Group 1: Home Care Excellence

1 Respite Care 
2 Specialist Care 
3 Mental Health & Dementia Care
4 Nursing Care 
5 Visiting Care 
6 Live-in Care 
7 Palliative & End-of-Life Care 

Group 2: Quality, Experience & Outcomes

8 Person-Centred Care & Outcomes
9 Nutrition & Hydration 
10 Partnership & Integrated Care 

Group 3: People & Workforce Excellence

11 Recruitment, Retention & Employee Experience 
12 Learning, Training & Development 
13 Employee Wellbeing & Support

Group 4: Innovation, Technology & Transformation

14 Technology & Digital Innovation 
15 Service Innovation & Transformation
16 Connected Care & Communication
17 Sustainability & Social Impact 

Group 5: Business Excellence

18 Operational & Business Support 
19 Marketing & Communications 
20 Business Growth & Development 
21 Best New Home Care Business or Franchise
22. Best Supplier to the Home Care Sector

Group 6: Outstanding Achievement

   23 Most Outstanding Independent Home Care Organisation
   24 Most Outstanding Home Care Branch or Franchise within a Group or Network
25 Most Outstanding Home Care Group or Franchise Network

Category Descriptions & Judging Guidance

Every category has its own criteria for entry which are detailed below.

Information about the Awards for Rising Star in Home Care and Outstanding Individual in Home Care appears at the end of the criteria details.

Group 1: Home Care Excellence

1 Respite Care
Recognising excellence in home care that provides temporary or planned respite for individuals and their families or unpaid carers. Entries should demonstrate how respite care has maintained continuity, independence and quality of life for the person receiving care while providing meaningful support and reassurance for those who normally care for them.
Entries may include planned or emergency respite, short-term support, shared care arrangements and innovative approaches that enable family and unpaid carers to take a break while maintaining excellent standards of care.

2 Specialist Care
Recognising excellence in specialist home care for people with particular conditions, disabilities or complex support needs.
Entries may include care for people with learning disabilities, autism, acquired brain injury, neurological conditions, physical disabilities, sensory impairments, complex needs or other conditions requiring specialist knowledge, skills or approaches.
Judges will be looking for evidence of specialist expertise, personalised support, appropriately skilled staff and demonstrable improvements in independence, wellbeing, choice or quality of life.

3 Mental Health & Dementia Care
Recognising excellence in home care for people living with dementia, mental-health conditions or associated cognitive and emotional support needs.
Entries should demonstrate an informed and person-centred approach that enables people to live safely and with dignity, choice and as much independence as possible in their own homes.
Judges will particularly welcome evidence of specialist staff knowledge and training, continuity of care, effective involvement of families and professionals, and positive outcomes for the people supported.

4 Nursing Care
Recognising excellence in nursing and clinically led care delivered in the home, enabling people with healthcare needs to receive safe, effective and compassionate support in familiar surroundings.
Entries may include complex nursing care, management of long-term conditions, rehabilitation, post-hospital support, clinical interventions or other services requiring registered nursing expertise.
Judges will look for clinical excellence alongside person-centred care, effective multidisciplinary working, safety, continuity and evidence of positive outcomes.

5 Visiting Care
Recognising excellence in home care delivered through scheduled visits to people in their own homes, from occasional support to multiple visits or extended periods of care during the day.
Entries may include personal care, companionship, practical support and more intensive or frequent visiting-care arrangements that help people maintain independence and continue living safely and well at home.
Judges will look for reliability, continuity, responsiveness, quality of relationships, flexibility and evidence of the difference the service makes to the lives of the people receiving care. (NB: Previously the Day Care category)

6 Live-in Care
Recognising excellence in home care provided through live-in care arrangements, enabling people with significant or continuing support needs to remain in their own homes.
Entries should demonstrate how the service combines continuity and consistency of care with respect for the individual’s independence, privacy, choice and way of life.
Judges will look for excellent matching and management of live-in carers, person-centred planning, continuity, responsiveness and demonstrable improvements in wellbeing and quality of life.

7 Palliative & End-of-Life Care
Recognising exceptional home care for people approaching the end of life and outstanding support for their families and those important to them.
Entries should demonstrate compassionate, dignified and highly person-centred care that enables people, wherever possible, to remain in their own homes and have their wishes and preferences respected.
Judges will look for excellent communication, appropriately skilled staff, sensitive support for families, effective partnership with health and palliative-care professionals, and evidence of dignity, comfort and choice.

Group 2: Excellence in Quality, Experience & Outcomes

8 Person-Centred Care & Outcomes
Recognising excellence in home care that puts the person receiving care at the centre of decisions and demonstrates a positive and measurable difference to their life.
Entries should show how a home care organisation has enabled people to exercise greater choice and control, maintain or regain independence, achieve personal goals, improve their wellbeing or quality of life, and continue living the life they want in their own home. Person-centred care suppliers may enter this category.
Judges will look for evidence of genuine person-centred practice, involvement of the person receiving care and the people around them, and meaningful outcomes rather than simply evidence that care has been delivered effectively.

9 Nutrition & Hydration
Recognising excellence in approaches to nutrition and hydration that contribute to the health, wellbeing and independence of people receiving home care.
Entries may demonstrate how a home care organisation has identified and responded to nutritional or hydration needs, encouraged healthy eating and drinking, accommodated individual preferences or cultural requirements, supported people at risk of malnutrition or dehydration, or developed innovative approaches to food and mealtimes. Nutrition, hydration, prepared meal suppliers are eligible to enter this category.
Judges will look for person-centred practice, appropriate staff knowledge and training, effective identification of individual needs and evidence of improved wellbeing and outcomes.

10 Partnership & Integrated Care
Recognising excellent partnership working that enables different organisations and services to work together to improve the care and outcomes of people living at home.
Entries may involve partnerships between a home care organisation and NHS services, local authorities, GPs, hospitals, hospices, housing organisations, voluntary and community organisations or other professional services.
Judges will look for genuine collaboration rather than simply contractual relationships, effective sharing of expertise and responsibility, and clear evidence that partnership working has produced better experiences or outcomes for people receiving care.

Group 3: Excellence in People & Workforce

11 Recruitment, Retention & Employee Experience
Recognising excellence in approaches to attracting, recruiting, engaging and retaining the people needed to deliver excellent home care.
Entries may demonstrate successful recruitment initiatives, improved retention, innovative workforce planning, career development, employee engagement, recognition programmes, inclusive recruitment or approaches that have strengthened the home care organisation’s ability to build and maintain a high-quality workforce. Recruitment companies may enter this category as suppliers.
Judges will look for evidence of impact — including improved recruitment or retention, workforce stability, employee experience and ultimately the quality and continuity of care.

12 Learning, Training & Development
Recognising excellence in learning, training and professional development that equips people to deliver excellent home care and develop fulfilling careers within the sector.
Entries may include induction and onboarding, continuing professional development, specialist care training, leadership and management development, apprenticeships, career pathways, coaching, mentoring or innovative approaches to workplace learning. L&D companies specialising in home care can enter this category.
Judges will look for evidence that learning has resulted in improved knowledge, skills, confidence or career progression and, importantly, that this has contributed to better care or organisational performance.

13 Employee Wellbeing & Support
Recognising excellence in approaches to supporting the health, wellbeing and working experience of people employed by home care organisations.
Entries may demonstrate initiatives addressing physical or mental wellbeing, emotional support, workplace culture, inclusion, recognition, work-life balance, financial wellbeing or practical support for a workforce that often works independently and away from a conventional workplace.
Judges will look for genuine commitment, employee involvement, accessibility of support and evidence of positive impact on wellbeing, engagement, retention or working life. 

Group 4: Innovation, Technology & Transformation Excellence

14 Technology & Digital Innovation
Recognising excellent use of technology or digital solutions to improve the delivery, management, quality or experience of home care.
Entries may include care-management systems, digital care records, monitoring and assistive technologies, data and analytics, workforce and scheduling solutions, automation, artificial intelligence or other technologies that have addressed a genuine care or organisational challenge. This category is also open to specialist suppliers.
Judges will look beyond the technology itself to consider what it achieved— including improvements in quality, safety, efficiency, workforce experience, communication or outcomes for people receiving care.

15 Service Innovation & Transformation
Recognising an excellent innovation or transformation that has significantly improved the way a home care organisation delivers its services.
Entries may include new models of care, redesigned services or processes, new approaches to meeting demand, improved hospital-to-home support, innovative responses to changing client needs or significant organisational transformation.
Innovation need not involve technology.
Judges will look for evidence of a clearly identified need or opportunity, an imaginative and effective response, successful implementation and demonstrable improvement.

16 Connected Care & Communication
Recognising excellent approaches to communication and co-ordination between the home care organisation, the person receiving care and the people around them.
Entries may demonstrate how better communication, information-sharing and care co-ordination have helped individuals and those supporting them to remain informed, involved and confident in the care being provided. This might include communication with family members, unpaid carers, advocates and healthcare professionals; improved care handovers; accessible communication; real-time care information; or better ways of connecting everyone involved in an individual’s care.
Technology may play an important role, but this is not primarily a technology award. Suppliers specialising in connected care and communication solutions may enter this category.
Judges will be looking for evidence that better communication and co-ordination have strengthened relationships, improved continuity and contributed to better care experiences and outcomes.

17 Sustainability & Social Impact
Recognising excellent initiatives that improve the environmental or wider social impact of a home care organisation while contributing to a sustainable future for home care.
Entries may include environmental initiatives, reduced travel or emissions, more sustainable use of resources, community initiatives, social-value programmes or other activities through which the organisation has generated positive impact beyond its immediate delivery of care.
Judges will look for genuine commitment, measurable impact and evidence that sustainability or social responsibility has become part of organisational practice rather than being a one-off initiative.

Group 5: Business Excellence

18 Operational & Business Support
Recognising excellent operational or business-support functions that enable a home care organisation and its frontline teams to deliver the highest calibre care.
Entries may involve scheduling and rostering, administration, finance, compliance, quality systems, customer service, logistics, business processes or other operational functions essential to effective home care delivery. Expert suppliers in these areas are also able to enter this category.
Judges will look for evidence of operational excellence, responsiveness, efficiency and improvement, together with a demonstrable contribution to the quality, reliability or sustainability of the service.
(Previously Team Support — Operations)

19 Marketing & Communications
Recognising excellent marketing and external communications by a home care organisation.
Entries may include brand development, advertising, public relations, digital and social-media activity, content, campaigns, community communications or initiatives designed to build awareness, reputation, engagement or demand. Advertising, marketing and PR agencies can enter this category.
Judges will look for clear objectives, creativity, quality of execution and demonstrable results.
Please note: This category concerns corporate, marketing and external communications. Communication aboutan individual’s care should enter
Connected Care & Communication Excellence.

20 Business Growth & Development 
Recognising outstanding achievement in developing and growing an established home care organisation, brand, franchise or branch.
Entries may demonstrate sustainable organic growth, successful expansion into new areas or services, development of an existing branch or franchise, acquisition and integration, increased capacity or other significant business development.
Judges will look not simply for growth in turnover or size, but for sustainable, well-managed growth that maintains or improves the quality of care.

21 Best New Home Care Business or Franchise
Recognising an outstanding home care organisation, branch or franchise established within the specified eligibility period.
Entries should demonstrate how the new organisation has successfully established itself, built a capable workforce, developed a sustainable operation and delivered high-quality, person-centred home care.
Judges will consider the strength of the original proposition, progress since launch, quality and growth of the service, workforce development, client experience and the organisation’s potential for continued success. The eligibility period for new home care organisations run for two years from November 1 2024 to October 31 2026 and entrants are asked to confirm at least one full year’s trading between those dates.

22. Best Supplier to the Home Care Sector

1. This category specifically recognises suppliers to the home care sector with an emphasis on excellence in products, services and relationships with customers.
   Any supplier to home care can enter this category and tell their own success story.
   Judges will look for consistent excellence across a supplier’s activities.

Group 6: Outstanding Achievement (gold)

To be eligible for the following Gold categories contenders must have entered one or more of the categories listed in Groups 1-5, above. 
It is expected that the winner will have demonstrated outstanding competence, innovation and expertise across more than one category. The Gold winners may not have won a category outright, but they will have provided evidence of the breadth of their service and competence and may have been highly placed across two or three categories.

23 Most Outstanding Independent Home Care Organisation
This category can be entered by any independent, individual home care organisation that is not part of a franchise or branch network.

24 Most Outstanding Home Care Branch or Franchise within a Group or Network

25 Most Outstanding Home Care Group or Franchise Network
The judges have the discretion to award a regional or national winner, or both.

Special Awards: Outstanding Individuals (gold)

In addition  to the above 6 groups of categories, there will be two Special gold Awards presented:

Home Care Insight Award for the Rising Star of the Year in Home Care
(This Award is in the gift of Home Care Insight and cannot be entered. It will be decided by the editorial team based on coverage in the publication, both on- and offline) 

Homecare Association Award for the Most Outstanding Individual in Home Care
(This Award is in the gift of the Homecare Association and cannot be entered