Consultant Review and Reference Policy
This page explains how Children's Home Hub handles consultant entry references, public client reviews, review verification and related safeguards.
Consultant entry references
Who provides references. The applicant provides the referee's details, but CHH controls the reference request. Consultants cannot simply upload a testimonial and count it as a checked reference.
Standard questions. CHH uses a standard set of reference questions covering the work provided, whether it was delivered as agreed, advice reliability, fee clarity, timescales, whether the referee would work with the consultant again, and consent for CHH to use the reference.
References remain private. Reference responses are entry-check references, not public reviews. They are not automatically published. They are used by CHH when deciding whether the consultant meets its entry standard.
Reference integrity checks. CHH carries out internal checks such as email domain, organisation, relationship, obvious duplicate referees, and the same referee being repeatedly used across applications. Unusual cases are flagged for admin review. We do not automatically accuse or reject someone based on these indicators.
Public client reviews
Structured feedback. Public reviews use a structured form covering the service used, whether work was delivered, pricing clarity, timescales, advice reliability and whether the reviewer would use the consultant again. Reviews do not use star ratings.
Review verification. Reviews start as "submitted" and are not automatically published. CHH can request verification, mark a review as from a verified client, publish, decline or withdraw it. The label "Verified client review" is only used where CHH has completed its verification process.
Public review safeguards
- Consultants cannot submit reviews of themselves
- CHH staff cannot quietly create client reviews
- Incentivised reviews must not appear as ordinary independent reviews
- Negative reviews are not rejected simply because they are negative
- Reviews can be refused where authenticity cannot reasonably be established
- Reviews about the wrong consultant can be rejected
- Reviews containing unnecessary personal or child information can be withheld or redacted through admin moderation
No automated public accusations are made.
Incentivised reviews
Where a reviewer has been offered an incentive in exchange for their review, the review must not appear as an ordinary independent review. CHH may label it, withhold it, or decline it. We do not promise that every public review has been checked in exactly the same way. The status used is clearly labelled on each review.
Negative reviews
Negative reviews are not rejected simply because they are negative. A review may be declined where authenticity cannot reasonably be established, where it relates to the wrong consultant, or where it contains unnecessary personal or child information that cannot be redacted.
Consultant responses
Consultants have a right of reply to published reviews. Responses require moderation before publication. Published responses appear under the relevant review on the consultant's public profile.
Removal of reviews
A published review may be removed or redacted where new information comes to light, where it is found to be inaccurate, where it contains information that should not be published, or where the reviewer withdraws it. The decision and reason are recorded internally.
Conflicts of interest
CHH does not allow its staff to create client reviews. Where a reviewer has a commercial or personal relationship with the consultant that is not disclosed, the review may be labelled, withheld or declined.
Review summaries
1 to 4 verified reviews. Show count only. Do not show percentages. For example: "3 verified client reviews." Individual published reviews are shown.
5 to 9 verified reviews. Counts may be shown. Prefer counts to percentages. For example: "4 of 5 said they would use this consultant again."
10 or more verified reviews. Percentages may be shown but always include the base number. For example: "90% would use again, based on 10 verified reviews."
Incentivised review disclosure
The client review form asks whether the reviewer was offered any payment, discount, free service or other benefit for leaving the review. If an incentive is disclosed, the review is flagged for admin review and must not be published as an ordinary independent review.
Register independence
Children's Home Hub charges application and listing fees to support the checking process and operation of the Register. Payment does not guarantee acceptance, change the verification standard or improve organic ranking. Verified negative feedback will not be removed because a consultant has a commercial relationship with CHH.
Reconsideration
An applicant who has been declined or had a profile restricted can ask CHH to reconsider. This is called a "request for reconsideration". It is not a statutory appeal. The applicant can identify the decision being challenged, provide a reason, submit new evidence and add a comment. CHH records an outcome note for each request.
A request is normally expected within 20 working days of being told of the decision. A late request is not automatically rejected, but it is flagged for admin decision.