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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2794978 1 Registered provider: Cherry Care Children’s Home Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care for up to 4 children with social and emotional needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager registered with Ofsted in October 2024. This is the home’s second inspection since registration.

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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 outstanding

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2794978 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/05/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2794978 3

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Summary of findings

Children are kept safe and are provided with effective support from staff. The staff build trusting relationships with the children. As a result, the children are making good progress from their starting points.

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Summary of findings

Staff work closely with external professionals to meet the children’s needs. The home is decorated to a high standard and has a family feel. The children are encouraged to have pets and are supported to develop new hobbies and interests.

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Summary of findings

The experienced management team is highly skilled and inspirational. They hold the children at the front and centre of every decision made about their care and welfare.

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Summary of findings

Feedback from family and professionals was unanimously positive. They recognise that the care for each child is personalised and nurturing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, 1 child has moved on from the home in a planned way, and 4 children have moved into the home. At the time of this inspection, 4 children were living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have created a stable foundation for children. Consequently, the children have made visible progress from their starting points, particularly with their safety, educational and social skills. Children benefit from good care. They are flourishing because of the high-quality support staff provide and the stable networks around them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the children’s past experiences; they are genuine and authentic in their approach to children. They support the children to join various activities in line with their interests and aspirations. This includes attending clubs and trips swimming, as well as trips to the local animal farm, theme parks and holidays abroad. This is helping to build the children’s confidence and social competence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the importance of children having a voice and influence at the home. They believe children’s wishes and feelings are integral to the stability and development of the home. The children’s views are consistently considered when decisions are being made about the day-to-day running of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have good relationships with the children. They spend time getting to know them when they first move into the home. As a result, the children have developed positive and trusting relationships with staff. They confidently identify staff they can easily talk to about any worries and enjoy spending time with. Inspection report for children’s home: 2794978 4 Staff support the children’s learning. They create clear routines and structure that supports children to engage with their education in a meaningful way. Staff have been proactive in advocating for children’s education. Children have been supported to access an independent advocate so they can share their views about their care plan. The staff work closely with education providers and offer advice and support to manage challenges children face at school. This has meant support at school and at the home is provided to the children in a consistent way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with the in-house therapeutic lead as well as with external agencies, taking an integrated approach to supporting children with their health and emotional wellbeing. This enables staff to provide a personalised approach that meets children’s individual needs and positively influences their progress.

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

Children feel safe at the home. They feel able to talk to any of the staff about any concerns they may have. The children find that staff are available and approachable.

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

The manager ensures that children’s risks are identified, understood and managed well by staff. As a result, incidents are significantly reducing and the children are safer due to the support of staff. Staff keep the children’s individual risk assessments up to date with any new concerns. These risk assessments are clear and include appropriate information to support staff in caring for the children safely.

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

Staff work closely with the in-house therapeutic lead to understand the impact that trauma and the children’s life experiences have on their behaviour. Staff maintain a calm atmosphere in the home balanced with clear expectations for children. When incidents do occur, staff use appropriate de-escalation techniques effectively. Physical interventions are only used as a last resort. Staff built strong trust with one child, which led to a significant reduction in the number of incidents in which they have needed to be held for their safety. The use of restraint for the child reduced from in the region of 10 per month to none in the past 6 months. Incidents of the use of restraint are clearly documented and proportionate to safeguard children and staff. The manager maintains good oversight of any incidents. Actions identified from this monitoring are routinely followed up in planned conversations with children to improve their ability to manage their

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

Leaders and managers respond to any allegations about staff practice appropriately. The manager ensures that suitable action is taken in respect of any concerns about practice. Children’s views are listened to and reflected in records of any investigations. The manager’s collaborative work with social workers and the local authority designated officer ensures that children are kept safe. The manager identifies learning points and addresses these with staff. He ensures that any learning is fully embedded into staff practice.

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

The kitchen fire door was wedged open throughout the inspection. This compromised children’s safety in the event of a fire. Inspection report for children’s home: 2794978 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is highly competent and has a clear vision and a strong desire to achieve positive outcomes for children. He has quickly developed a home in which staff share a core belief in therapeutic approaches and ensure that children receive the best care the team can provide. The manager is supported by an experienced and committed senior leadership team, whose members are equally enthusiastic about their roles. Leaders and managers have unapologetically high expectations for staff and work closely together to successfully lead the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager, seniors and staff enjoy spending time with the children and ensure that the children are at the heart of everything they do. This helps children develop trusting relationships with adults in the home and develop a strong sense of belonging. Consequently, children see the managers and staff as incredibly important people in their lives. These relationships that staff build with the children have enabled some excellent pockets of practice that positively influence outcomes for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has a strong understanding of the strengths and areas for development. Detailed reviews of children’s experiences along with their feedback are regularly obtained and actioned regarding further improvements. This helps to support the manager’s extensive knowledge of children’s lived experiences and needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers can evidence the children’s positive progress from their starting points. They are curious to understand what is happening for children and are tenacious. They exhaust all avenues to ensure that the children receive the support they need.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff consistently maintain good-quality records. They take the time to capture the children’s wishes and feelings in records. They are conscious of the fact that children may read these later in life to help them understand their personal histories. The children’s plans are written in a child-focused way and include a comprehensive overview of their lives. The plans are regularly updated and overseen by the manager, giving staff clear direction on supporting the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff describe the manager as being inspirational. Staff describe a positive morale among the team and the excellent support given by managers. The manager has created an extremely positive and reflective culture driving continued professional development. Staff are safely recruited, and all relevant checks are carried out. New staff benefit from excellent inductions, which include comprehensive training. Existing staff are provided with ongoing professional development. The staff value the focused and quality supervisions based on the home’s therapeutic approach. Inspection report for children’s home: 2794978 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home complies with relevant health and safety legislations, including fire prevention and management arrangements. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations’, including the quality standards, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2794978 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cherry Care Children’s Home Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspectors

Anda Roddy, Social Care Inspector Joanna Heller, Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report for children’s home: 2794978 8 regulates 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 looked-after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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