How we rank and vet providers

1. Which services we list#

1.1 We list a care service only where one of the following applies:

• the Care Quality Commission rates the service Good or Outstanding, and we have verified that rating under section 2; or
• the service is registered with the Care Quality Commission but has no published rating, and it has passed the vetting process in section 3.

1.2 A service rated Requires improvement or Inadequate is not listed. A service whose rating falls to either is removed from the site.

1.3 Listing is not available for purchase. A provider that does not meet 1.1 cannot be listed on any terms.

1.4 A provider absent from this site has either not met 1.1 or has not applied to be listed.

2. Verifying a CQC rating#

2.1 Every rating published on this site is taken from the Care Quality Commission’s public register by a member of the Find-Care team and recorded against the provider.

2.2 Ratings are re-checked against the register at least every 90 days.

2.3 Providers have no access to the rating field. They cannot set, edit or appeal the rating shown on their profile through Find-Care. Ratings are appealed with the Care Quality Commission.

2.4 Providers supply their own description, fees, photographs, staffing details and the services they offer. We reserve the right to verify these at any stage.

3. Vetting an unrated service#

3.1 A service registered with the Care Quality Commission but not yet rated may be listed if it passes vetting. This applies mainly to newly registered services awaiting a first inspection.

3.2 Vetting checks that:

• the CQC registration is current and covers the service being listed;
• the registered address and provider details match the register;
• the regulated activity registered covers the care the provider intends to offer;
• there is no published enforcement action against the service.

3.3 A vetted service is identified as “vetted” rather than rated. We reserve the right to change this identifier. It is not described as Good or Outstanding.

3.4 Vetting is carried out by Find-Care. Providers cannot describe themselves as vetted, and vetted status is not available for purchase.

4. The order of search results#

4.1 Search results are ordered by four tests, applied in this order:

1. the verified CQC rating, Outstanding first, then Good, then a service we have vetted that holds no rating yet;
2. the review score, weighted so that a small number of reviews moves it less than a long record does;
3. the distance from the provider’s registered address to the postcode district you searched;
4. a fixed order, so that two providers equal on the first three tests appear in the same order every time you search.

4.2 A test is only applied where the test above it does not separate two providers. A review score never moves a provider above one with a higher CQC rating.

4.3 No provider currently holds a published review score. Results are therefore ordered by the verified CQC rating and then by distance. See section 7 of our review policy for when review scores begin to appear.

4.4 You can re-order the results by distance or by price using the sort control, and narrow them using the filters.

4.5 10 results are shown at a time. The rest are shown when you ask for them, and the number remaining is stated on the button.

4.6 What a provider pays is not one of the tests in 4.1, and there is no paid position within the results.

5. Sponsored placements#

5.1 A provider may buy a Featured placement. This is advertising and is shown in a separate box marked Sponsored.

5.2 A sponsored placement is not a search result. It takes no position in the ordered list described in section 4. It is counted in the number of providers the page says it is showing you, because it is on the page.

5.3 One sponsored placement is available per postcode district for care homes. Two sponsored placements are available per postcode district for care at home. The two are separate, so a care home search never returns a home care agency in the sponsored box.

5.4 A care at home service may hold a sponsored placement in any postcode district it covers. A care home is a single address and may hold one only in its own district.

5.5 A provider must meet section 1 before buying a placement. A sponsored placement does not affect the provider’s position in the results.

6. Selecting providers for a shortlist#

6.1 If you request a shortlist, we pass your details to a maximum of 3 providers. You are told which providers before you confirm.

6.2 Providers are selected as follows:

1. We identify every listed provider covering the postcode district you searched, and any additional districts you selected.
2. We remove any provider that cannot accept the enquiry. A provider cannot accept an enquiry if they have marked themselves unavailable, or if their agreement with us is not in place.
3. We select up to 3 of the remaining providers at random. Each provider in that pool has the same chance of selection.
4. If fewer than 3 providers cover your districts, all of them are included and the remaining places are filled by a second random selection from the wider postcode area.

6.3 If fewer than 3 providers are available in total, you receive fewer. We do not add a provider from outside your area to make up the number.

6.4 The selection is random but not arbitrary. For every enquiry we store the full list of providers that were eligible and the seed used to make the selection, so any selection can be reproduced exactly and checked afterwards.

6.5 The selection method is tested for bias. Over 10,000 selections from a pool of ten providers, each provider is drawn within 12% of an equal share, and a provider holding a sponsored placement is drawn no more often than one that holds none.

6.6 Equal chance applies between providers eligible for the same enquiry. A provider covering more postcode districts, or a district where more families search, is eligible for more enquiries than one covering fewer. We do not equalise enquiry numbers between providers whose coverage differs.

7. How we are paid#

7.1 Families are not charged. There is no fee for any part of this site.

7.2 Providers pay an introduction fee for each qualifying enquiry we pass to them.

7.3 Providers may also pay a monthly subscription for a sponsored placement under section 5.

7.4 Current prices and the terms that apply to providers are on the information for providers page.

8. What we do not do#

8.1 Find-Care is not a regulator. We do not inspect services and we have no power to require anything of a provider. That is the role of the Care Quality Commission.

8.2 We do not investigate complaints about the care a provider has given. Section 2 of our complaints page sets out where those go.

8.3 Nothing on this site is care, medical, legal or financial advice, and it is not a substitute for a professional assessment of a person’s needs.

8.4 We are not party to any agreement you make with a provider. We introduce you to them.

9. Corrections#

9.1 To report anything incorrect on this site, email support@find-care.co.uk with the provider’s name and the detail that is wrong. You do not need an account or a connection to the provider.

9.2 Where the report concerns a CQC rating, we check the register and correct our record. Where it concerns information the provider supplied, we raise it with the provider.

9.3 Concerns about a person’s safety are not handled through this address. Find-Care has no power to act on them. Our complaints page sets out where to report them.

Common questions#