Ofsted has awarded residential children’s home Cherry House its fourth outstanding grading in a row after inspectors found young people made “excellent progress in all aspects of their lives”.
The home supports four young people with attachment difficulties and who have previously experienced multiple placement breakdowns. In its report, Ofsted praised many aspects of life at the home and included highly positive quotes from children who live there, noting: “Children are happy living in the home. One child called the home ‘perfect’ and another child said: ‘Living in the home has changed my life.’
The praise featured in the report also came from parents of young people cared for at Cherry House with one saying: ‘I couldn’t have asked for better for my daughter. The staff know how to manage her. The changes in her behaviour and the bond she has with staff is fantastic.’
The report notes that the staff team support children to feel safe living at the home and “have an excellent understanding of children’s risks. They work consistently with agreed behaviour management strategies and with other agencies to safeguard children. There has been a significant reduction in risk for all children, with them making safer choices since their starting points at the home.”
Educationally, children enjoy going to school and, the report states, attendance is “excellent”.
The home’s manager is also praised with the report stating: “The manager is driven and passionate about providing a high standard of care for children. He is a positive role model for both children and staff, promoting a nurturing and transparent environment. He knows the children well and his high expectations are reflected in the way that staff work with the children.”
Pauline Paterson, Director of Quality and Regulation at Keys Group, said: “It is rightly difficult for a children’s home to achieve the grading of ‘outstanding’ from our regulators, and it is an achievement to be celebrated.
“To have achieved four outstanding grades in a row is just phenomenal. It is a measure of the absolute dedication the team at Cherry House to the children and young people.”
