Children's Home run by Cherry Trees Care Ltd in Suffolk

Inspection report for children's home: 2761271 1 Registered provider: Cherry Trees Care Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties and mild learning difficulties or disabilities. There were two children living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

This was the home’s first inspection since registration in December 2023.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children's home: 2761271 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home was registered with Ofsted in December 2023. Since then, two children have moved in. At the time of this inspection, one child had been living in the home for six months and the other for six weeks. Staff provide the children with good care and both children are making progress as a result.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team creates individualised ‘move-in plans’ for children. Children are sent videos of the home with staff acting out dances and performances based on children’s favourite shows, pet animals and computer games. This makes the move to the home warm and welcoming.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to have a sense of responsibility. One child has a hamster they brought with them when they moved into the home. Staff support the child to look after the pet and are alert to how any deterioration in the care for the hamster could indicate the child needing more support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to create a positive living environment. Communal spaces are being adapted for children to feel more comfortable in their surroundings. One child has chosen paint colours for their lounge space and bedroom and personalised the rooms with furnishings to their individual taste. The other child has been away on holiday with staff, and their lounge is decorated and laid out with sensory items to provide them with the best possible experience at the home, considering their individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff make sure children have positive experiences and can participate in the planning of trips and activities. One child has been to many theme parks and aqua parks and is planning a holiday abroad to celebrate their upcoming birthday. This gives them lovely memories to look back on in the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff and manager work closely with the children’s wider network of professionals. While children are not yet in full-time education, they are attending one-to-one tuition. For children who were not previously attending any educational provision, this is progress. One child is waiting for updated paperwork to be sent to their chosen school after a successful visit. Staff and managers support children by advocating for their wishes, and challenge decisions on their behalf.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have built trusting relationships with staff. Both children are beginning to settle and develop positive attachments. This has been strengthened by having fun experiences with the staff and the manager.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to see their families. Children are supported to have family visits. When children need time away from people outside of the home as they settle into new surroundings, staff talk to the children, make sure this is kept under review and inform social workers, to help with future planning and open communication. Inspection report for children's home: 2761271 3

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

Staff keep children safe and know them well. There has been a reduction in incidents and children who previously experienced significant risks in the community are no longer doing so. Children open up to staff when experiencing feelings of sadness and frustration. Staff have shown the child they are being listened to and have their feelings validated.

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

When children go missing, staff take the necessary action to ensure they are found and brought home safely. They ensure that information is shared quickly with external professionals, so they can respond as necessary to keep the child safer.

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

Staff understand risks to children. Careful risk management is undertaken before accompanying children on activities or trips away. Children are also helped to take responsibility for keeping themselves safe, with child-friendly procedures to aid their understanding.

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

Staff make sure children are made aware of how to raise concerns. Both children have clear procedures recorded for making a complaint. The forms are stored in an area which children feel safe to access and where they can record information privately before sharing with others.

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

Staff work creatively to help children to stay safe online. One child had unrestricted access to online content before coming to live at the home. Staff have created a personalised guide to staying safe online, using the child’s interests. This, along with appropriate restrictions on the child’s access, has helped the child become safer.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager was registered with Ofsted in December 2023. The manager also manages another setting. They hold the relevant level 5 diploma and are an experienced manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers monitor the home well. The monitoring and reviewing of documents mean the staff have clear and up-to-date information on risks and vulnerabilities. This helps them to work in line with updated care plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The senior management team has good oversight. The responsible individual visits the home regularly and is well known to the children, external professionals and staff. The leaders enable an open culture where information is shared with the children, staff team and the wider network of professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager carefully considers how children’s needs can be met at the home. When staff are struggling to support the children, the management team helps the staff to look beyond what is happening in front of them and consider how to achieve the best possible outcome for children. Inspection report for children's home: 2761271 4 Staff are provided with up-to-date and ongoing training. The manager ensures staff have the skills to keep children safe, as well as strengthening their understanding of children’s social and emotional difficulties. This helps staff to develop new ways of working in line with therapeutic models of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have regular and effective supervision. The manager takes time to listen to staff and offers them support to improve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly and are well attended by the team. Clear agendas are set for the meetings and senior managers attend when information needs to be shared or to offer extra support. Senior managers are a visible presence in the home. This gives them oversight of all areas of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Before children move into the home, the manager invites the social worker to team meetings to discuss the child’s plans and to assess their needs against information already provided. This includes baseline assessments to show how the home will meet the child’s needs and what else might be needed. The manager understands the need for information-sharing and does this effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children are supported with child-friendly procedures to aid their understanding of how to keep safe. However, the manager did not make sure that a child took part in a fire drill until a considerable period of time after they had moved into the home. This meant the manager could not be certain the child would leave the home safely in the event of a fire. Inspection report for children's home: 2761271 5

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff support children to stay safe and that the home is an environment which supports this. In particular, ensure that children are made aware as soon as possible after they move in of how to respond in the event of a fire. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.10)

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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: 2761271 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cherry Trees Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: DPC Chartered Accountants, Stone House, Stone Road, Stoke-on-Trent ST4 6SR

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Inspector

Dan Williams, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2761271 7 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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