Children's Home run by Horizon Care and Education Group Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children's home: 2586949 1 Registered provider: Horizon Care and Education Group 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

This home is privately owned. It is registered to provide care for up to 3 children with social and emotional needs or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children's home

Three children were living at the home at the time of this inspection. All 3 children were spoken to during the inspection.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2025 but is currently absent from work.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2586949 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/06/2025 Full Good 19/03/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 13/02/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2586949 3

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Summary of findings

Staff provide a warm and caring environment where children feel settled and supported. Children are making good progress due to the help and support they receive from staff. All children spoken to were positive about the care and support they receive from staff.

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Summary of findings

There have been some changes in the leadership and management of the home. There is an acting manager in post who has implemented clearer structures and expectations for staff, which have improved consistency and the outcomes for children. Prior to the new manager coming into post, shortfalls in leadership and management had an impact on consistency in the care that children received and this is reflected in the leadership and management judgement.

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Summary of findings

Safeguarding practice has improved, with staff demonstrating increased confidence in managing risks due to better management direction and oversight.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There were 3 children living at the home at the time of this inspection. One child has moved out since the last inspection, and another child has recently moved in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop positive relationships with staff, supporting them to make progress from their starting points. Managers work with placing authorities to secure positive transitions from the home. One child has recently moved into the home, and this was managed in a child-centred way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in their education with the support of staff. All the children living in the home engage in education provisions that meet their individual needs. One child now attends school more regularly and has a plan to attend school full time in September, which is significant progress for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children with their health needs by ensuring that they are registered with the necessary health services and can access specialist services when necessary.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children are engaged in a wide range of interests and activities based on their individual needs and interests. For some children, this has led to them developing new skills, such as learning to swim.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children are supported to develop the skills that they will need for independence. One child who has recently moved out of the home said, 'Staff helped me with everything; they were brilliant.'

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

Inspection report for children's home: 2586949 4 Staff understand children's risks and take appropriate action to keep them safe. Children's risk assessments are thorough and regularly reviewed and updated when new and emerging risks arise.

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

Staff have a good understanding of whistleblowing processes and have demonstrated that they are able to use these when they believe appropriate action is not being taken to keep children safe. The acting manager, who is new to this position, has addressed the previous shortfalls in the management of risk to children. Staff are now clear about how to manage individual risks to children. This improved understanding is leading to greater consistency in responding to and reducing risk.

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

When children go missing from home, staff follow the actions set out in children's plans to ensure their safe and timely return. However, staff have not always demonstrated enough professional curiosity about where children are going when they leave the home or what actions can be taken to prevent children from going missing. The lack of professional curiosity and preventative action means that risks to children may not be fully understood or addressed. This increases children's vulnerability to harm and reduces the effectiveness of safeguarding measures intended to keep them safe when they leave the home.

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

Staff use their positive relationships with children to support them to regulate their emotions. They celebrate children's achievements and use a rewards-based approach to promote positive behaviour. Overall, staff are skilled at using de-escalation techniques to diffuse difficult situations in the home. However, on one occasion, staff were unable to use de-escalation effectively, which led to an incident where the police had to be called to keep the child safe. Managers identified learning from this incident, and the staff involved have undertaken further training.

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

Allegations are managed appropriately and referrals are made to relevant professions. Investigations are undertaken in a timely manner.

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

Since the last inspection, managers have appointed several new members of staff and completed all required safer recruitment checks to ensure their suitability for working with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

An experienced manager has managed the home since April 2026, during the registered manager's absence, bringing a significant, positive impact on the leadership of the home. The acting manager has good oversight of staff and what is happening in the home and provides clear, supportive leadership for staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The acting manager has effective monitoring systems in place. These are used well to identify strengths, address shortfalls and drive improvement in practice. She has a clear vision for the home and has identified areas of practice that need to be strengthened. Inspection report for children's home: 2586949 5 The home is more settled under the new leadership arrangements and sraff are working more cohesively together to provide consistent care to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, the home has experienced a period of instability, with agency staff frequently being used. This has led to some inconsistency in the care provided to children. However, more recently, the new manager has reduced the use of agency staff and children are now cared for by a stable group of staff who know them well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff feel well supported by the new manager. They have all had recent supervision and spoke about the culture of the home improving. One member of staff stated:

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

'The home feels calmer, more organised and more child centred. Staff work together more effectively; information is shared appropriately and there is a real commitment to achieving the best possible outcomes for our young people.'

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff have completed all relevant training, and managers ensure that this remains up to date. Staff attend regular team meetings, where the acting manager delivers training on safeguarding and other relevant topics. Inspection report for children's home: 2586949 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(s) 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 the home has sufficient staff to provide care for 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

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)(d)(e)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that there are sufficient staffing levels in the home to meet the needs of all children and that staff arrangements provide consistency for children. 30 September 2026

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

that staff— 30 September 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2586949 7 assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child's relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home's child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home's day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, staff must use professional curiosity when children leave the home and there are concerns that they may be placing themselves in risky situations.

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on— mutual respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(xi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders must ensure that staff have the skills to manage children's behaviour effectively and de-escalate situations when necessary. 30 September 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2586949 8

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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: 2586949 9

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Horizon Care and Education Group Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: C/O DWF Company Secretarial Services Limited, 1 Scott Place 2 Hardman Street, Manchester M3 3AA

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Children's home details

Responsible individual: Gemma Waddington

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Children's home details

Registered manager: Caroline Pickersgill

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Inspector

Sarah Billett, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2586949 10 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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