WOW! WHAT AN IMPACT WE’VE MADE! A LOOK BACK AT 2016-2017
CHiLD FiRST DISABILITY SECOND www.cherry-trees.co.uk Registered charity no. 800222
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HELLO! “
First and foremost, during 2016 we provided nearly 64,000 hours of care and fun for our children and their families, which is an improvement from the previous year and is in line with our plan to maximise the use of our facilities. Not only have we increased occupancy but we have continued to invest in the quality and range of services available. We opened our state of the art sensory suite, including a holistic, sensory and art room which was fully funded by kind donations. In addition, all the downstairs bedrooms were redecorated with amazing murals that the children chose. Nothing we do has significance unless the children and families feel that it fulfils or exceeds their needs. It was therefore most satisfying to have received 69 letters of thanks from parents/ carers, professionals and children. Our relationship with those who use our services spans many years and it was sad to say goodbye to a young man who had been staying at Cherry Trees regularly for over 10 years until he reached our upper age limit. However, watching him grow into a confident young man and successfully transition to adult services reminded us of the positive difference we make to so many lives. Looking to the future, we are seeking to increase our occupancy further, improve facilities, exceed our regulatory criteria and extend the range of family events and services. I am confident that with the teams now in place under Claire Bryant, we are well placed to deliver on these expectations. I have said on many occasions that Cherry Trees could not exist were it not for the tremendous support we receive from donors and volunteers. Thank you for your support, it is greatly valued and appreciated by us all.
MARK Mark Clement Chair of Cherry Trees
What We Do... Cherry Trees provides home from home short break/respite care for children and young people aged 0–19 with a range of disabilities including learning, physical and sensory impairments.
who they are. It is a community that is dedicated to children and young people, enabling them to spend time with friends and enjoy new experiences and opportunities, whilst their families have a much-needed break.
We believe that every child is an individual with the right to enjoy a normal pattern of life within the community appropriate to his/her age. Cherry Trees is dedicated to ensure this is achieved for all of the children and young people that access our provision.
Cherry Trees’ vision and values include treating the child first, disability second; ensuring children progress and participate in a range of activities and positive experiences, whilst delivering sustainable support to the whole family. We advocate respect, dignity and freedom of choice for all.
Cherry Trees is a unique place, providing professional care in a safe, stimulating and fun environment, where every child is valued for
GLORIA
SEAN 2
BEN:
“ An enormous thank you for all the care and help that was given to Ben by all the staff. It was second to none.”
N E TH A rather anxious Ben joined us in November 2004, starting out with lots of short visits before gaining the confidence to work up to a Saturday day care visit. He was 7 years old when he started at Cherry Trees. Ben has Agenesis of the Corps Callosum which means there is no connection between the two sides of his brain which causes lots of complex issues. He also has autism and partial facial paralysis. Due to the paralysis in his face, when Ben joined us he found it very difficult to eat unsupported and was unable to speak which made it a real challenge for him to communicate with the adults around him. Over the years, Ben got to know and trust our staff team. The staff understood his needs, his temperament and how to get the best out of him. One of the biggest challenges for the staff was to help Ben with eating. He wouldn’t eat in a public place and at school he ate in a separate room as he was a proud young man and hated the mess he made through eating. The staff worked hard to help Ben to gain confidence and learn the skills to eat independently and over time Ben was able to feed himself. He even learnt how to clear up after his meal. In 2007, Cherry Trees took Ben on a boat trip which involved lunch in a big marquee full of lots of people. Ben sat and enjoyed his lunch in the marquee, amongst many people without any issue. This was a massive achievement for him and was the start of him enjoying many trips out and many lovely lunches! Cherry Trees was able to offer consistent support and over time Ben regularly stayed overnight with us up to 4 times a week during term time and longer in the holidays. Ben loved Cherry Trees. He made friends with the
13 HAPPY YEARS!
other children and staff and really enjoyed becoming more independent. With staff support, Ben grew into a young man who could undress himself with little support, get in and out of the bath unaided and wash his face with minimal assistance. The most important thing for Ben was that, although he didn’t speak, staff got to know him so well that he was easily able to communicate his wishes and feelings and make important choices about his life. At 19 years old, when it was time to move on to an adult environment, Ben was as prepared as he could be with the skills he learnt. He stayed at Cherry Trees for over 10 years and it was so wonderful to see him grow and develop, despite his challenges in life. It is safe to say that he will be really missed! Below is an excerpt from a letter we received from his new home:
“I would like to thank you and your team for all the assistance provided in supporting Ben’s transition. You have embraced the opportunity to support our staff with this transition by directing and being there to guide us through complex communication and processes. Most importantly, we have been so impressed with the commitment of your staff by coming to our home with Ben to support him during this massive life changing event”. And one from his grandparents: “An enormous thank you for all the care and help that was given to Ben by all the staff. It was second to none. He always loved coming and we could also relax whilst he was there. Without your support I very much wonder if we would have managed to keep him at home for eighteen years.” Ben is just one of many children we support long term and your support helps us to achieve this. If you would like to find out more, help or donate, please visit our website www.cherry-trees.co.uk or email fundraising@cherry-trees.co.uk
NOW Y R R E H C & BEN TREES – P GROWING U TOGETHER 3
COMMUNITY ACHIEVEMENTS
WE DID IT!
Cherry Trees took on the challenge to “Light Guildford Blue” for World Autism day. Many of the main historic and cultural venues were illuminated blue for the evening and over 30 local businesses joined our campaign to shine a blue light on Guildford to raise awareness and understanding of autism. 2016 was our first year of “lighting Guildford Blue” and we are looking to grow this year on year. Kezi Symcox spoke at the event; “I have a diagnosis of ASD as does my brother and many close friends. I don’t see this as a bad thing – it makes me who I am and my life what it is. I hope one day everyone will know about and accept autism and this day is a step closer to that goal. My one message would be that autism is not a disease – It can’t be cured and doesn’t need to be!” Mayor of Guildford, Councillor Gordon Jackson, revealed he was “proud to be part of such a wonderful day”.
Sofia made an amazing achievement this year. When Sofia came to Cherry Trees, she suffered with severe anxiety and a significant fear of dogs. The staff worked closely with her and her family over a period of time to overcome this fear as it was impacting significantly on her confidence to go out on trips and outings both at Cherry Trees and at home. Sofia’s first success was attending our annual sponsored Christmas walk where dogs joined the group. Sofia needed a lot of staff support and reassurance but she completed the walk with a big smile, briefly holding the lead of a dog.
CHILD ACHIEVEMENTS
We then organised for Bilbo our Pat dog, to come regularly to see Sofia and within a short period of time, Bilbo became Sofia’s best friend. Sofia’s confidence with dogs grew so much that Sofia was wanting a pet of her own. Bilbo’s owner was so proud of Sofia’s development, she offered to help find a suitable dog. Sofia now has a new best friend at home called Obi and is happy to go on trips out as her overwhelming fear has now turned into a love of dogs.
We have over 60 amazing volunteers giving their time to help Cherry Trees in a multitude of ways. Without this support we could not survive. Everybody has a skill that can be put to use and here are just a few ways some of our volunteers support us on a daily basis.
John Evans celebrated twenty years of volunteering for Cherry Trees in September. In 2004, John became Honorary Secretary of the newly formed Health & Safety Committee where his background enabled him to draft all the essential risk assessments and to guide the Trustees and Committee through all the everincreasing legal requirements. He is in Cherry Trees every single Wednesday helping with the banking and ensuring we are compliant in all Health and Safety areas, and always with a cheery smile. He has a kind word for everyone and will do anything to help anybody. John is involved each year with the organising of the Cherry Trees Christmas Service and is first to offer prizes to the fundraising team or auction items, if required. He is a committed, reliable and dedicated supporter and we are all so lucky to have had a volunteer of his calibre for twenty years.
Heather Williams came to us through her son Peter visiting Cherry Trees over a period of 10 years. Peter loved every minute at Cherry Trees and we were all very sad when he moved on. Heather’s commitment to Cherry Trees has been amazing. Despite all the everyday challenges the family faces, Heather volunteers her time by helping out with street collections, baking cakes for events, being part of our fundraising group and volunteering at our events to help make the day a success. We think she is truly a star and we really value her input. Heather says “Cherry Trees was so good to us when Peter attended, I just felt I wanted to give something back to them by volunteering to help fundraise. It must be coming up to about 15 years that I have been on the Fundraising Committee now and I have really enjoyed every minute of helping out.”
“I am volunteering for Cherry Trees because I feel it is very important to fundraise to help our very special children and their families.”
HOME ACHIEVEMENTS JOHN
6,000
The sensory suite project has provided an amazing facility for our children and their families. Due to the complex special needs and disabilities of our children, having sensory equipment is often essential to help them make sense of the world they live in, help them to communicate, regulate their senses, make independent choices and also relax.
Our bedrooms, sensory suite, play room and foyer have been painted throughout the year by the amazing and incredibly talented staff at Porta Romana. Themes include Friends of the World, Under the Sea, Woodland/Garden, Clouds, Safari and the peaceful Lilac Room, all chosen by the children.
For our children with physical disabilities, as the room is fully accessible to all, it provides them with the rare opportunity to be able to fully relax without the need for their physical constraints such as wheel chairs. It also gives them the opportunity to make independent choices and most importantly to have fun. It was a special day for everyone when we opened the new sensory, holistic and art rooms. Thank you to all the kind donors who helped us to build this amazing facility.
The results are spectacular. The generosity of Porta Romana never ceases to amaze us and we are so very grateful to all the staff who actively got involved. It has made the rooms a special and exciting place to be.
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6,000
THANK YOU’S
HOURS of volunteering
60+ SUPERHERO VOLUNTEERS
Our lovely village volunteers are extremely supportive. They help out with the driving rota and making sure we have someone available twice a day to take the children to and from school. We have an army of wonderful cake bakers, preparing lots of luscious cakes for all the events we run throughout the year and they also support by attending local events on our behalf. All these tasks are essential to our success and without this sort of volunteering it would be so difficult to achieve our fundraising goals. Volunteering is priceless to Cherry Trees. There are so many ways that you can help
YUM!
us through volunteering: supporting staff in the house, gardening, cooking, helping with a collection day, providing some of your skills to support the work in the fundraising offices, setting up a fundraising group or admin support.
If you think you might be able to help or know someone who is looking for volunteering work, no matter if it is only a couple of hours a month, please get in touch. Be part of our team, gain new experiences and share in our passion to help our children and young people. Call 01483 222507 or email fundraising@cherry-trees.co.uk 5
KEEP UP THE FAB WORK
so much love and care Cherry Trees provides the kind of support and relief I have never found anywhere else. They give my family the time we need so we don’t attack each other and bring us together while doing so. Both my brothers have come to Cherry Trees so to me it is a safe, home environment.
We have no words to express what a huge impact Cherry Trees has had in our lives. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all the help and support you have given us over the last six years and the opportunities you have given the boys. Keep up the fab work you do making a difference in the lives of so many children and their families.
I have come for my work experience and am amazed at what I have seen. There is so much love and care for these kids, so much time and so much patience. I have loved this experience and I wish it could go on longer. Thank you for making my family stay whole and caring for so many kids others wouldn’t bother with!
amazing Thank you all for taking such good care of my princess. All your hard work, support and dedication over the years has been amazing. We will miss you sooo much.
The support we receive from you all means a lot to us as a family and we truly appreciate it.
CARE A place where my child has no pressure to conform and where she can be herself and I know she is well looked after and cared for.
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Thank you so much for taking time off your busy schedule to sit and talk with me for a few minutes on many occasions. That makes a huge difference and I instantly get my strength to keep going. So thank you!
incredible 53% of children ATTEND monthly
47% of children join us every week
FIRST CHOICE All the staff in Cherry Trees are very helpful and easy to communicate with. Meals in Cherry Trees are another pressure off for us. It’s much easier than other places where we always have to consider how to keep food warm and tasty enough for his lunch box. Cherry Trees is definitely the first choice for us when it comes to short breaks.
We cannot thank all of you enough for the fantastic care you have given our daughter. Everyone has been so friendly, caring and supportive and we have always known that when we leave her, she will be so happy and well looked after. I can only describe Cherry Trees as a lifeline for us as it has enabled us as a family to have a break and to do some “normal” things, which other might take for granted. For Melissa it has been invaluable as it has given her some incredible experiences, wheelchair ice-skating, visiting Harry Potter World, Taplow Adventure playground to name a few. Without Cherry Trees we would not have coped so it is with great sadness we say goodbye and a huge thank you for everything you have done.
LETTERS OF THANKS!
STRENGTH
WHAT OUR FAMILIES SAY
SUPPORT
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LIFESAVING
Cherry Trees means the world to us as a family. To have a great team who look after my children is lifesaving.
525 family members beneFITTED FROM CHERRY TREES
invaluable 31 NEW REFERRALS THIS YEAR
100% of surveyed parents said cherry trees completely met the needs of their children 7
Every year we need to raise over £500,000 from voluntary income to ensure we can give our families the short breaks they need. We are indebted to all our wonderful supporters who find so many fantastic ways to help us achieve this. We support them every step of the way and our thanks go to every single one.
Corporate support
CherryFEst
We are so lucky to have some extremely generous corporate supporters. One of our corporate supporters are the staff of Martin Grant Homes who used their own social activities, work events, dress-down days, bacon and sausage roll breakfasts and a furniture sale as just some of the ways to increase funds. The idea was not to purposely increase the waistline, but to raise money for Cherry Trees which amounted to an incredible £10,000! Why? Because after their visit to Cherry Trees and seeing the work we carry out here, they were inspired to make a real difference.
Cherryfest is an annual fundraiser that everyone looks forward to and this year was absolutely fantastic. There were 3,000 people through the doors and the day was buzzing from 12 noon till late and raised an amazing £8000. The continued support of Red Mist Leisure and the terrific staff at the Duke of Cambridge as well as the talented bands who played all day, made for a wonderful day and generated an incredible donation.
81p in every POUND of our income goes to the care of the children and support of the families
FUN-RAISING PEople POWER So many groups, schools and clubs raise money for Cherry Trees. They are an invaluable part of our community and their support makes a huge difference to our work.
COOL DADS A group of inspirational Dads created a Tuesday Club and have been fundraising for Cherry Trees during 2016 to celebrate some of their 50th birthdays! This included various activities which raised over £14,000 during the year, what an achievement! The grand finale was a fun-packed fundraising weekend in Cornwall starting with a car rally. What a wonderful way to fundraise and have fun at the same time.
BOARD MEMBERS We “Passed Go” thanks to all our wonderful supporters who voted us onto the Guildford Monopoly board. A fantastic achievement for Cherry Trees. A highlight of the year was the Surrey Cow Parade which featured big on the calendar as we had two sponsored cows on display all over Surrey. Between them Leafy Moo & Cherry Moo made a whopping £27,400 for Cherry Trees! The supporters who gave to this project were so generous and we cannot thank them enough. It was a real team effort. The children especially enjoyed the visits from Cherry Moo and Leafy Moo and everyone loved being part of the Surrey Cow Parade.
THANK MOO!! We are indebted to all our supporters.
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Thank you so much
J SSICA WHY BURSARIES MATTER Jessica has been lovingly looked after by her grandparents since birth. Jessica has global development delay and learning disabilities which cause problems with speech sentencing and general awareness, such as danger or understanding difficult situations. Jessica has low self-esteem and sometimes finds it difficult to control her anger. On the surface, when you meet Jessica everything would initially appear normal and this can in so many ways cause challenges. Her family did not receive any short break support, but courageously carried on caring for Jessica from day to day despite being a great struggle. During 2016, we met Jessica’s family and spoke to them about Cherry Trees. It was apparent that the family really needed support. After a few visits and assessment, we were able to provide support to the family through our Bursary programme. Jessica has been visiting Cherry Trees regularly now for a year. During this time she has made friends here and increased her independence and life skills. We have helped her to learn how to look after herself and she can now attend to all her personal care. She is learning skills like making the bed and clearing up after meals, and making fantastic progress. She is increasing her social development and loves “doing hair and nails” with friends and carers, just like any girls sleepover. As a special treat for her birthday, Jessica made the choice of where to go and who with and had a wonderful birthday tea at a pizza house, with her new Cherry Trees friends.
Everything was working extremely well when suddenly earlier this year Jessica’s grandmother was taken seriously ill and sadly passed away shortly after, leaving her grandfather grieving whilst caring for Jessica, who also missed her grandmother greatly. A very difficult time for the family. Cherry Trees have supported Jessica and her grandad as much as we could during this time and have increased the visits she has to help maintain continuity in her life. This support will continue as we can see how fantastic Jessica’s development has been and we want it to continue for her, as well as to ensure that grandad can continue to care for Jessica at home.
Jessica’s grandmother sadly passed away, leaving her grandfather grieving whilst caring for Jessica.
Cherry Trees has become a huge part of Jessica’s life and a great support to grandad. We are so glad and thankful that we can help them and this is only through the generosity of our supporters that we can. Every year Cherry Trees commits to support families that are in difficult circumstances or financial need. If you feel you can make a donation towards our Bursary Fund please visit our website www.cherry-trees.co.uk
Cherry Trees have supported Jessica and her grandad, increasing the visits she has to help maintain continuity in her life.
34,500 2,403 22 committed to funding bursary visits
HOURS OF BURSARY STAYS PROVIDED
families beneFITTED From the Bursary fund
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S D R A NW
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S D R A PW
U &
We continue to strive to offer the highest quality of specialist care and support for our families. To achieve this we have a firm strategy of quality assurance, implementing a continued cycle of improvement to ensure we provide meaningful support to our families. Central to achieving our aim is our committed staff team and their remarkable drive and determination to help make a positive difference to the lives of our children and their families. This year we have had a 60% increase in children requiring 1:1 or 2:1 support
due to their complex disabilities. We have also seen a rise in children with health needs accessing Cherry Trees. To ensure we remain an inclusive service, we have invested significantly in training to equip our aspirational staff team with the skills needed to meet the needs of children with a significant range of disabilities who stay with us. We value everyone’s feedback and suggestions to help us make a positive difference. If you have any suggestions of how we can improve, please contact Claire Bryant on claire.bryant@cherry-trees.co.uk
COUNTING THE CHERRY PENNIES For every £1 we raise, 81p goes towards delivering, and improving, the care and support we offer our children and families. The other 19p goes towards securing our future and in building awareness within the communities we serve. We appreciate every single donation we receive and we work hard to ensure that not a penny is wasted. Our volunteers save us over £300,000 per annum!
FUNDRAISING COSTS
CARE OF THE CHILDREN
These include costs such as fundraising salaries, the events we run, website and marketing
d team
These include costs directly linked to the care and support we provide to our children and their families.
our dedicate
CHANGE IMPACT FUTURE Some of the many improvements we have made this year: • T rained 4 staff to be Gastro Feeding Care Management trainers • C reated a child-focused video which will be used to show new parents and children what it is like to stay at Cherry Trees from the children’s perspective • I ncreased free/heavily-subsidised holistic support available to our families • S ignificant investment in fire-safety building works and fire-preventative equipment • W ith great thanks to Porta Romana, Mercers and Nationwide, refurbished the children’s bedrooms and upstairs hallway to a high quality specification, designed by the children • O pened a state of the art sensory, holistic and art room • D esignated a Bookings Coordinator to help improve the bookings procedure for families • I ncreased opportunities for parents/carers, our children and their siblings to share their views on important matters relating to Short Breaks in Surrey
Gaining regular feedback from our children, professionals and families is integral for us to measure our success: • A professional stated: “I have worked in special education for over 30 years and this is the best respite/care provider I can ever recall working with. Our youngsters and their families are fortunate to have such a committed and dedicated group of people to help and support them”
Although we are proud of our many achievements and successes this year, we will always strive to improve. This coming year we plan to:
RUNNING COSTS These include costs such as accountancy, audit fees, compliance and bank charges.
• O ffer a free family day where all of our families can enjoy a day out together, with the support of our staff team • B uild a walkway to ensure children can access the sensory suite in all weather conditions
• We were very pleased to have achieved a ‘Good’ grading at our full inspection and ‘Improved in Effectiveness’ at our latest inspection which is the highest grading a home can achieve at an interim inspection. Ofsted state: “Children and young people are well cared for by staff who provide a safe and fun environment”. “Staff show pride in the children’s and young people’s achievements” “Children were relaxed, smiling and laughing. One young person said they liked coming here and gave it a ‘thumbs up’ as a place to visit.”
• R efurbish our well-used bathroom and toilet area to an appealing sensory bathroom
• The children said; “I like coming here to see my friends” “I have fun here”
HOURS OF staff training given
• Replace our mini bus
604
436
955
9,750
848
1,215
hours of two -to-one care
day visits
HOURS OF ONE -TO-ONE CARE
overnight visits
24-hour visits
• R efurbish the two remaining bedrooms in designs that the children choose • Build upon our equality and diversity days
tea visits
• C ontinue to implement a specialist, high quality training programme for the staff team
5,091
=MILLIONS OF SMILES! THE BOTTOM LINE
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change lives by
DONATing MORE SMILES! We could not provide all these services without such great staff, supporters, volunteers and funders. We have many challenges ahead and we want to make the commitment to keep Cherry Trees at the forefront of child and families services in Surrey and surrounding counties for a long time to come. Our grateful thanks to everyone, no matter how big or small a part you play – it is very important to us.
There are many ways to support • • • • • • • • •
Volunteering Regular giving Make a donation Support an event Remember us in your Will A gift in memory Sponsor a child Give as you earn Take on a challenge!
MAKE AN IMPACT! Please complete our standing order form below if you would like to donate.
Address
Tel
Your Donation One-off Donation
Regular Donation
You can sponsor a child’s short break for just £2 a week (£104) a year. This money will help us to give the families and children with disabilities a lifeline, knowing that their child is in safe hands, having fun and receiving great care and attention.
with your CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS THE COST A child’s stay can happen
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Your Details Name
Cherry Trees supports every stay from a two-hour tea visit to the longer 2-week stay. 40–100% of each visit is supported through voluntary income and this page shows some ways your money can make a real difference
for a child to stay for tea
I would like to make a donation by cheque (made payable to Cherry Trees) for £ OR I would like to pay Cherry Trees the sum of £ Monthly
Quarterly
Annually
Starting on
50 for a child to visit for a day
Your Bank Details Bank/Building Society Branch Address Account Name Sort Code Account Number
110
If you are a UK tax payer, please tick to confirm you’d like all donations in the past 4 years and all future donations to be eligible for Gift Aid. This allows us to reclaim £2.50 for every £10 you donate.
ift Aid Declaration I want all donations I’ve made in the last 4 G years and all donations in the future to be eligible for Gift Aid until I notify you otherwise (please tick)
Instruction to your Bank Please credit Cherry Trees, at Natwest Plc, Sort Code 60-09-21, Account Number 03419207 with the amount shown on the date specified above and on the same date thereafter until I give you notice in writing. Please quote reference Signature
Date
Please notify Cherry Trees of any changes to the details above or if you wish to cancel.
A huge thank you from the Care Team! care@cherry-trees.co.uk I 01483 222506 fundraising@cherry-trees.co.uk I 01483 222507 Cherry Trees, School Lane, East Clandon, Surrey GU4 7RS. Registered Charity no 800222 www.cherry-trees.co.uk I facebook.com/cherrytreesuk I @cherrytreesuk
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for a chilD to stay for an evening and oveRnight
150 for a chilD to have a 24-hour visit