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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2804768 1 Registered provider: New Horizons NW Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care for up to 4 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties or have disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children currently live in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2026.

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Inspection dates: 28 and 29 July 2026

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

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Inspection dates: 28 and 29 July 2026

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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Inspection dates: 28 and 29 July 2026

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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Inspection dates: 28 and 29 July 2026

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

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Inspection dates: 28 and 29 July 2026

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Inspection dates: 28 and 29 July 2026

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2804768 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/04/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2804768 3

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Summary of findings

A new registered manager has been in post since March 2026.

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Summary of findings

Children are making steady progress in relation to their starting points. They are listened to and staff advocate on their behalf.

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Summary of findings

Two children have recently moved out of the home. Staff planned the moves well in partnership with the children.

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Summary of findings

Staff feel supported in their role and develop positive relationships with the children.

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Summary of findings

The manager has identified changes they would like to make in the home and has introduced processes to address them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive nurturing and consistent care in the home. They enjoy taking part in a variety of activities with staff both inside and outside the home. This approach helps children to build meaningful relationships with staff. One relative said, ‘They’re not staff, they’re [name of child’s] family.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Moves in and out of the home are well planned. Staff work in partnership with children and partner agencies to plan moves. Two children have moved out of the home since the last inspection. The children received ‘memory books’ and visited local restaurants to celebrate their move. Staff continued to provide support after the children had moved out of the home. This ensures that children’s moves are successful.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to access education provision. Staff work with education professionals to find the right provisions for the children. Staff also offer varied learning opportunities in the home and local community. However, they are unable to encourage one child to consistently engage. As a result, the child’s daily routine lacks structure, and they spend long periods of time in their bedroom.

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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. Staff encourage children to talk about how they are cared for. This includes children planning their meals and activities, agreeing future goals, and informing staff what they would like to change. Staff encourage children to speak with their advocate. This helps children to understand that their opinions are valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy regular, quality time with the people important to them. Staff work with the children and their loved ones to ensure that the time spent together is meaningful and safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 2804768 4 The home offers a spacious and welcoming environment. Children individualise their bedrooms according to their tastes and interests. Staff incentivise children to keep their rooms clean and tidy. However, there are areas of maintenance in the home that have not been completed.

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

Staff understand the complex risks children face. They are trained to use a recognised model of care that helps them to understand children’s responses and maintain consistency in their support. This ensures that children receive consistent and predictable responses from the people around them.

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

Staff maintain clear and consistent boundaries that children understand. Staff talk with children to help them to manage their feelings safely. When consequences are used, these are fair, clearly recorded and tailored to each child’s individual needs. Staff balance the use of consequences by promoting and rewarding positive behaviour with praise and treats such as favourite fast-food meals and taking children on activities.

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

Each child has a detailed, individual missing-from-home plan. Staff follow these plans consistently. Staff are persistent when locating children, tracing previous routes and visiting likely locations. Their determination leads to children returning home quickly. When the children return, staff welcome them home.

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

Staff rarely use physical intervention. Staff have attended training in using different holds but only use physical intervention as a last resort in proportion to the risk. Staff always talk with children after incidents. If there have been disagreements between children, staff support them to talk together. This helps children to resolve conflicts and rebuild relationships.

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

Staff are recruited safely so only suitable people work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A new registered manager is now in post. The manager has built positive working relationships with the children, staff team, partner agencies and families.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy working in the home. They receive an induction, training and shadowing opportunities to prepare them for their role. There are regular team meetings and supervision sessions, which are reflective and child focused.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The use of casual staff has been high. This was necessary due to staff absence. The manager is aware of the effect of inconsistent staffing on children. He ensures that casual staff receive inductions before working with children and uses a bank of staff to work alongside experienced staff. This addresses the short-term requirements and Inspection report for children’s home: 2804768 5 reduces the disruption for children. However, the manager has not recorded all staff details on the staff rota.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager reviews incidents and talks with children afterwards. However, the manager’s evaluations do not consistently reflect on the roles of staff and how their practice contributed to incidents. The manager has not asked children what staff could have done differently to help them. Follow-up actions have not been monitored. The manager’s absence of critical reflection and monitoring prevents a culture of learning and development being embedded into practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager responds swiftly to complaints and allegations from children. He also addresses staff performance issues via internal processes. Inspection report for children’s home: 2804768 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and 29 August 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2804768 7 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(e)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all reports following incidents and physical interventions are accurate and that follow-up actions are completed and accurately recorded.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must complete a critical evaluation of staff practice for each incident. This evaluation must include feedback from children of what staff could have done differently during the incident. This can inform further learning and development and improve the quality of care provided to the children.

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Requirement Due date

Furthermore, the registered person must ensure that all staff put consistent and effective routines in place for children. This includes supporting children to have structured daily routines and effective sleep schedules.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children. Any maintenance issues and damage should be quickly addressed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that agency staff and their working hours are clearly recorded on the staffing rota. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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: 2804768 8

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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: New Horizons (NW) Limited, Unit 17-18, 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: 2804768 9 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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