Categories

There are 27 categories for care homes, hospices, nursing homes, children’s residential care and retirement living developments to enter, including the new categories for local authority residential homes and for retirement living with care provision, as well as opportunities to reward suppliers and the five Gold awards for Outstanding Achievement. To arrive at their list of refinements and amendments to the category list, independent, expert advisors, reviewing the categories, are asked to make sure that Winners and High Commendations would be able to use their success to communicate key attributes about their care home, retirement living development or group to potential new residents or role as a care sector supplier. As a result the category list is now much clearer and reflects the 10 years of development for the Care Home Awards.

 

Care Home categories

Communication and Use of Digital Channels
– sponsored by Autumna
(communication with all stakeholders and for community engagement)

Wellbeing
(including alternative therapies, non-clinical facilities and social, leisure
or inspirational activities to enrich residents’ lives)

Mobility, Access, Vehicles and Transport
(including care home or retirement living on site vehicles and transport and personal mobility for residents)

Use of Technology and Digital Care Strategy
presented by Care Home Management
(for the benefit of residents or staff, and including partnerships with technology companies or universities)

Nutrition, Food and Dining
sponsored by White Oaks 
(this category looks across every aspect of food, nutrition, special dietary needs and the dining experience available to residents)

Resident Safety
sponsored by Assured Partners
(including innovations in insurance policies and effective insurance cover infection prevention and control, SAFE visiting spaces, health and safety risk assessment and prevention/control)

Care Management Software
(including personalised admission management, care plans, etc, and including partnerships with technology companies or universities)

Best Marketing, Advertising or PR Activities
(this category recognises the importance of context: what may work at large scale for a group will not work for an individual and independent care home. The judges are able to award trophies to recognise different scales of operation and suppliers)

Staff Recruitment, Motivation and Retention
(including recruitment campaigns and staff motivation and retention initiatives and providers)

Training and Development
(including care for staff mental well-being, and partnerships with professional training organisations)

Legal, Professional and Business Services
(including internal or external expertise for the benefit of the organisation or of residents)

Sustainability Initiative
sponsored by Care UK
(sustainability is of growing and imperative importance. This Award can be for an individual care home or a group wide initiative for larger providers)

Nursing Care
(including medication management, clinical facilities, partnerships with universities or hospital trusts, etc)

Specialist Care
(covering adults, young people and children for all types of specialist care,
including stroke, dementia and mental health, brain injury, physical disability
or complex 1-2-1 care, including partnerships with universities or hospital trusts, etc)

Innovation in Care 
(including including partnerships with commercial companies, universities or hospital trusts)

Facilities Management, Maintenance or Housekeeping Team
(whether in a care home or retirement living environment the faultless operation of buildings, facilities, technical provisions, teams and suppliers is paramount. Entries can be for complete or partial initiatives)

Architecture or Interior Design
(where it can be shown design helps facilitate resident activity and living, including active retirement living)

Indoor or Outdoor Communal Spaces
(emphasising contribution to resident engagement, involvement and well-being and understanding how a retirement living community differs from a care or nursing home)

Local Authority Funded Residential Home
(local authority residential homes fill an essentially important gap in the sector. This category is new for 2026 and is open to all local authorities across the UK)

Retirement Living Village or Development with Care Provision
(this category aims to show how retirement living with care provision enhances the lives of residents)

Care Home Development
(This category is specifically about care home developments, not about innovations in care. Nor is it about new care homes. It does cover acquisitions, or refurbishment of a group’s properties, or the introduction of accounting and business management software, or the financing of growth and development for the future)

Best New Care Home or Retirement Living Development
(any new property must have opened between Jan 1, 2024 and Dec 31, 2025 and should show how architecture,
interior design, technology and services work together to provide a physical platform to enhance wellbeing for residents and staff)

 

Outstanding Achievement categories (Gold Awards)

(To enter these Outstanding Achievement categories you must have entered at least one of the Care Home categories above. While the Awards are called the Care Home Awards they are open to entries from care homes, hospices, nursing homes, children’s and special needs residential care and retirement living operations )

Outstanding Care Provider in a Group

Outstanding Independent Care Provider

Outstanding Smaller Group Care Provider (up to 25 homes)

Outstanding Mid-size Group Care Provider (over 26-75 homes)
sponsored by AssuredPartners

Outstanding Larger Group Care Provider (over 75 homes)