Invest in Council Care, Not Outsourcing: Success at Beverley Home Prompts Calls for In-House Expansion

​An East Yorkshire care home has earned the highest possible recognition from national inspectors after being rated ‘outstanding’ across every single area evaluated.

​The Old School House in Beverley, operated by East Riding of Yorkshire Council, has been awarded the top grade in all five key inspection domains by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The home, which delivers specialist residential and dementia care for older adults, achieved the top rating for being safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led.

​This comprehensive rating places the facility into an elite tier of social care provision nationwide, making it one of only two care homes in the East Riding to hold the top grade across all five categories. Inspection officials praised the team for delivering tailored care that consistently placed residents at the center of decision-making and daily service delivery. The achievement marks a step up for the home, which was previously assessed in 2020 as outstanding in four areas and good in one.

​The result highlights broader high standards across local authority provision. East Riding currently ranks 7th among all local areas in England for its overall percentage of outstanding care homes, with 11 out of 76 local facilities (14.3%) holding the CQC's highest overall rating.

​Councillor David Boynton, Chair of East Riding of Yorkshire Council's Health, Care and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Sub-committee, commended the staff and leadership for their dedication to high-quality care:
​"Achieving an 'outstanding' rating across all five CQC categories is an incredible accomplishment and a testament to the hard work, empathy, and professionalism of the staff at The Old School House. It demonstrates what can be achieved when local care places residents at the heart of everything they do. This recognition highlights the exceptional standard of care being delivered right here in Beverley."

​"Consideration should also be given to investing in and expanding our in-house care home provision, building on services such as the Old School House, rather than assuming outsourcing is the only option."
​The success at The Old School House comes at a crucial moment for social care across the region, particularly following the planned closure of the Bridlington Care Unit. The loss of regional step-down and intermediate capacity has sharpened focus on the urgent requirement for more high-quality care options embedded within local communities.

While East Riding of Yorkshire Council itself is currently under a Conservative minority administration, Conservative local authority care standards vary widely across the country. ​Nationally, councils led or co-led by Liberal Democrats continue to set a strong benchmark for social care delivery, leading the top two ranked council areas in England for outstanding care provision and leading or forming part of the governing administration in 4 of the top 10 overall.  

​Building on these track records, Liberal Democrat national policy continues to champion substantial reform in the sector. The party advocates for the introduction of free personal care for older and disabled individuals alongside the creation of a dedicated National Care Service to guarantee consistent, high-quality local care nationwide..

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