Children's home run by Cherish Children’s Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2776999 1 Registered provider: Cherish Children’s Care Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This is a private children’s home registered for up to three children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left his role in April 2025 due to unforeseen circumstances. An interim manager had applied to register with Ofsted but withdrew his application. A manager, who is registered for another home is currently overseeing the home and has applied to be a dual manager.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home. The child spoke to the inspector about their experiences living in the home.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

p.1

Enforcement action since last inspection:

A full inspection was conducted on 30 April and 1 May 2025, when inspectors identified serious concerns in relation to the protection of children and the leadership Inspection report for children’s home: 2776999 2 and management of the centre. Ofsted served two compliance notices under regulation 12, the protection of children standard and regulation 13, the leadership and management standard. A restriction of accommodation notice was also served. On 22 May 2025, Ofsted conducted a visit to monitor the compliance notices. The provider had acted to meet all the steps in both compliance notices. On 15 July 2025, Ofsted carried out a further visit to monitor the restriction of accommodation notice. The provider had complied with the restriction of accommodation notice, as no children had moved into the home. The restriction of accommodation was lifted following this monitoring visit. Inspection report for children’s home: 2776999 3

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/04/2025 Full Inadequate 06/11/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2776999 4

p.3

improvement to be good

Managers and staff do not fully understand the child’s health needs and diagnosis. This is because the child’s health plan does not include accurate or up to date information provided by health professionals, regarding the child’s current health issues. Statutory health records were also not in place for staff to refer to enable them to update the child’s health plan with the latest information. These shortfalls were identified at the last inspection and have not yet been resolved. Therefore, the requirement has been restated.

p.4

improvement to be good

The child does not have an up-to-date pathways plan or personal education plan in place. The manager has requested these from the child’s social worker. However, she has not further escalated her requests with the placing authority to ensure that clear plans are in place in preparation for the child moving on from the home into independence.

p.4

improvement to be good

The child has been supported to invest in their relationships with staff again. They are happy in their home, spend quality time with staff and have fun together. The placing authority reported positively about the child feeling more settled in the home and the positive progress they are making. The staff team understands the emotional support the child will require as their anxiety grows about moving out the home.

p.4

improvement to be good

The child is supported to see the people who are important to them to establish support networks with their family. The child’s achievements in education continue to progress. The child earned a mentor of the year award. Although they remain on a reduced timetable and this is due to increase as they start year 13, with additional support being put in place.

p.4

improvement to be good

Staff have started work with the child to help them prepare for moving out of the home. This has included visits to semi-independence provisions, consulting with the placing authority in relation to a transition plan and working with the child to develop an independence life skills checklist. This has a focus on skills such as budgeting and using public transport.

p.4

improvement to be good

Staff have meaningful key-work sessions with the child. They focus on the child’s needs and support they require at that point in time. They specifically gather the child’s views, wishes and feelings, in relation to planning for and finding semi- independence accommodation. Key-work sessions are also used to gather their thoughts about how to motivate the child to progress, through incentives and targets.

p.4

improvement to be good

The provider is carefully considering other children moving into the home, to ensure that there is minimal impact on the child already living there. Direct work has been Inspection report for children’s home: 2776999 5 undertaken with the child to seek their views about another child moving into the home and to offer reassurance of how this will be managed.

p.4

improvement to be good

As the child has been supported to feel secure again in their home and their risks have continued to reduce. Staff safeguarding practice is yet to be assessed to determine if it is fully embedded and effective in protecting children, particularly when there is change in the home. The manager recognises that the child’s risks are likely to increase as it gets closer to them moving out of the home. She is focused on making sure that staff remain vigilant and aware of the potential risks for the child.

p.5

improvement to be good

Risk assessments and safety plans are regularly reviewed and kept up to date. They reflect the potential risks for the child and provide staff with clear strategies to follow to mitigate these risks. Staff understand the child’s risks, triggers to their behaviour and how to support them to manage their behaviours. De-escalation strategies are evidenced by staff in their incident management records. Debriefs with the child capture their thoughts from any incidents and help to maintain relationships between the child and staff.

p.5

improvement to be good

The child has not been reported missing from the home. They have age-appropriate time away from the home to spend time with family and friends. Staff help the child to understand how to keep safe away from the home in the community.

p.5

improvement to be good

There have been no further ligature incidents since the last inspection. Staff take prompt action to support the child when they become emotionally dysregulated. On one occasion, this has required the use of restraint as a last resort. Staff understand the child’s emotional needs. They recognise that although risks associated with self- injury have reduced, the child requires support to identify effective coping strategies ready for independent living. Staff work closely with external mental health professionals and the in-house therapeutic practitioner, who both provide consultation about how to support the child.

p.5

improvement to be good

The number of complaints have reduced significantly. The manager ensures that the child’s views and wishes are heard and therefore, they do not feel the need to complain. Additionally, the staff team continues to work positively with the neighbours to promote positive community living.

p.5

good

Leaders and manager’s audits and monitoring of systems are not yet effective in promoting consistently positive outcomes for children. Some statutory health and care planning records are not on children’s files and attention to detail in health records requires improvement. This has failed to be addressed by leaders and managers from the last inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2776999 6 Staff understanding of their roles and responsibilities to care for children has improved. As one child plans to move on and new children are being considered to move into the home, the staff team’s ability to effectively support and manage the dynamic of more than one child in the home will be tested. This is key to demonstrate if the staff teams improved practice provides consistency of care and support for children living in a group home.

p.5

good

Following several changes to the leadership and management team, the new manager has restored confidence in the staff team. She is focused on developing her staff team and has recognised the importance of individual learning styles to help staff to develop in their roles. Additional staff have been recruited. The manager now requires time to stabilise the team to ensure that they provide continuity of care to children.

p.6

good

The manager oversees all incidents. Her evaluation is reflective and demonstrates that she understands the child’s emotional well-being and the impact of upcoming changes for the child. The manager advocates well for the child. She is working with the placing authority and challenging decisions made, to ensure that the child has adequate support for when they move into their new accommodation.

p.6

good

Staff feel better supported and reported that there is more guidance and support in place under the new manager and senior team. Staff supervisions are conducted regularly. However, the sessions are not always reflective or consistently review individual practice. There has been lots to reflect on in the last few months and so, this is a missed opportunity to drive improvements in staff practice.

p.6

good

Training is monitored by the manager to ensure that staff attend refresher training and they have the skills to meet the child’s needs. The manager carries out monthly team meetings. She has introduced practice-based quizzes to review staff knowledge and ‘how to’ guides to support staff in dealing with incidents. In addition, senior managers have reflected on the last full inspection with the staff team, to identify lessons learned and to discuss changes to be made. Inspection report for children’s home: 2776999 7

p.6

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The 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.7

Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

p.7

Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

p.7

Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

p.7

Requirement Due date

understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well-being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iv)) 10 October

p.7

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.7

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

p.7

Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 10 October Inspection report for children’s home: 2776999 8 (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(h))

p.7

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that where the placing authority or another relevant person does not provide the input and services needed to meet a child’s needs during their time in the home or in preparation for leaving the home, the home must challenge them to meet the child’s needs (see regulations 5(c)). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 12, paragraph 2.8)  The registered person should ensure that they have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

p.8

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: 2776999 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cherish Children’s Care Limited

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 8a, Skyways Commercial Campus, Amy Johnson Way, Blackpool FY4 3RS

p.9

Inspector

Cheryl Field, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2776999 10 and inspects 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 who are looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

p.9

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.10

Inspector

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

p.10

Inspector

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

p.10