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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2634954 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 owned by a small private organisation and registered to provide care for up to 4 children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2026.

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Information about this children’s home

There are currently 3 children living at the home. The children were all spoken with and shared their views during this 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 October 2025

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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: 2634954 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/10/2025 Full Good 03/12/2024 Full Good 24/05/2023 Full Good 06/04/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2634954 3

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Summary of findings

Children receive effective care and good support. Since the last inspection, the home has benefited from a new leadership team. Children have remained settled and stable. They make progress in all areas of their lives. Staff help children to re-engage with education, build independence skills and reconnect safely with their families.

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Summary of findings

Children benefit from positive experiences away from the home. However, care plans and risk assessments do not always reflect the progress that children make. Furthermore, rigid safety planning sometimes prevents children from rebuilding trust when they have previously made unsafe decisions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved in and is making good progress. Staff carefully planned the move in to help them join the established group of children successfully. Two children have been away on a group holiday with staff. Children enjoy playing games, karaoke and watching movies together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well maintained. Children personalise their bedrooms, which are clean and tidy. One child proudly displays their collections and items that reflect their identity. Staff support children’s independence by encouraging them to take care of their own bedrooms. They provide children with double beds to reflect their growing maturity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to see their families. As a result, children spend an increased amount of time with the people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children reconnect with education. One child has a bespoke learning plan tailored to their interests, alongside core subjects. Another child achieved 100% attendance in the last school term and recently completed their GCSE exams. This demonstrates that staff prioritise children’s education and support them to reach their full potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and leaders know children well and advocate for them. They challenge external agencies if children are misunderstood or face stigma. They hold professionals to account to ensure that support plans represent the children fairly. Staff work well with health professionals to ensure that children have the correct assessments, and that their voices are considered when decisions are made.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff update care plans and risk assessments to show any increase in children’s vulnerabilities. However, some care plans contain outdated information. Other risk assessments continue to refer to historical incidents from 18 months ago. As a result, these records do not fully reflect the children’s current progress. Inspection report for children’s home: 2634954 4

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

Staff understand the protocols for keeping children safe. Since the last inspection, one child has once spent unplanned time away from the home. Staff responded quickly to the child being away, they shared information with partner agencies, and the child returned home safely. Managers made sure that the child had a return discussion to check on their welfare.

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

There have been no incidents of physical intervention since the last inspection. Staff know how to support children when they are distressed. They allow them time to calm down. When children are ready to talk, staff hold thoughtful and reflective conversations with them. This gives children the space that they need to manage their emotions.

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

Managers listen to children when they raise concerns. They act quickly by sharing information and carrying out investigations into the concerns. Staff learn from these incidents in order to improve their practice. Managers speak to children, reassure them and seek their views.

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

Staff respond quickly when older children struggle with their emotions or are under the influence when they arrive home. When necessary, staff search bedrooms with children present and remove hazardous or harmful items. Children trust the staff. They regularly handover harmful items, such as electronic cigarettes. This demonstrates that children know that staff act in their best interests.

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

When children make decisions that increase their online vulnerability, staff deliver targeted online workshops. They discuss this learning with children and implement safety plans. Staff share information with partner agencies. They hold regular meetings to review current safety plans. However, overly rigid safety planning limits children’s ability to build trust and demonstrate progress.

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

One social worker said, ‘They have made a lot of adjustments. Staff are teaching [child’s name] road safety, safe relationships, and they have filtered the wi-fi. They are definitely keeping them safe.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has gone through a period of management change. The manager recently registered with Ofsted and is undertaking the level 5 diploma. A new deputy manager has been appointed, and a new senior leadership team provides oversight.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management changes are positive. Leaders have increased levels of monitoring, with regular audits and checks. Several staff have left and new staff have joined the home. These changes have not adversely affected the children’s experiences. Staff receive regular supervision sessions. When performance or attendance concerns arise, managers offer supportive and appropriate guidance to address these. Changing the deputy manager’s hours has improved oversight and monitoring of staff practice Inspection report for children’s home: 2634954 5 throughout the week. This allows the deputy manager to directly model good practice to the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular training. This includes modern safeguarding topics and the safe use of artificial intelligence. Managers maintain an up-to-date training matrix on file. The senior leadership team reviews this regularly to ensure that all staff remain compliant.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff said that they feel supported and well led. Managers model good practice and maintain a strong presence at the home. Social workers highlight strong communication with staff. Social workers also said that the home has improved over the last 6 months and children make good progress under the new leadership team. Inspection report for children’s home: 2634954 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are able to express themselves with the use of technology, with as much freedom as possible, which is to be kept under review and reflect the progress children make. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.21)  The registered person should ensure that children’s care plans and risk assessments are updated to show children’s progress and information that is current, in line with their care planning. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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: 2634954 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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Inspector

Dan Williams, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2634954 8 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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