Safe · KLOE 4
Safeguarding
Are there systems and processes in place to safeguard people from abuse and improper treatment and support their right to live safely?
CQC wording, mental health care draft, pages 11 to 15.
Draft, not the current assessment framework
CQC's mental health care draft, published March 2026. The current quality statements remain in use.
CQC draft scope
What this proposed KLOE covers
Scope of this key line of enquiry and topic areas include:
- Safeguarding systems, processes and practices
- Protection of human rights
- Discrimination, including in relation to protected equality characteristics
- Harassment and victimisation
- Sexual safety and empowerment
- Mental capacity
- Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) (Liberty Protection Safeguards)
- Online safety
How would this apply to your service?
The draft applies one framework across mental health care, but useful evidence depends on your service and people.
Source: CQC, Mental health care assessment framework, draft, 19 March 2026, pages 11 to 15. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
CQC draft rating characteristics
How the draft describes each rating
These are CQC's draft characteristics. CQC says rating characteristics guide judgements, they are not a mechanical checklist.
Outstanding
- There is a strong and proactive commitment to taking immediate action to preventing and responding to abuse and neglect. This includes building strong relationships with partners and developing clear processes to work together across services.
- Staff seek innovative ways to ensure that people’s human and legal rights are respected.
Good
- There is a strong commitment to taking immediate action to keep people safe from abuse and neglect. This includes collaborative working with partners. People are helped to understand what safeguarding means, how to stay safe, and how to raise concerns when they don’t feel safe.
- There are effective safeguarding systems, processes and practices managed by appropriately trained staff, which protect people from abuse, neglect, improper treatment, harassment and potential breaches of their article 3 human rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. They are clearly communicated and accessible to people and staff. Where children and young people use or visit the service, safeguarding arrangements are in line with national guidance and best practice.
- People are supported to feel safe. When people feel unsafe or experience abuse, improper treatment or neglect, the service takes action quickly and supports them appropriately. Risks are shared and managed with people and those close to them and advocates.
- People are protected from discrimination, harassment, and victimisation, including behaviour that may amount to abuse, psychological harm, or a hate crime. This includes discrimination related to protected equality characteristics. Providers have effective systems and leadership in place to prevent discrimination, promote equality, and respond appropriately when it occurs.
- People are protected from harassment and abuse in the local community and are supported to understand different forms of harassment and abuse and develop skills to protect themselves. This is done in a way that does not infringe on their independence and rights.
- Staff and leaders understand what constitutes a closed culture and the risks of this to people, including organisational abuse. There are systems and processes in place to prevent closed cultures from developing, identify concerns and take appropriate action.
- Online safety is considered, and people are supported to understand how they can protect themselves online.
- People are supported to have intimate relationships if they wish to have these.
- Staff have a good understanding of safeguarding, appropriate for their role, and know how to recognise and report signs of abuse. There are clear roles and responsibilities around safeguarding. Staff understand their individual responsibilities in preventing discrimination in relation to people’s protected equality characteristics.
- People are supported to understand what safeguarding and keeping safe means. They understand how to raise concerns for themselves and others and are encouraged and empowered to do so.
- The service acts quickly and appropriately when people are experiencing and are at risk of abuse and neglect.
- A person is deprived of their liberty only when it is in their best interests to do so and in line with the relevant legislation under the Mental Capacity Act, Deprivation of Liberty Standards (DoLS) or Mental Health Act. Staff understand the relevant legal framework and use the appropriate codes of practice and processes correctly.
- There are no delays in recognising a potential deprivation of liberty and in seeking appropriate authorisation. The service reviews people’s care arrangements and adjusts these where applicable.
Requires improvement
- Safeguarding systems, processes and practices are not always reliable or appropriate to keep people safe. They are not always managed by appropriately trained staff and are communicated inconsistently across the service. They are not always accessible.
- There is a limited understanding of the term safeguarding. Staff are not always clear how to recognise abuse or who to report it to. People are not always supported to understand what safeguarding and keeping safe mean. They don’t always know how to raise concerns for themselves and others and are not encouraged to do so.
- Staff do not always take immediate action to keep people safe from abuse and neglect. They do not always work collaboratively with partners.
- There is an inconsistent approach to helping people to understand what safeguarding means and how to raise concerns when they don’t feel safe.
- The service inconsistently protects people from discrimination, harassment, victimisation, psychological harm, or hate crimes. This includes discrimination related protected equality characteristics. The service has processes in place to prevent discrimination, and promote equality, but they are inconsistently applied. Staff do not always act when discrimination occurs.
- Staff do not always understand what constitutes a closed culture. Processes to prevent closed cultures from developing may be inconsistent. Staff do not always feel confident to identify concerns and take appropriate action.
- There is a limited understanding of Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and they are not always used appropriately.
- Where children and young people use or visit the service, safeguarding arrangements do not always align with national guidance and good practice.
Inadequate
- Safeguarding systems, processes and practices are not fit for purpose.
- Safeguarding is not a priority. Staff do not recognise or respond appropriately to signs of abuse and they don’t take immediate action to keep people safe.
- People are not helped to understand what safeguarding means or how to raise concerns when they don’t feel safe.
- People are not protected from discrimination, harassment, victimisation, psychological harm, or hate crimes. This includes discrimination related to protected equality characteristics. The service does not have processes in place to prevent discrimination and promote equality. Staff do not act when discrimination occurs.
- Staff demonstrate little understanding of what constitutes a closed culture. The service does not have processes in place to prevent closed cultures from developing. Staff are not able to identify concerns or take appropriate action.
- There is no understanding of Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and they are not used appropriately or in the best interest of the person.
- Where children and young people use or visit the service, safeguarding arrangements do not align with national guidance and good practice.
Want to know how your service would fare?
Book a mock inspection run against the draft KLOEs, or call 020 8090 5346 to speak to one of our experts.