Children's home run by New Horizons NW Limited in Sefton

Inspection report for children’s home: SC485956 1 SC485956 Registered provider: New Horizons Northwest Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private provider and provides care for up to two children with social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is managed by an interim manager. He has submitted his application to register with Ofsted. There were two children living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 27 February 2024

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC485956 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/02/2024 Full Outstanding 14/02/2023 Full Outstanding 09/03/2022 Full Outstanding 08/05/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC485956 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The children have lived at the home since before the last inspection and are making exceptional progress in all areas of their lives. Staff create a loving and caring environment that enables the children to thrive. One child said that the most amazing thing about living at the home is that they ‘have a family environment, where you are respected’. Staff build deep-rooted relationships with the children and ensure that they have opportunities to access amazing experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff have an excellent understanding of the children’s needs. One child is due to move out of the home into a more independent setting. Leaders and managers commissioned a care-experienced expert to provide training for the staff to support the child’s move on from the home. As a result, the child has an increased choice in supported care options and a transition plan that is supporting their independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Managers and staff continually strive to empower the children’s voices. The children say that staff ‘go above and beyond’ in supporting them to communicate. One child living at the home is preverbal, and staff set small daily goals of saying three words chosen by the child. This consistent and child-led approach ensures that the child’s verbal communication is improving beyond the expectations of external professionals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff ensure that the children stay connected to the people who are important to them. They build collaborative relationships with parents and carers, ensuring that they support positive communication between them and the children. This means that the children have positive experiences with people in their wider environment, developing their social skills and building their self-esteem. One parent said, ‘The staff go out of their way to help me.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The children are making excellent progress in education. When an educational setting could not meet the needs of one child, staff advocated for them, and an alternative was quicky identified. The child is flourishing at this setting, where they are learning essential life skills and making new friends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff are persistent in ensuring that the children’s health needs are met. One child has epilepsy, and staff record all medical episodes and any other relevant information in detail, identifying any trends. This information is then shared with medical professionals to help their decisions about the child’s health plan. Recently, this led to a change in the child’s medication, which meant there were huge improvements in their health and well- being, enabling them to engage in more activities.

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

Staff are innovative in developing new strategies to keep the children safe. They take time to reflect on behaviours and develop ways they can support the children with the Inspection report for children’s home: SC485956 4 least restrictions possible. The children are free to understand and explore the world safely with the guidance of adults who care about them.

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

Staff recognise when the children are becoming distressed and intervene at the earliest opportunity. When the children are upset, they will seek out staff for their reassurance and respond positively to staff when they offer support. They are learning how to communicate difficult emotions with the people around them.

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

Incidents of the children going missing from the home are rare. When a child does go missing, the staff respond effectively, remaining close by and encouraging the child to talk about the reasons they left their home. This is a highly effective approach for one child and has meant there has been a significant reduction in the number of episodes of them going missing from their home.

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

Staff care for the children with the utmost respect. They follow clear plans to ensure that the children’s personal care needs are met carefully and sensitively. The children grow in their independence with their self-care skills, under the nurturing guidance of staff.

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

Staff use research-based practice to further their understanding of the children’s behaviours. They spend a considerable amount of time researching and planning how to hold conversations with the children about risks. Conversations have a positive impact on helping the children to understand risks, and they feel comfortable when talking to staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers have implemented clear plans to minimise the impact of management changes since the last inspection. The current manager was the previous deputy manager. He knows the home and the children well. The manager is supported by the area manager and together they provide strong leadership and guidance to the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers have multiple monitoring systems in place. They identify information that is useful in understanding how their care of the children can be continually developed. This information is frequently shared with staff, who then reflect and identify new ways of supporting the children. This ensures that staff practice remains focused on the needs of the children and continuously develops.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers ensure that staff training is unique to the needs of the children. Staff have received training on epilepsy, in line with one child’s health needs, and on Makaton to support their communication with a child. Staff are confident in applying the new skills they have learned, which benefits the children’s development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers ensure that staff supervision sessions and team meetings are centred around reflective practice. There is a shared accountability for the children’s progress, with an emphasis on finding solutions. This means there is a positive culture at the home, where each member of staff wants to deliver the best possible care for the children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC485956 5 No requirements or recommendations were made at this inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: SC485956 6

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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: SC485956 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: New Horizons Northwest Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 17-18, Navigation Business Village, Navigation Way, Ashton-on-Ribble, Preston PR2 2YP

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Natalie Waterhouse

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Inspector

Sarah Gilbert, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC485956 8 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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