The Old School House on New Walkergate scored Outstanding in every category. Only 29 of England's 13,728 rated care homes held that on 1 September.
A council-run care home in the centre of Beverley has been rated Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission in every one of its five categories. The Old School House, at 13 New Walkergate, was assessed between 8 and 18 June and the report was published on 8 September. It is rated Outstanding for being safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led, and Outstanding overall.
That combination is genuinely rare, and the council’s own announcement does not say how rare. We counted it from the regulator’s published data. In CQC’s latest ratings file, dated 1 September 2026, 13,728 care homes in England held a current overall rating. Of those:
- 619 were rated Outstanding overall, 4.5 per cent
- 29 were rated Outstanding in all five categories as well as overall, 0.21 per cent, or about one in every 470
The Old School House is not in that file, because the file was compiled a week before its report came out. On 1 September the only home in the East Riding holding all five was Willersley House on Main Street, Willerby, run by Methodist Homes. There are now two, which is what the council means when it says the home is one of two in the district to manage it.
The home takes 24 residents. It provides residential and dementia care for older people and is run directly by East Riding of Yorkshire Council rather than by a private operator.
What the report actually says
CQC’s assessment describes a service that “provided exceptionally high-quality, person-centred care and support that consistently achieved outstanding outcomes for people”, and says leaders “had created a culture where compassion, innovation, learning and continuous improvement were embedded throughout the service”.
Four specific findings sit behind the rating:
- People whose earlier placements had failed. The report singles out “exceptional practice in supporting people with complex needs, including several people whose previous care placements had not been successful”, and says families “consistently told us the service had achieved outcomes they had not previously experienced elsewhere”.
- Cutting back restrictions. Inspectors call reducing restrictive practice “a significant strength”, and record that “several people experienced reductions in enhanced supervision and increased independence whilst maintaining their safety and wellbeing”.
- Families shaping the service. The home runs Family and Carer Listening Events, and CQC found relatives could point to changes that came directly from their feedback.
- End of life care. The report names three initiatives, “Comfort Boxes, Purple Hearts and enhanced bereavement support”, alongside unrestricted family access.
Relatives are quoted throughout. One called it the “First place that has really understood and worked with us”. Another said, “It is such a delight to go to sleep and not have to worry.” A third summed it up: “I honestly couldn’t ask for anything more.”
The bit that changed since last time
This is not the home’s first Outstanding. At its previous inspection, published in January 2020, it was rated Outstanding for being effective, caring, responsive and well-led, and Good for being safe. The single category that moved this time is safety, and moving it is what took the home into the all-five group.
Councillor Jonathan Owen, the council’s cabinet member for adults, health and care, said: “Achieving an Outstanding rating is a significant accomplishment in itself, but to be rated Outstanding in every one of the five areas assessed by the CQC demonstrates the consistently high standard of care, leadership and support being provided.”
How the rest of the district compares
The same dataset lists 135 care homes in the East Riding with a current overall rating. Twelve are Outstanding, 91 are Good, 30 Require improvement and two are not rated. None is rated Inadequate.
Twelve Outstanding out of 135 is 8.9 per cent, which is close to double the national rate of 4.5 per cent. That is worth stating carefully: ratings are not refreshed on a common date, so some of these judgements are years old. Willersley House’s, for instance, was published in January 2018.
What it means for you
- If you are choosing a care home, the rating is only the headline. The full assessment report is free to read and names what inspectors actually saw. Search the home on the CQC website and open the report rather than the star.
- A rating can be old. Check the publication date next to it. A 2018 Outstanding and a 2026 Outstanding are not the same claim.
- The Old School House is council-run, so placements go through East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s adult social care team rather than the home directly.
- If you have a concern about any home, CQC takes information from the public and uses it to decide where to inspect, at cqc.org.uk/give-feedback-on-care.
Frequently asked questions
Which Beverley care home is rated Outstanding?
The Old School House, 13 New Walkergate, Beverley, HU17 9EH. It is run by East Riding of Yorkshire Council and holds Outstanding in all five CQC categories, in a report published on 8 September 2026 after an assessment between 8 and 18 June.
How rare is Outstanding in all five categories?
Rare. In CQC’s latest ratings file of 1 September 2026, 29 of the 13,728 care homes in England with a current overall rating held Outstanding in all five, which is 0.21 per cent. A further 619 in all, 4.5 per cent, were Outstanding overall, so 590 of them fell short in at least one category.
How many care homes in the East Riding are rated Outstanding?
Twelve of the district’s 135 rated care homes, on the same 1 September file. Ninety-one are rated Good, 30 Require improvement and two are not rated. None is rated Inadequate.
Was The Old School House rated Outstanding before?
Yes, in a report published in January 2020, but not in every category. It was Outstanding for being effective, caring, responsive and well-led, and Good for being safe. Safety is the category that moved this time.
Sources
- Care Quality Commission, The Old School House, assessment report AP24266, published 8 September 2026, assessment dates 8 to 18 June 2026.
- Care Quality Commission, The Old School House location page, showing the five current ratings and the registered provider.
- CQC latest ratings dataset,
01_September_2026_Latest_ratings.ods, from CQC, using CQC data, downloaded 24 September 2026. All counts in this article are our own, filtered to locations flagged as care homes with an overall rating. - East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Beverley care home rated ‘Outstanding’ by Care Quality Commission, 22 September 2026.
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