The home
Hammond House.
A small children’s home in Colchester, designed to feel lived in, personal and calm — with room for children to spend time together and space to step away when they need it.
A home, not a setting to be processed through.
Children have their own bedrooms and are supported to personalise them over time. Shared rooms are designed around everyday home life — eating together, watching a film, cooking, playing, doing homework, or simply spending time with people they trust.
Each child is allocated two key workers as part of the home’s standard care model.
Space to be together.
The living room, kitchen and dining areas are places for ordinary routines and shared experiences — meals, games, conversation and activities that let relationships build without everything feeling like a formal intervention.
Space to regulate.
Hammond House also has quieter areas where a child can reduce stimulation, read or take time to settle. These are used according to each child’s preferences and plans, and never as a substitute for supportive relationships.
Interests, activity and health.
Activities should reflect the child, not a standard programme. Staff help children explore interests in ways that are safe and realistic for them, and support is arranged around the individual child.
Equine therapy
Where appropriate to the individual child, formal equine/equestrian therapy may form part of the wider therapeutic offer and is delivered under an appropriately qualified therapeutic practitioner.
Physical health
A personal trainer is actively engaged with Hammond House. Nutritionist input is available as required. These are individualised supports, arranged according to each child’s needs rather than provided as a universal programme.
Education, health and everyday life
Hammond House works with the professionals around each child to support education, health appointments and daily routines. The details differ for every child, so we explain our approach rather than promise a particular school, timetable or activity.
Safety without making the home feel institutional
Children’s safety is supported through relationships, individual risk planning, trained staff, clear routines and proportionate safeguards. Detailed security arrangements are intentionally not published on this website.
Before a child moves in
A placement is considered carefully: whether Hammond House can meet the child’s needs, whether the match is safe for children already living here, and what transition would give the best chance of a settled start.