Children's home run by New Horizons NW Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2697159 1 Registered provider: New Horizons NW Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned and provides care for up to 5 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties and have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 5 children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2022.

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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: 26 February 2025

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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: 2697159 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/02/2025 Full Outstanding 28/06/2023 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 2697159 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Since the last inspection, one child has moved into the home, and another child has moved on into semi-independent accommodation. When new children move into the home, their arrivals are carefully planned. They are helped to settle in and are warmly welcomed by the other children who live there.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

When children leave the home, their transitions are managed sensitively and thoughtfully. Their time at the home is celebrated, and they are well prepared for independence. Staff maintain long-term relationships with children even after they move on. This ensures that children continue to have access to consistent trusted support networks as they mature.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children benefit from trusting relationships with staff, which gives them a strong sense of permanence and stability. They enjoy spending time with staff engaging in activities, such as watching movies in the cinema room, baking, and taking the therapy dog for walks on the beach. These positive interactions help nurture children’s emotional wellbeing and strengthen their attachments to the adults who care for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s views are gathered daily through their interactions with staff. Children attend regular meetings each fortnight where they are encouraged to share their views and preferences for group activities. This influences decisions about visits to theme parks, holidays to Spain and outward-bound activities. This regular consultation ensures that children feel heard and are actively involved in planning their activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children engage in education each day and are making exceptional progress from their starting points. The manager advocates strongly on their behalf and challenges professionals when barriers to education arise. Swift and effective action is taken to ensure that children’s learning remains a priority. Children are also encouraged to participate in extra-curricular activities, such as football, boxing and squash. This helps them build their social skills in safe and structured environments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

As children move towards independence, they are encouraged to explore work experience opportunities, with them securing placements at local supermarkets, cafes and nursery schools. Children have strong ambitions for their future, and their achievements are celebrated at an annual awards ceremony.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff prioritise children’s time spent with their families and support children in making friends in the local community. Where appropriate, children have taken part in sleepovers with friends following assessment by their social workers. These experiences help children feel included, develop social confidence and enjoy age ‑ appropriate opportunities. Inspection report for children’s home: 2697159 4 Children’s health needs are well understood, and they attend all necessary healthcare appointments. Their emotional wellbeing is also prioritised. The provider has commissioned a clinical psychologist to work with staff to strengthen their understanding of trauma-informed and research-based practice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children live in an environment that promotes warmth, love and nurture. Children’s bedrooms are personalised, and children are actively encouraged to share their ideas about the decoration of the home, the design of the summer house and the vegetables grown in the garden. This approach promotes children’s sense of belonging and involvement in their home.

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

Care planning is a significant area of strength and clearly demonstrates the positive impact of the home’s approach to children’s social and emotional development. Care plans are robust, child centred and responsive to each child’s holistic needs, ensuring that support is well coordinated and consistently delivered.

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

Children’s safety is prioritised. The manager and staff have an exceptional understanding of the risks faced by each child. Risk assessments are comprehensive and reviewed regularly to ensure that children’s risks are managed effectively.

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

Behaviour support plans are robust and tailored to children’s individual needs. Children are actively involved in the development and review of these plans. This helps them understand their behaviours and recognise the progress they make.

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

Physical intervention is used only as a last resort to keep children and others safe. When a physical intervention occurs, the manager ensures that thorough debriefs are carried out with staff and children to ensure that incidents are fully evaluated. Learning from these incidents is shared through staff supervision sessions and team meetings to ensure that approaches are adapted to best meet children’s needs.

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

When incidents occur, children benefit from staff’s use of restorative approaches. This helps children repair relationships with staff and understand why rules and boundaries are in place. Consequences are rarely used; however, when applied, they are proportionate, underpinned by research and overseen by the manager.

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

Children benefit from strengths-based, child-centred key-work sessions that focus on their individual needs. This includes work linked to emotional regulation, gender and identity, safe relationships and online safety. Children also have opportunities to attend seminars delivered by guest speakers who seek to inspire their futures. This helps children build self-belief and provides them with access to positive role models to help them navigate their teenage years. Inspection report for children’s home: 2697159 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leadership and management at the home are strong. The manager has worked at the home for some time and is suitably experienced and qualified. She leads by example, and she is highly ambitious and committed to securing the best possible outcomes for the children in her care. The manager is supported by a deputy manager who shares her drive and enthusiasm. Staff speak highly about their focus on research-based practice, which underpins a culture of continuous improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There are robust systems in place to monitor practice and drive continuous improvement. The registered manager responds effectively to recommendations made by the independent person and ensures that all documentation is up to date, appropriately designed and consistently reviewed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff team is experienced, committed and well established. Staff benefit from comprehensive training that is clearly linked to the needs of the children in their care. They receive regular supervision and annual appraisals. These are reflective in nature and include feedback from key stakeholders. This approach promotes staff’s self- awareness and enables managers to identify strengths and areas for further development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Partner agencies speak highly of the home’s strong communication and collaborative practice. One social worker described the quality of partnership working as ‘second to none’. Inspection report for children’s home: 2697159 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: 2697159 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: New Horizons NW Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Units 17 and 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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Inspectors

Jon Dutton, Social Care Inspector Julia Edwards, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2697159 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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