its aim is leadership coaching. Not endorsed by CQC.
Are you looking at leadership and culture?
Yes — insight into leadership and culture in training, plus training and leadership coaching, because how we teach matters as much as what we teach.
Private invite
Joining is by invitation
To join the pilot, reply to your private invite email, or ask another care home manager in the programme to refer you. That is how to get hold of Thomas.