Inquiry about small new care home's beginning (8)
I believe the answer is:
research
'inquiry' is the definition.
('research' can be a synonym of 'inquiry')
'about small new care home's beginning' is the wordplay.
'about' becomes 're' (regarding**).
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'new' indicates anagramming the letters.
'beginning' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'homes' is 'h'.
'care' with letters rearranged gives 'earc'.
're'+'s'+'earc'+'h'='RESEARCH'
(Other definitions for research that I've seen before include "Examination" , "Scientific investigation" , "material for investigation" , "Fact-finding" , "Investigation designed to expand knowledge" .)