Children's Home run by Cherry Care Children’s Home Limited in Essex

Inspection report for children’s home: 2634954 1 Registered provider: Cherry Care Children’s Home Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a private provider and provides care for up to four children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since April 2023.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account good

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2634954 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/04/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2634954 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say that they feel safe and well supported by staff. Children build trusting relationships with staff. The staff have a good understanding of the children and their individual needs.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to communicate their feelings. One child uses picture cards to express how they feel when they are unable to articulate their feelings.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress. They experience improved mental health and reductions in self-harm incidents. All of the children attend education, and make progress from their starting points. Children have successfully transitioned to mainstream schools, and one child has been accepted on a college course.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is an ethos of acceptance in the home. Children are supported to explore their gender identity and sexuality in a safe, non-judgemental environment. LGBTQ+ rights are promoted by staff, and children are supported to access LGBTQ+ groups and services.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to engage in meaningful activities in line with their interests. Children have gone to art galleries and theatre shows. One child attends a young driver’s course.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views and feelings are not clearly captured or recorded. It is not clear how children’s views and requests are followed up or actioned. This means that children do not always have a say in how they are supported. Children do not know if their requests will be actioned, or if they are not actioned, why not.

p.3

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children’s risks and vulnerabilities are understood and planned for by staff and managers. Risk assessments guide staff clearly in how to support children, and the actions to take to ensure that children are kept safe.

p.3

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children’s allegations are taken seriously and acted on. Swift action is taken to keep children safe when potential safeguarding issues are identified. Allegations are reported to appropriate external agencies, such as placing authorities, Ofsted and the local authority designated officer. This reporting means that external agencies have oversight of children’s welfare.

p.3

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff understand how to keep children safe from the risk of self-harm. Staff know how to support children to manage difficult feelings and emotions which lead to incidents of self-harm. Staff respond appropriately during and after incidents and Inspection report for children’s home: 2634954 4 ensure that children receive specialist mental health support and medical attention when required.

p.3

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff respond appropriately to missing-from-home incidents. Children have missing- from-home protocols and risk assessments, which staff follow.

p.4

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff support children to understand their risks. Staff spend individual time with children and discuss risks such as self-harm, exploitation and relationships. This helps children to understand their individual vulnerabilities and how to keep themselves safe.

p.4

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Some children are subject to high levels of supervision and monitoring. This includes one-to-one supervision with no free time. One child is subject to hourly checks when in their bedroom, including throughout the night. However, there are no mechanisms in place to review these levels of supervision, and whether these are needed, which could impact on the child’s privacy.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably experienced and qualified for the role.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and deputy manager have a close working relationship. They know the children well, and are ambitious for children to achieve and reach their full potential.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by the managers. They feel able to ask for help and support when needed. Staff receive good-quality supervision individually, and clinical supervision as a group.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has high expectations of the staff and expects high standards of practice. They use supervision and team meetings effectively to challenge staff when practice does not meet the required standard.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have a wide range of appropriate training that enables them to work effectively with the children and keep them safe. However, several staff are not trained in supporting children with substance misuse and the associated risks. This means that children who experience these risks do not receive a consistent level of support.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has undertaken a learning review following a child moving on in an unplanned way. However, the review is not detailed and does not include staff views. This limits staff’s learning and the scope of the review. Inspection report for children’s home: 2634954 5

p.4

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

p.5

Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a))

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that there are arrangements in place to review plans which restrict children’s liberty and privacy. 3 July 2023

p.5

Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

p.5

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.5

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all staff receive training in relation to substance misuse. 3 July 2023

p.5

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Due consideration should be given to the child’s cognitive ability in the development and implementation of any consultation processes. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted upon. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)  The registered person should ensure that staff are ambitious for every child in the home, to gain skills and experience that enable them to actively support each child to achieve their potential. In particular, involve staff in learning reviews and Inspection report for children’s home: 2634954 6 ensure that any learning is clearly stated in review documents, and is understood by staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality

p.5

Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children’s home: 2634954 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cherry Care Children’s Home Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 47 West Bank, London N16 5DF

p.7

Inspector

Tom McGhee, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2634954 8 to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8