Cherry Trees Impact Report 2020-2021

LIFELINE!

cherrytrees.o rg

.uk

WHAT AN IMPACT WE’VE MADE! A LOOK BACK AT 2020-2021

“I don’t know what I would have done without Cherry Trees during this testing time.”

Averting crisis, how our committed carers kept families going

WHAT’S INSIDE?

How we remained open during the pandemic how much care we delivered in 2020-21 Supporting our children to fulfil their potential the DETERMINED fundraising team that excelled

Registered Charity No. 800222

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“What a Year we had”

A proud CEO reflects on the past year “This year has been an unbelievable challenge for us all, however for families who have children with disabilities, the unbearable pressures and considerable strain they have experienced as a result of the pandemic for many, is indescribable. We have always known that Cherry Trees is a lifeline, because it is a word that parents and carers use to describe us time and time again but none of us imagined just how essential our service would become when the pandemic was declared on 11th March 2020.

It soon became apparent how much more our families would need our support to keep their families together, to stop them reaching crisis, to help them survive.

The emotional and physical stress on a family who has a child with complex disabilities is exhausting. Caring at home is continuous with no end, demanding, and in many instances is physically challenging. Ordinarily parents/carers and siblings would have a break from this draining caring role through their child accessing school, specialist care services, therapies and friends and families, however the pandemic took most, and for some, all of these avenues of integral support away.

We were bombarded with significant challenges when we took the decision to remain open. The hurdles we were faced with ranged from significant food shortages when the aisles were depleted of essential goods, an increase in operational costs whilst integral fundraising

It soon became apparent how much more our families would need our support 2

events had to be cancelled, and staff shortages when many had to self-isolate, however we couldn’t leave our vulnerable families alone to educate, care and deliver medical interventions to their child when schools, other care services and therapies closed.

Cherry Trees didn’t just survive this very challenging period; with the support of our phenomenal staff and volunteer team, we managed to thrive. We had a very positive Ofsted Assurance visit during this tough period and we advocated for families with disabilities in national news coverage sharing the key messages from the Disabled Children’s Partnership (DCP), a collaboration of 90 charities and their ‘Left in Lockdown’ report.

We also set up a new Welfare Fund and refurbished our upstairs bathroom – creating an independence suite. We have provided face to face delivery of services throughout the duration of the pandemic, even cancelling our planned May closure period so that we could remain open when our most vulnerable families were most in need.

Cherry Trees is one of very few SEND providers nationally who maintained meaningful support throughout the last year.

Looking forward, it is clear that the demand for our service has never been greater, we now play a vital role in ensuring the pandemic does not create long lasting difficulties for our children and their families. I am extremely proud of the way in which our team has dealt with the unprecedented challenges posed by COVID-19.

At all times our focus has remained on the care and welfare of the children in our care and the wellbeing of their families, whilst ensuring that our staff who look after them were safe.

I would like to extend a thank you to all our staff, volunteers, Trustees, donors and our integral community of supporters who continue to make Cherry Trees all that it is.”

CLAIRE BRYANT Chief Executive Officer

Never giving up “The impact of the school closures was huge. The phones were going constantly with parents asking if we were staying open and if their child wasn’t in school could they come to us? Whilst we had to prioritise, we were able to keep our support services going. Our staff even set aside their annual May holiday leave, because we knew there were no day care facilities open in the county at all. It was a period of incredible energy and a deeply held “can-do” sense that the staff carried.

Thank you to our supporters

“It’s in times of adversity that you truly know who your friends are. As a charity facing crisis, we were humbled by the warmth and support our community, supporters and volunteers offered us. As lockdown hit, over £100k of vital fundraising public events income was immediately cancelled and we had to turn on a sixpence to find new ways to work.

Once the worry about the unknown and what would happen went away, the team spirit gave the buoyancy Fundraising underpins every single visit by our that was needed to take us all through a really difficult children; it represents 40% of our overall income.

Without it we could not function. I’m proud of our time. The reaction of our families to all that we have small fundraising team; they adapted, innovated and done was at times, quite emotional. We know that found ways to make things happen, to keep funding all our families really appreciate what we do, but it’s our vital work. Our volunteers adapted too and were when you hear the line: “you are giving my son some there with us through thick and thin. It was a privilege normality in this very unnormal world”, it’s those to work alongside them all. We cannot thank you, words that we can all relate to, treasure and that our supporters, enough for all you do for us and our got us through very difficult times.” children and families, thank you.”

PAULA RANKIN JANE HUNNABLE Head of Care Head of Fundraising & Marketing

Why I like Cherry Trees “The pandemic made me feel angry and sad. I had to wash my hands a lot, wear a face mask and it meant not seeing people. It was really good to be able to come into Cherry Trees, but it wasn’t always the same as before which was little strange for me. I got to see my favourite carers Emma, Alfie, Polly, Alex and Eloise and stay over which I really like because I could have a pamper session and eat Steve’s pizza. Making things for mummy was also really good.”

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CHERRY ACHIEVERS!

little steps, big impact

Our carers collaborate with families to help every child fulfil their potential in a nurturing, encouraging and understanding way. The Cherry Achiever’s Tree is a high point of our house where the individual’s small steps, new experiences and happy moments are celebrated. Our ethos is CHILD FIRST DISABILITY SECOND, looking beyond the disability presented, focusing on the individual themselves.

Our Cherries symbolize their achievements, hanging high, for all to see.

We were really pleased to see this young man back at Cherry Trees for day visits after a long period of shielding at home. For over six months he missed out on coming into see us. As a child who struggles without routine, we knew that making the change from the home environment returning back for visits to our house could have been problematic, but he had a really positive approach often arriving with a smile on his face, embracing being back ‘out’ again.

For this young lady moving from one space to another can be challenging, with changes of environment unsettling her. Knowing this, time spent in the garden and art room are key because visits to these spaces within Cherry Trees prompt a more relaxed approach and acceptance of being in a new area. Comfortably exploring the house, levels of stress caused by changes have lessened and this has opened up the possibility of trying new activities.

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Shower times for this young man can sometimes become a little fraught, with a strong dislike of water going onto his head and into his eyes. At home it can often take two or three of his family to help wash his hair with lots of reassurance and a flannel being held over his eyes. Encouraging this young man to wash his hair on his own, is a big step forwards in selfcare and personal shampooing. Well done, your locks are looking luscious!

This child has been enjoying day visits over the last year, often seeking out the art room and playing with dolls in the upstairs den. Carer Alex was really pleased with her creativity and for making something beautiful. The art room is a popular and colourful space all our children enjoy.

“Children make good progress over the course of their short breaks. They can develop their speech from a few words to a full conversation, developing self-confidence. One child has made significant progress in making the transition into the short break from a place of high anxiety.”

“You have helped my daughter go forward with her progress in so many ways! She has learnt to sit at a table for her dinner, learnt to wait until people have finished before she’s allowed to leave the table. She absolutely loves Cherry Trees and has been made to feel very at home since she first started!”

Ofsted report April 2021

Parent

CHERRYTASTIC OUTCOMES

for children, for families

WE ARE SO PROUD TO HAVE DeliverED on our pledge to keep families together. THE Number of OUR families that reached crisis point during the pandemic WAS... ZERO. (source May – October 2020 Reg 45 report)

“outstanding”

OPEN have remained The only charity to the pandemic to open THROUGHOUT locally. date in our sector

Our overall rating from our latest inspection remained as ‘Good’.

When awarding a verdict for ‘how well children and young people are helped and protected, we are ‘outstanding’.

“The home’s catch phrase, ‘children first, disability second is embedded in staff practice.”

(Ofsted April 2021)

assessing ren’s Partnership repor t In a 2020 Disabled Child e categor y t ser vices, we fell into th the availability of suppor . Just 3% ces’ that remained open classified as ‘Other Servi including us. achieved this nationally,

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124

2,500

81 Families supported

1,515 Sleepovers

46,423 Total hours of care provided

New children welcomed to our house

More visits in May than usual, (as we stayed open during the pandemic)

Extra hours spent cleaning !!!!

– on top of the usual amount

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HOW THEY SH0 NE

As keyworkers were celebrated nationally, the support our own Carers gave meant families could cope “I think the main thing Cherry Trees has done is to be brave and caring enough to remain open”

“Cherry Trees has been the only lifeline we have had and a godsend for our son who was going crazy at home. You have put in place sensible safety procedures …I wish other short break providers could have adopted the same sort of approach instead of closing completely.

The staff at Cherry Trees have been amazing.”

“Just wanted to say thank you so much for today. He was so excited to be coming in and gave him some normality. It also meant I could see my dad on his birthday. He’s on his own at 85 and struggling… don’t know what we’d do without Cherry Trees.”

“Provided my family with a lifeline by continuing to support my 2 boys. I don’t know what I would have done without Cherry Trees during this testing time.”

“Been a complete saviour, was the only 5 days respite we had in six months. Thank you.”

Staff welfare How we kept our frontline workers safe, healthy, calm and ready for work, surviving the uncertainty altogether: Furloughed vulnerable staff on full pay Home deliveries of groceries to avoid the frenzied and understocked supermarkets Supported home working where possible

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Made time to listen to those ‘just won’t go away, scary big thoughts’ and anxieties Extensive COVID-19 policy and risk assessment for safe working Implemented a health benefit for all staff, including paid counselling

“Having Cherry Trees remain open during these difficult times has been a godsend for what has become an extremely challenging time for Sally and therefore provided additional challenges for us too. She has loved her last few visits and they have provided a little ‘normality’ in a world that is far from normal at the moment. When we have collected her she has been calm but chatty telling us all about what a nice time she has had.”

The Kitchen, the heart of every home With panic buying stripping supermarket shelves, the race to ensure our own pantry was stocked with provisions became a priority. It was also quick thinking and anticipating the likelihood of shop supplies running out that meant a phone call to the only UK based pasta supplier, Pasta Foods Ltd ensured a pallet load

with six months’ worth of dried pasta arrived at School Lane from Norwich! Chef Steve Warr worked hard to source food from local suppliers, navigated online deliveries and donations of food parcels poured in.

Our nutritious meals carried on being served, through the hatch, keeping our children and staff well fed and healthy.

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Fundraising: Finding New Ways Fundraising provides approximately 40% of our total income each year and is essential. Income from fundraising means we can support every visit, even up to 100% of bursary costs, where other funding may not be available.

For the financial year 2020-21 fundraising raised vital income to underpin visits as well as pay for key development and capital projects to modernise our house, bring new experiences and support each child with new life skills. We completed our upstairs Independence bathroom suite and started raising money for our new Sensory Play Garden project.

In a year when the National Council for Voluntary Organisations estimated a drop in national income for the sector worth £2bn, our fundraising team rose to the challenge to protect our income streams.

Whilst the pandemic halted many planned fundraising events in their tracks, a new sense of innovation and creativity emerged. Adapting, learning and adopting all the new digital tools ensured we could find novel means to raise money. This approach helped us surpass our annual target of £576,000 for the year 2020-21 to raise £600,000 overall, an increase greatly needed to cover the additional costs generated from the pandemic.

We couldn’t do it without you!

Art & SculptureS In The Vineyard

Patron’s Annual Golf Day – St George’s Hill

Festive Feel Good Christmas Market

Our thanks to our Patron Sibylla Tindale once again for making her award winning Vineyard available to us. We were able to make our foray back into in-person fundraising events, safely outdoors, in summer 2020. Visitors could view the outdoor fortnight exhibition, wander the grounds and for those attending on the National Garden Scheme Sunday, enjoy cream teas on the lawns. Donations from visitors, a percentage of wine and art sales and refreshments raised a healthy £12K.

This key annual fixture took place with 20 teams teeing off at our Patron’s Golf Day, on a championship course many aspire to play. The leadership and support of our dedicated Patron Jeremy Lowe ensured some exceptionally skilled golfers entered their teams for a very rainy day’s play.

A record amount of £45k was raised from an auction, donations and luxury raffle. A huge thank you to Jeremy, those that supported the organisation on the day and the players that gave so generously.

An offer from a local supporter for the use of her 16th Century tythe barn and extensive courtyard enabled us to host our first outdoor Christmas Market. Donations, raffle tickets and a percentage of stall holder sales raised a healthy £3,000 for us. We were one of the only charities to safely and successfully deliver an outdoor in-person fundraising event locally in the lead up to Christmas.

The National Lottery Our heartfelt thanks to The National Lottery Community Fund for their ongoing support for Cherry Trees.

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CORPORATE

COMMUNITY

Martin Grant Homes have supported us for over a decade and they made Christmas 2020 particularly special with a gift of £10,000 for our ‘Big Give and double your donation’ Christmas Campaign, resulting in funds to Cherry Trees of £20,000. Our grateful thanks to our 2 ‘catalyst’ pledgers for making this happen.

Electronic Arts Guildford used a staff Christmas raffle to raise money for us, raffling off a sought after PS5 with the addition of a percentage of matched bids meant a healthy revenue of £3,187. The uplifting ‘Festival of Christmas Trees’ by United Reformed Church Guildford raised £600 with an additional £300 donated by the generous congregation wanting to support our families at Christmas.

Beautiful gifts for the children were also donated to make Christmas special. Long-time supporters, Gomshall Chapel sadly closed this year, Cherry Trees gratefully received a gift of £3,450. The Chapel’s crockery was also rehomed with us.

DOING IT DIGITALLY Embracing Zoom, Teams and Facebook Live, we found our feet in a new digital world with people coming together, safely socially distanced, at home. Starting with charity quizzes we went on to present history talks and flower arranging demonstrations as we see-sawed between lockdowns.

Out in the community supporters wanting to run, cycle or even host their own garden Olympics switched to digitally tracking their start times and Personal Bests (PBs).

TRUSTS & FOUNDATIONS Raising funds is difficult under the best of circumstances, but during a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, the task was somewhat herculean. Cherry Trees rose to the challenge, researching and identifying emergency grant funding where available. Our relationship with trusts and foundations

continued to grow, so much so that with emergency grants, such donations were 50% higher than budget, making up for shortfalls elsewhere. Grants funded overnight and 24 hour visits, a new playroom, an Independence Bathroom, our on-site Chef and our cookery club.

Our Wonderful Volunteers And the love just poured in….from community donations of homemade Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for our staff, food parcels, funds for our new Welfare Fund and ongoing supplies from Help For Sick Children.

We couldn’t have survived without our talented and loyal 200 volunteers.

Whilst we missed being able to work with many of them in person, different types of ‘helping out’ jobs arose: door to door leaflet drops, making knitted items to sell, driving our bus for the children when restrictions lifted and helping at our outdoor Christmas Market – all were invaluable.

Thank you to each and every one of o ur volunteers, our community and all those who found us for the first time in 2020-21.

Cherry Trees operates its fundraising to the highest possible standards. We are registered with the Fundraising Regulator and abide by their Code of Fundraising Conduct.

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Keeping us together in a crisis Mum Emma explains why Cherry Trees mattered so much when confined to lockdown at home….

“When we heard that Cherry Trees was going to stay open I burst into tears. It was the utter relief, knowing that as the world around us closed down, there was going to be something, one thing in Alex’s life that was going to stay the same. I had made

This is Emma, one of the families we have supported and stood-by right across the pandemic, recalling her memories of the historic day the UK Government announced the first lockdown, March 2020. The past year of the pandemic has been an unbelievable challenge, for families with a child with disabilities.

We have known Emma, Alex, his sister Megan and Emma’s former partner Phil for seven years supporting the family with visits for Alex after school and overnight stays. Alex was born with a rare neurological condition, was non-verbal until the age of five, has autism and highly challenging behaviour.

“Looking back on that initial lockdown, it was such an awful time for us as a family and so hard, I have actually had to erase that whole period from my head and block it out. Because of Alex’s challenging behaviour… the biting, the hitting, the unpredictable outbursts it was a very stressful period for all of us, being shut up in the house together for long stretches of the day. Alex needs a lot of supervision 10

the automatic assumption that Cherry Trees like everywhere else was just going to close and we were going to be stranded. I genuinely thought we were going to have days and days of enduring his challenging behaviour. Him being cross, demanding lots of attention and lashing out because he couldn’t understand why he was at home, away from school and Cherry Trees - all because of the virus.”

and wants a lot of attention, often needing two adults to manage him.

We realised the only way we could handle his behaviour during that time was for my ex, their dad Phil to move back in with me. Megan our daughter was really struggling, stressed by missing school herself, trying to avoid her brother’s outbursts.”

With Alex’s school also closed, visits to Cherry Trees meant a ‘breather’ for everyone. Sister Megan relaxed knowing the house was calm, giving Emma time to do ‘easy and normal things’. “Time for lots of sleeping and resting. I didn’t have to be constantly alert, checking to see if he had wandered out the front door or seeing if a picture had been smashed up…Megan and I even had the chance to make a homemade tennis court, playing outdoors in the garden together.”

January 2021, Emma herself contracted COVID-19 which meant visits for Alex to Cherry Trees were on hold, as the charity committed to retaining a COVID free and safe working environment. However, recalling the ongoing support at this time; “There were check-in calls, people asking what shopping was needed, and deliveries, there was always someone to talk to. Just fantastic, they didn’t falter, even then.”

Alex has a strong relationship with long time and experienced Carer

Steve. Often praised by our families for his manner with the children, he is one of our popular male carers. Emma credits Steve in particular for his care and promotion of independence within her son. “Over the last year despite everything that was going on with the pandemic my son has grown so much. Because of enjoying Cherry Trees meal times, he has developed an interest in what others are eating. If he sees something on someone else’s plate that he likes the look of he will show that he wants some, including vegetables! Sitting next to Steve at breakfast time, they enjoy Shreddies together, something he would never have eaten before. Now, because of being encouraged to help Steve clear up at Cherry Trees, he understands to bring his own plate to me and put it in the dishwasher himself!”

Whilst Alex is soon to leave Cherry Trees (summer 2021) to start a new chapter in his life, through a full time residential placement, Emma and her family have pledged to keep in touch with Cherry Trees, feeling indebted to all the support given over the years.

How we cared for Alex in the last year...

95 Sleepovers with 2,725 hours of care including 935 hours with 1:1 care

Goodbye Dear Friend and Founder We were sad to learn of the passing of our original founder, an all-round force for good and very determined woman: Dr Helen Foley MBE, in January 2021. After news of her death became public knowledge, tributes from around the UK were sent to us, all conveying her strongly held sense of helping families in need. Helen was one of Cherry Trees original founders, and we are still in touch with her family to this day.

Much of her spirit and conviction about how we treat, work with and

respect people with disabilities runs through all we do today. A memorial to honour Helen will be the finishing touch to our Sensory Play Garden project ensuring we keep her memory close and legacy alive for every child’s future visit. Thank you Helen for all you have done, for the thousands you have made a real difference to.

DR HELEN FOLEY MBE (24th February 1937 – 31st January 2021).

...Much of her spirit and conviction about how we treat, work with and respect people with disabilities runs through all we do today.

Going Green Whilst our main responsibility to our families is the provision of integral respite breaks, we have tried to introduce greener ways of working as a 21st Century charity.

Our setting in our picturesque village of East Clandon reminds us of our relationship with nature and the environment. Over the last year we have raised a third more income

from our clothing bank, doubled the amount we are recycling and installed a Swift box as part of a village wide conservation project.

Plans to upgrade our lighting and a review of our energy consumption are also underway.

Hitting the Headlines Nationally For the first time in our 41 year history, news crews covering the national agenda came to us. Channel 5 News interviewed our CEO Claire Bryant via Zoom, in a report looking at life for families with a child with disabilities during the pandemic.

Camera crews also visited one of our families at home. Other media

coverage included on-air appearances for BBC Surrey’s ‘Making A Difference’ slot and our Surrey Advertiser contributor column continued for a second year, providing expert opinion and commentary on our sector, championing our knowledge and experience.

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The Days Ahead

OUR PLANS FOR THE HOUSE, FUNDRAISING AND FUTURE PROJECTS “The pandemic has taught us that short break provision is more than just stays at Cherry Trees. Parents and children have also gained respite from the virtual sessions they have had from carers and entertainers, activity packs and even meals we have prepared and sent home. Food hampers have gone to those that have experienced financial difficulty.

We will therefore ensure the extra services we have implemented throughout the pandemic continue.

Looking forward it is clear that the demand for our services has never been greater and that there is a need for more specialist training due to the increase in complexities of the children being referred to Cherry Trees. We have active training programmes in place for our staff and we are well placed to deal with the increased demand and needs.

Many families have commented on the significant part that Cherry Trees has made in ensuring that they can not only continue to function as a family but also the contribution a loving care environment can make to their child’s well-being.”

MARK CLEMENT Cherry Trees Chairman

Our focus continues to be providers of high quality care, sustainably growing and continuously improving.

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Cherry Trees, School Lane, East Clandon, Guildford, Surrey GU4 7RS I 01483 222507

Registered Charity No. 800222

cherrytrees.org.uk

Registered Company No. 02241223

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