Cheery Blossom Supported Accommodation

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Cheery Blossom Supported Accommodation 1 Cheery Blossom Supported Accommodation Registered provider: Cheery Blossom Supported Living Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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provider

This supported accommodation service is operated by a private provider in the northwest of England. They can accommodate up to two individuals in one shared or group living premises that is not limited to accommodating looked-after children or care leavers. They can also accommodate up to seven individuals in three shared group living premises for children who are looked after and care leavers.

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provider

At the time of the inspection, eight individuals were being accommodated. Seven of them were looked-after children aged 16 or 17.

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provider

There is currently no registered service manager in post.

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provider

Inspection dates: The inspection was announced on 18 November 2024 and started that day. The inspectors were on site from 20 to 22 November 2024.

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Outcome

Consistently strong service delivery leads to typically positive experiences and progress for children. Where improvements are needed, leaders and managers take timely and effective action. The next inspection will be within approximately three years.

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Summary of findings

Children are well prepared for living independently and their transition to adulthood. They receive high-quality support from staff.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers provide staff with good support and training.

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Summary of findings

Children are in education or employment and make good progress in other areas of their lives. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Cheery Blossom Supported Accommodation 2 Children feel that staff care about them. The staff have formed excellent relationships with the children.

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Summary of findings

The quality of accommodation provided for children is exceptionally high. Children appreciate this and take care of their surroundings, which means that they feel safe in their environment.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers are visible and approachable. They have high expectations and standards, which are cascaded down throughout the organisation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children said that they feel happy and safe in their homes. They also said that staff build good relationships and support them when they have worries or concerns.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff are empathic about children’s experiences of trauma. They have high aspirations for children and encourage them to attend education, training or employment. Staff celebrate children’s progress and successes, which helps children with their self-image and confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children who are separated from their families and country of origin feel understood by the staff team. Staff are proactive in using different forms of communication with children when English is not their first language. As a result, children are happy with the support they receive. One social worker said, ‘[Name of child] has developed a good relationship with staff, which makes him feel safe. He always engages with staff when he has any concerns, always informs them of his whereabouts and if he is going to be late home.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Leaders and managers provide children with tailored support to manage their vulnerabilities. They update safety plans and work as part of a multi-agency team. They communicate well with external services and share information with them in a timely manner. A member of staff from a partner agency said, ‘We were able to work with Cheery Blossom to locate the young person and negotiate accommodation and support very quickly, which created a safe place for [name of child].’

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff support children to register with universal health services and attend appointments. They also support children to access sexual health services.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff help children to connect with people who are important to them. Children have access to mobile technology and Wi-Fi in their homes for this purpose.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff help children develop life skills in line with their individual needs, so they prepared for adulthood. They also help children to understand how they can improve their skills for independent living. Each child has a detailed support and behaviour management plan which includes their views, wishes and feelings. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Cheery Blossom Supported Accommodation 3

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How well children are helped and protected

Children feel safe, happy and settled in their homes. They can access support and the on-call service when they need it. Staff have positive relationships with children. This means that children can identify a trusted adult they can talk to about any concerns.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff complete detailed compatibility assessments to address the potential risks of children living together. This helps to ensure that children can live alongside each other safely.

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How well children are helped and protected

Plans include children’s risk assessments and support and behaviour plans. They are clear and include children’s known vulnerabilities, including contextual safeguarding concerns. They specify the action that staff should take to help children to manage their vulnerabilities. Staff review the plans on a regular basis and include children’s views. Children also discuss de-escalation techniques with staff, which helps them to manage their behaviour.

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How well children are helped and protected

When children are missing from home, staff follow steps to locate them, such as contacting their families and contacts. There is a well-coordinated response to reduce the risk of harm. When staff locate children, they check on their well-being. Most children are offered return home interviews from an independent service, and staff escalate this with the local authority if it is not offered. When risks associated with missing-from-home episodes increase, staff escalate concerns with local authorities, which means that children receive a well-coordinated multi-agency response.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff complete detailed records following incidents. However, leaders and managers do not consistently report serious incidents to Ofsted or, when reported, it is not within the required timescales. This means that the regulator has no initial oversight of what action staff take to support children’s welfare.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff said that they receive good-quality training that helps them to understand and support children’s individual needs. They share ideas and experiences with children when incidents happen. This helps children to reflect on incidents. One member of staff said, ‘Being able to put it [training] into practice has been good.’

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How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers use robust safer recruitment processes to ensure that adults are safe to work with children.

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How well children are helped and protected

Leaders ensure that the accommodation is safe and secure and provides privacy for children. Staff maintain accommodation to an exceptionally high standard and ensure that repairs are completed quickly. This also helps to keep the accommodation homely. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Cheery Blossom Supported Accommodation 4

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers have good oversight of the service. They have a clear understanding of children’s vulnerabilities and are child-focused.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The nominated individual is invested in their staff and encourages them to develop their skills as part of a team. This means that staff feel valued and helps them to provide consistency for the children in the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff are positive about the support and training they receive. They said that they feel valued working for the service and their well-being is a priority for managers. One member of staff said, ‘Support from management is great. They care about our well-being.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Managers provide staff with regular supervision. This means that staff have the opportunity to discuss their well-being, development and progress in the service. As a result, staff feel valued and listened to by managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers removed one property from their registered accommodation but then placed a child there. However, they did not inform Ofsted of this change, therefore the regulator was unaware that a child was placed there. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Cheery Blossom Supported Accommodation 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023 and the ‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify the CIECSS and any relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation or child criminal exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child and the registered person considers that incident to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the supported accommodation undertaking or a person working for it;

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry);

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Requirement Due date

there is an incident involving the use of a measure of restraint of a child;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

the event concerned; 20 December Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Cheery Blossom Supported Accommodation 6 any other individuals or organisations who or which have been notified;

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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Requirement Due date

is made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 27 3(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f) 4(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must give notice in writing to the CIECSS, as soon as it is reasonably practicable to do so, if any of the following events take place or are expected by the registered person to take place—

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Requirement Due date

If premises are no longer used, or intended to be available for use, as supported accommodation by the supported accommodation undertaking, the registered person must give notice in writing to the CIECSS no later than 10 working days after the registered person becomes aware of the decision to cease use of the premises.

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Requirement Due date

Where additional premises are acquired, commissioned or arranged, or the supported accommodation undertaking intends to acquire, commission or arrange additional premises, and the supported accommodation undertaking intends to provide supported accommodation at those premises, the registered person must give notice in writing to the CIECSS as soon as it is reasonably practicable to do so, of the following—

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Requirement Due date

the characteristics of the children for whom it is intended the supported accommodation undertaking will provide accommodation at the premises, including the age range, number and sex of the children;

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Requirement Due date

the category or categories of supported accommodation to be provided at the premises.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must give notice in writing to the CIECSS within 72 hours of the supported accommodation undertaking—

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Requirement Due date

accommodating a child for the first time in any premises which were not referred to in the registered person’s application for registration; 20 December Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Cheery Blossom Supported Accommodation 7 accommodating a child in premises for the first time after the premises are brought back into use, after the undertaking temporarily ceased to use the premises as supported accommodation. (Regulation 34 (1) (2) (3)(a)(b)(c) 4(a)(b))

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the workforce development plan includes the current staffing structure and the managerial arrangements for oversight of the premises. The plan should also include how staff support children when there is on-site or floating support and how staff promote continuity of support. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’, page 47)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children 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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Cheery Blossom Supported Accommodation 8

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider: Cheery Blossom Supported Living Limited

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider address: Hollinwood Business Centre, Albert Street, Oldham OL8 3QL

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Supported accommodation provider details

Email address: busie@cheeryblossomsl.co.uk

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Inspector

Helen Fee, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Cheery Blossom Supported Accommodation 9 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 children looked-after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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