Children's Home run by Cherry Trees Care Ltd in Suffolk

Inspection report children's home: 2761271 1 Registered provider: Cherry Trees Care Ltd

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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 private home is registered to care for up to 3 children with social and emotional difficulties and learning disabilities.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2025.

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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: 2 September 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 children's home: 2761271 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/09/2025 Full Good 03/06/2024 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 2761271 3

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Summary of findings

Children receive good-quality care from staff who know them well and understand their individual needs. Children have positive relationships with staff and make good progress in important areas of their lives. Staff listen to children and provide consistent, individualised support that promotes their safety and well-being. Leaders and managers have high expectations for children and ensure that their needs remain central to decision-making. They respond effectively to significant events, learn from practice and work well with partner agencies. The shortfall identified in independent monitoring does not have a significant impact on the quality of care and support that children receive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection staff have cared for 2 children. At the time of the inspection there was 1 child living in the home. The child spoke to the inspector.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop positive and trusting relationships with staff who know them well. A child told the inspector that they like living at the home and confidently showed the inspector around. During the inspection, the child appeared relaxed in the company of staff, and there were warm and positive interactions between them. Professionals also speak positively about the relationships children have with staff. One professional described staff as providing a child with a ‘secure base’. Another said that it was very evident that the child enjoyed spending time with staff. These positive relationships help children to feel safe, secure and settled in their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff routinely seek children's wishes and feelings and act on what children tell them. Staff do this through children's meetings and individual conversations. They record children's requests and the action they take in response, providing a clear record of how children's views have influenced their care. For example, when a child said that they wanted to spend more time at their education provision, staff listened and supported an increase in their attendance. This means that children's views are taken seriously and influence decisions about their everyday lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand children's individual health needs and support them well. Staff work closely with health professionals and follow specialist advice to promote children's physical well-being. They carefully monitor children's health, diet and adapt their support when children's needs change. This consistent approach has contributed to measurable improvements in one child's health. Staff have also sensitively helped the child become more comfortable with changes to established routines associated with their health needs. As a result, children receive consistent support that promotes their health and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in education with consistent support from staff. Staff understand the barriers that can prevent children from learning and help them to engage Inspection report children's home: 2761271 4 at a pace that is right for them. Staff also support children to develop relationships with education and specialist professionals. For example, staff provided intensive support to help one child gradually become familiar with a new education provision and develop trusting relationships there. A professional said that staff understood the child's need for a gradual transition and worked closely with them to ensure that this happened at the child's pace. Another child returned to education following a period of absence, successfully completed their examinations and secured a college place. This support helps children to overcome barriers to learning, achieve educational success and improve

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy positive experiences and have opportunities to make lasting memories. Staff celebrate children's birthdays, achievements and important occasions. They support children to decide how they would like these to be marked. Staff recognise that some occasions can be emotionally difficult for children and approach these sensitively, taking account of children's individual circumstances and wishes. Children take part in activities that reflect their interests while staff also encourage them to experience new things, including trips, holidays and community activities. A professional recognised that staff continually look for opportunities to encourage children to try new experiences. These experiences help children to develop their interests, feel valued and enjoy celebrations and new opportunities.

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

Staff support children effectively to manage their emotions and behaviour. They use strategies that are known to work for individual children and provide consistent routines and clear boundaries. This helps children to develop their own skills to manage difficult situations. For example, when 1 child became worried about an aspect of their daily routine, they took time away, regulated their emotions and identified their own solution to the problem. Staff also speak with children following incidents to help them reflect on what happened and reinforce important messages about keeping themselves safe. This consistent support helps children to develop safer ways of managing their emotions and behaviour.

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

Staff manage incidents that require physical intervention safely and proportionately. They only use physical intervention when necessary and record incidents clearly. Staff and children have opportunities to reflect afterwards. Leaders and managers have strengthened the home's approach to debriefing to promote greater reflection and learning. This helps staff to learn from incidents and provide children with safe and proportionate support when they are distressed.

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

Staff understand children's individual risks and take appropriate action to keep them safe. Children's risk assessments are detailed and consider their known vulnerabilities and risks. They provide staff with clear guidance about the action they should take to reduce these risks and respond to concerns. Staff use this information alongside their knowledge of individual children to provide consistent care. As a result, staff understand how to respond to children's individual risks and help to keep them safe. Inspection report children's home: 2761271 5 Children benefit from purposeful direct work that helps them understand and manage risks in their lives. Staff carefully plan and review key-work sessions and adapt their approach to children's individual communication and learning needs. They use creative methods, including visual resources, practical activities and videos, to encourage children's participation and check their understanding. Staff have used this approach to

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

help one child gradually develop their understanding of their health needs and become more comfortable with aspects of their healthcare. This individualised work helps children to develop their understanding and make safer choices. It also helps them to become more confident in managing aspects of their own well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a suitably qualified and experienced manager who provides child- focused leadership. Leaders and managers know children well and recognise and celebrate their achievements. They ensure that decisions about the running of the home and the care children receive takes account of children's individual needs. This child- focused approach is reflected across the staff team and is recognised by external professionals. One professional said, ‘I cannot stress enough the child-focused approach the home has.’ This creates a culture in which children's needs remain central to the care and support they receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers respond effectively to significant events. Following a significant incident, leaders put a comprehensive package of support in place for the child and staff. Managers maintained regular contact with staff and adapted this support according to their individual needs. Staff said that they felt very well supported and knew that additional support remained available to them if needed. Leaders also completed an internal investigation to understand what happened and identify learning. They took appropriate action in response, including reviewing the safety of the home, risk assessments and relevant policies and procedures. This considered response ensures that children and staff are supported and that leaders respond appropriately when significant events occur.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers work effectively with other professionals and communicate openly about children's care. Feedback from professionals is consistently positive, with communication identified as a particular strength. Professionals describe communication from the home as open, timely and transparent. They also value how staff work with partner agencies particularly during challenging circumstances. Effective partnership working means that professionals have the information they need to work together in children's best interests.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers carefully consider whether children moving into the home can be well matched with those already living there. They take time to consider children's individual needs and seek the views of staff who know the children well. Leaders do not rush these decisions and consider the potential impact of any move on everyone involved. Professionals recognise how well leaders and staff know the children and the care they take when making decisions about them. This careful approach helps to ensure Inspection report children's home: 2761271 6 that decisions about children moving into the home prioritise children's needs and the stability of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers recognise where independent monitoring can be strengthened and have taken action to improve this. They identified that independent visitor reports did not routinely include feedback from relevant people. More recent reports demonstrate improvement and now include this feedback. However, visits have routinely been announced, and the independent person has not always attempted to seek children's views. This limits the scope of independent monitoring and the ability to make accurate recommendations to improve practice where needed. Inspection report children's home: 2761271 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person makes a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home's arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home's care. In particular they should ensure that efforts are made to obtain feedback from children and that some visits are unannounced, to provide a more representative assessment of the day-to-day running of the home. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 65, paragraph 15.5)

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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 children's home: 2761271 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Cherry Trees Care Ltd

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: C/O Dpc Stone House, 55 Stone Road Business Park, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST4 6SR

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Inspector

Emilja Myers, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2761271 9 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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