What is Hearth?
Hearth is a digital recording platform for children's residential homes and supported accommodation providers in England. It allows staff to create custom forms and logs for daily records, incidents, and safeguarding that map to Ofsted Quality Standards. The service is offered free until a home receives its Ofsted registration, after which it is available on a monthly subscription with no contract lock-in.
What are the specific pricing tiers and costs for different bed bands?
The pricing is published per home, per month, excluding VAT, with unlimited staff accounts on every tier. For 1 to 3 registered beds, the monthly cost is £149, while 4 to 6 beds cost £199 per month. Supported accommodation is priced per place at £25 per place per month, or £22 on the annual plan.
How does the daily recording and evidence mapping process work?
The platform allows staff to record at the point of care on any device in under 30 seconds. Every entry is timestamped, attributed, and held in a tamper-evident audit trail. Registered managers can build the records the home actually uses and tag each to a Quality Standard.
Who founded Hearth and what features are included in the system?
Hearth is built by someone with seven years of experience working in children's residential care before founding the company. The system includes tools for rota scheduling, staff training matrices, compliance registers, planning, and team messaging in one place.
Where is Hearth based and what are its registration details?
The company is located at 20 Turner Road, Bean, Kent, DA2 8BA, GB, and is registered in England and Wales under company no. 17349265. It is UK-hosted and encrypted, with an ICO registration of ZC205445.
How can a new home start using Hearth and what is the onboarding process?
To get started, users can book a demo to see how it works. The service is free until a home receives its URN from Ofsted, and migration from another system is included at no extra cost.
What do reviewers praise about the inspection readiness features?
Some reviewers say the platform helps homes become inspection-ready as a side-effect of everyday recording. It turns routine documentation into the evidence the SCCIF asks for without requiring a four-week scramble before a visit.
Which regulatory frameworks and statutory record types does Hearth support?
The system is aligned to the Children's Homes Regulations 2015 and the SCCIF & the 9 Quality Standards. It also supports Annex A export, Regulation 40 notifications, Regulation 44 independent-person access, and Regulation 45 review.
When was Hearth founded and which markets does it serve?
Hearth is a trading name of Hearth Systems Ltd, which has been operating since 2026. The platform is designed specifically for England, serving children's residential homes and supported accommodation providers.
What specific features are included without extra charges?
The website states that every staff account, including bank and agency accounts, is included without a per-seat charge. Setup, data import, and onboarding are also included in the service.
What additional management features are available on every plan?
The platform includes a Responsible Individual's multi-home view on every plan, allowing oversight across multiple premises. Updates are automatic with no version upgrades required.
What are the terms for migration and billing start dates?
The service offers a guided migration if a home is moving across from another system. Billing starts only when Ofsted grants a URN, and there is no countdown trial period.
What are the specific requirements for supported accommodation pricing?
The platform provides a whole regulatory surface including Regulation 32 reviews and the whole notification catalogue running for supported accommodation. It also offers a floor price of £99 a month for up to 3 places.
What is the core philosophy behind the platform's design?
The website mentions that the idea was built in one minute by the founder who previously worked in the sector. It aims to record the user's way rather than forcing them into old system templates.
How can I contact Hearth?
You can reach Hearth by e-mail at hello@carehearth.co.uk.
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