Herondale

2 Herondale, Basildon, Essex, SS14 1RR

01268523399

Care Type

Residential Care

Assessment date

3 June 2026

Provider

Choice Support

Beds

8 beds

About Herondale

Located in Basildon, Essex, Herondale is a small residential care home with 8 beds operated by Choice Support. The home provides care for older people, younger adults, and individuals with learning disabilities or mental health support needs.

The home was rated Inadequate by the Care Quality Commission following its most recent inspection in September 2025. This rating indicates significant concerns were identified during the assessment. Potential residents and their families should carefully review the full inspection report, which details the specific areas of concern and any actions required of the provider.

As a smaller home, Herondale may offer a more intimate setting than larger facilities, though the recent rating should be a primary consideration when evaluating suitability for a family member's needs.

Specialist Care

Learning disabilitiesMental healthOlder peopleYounger adults

Fees and availability

We have not verified a current weekly fee for this home. Ask for a written quote based on the room and care needed, including any extra charges.

Check current vacancies, the admission assessment and visiting arrangements directly with the home.

Care and inspection details

Checked against the CQC register on 20 September 2026. This is a check of published information, not a visit to the home.

Registered service: Care home service without nursing
Registered capacity: 8 places — this is not a vacancy count
Registration checked: Registered · SS14 1RR

Registered care categories

Caring for adults over 65 yrs; Caring for adults under 65 yrs; Learning disabilities; Mental health conditions; Substance misuse problems.

These describe the registration. The home must assess whether it can meet the individual person's needs and whether a place is available.

CQC ratings in more detail

Overall rating shown by CQC: Inadequate.

Assessment published 27 July 2026. Assessment date recorded: 3 June 2026.

Read CQC's assessment overview

The following is CQC's published account of its assessment, published 27 July 2026. References to “we” mean CQC. It describes findings at that time.

Herondale is a residential care home providing accommodation with personal care for up to 8 people. The service can provide care to older and younger people with mental ill health, people with learning disabilities and autistic people and those who misuse drugs and alcohol. At the time of the assessment, the service did not provide care or support to anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person. There were 5 people living at the service at the time of our assessment.
We carried out our on-site assessment on 8 and 9 June 2026. We looked at key questions safe and well-led. We also followed up actions taken from the last assessment published September 2025 where the provider was in breach of the regulation in relation to, managing people’s medicine, premises and equipment, good governance and staffing.
The provider had made improvements to the environment and fire safety since the last assessment and was no longer in breach of this regulation. However, governance systems and audits had not significantly improved to identify or address the concerns we found at this and the previous assessment.
The provider continued to be in breach of the regulations in relation to the management of medicines and good governance. In addition, there were breaches in relation to safe care and treatment. We met with the provider to seek assurance and asked them to provide an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.
This service remains in special measures. The purpose of special measures is to ensure that services providing inadequate care make significant improvements. Special measures provide a framework within which we use our enforcement powers in response to inadequate care and provide a timeframe within which providers must improve the quality of the care they provide.

Safe: Inadequate
Effective: Requires Improvement
Caring: Requires Improvement
Responsive: Requires Improvement
Well-led: Inadequate

Questions prompted by these ratings

Safe: What changes have been made to medicines, staffing and safeguarding since this rating?
Effective: How are staff training, nutrition and health outcomes checked now?
Caring: How do staff protect privacy, dignity and each person’s choices?
Responsive: How are care plans, activities and complaints adapted to each resident?
Well-led: What has changed in management, checks and oversight since this rating?

These are questions for your visit, not a claim about conditions today.

Read Herondale's CQC record and reports.

Contains Care Quality Commission information under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Ratings and registration details can change after the date checked.

5 Questions to Ask on Your Visit

When visiting Herondale, consider asking...

1.What happens if my relative's care needs increase significantly -- will they have to move?
2.How do you handle concerns or complaints from families?
3.What does the monthly fee cover and what will cost extra?
4.How do you keep families informed about their relative's day-to-day wellbeing?
5.What happens if my relative is unhappy here?

5 Things to Look For on Your Visit

When you visit Herondale, look out for...

1.Do staff greet residents by name and stop to chat?
2.Are residents dressed, up and occupied, or sitting alone in front of a TV?
3.Does the home smell fresh and feel clean without being clinical?
4.Do residents look comfortable and at ease, or anxious and withdrawn?
5.Does the manager answer your questions openly or deflect?

Could the NHS fund Herondale's fees?

The average nursing home costs £1,535 per week. That's £79,820 a year. NHS Continuing Healthcare could cover all of it. No means test, no contribution from you.

Find out if the NHS could fund these fees