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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2730490 1 Registered provider: Cherry Care Children’s Home Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to four children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager registered with Ofsted on 31 July 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were living at the home during the inspection.

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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: 14 January 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2730490 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/01/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 12/12/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2730490 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The quality of care provided to children has improved since the last inspection. The two children currently living in the home are settled and staff now show appropriate understanding of their needs. Leaders and managers have addressed the concerns raised at the last inspection. They work closely with professional networks to ensure that children receive individualised care and support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress. Staff understand children’s starting points and their individual needs and interests. They track children’s progress and create personal targets to help them achieve and develop their independence skills such as managing their personal care. Staff celebrate successes, no matter how small. This helps to motivate children and encourage their on-going progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views and wishes are listened to on all aspects of their lives. Staff have completed appropriate training to help them understand children’s individual communication styles. Information about children’s rights and support is displayed around the home in picture format to ensure that children can understand it. Staff use pictures, gestures and verbal prompts to support communication. They support children to make meaningful choices about aspects of their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive relationships with staff. They enjoy the staff’s company and seek their attention. Staff are warm and caring in their interactions with children and this helps them to settle in the home and develop appropriate routines.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff offer children a range of activities. They ensure that activities are available in the home that are specific to the children’s needs and interests. Out of the home, staff arrange trips that the children enjoy and provide opportunities to have new experiences. Parents feel confident that staff know what interests and hobbies their children like and provide opportunities for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met well. Staff show appropriate understanding of the children’s individual needs and diagnosis. They work well with health professionals and advocate for the children to access appropriate support. Children’s plans are detailed and informed by relevant people. Staff support children to attend their appointments and seek advice promptly when they have concerns about children’s wellbeing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home’s physical environment is safe for children. Children have personalised their bedrooms to reflect their personalities. Although some decoration has been undertaken in parts of the home, leaders and managers have not ensured that all repairs and redecoration are completed promptly to ensure that the home remains welcoming. Inspection report for children’s home: 2730490 4

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

Safeguarding practice has improved since the last inspection. Leaders, managers and staff follow children’s care plans and make safe decisions about the care provided. Staff spoken to showed appropriate understanding of children’s risks and vulnerabilities. They work closely with other agencies to ensure that appropriate actions are taken to keep children safe.

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

Staff spoken to show appropriate understanding of safeguarding procedures and whistle- blowing policies. They have completed relevant training including safeguarding disabled children and behaviour management. Staff are proactive, they manage incidents well and information is shared with the relevant agencies. This improves children’s safety in the home.

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

Staff provide appropriate supervision to children. They follow clear individual behaviour support plans, which help them to manage incidents and behaviour effectively. Staff know the triggers for children’s behaviour and communicate about boundaries and expectations well. Staff have completed relevant training and use appropriate techniques such as verbal reassurance to prevent incidents from escalating. As a result, incidents in the home have reduced.

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

Leaders and managers have reviewed the risk assessment template. The new template ensures that children’s risk assessments are detailed, concise and easily accessible to staff. They are updated following new information and include strategies that help to reduce harm to children. Staff show appropriate understanding of the identified risks, including risks posed due to the impact of children’s special educational needs.

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

Staff know if children are unhappy. Their knowledge of children’s presentation and communication alerts staff to any sense of upset or distress. Staff have effective procedures for sharing safeguarding information. They ensure that the appropriate authorities are informed of significant information without delay. This includes any low- level concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led and managed by a committed and experienced registered manager. Leaders and managers have worked hard to address the concerns identified at the last inspection and acted to ensure that all requirements are met. A new experienced senior member of the team and a deputy manager have been recruited to support the registered manager and provide effective oversight of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff know the children well and have high aspirations for them. They set and review individual achievable goals for each child in their care. Feedback from professionals and parents about leaders and staff is very positive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff work well with the relevant people in children’s networks, including social workers, education staff and families. They visit schools to share strategies on working with Inspection report for children’s home: 2730490 5 children. Strong joint working with a team of relevant professionals ensures that children receive well-coordinated care and support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff show better understanding of their roles and responsibilities. They use team meetings to reflect on their practice and the needs of children. Staff benefit from regular professional supervision that covers a broad agenda. These supervision sessions are reflective, offer staff support and guidance, and consider the needs and progress of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have a comprehensive development plan in place to continue to make improvements in the quality of care for children. However, robust management oversight is compromised by the inconsistency of the recording systems. Leaders and managers acknowledge that recording systems need to be consistent, easily accessible to staff and ensure that all staff are trained in the online recording system that has been commissioned. Inspection report for children’s home: 2730490 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they continue to repair and decorate all areas of the home’s interior. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that the recording systems are consistent, available to staff and are easily accessible. Staff should be supported to use recording systems to ensure that there is careful and objective record keeping. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Information about this inspection

Inspector has 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: 2730490 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cherry Care Children’s Home

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Dorothy Thompstone, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2730490 8 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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