Children's Home run by New Horizons NW Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2638487 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

This home is owned and managed by a private organisation. It provides care for up to 4 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties and have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2026.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 3 children were living at the home. All the children spoke with the inspector.

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Inspection dates: 16 and 17 June 2026

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people, taking into account good

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Inspection dates: 16 and 17 June 2026

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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Inspection dates: 16 and 17 June 2026

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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Inspection dates: 16 and 17 June 2026

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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Inspection dates: 16 and 17 June 2026

Date of last inspection: 17 September 2025

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Inspection dates: 16 and 17 June 2026

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Inspection dates: 16 and 17 June 2026

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2638487 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/09/2025 Full Good 21/05/2024 Full Good 20/09/2023 Full Good 14/03/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2638487 3

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Summary of findings

Two children have recently moved out of the home, and one child has moved in. The moves were well planned and positive for the children.

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Summary of findings

Children have made good progress in relation to their starting points due to the care they receive.

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Summary of findings

Children are listened to, and their views influence the support they receive in the home.

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Summary of findings

The manager is child centred and knows the children well. She leads a stable and committed team of staff who provide nurturing and consistent care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive nurturing and consistent care that has enabled them to feel safe and secure. One child said, ‘It’s the best home I’ve ever lived in.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home offers a spacious, relaxed and homely environment. Children individualise their rooms according to their tastes and interests and spend time together in the communal areas. Staff encourage children to invite friends to their home. They spend time eating dinner, watching movies, or playing pool in the games room together. As a result, children are developing positive relationships with each other and with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have well-planned and positive moves into the home. Since the last inspection, one child has moved into the home and 2 children have left. One child is preparing to move out. Each move was planned in partnership with the child, social workers, families and staff. Children are reluctant to leave the home, but having a supportive network enables them to approach their moves with confidence. When children leave the home, staff promote positive endings by creating memory books and arranging farewell celebrations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff listen to children. There are a variety of ways in which children can express their views, feelings and wishes. During weekly meetings, staff celebrate children’s achievements and encourage them to participate in discussions. This includes planning their meals and activities, and informing staff of what they would like to change. This results in children feeling included in decisions about their home and care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to recognise the importance of education and attend educational settings. The manager and staff recognise that children benefit from bespoke learning arrangements and work closely with education professionals to find the right options for each child. This has included advocating for one child to move to a more suitable school, arranging home tutor support for another and supporting one child to apply for jobs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2638487 4 Children enjoy good physical and emotional health. Staff ensure that children have access to routine and specialist health services when they require them. Staff understand the importance of staying active and children take part in community activities, such as playing football for local teams. One child successfully completed a hike to benefit a children’s charity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff work hard to build and maintain positive relationships with children’s families and loved ones. They support children to spend safe and meaningful time with family and friends. Children’s friends regularly visit the home and when they do, staff warmly welcome them. This strengthens their relationships and reinforces children’s sense of stability.

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

Children feel safe in the home. The staff team’s consistent approach with children results in a significant reduction in incidents in the home.

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

Staff understand children’s vulnerabilities. Before children move in, the manager works closely with a clinical practitioner to assess each child’s risks. The manager uses this evidence to inform their strategies for children’s support plans and risk assessments.

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

Each child has a detailed, individualised support plan. The manager recognises the importance of empowering children in relation to their care and has recently introduced support plans created in partnership with children. This enables children to share their preferences about how staff should support them if they are feeling upset.

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

Staff are not risk-averse. They enable children to take risks appropriate to their age and stage of development. Due to the varied age range of the children, staff expectations vary, which has led to some feelings of unfairness for one child. Staff use relationship- based approaches and direct work to help children understand boundaries and to develop skills and strategies to better understand risks.

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

Incidents in the home have significantly reduced, and staff demonstrate their ability to support children to manage their emotions. Physical restraint is very rare and only ever used as a last resort. The manager maintains robust oversight of all incidents and promptly identifies and addresses any areas for improvement in staff practice.

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

Staff are recruited safely to ensure that only suitable individuals work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is child focused and ambitious for children. She has been in post since September 2025. She leads a stable team of staff who say they feel supported and enjoy working in the home. Staff receive regular supervision, annual appraisals and attend team meetings that promote reflection, development and career progression. Inspection report for children’s home: 2638487 5 The manager and staff maintain positive, effective relationships with partner agencies and families. Information is shared in a timely way, and they advocate and challenge other services when required to achieve the best outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager maintains robust oversight of the quality of care provided to children. She has carried out an audit to understand the strengths and areas for improvement in the home and created a clear 12-month development strategy and action plan.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works in partnership with staff and children to create individualised progression and transition plans for each child, which she reviews regularly. This enables the manager to maintain clear oversight of the care and progression for each child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is embedding a culture of learning in the home. All staff are trained in a therapeutic model that now underpins the support they provide. The manager has introduced staff to research and theory and is encouraging staff to use this knowledge to inform their direct work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a clear process to manage practice issues, and the manager responds decisively to failings in staff practice to protect children from harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Incidents in the home are rare. When they occur, the manager oversees them thoroughly. She uses theory to underpin her understanding of children’s responses and identify safeguarding learning. However, her reflective evaluations and the actions taken have not consistently been captured in the incident records.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager notifies Ofsted immediately of any serious incidents and outlines the actions taken, enabling the regulator to maintain prompt oversight. However, on one occasion, the manager did not provide a full account of an incident. This prevented Ofsted from having an accurate understanding of what had occurred.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has carried out a review of the suitability of the location of the home. However, she has not included consultation with neighbours and the risks associated with local shops selling prohibited items to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2638487 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that safeguarding notifications contain sufficient detail about the incident to enable the regulator to have a clear understanding of the whole matter. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13)  The registered person should ensure that the manager’s evaluation of incident records includes critical analysis, learning and any actions taken in relation to staff practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36)  The registered person should ensure that reviews of the premises include an assessment of risks presented by local shops selling prohibited items to children, together with the strategies in place to manage those risks. The reviews should also include details of any consultation that has taken place with local neighbours. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64,

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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: 2638487 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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Inspector

Caroline Bates, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2638487 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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