The revised judgement was published on Thursday 6 February, following a formal challenge by the council to an earlier assessment issued in October.
That initial rating placed the authority one point short of a ‘Good’ outcome under the regulator’s scoring system.
As part of the review, the Care Quality Commission commissioned an independent reassessment by a senior officer who was not involved in the original inspection.
Following that process, the council was rated ‘Good’ in the majority of the nine quality statements used to reach the final judgement.
A key change was an improved score for governance and leadership, which moved the council to ‘Good’ in five of the assessed categories.
The inspection took place in March and was the council’s first assessment under the Care Quality Commission’s new regulatory framework for local authority adult social care.
Councillor Ray Ballman, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, said the revised outcome reflected the work of council staff.
“This regrading of our adult social care provision is testament to the collective resilience, leadership and commitment of our staff, who work so hard to support some of the most vulnerable people in Swindon,” he said.
“I’d like to thank them for everything they do for our residents, often going the extra mile to make a real difference to their lives.”
The council’s adult social care services support people who are older, living with disabilities, or managing physical or mental health conditions, with a focus on helping residents remain independent.
Council leader Councillor Jim Robbins also welcomed the updated rating after recently visiting a day care service at The Ridings.
The sheltered housing scheme includes a 30-place day centre operated by First City Nursing Services on behalf of the council.
The centre provides activities for older residents, including bingo, gardening and organised outings.
“This is brilliant news for all our colleagues in adult social care and for the council as a whole,” he said.
“We were extremely disappointed to originally miss out on a ‘Good’ grading by the narrowest of margins, which is why we asked for the review.”
He added: “I’d like to thank the CQC for allowing us to make that challenge and for carrying out a robust independent review.
“This will make a huge difference to everyone working in the department.”
