CQC quality statement — Well-led
Shared direction and culture
"We have a shared vision, strategy and culture. This is based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and understanding challenges and the needs of people and our communities." In MyCareCompliance, 5 mapped checks across 5 audit templates map to this quality statement.
Last reviewed: September 2026. This guidance reflects CQC information available at the date above — always refer to cqc.org.uk for current regulatory requirements.
How we check it
Each check below is a real question from a MyCareCompliance audit template. It names the regulation it evidences, describes what an auditor looks for in good and poor practice, and lists the evidence an inspector would expect you to produce.
- 5 mapped checks under the "Shared direction and culture" quality statement
- Evidences 1 regulation: Regulation 17 — Good governance
- Failed checks become tracked improvement actions with an owner, due date and evidence
The 5 checks
- Regulation 17 — Good governanceAppraisal Audit
Is staff performance and attitude explicitly evaluated against the service's core values and person-centred care principles?
What we look for: Look for specific assessment of how the staff member demonstrates the provider's values (e.g., dignity, respect, choice). Good looks like behavioral examples being discussed. Fail if the appraisal focuses solely on task completion.
Evidence: Value-based appraisal templates, feedback from service users, peer feedback
- Regulation 17 — Good governanceCompliments / Feedback
Is there a positive culture that encourages staff to provide constructive feedback and recognize the good practice of their peers (peer-to-peer compliments)?
What we look for: Look for evidence of an open culture where staff feel valued by each other and management. Good practice includes formal peer recognition boards or 'shout-out' schemes. A fail is a closed culture with no mechanism for staff to positively feedback on service operations.
Evidence: Staff surveys, peer recognition schemes, suggestion boxes, team meeting minutes
- Regulation 17 — Good governanceGovernance / Quality Assurance
Is structured feedback routinely gathered from people drawing on care, their relatives, and professionals, and synthesized into the quality assurance framework?
What we look for: Look for evidence of proactive feedback collection (e.g., QA calls, surveys). Good practice includes closing the loop by informing people of changes made based on their feedback. Fail if feedback is collected but ignored in QA processes.
Evidence: Annual/quarterly surveys, Spot check feedback forms, Professional feedback emails, 'You said, We did' reports
- Regulation 17 — Good governancePolicy & Procedure Audit
Is there evidence that staff read, understand, and formally acknowledge critical policy updates?
What we look for: Sample 3 recently updated policies and check the tracking system used to confirm staff have read them. Good practice includes brief knowledge checks. A fail is a lack of evidence that staff are informed of crucial changes in practice guidelines.
Evidence: Policy sign-off sheets, digital read-receipts, supervision records, team meeting minutes
- Regulation 17 — Good governancePrevious Actions / QIP Review
Are the key themes, lessons learned, and progress on the QIP regularly shared with the staff team to embed a culture of continuous improvement?
What we look for: Review staff meeting minutes from the last 3 months. Good looks like a standing agenda item discussing recent audit findings, what went wrong, and how the service is improving. Fails if staff are kept in the dark about service-level performance and improvement plans.
Evidence: Staff meeting minutes, newsletters, memos, handover books, supervision notes
Other Well-led quality statements
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