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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2645184 1 Registered provider: Horizon Care and Education Group 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 provider. It provides care for up to 4 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 4 children were living at the home. Children spoke to the inspectors about their experiences of living there.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2645184 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/06/2025 Full Good 11/09/2024 Full Good 05/12/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 28/02/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2645184 3

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Summary of findings

Children have positive relationships with staff who work permanently at the home. However, relationships with agency staff are less positive. The high number of agency staff impacts the stability and continuity of care provided to the children.

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Summary of findings

Children attend education and engage in hobbies and activities in the community that they enjoy. Staff celebrate children’s achievements.

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Summary of findings

Children’s safety plans do not include all relevant information. As a result, staff do not have a good understanding of their role and responsibilities when safeguarding children. Communication between staff is not always effective, which impacts the quality of care provided.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers acknowledge the shortfalls in staff consistency and are working hard to address this. Staff say that they feel supported by their manager.

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improvement to be good

Children have positive relationships with the permanent staff working at the home. Staff know the children well and take time to listen to them, ensuring they feel valued and respected. Children say that they do not like agency staff working at the home. The high number of agency staff is impacting the continuity of care, making it difficult for the children to develop positive relationships and build trust.

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improvement to be good

Children who are attending school are making positive progress. Staff support one child to engage in alternative education and informal learning at the home. Children are supported to develop their independence skills according to their individual needs.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to attend local clubs and engage in activities in the community, including ice skating, going to theme parks and doing arts and crafts. Children have also been on holiday abroad with staff. Staff encourage children to develop their hobbies and personal interests. For example, one child takes part in theatre and music productions. This helps to promote children’s confidence and self-esteem and provides them with opportunities to learn new skills and make friends.

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improvement to be good

Children are in good health and staff support them to attend appointments. Staff seek support from specialist services to help meet the children’s individual needs when necessary.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to spend time with people who are important to them. One child who has left the home maintains contact with staff and some children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2645184 4 The home is welcoming, and the children’s bedrooms are personalised to their own taste. Children have space for their instruments, and one child has a pet in their bedroom. This helps children feel valued and a sense of belonging.

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improvement to be good

Permanent staff working at the home understand the children’s needs and risks. They use effective de-escalation strategies to support children in managing their feelings and behaviour. However, agency staff do not always respond consistently to help children, which creates confusion and uncertainty for them.

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improvement to be good

Children who go missing do not always experience a well-coordinated response from staff. There have been occasions when staff have been unable to search for children due to insufficient staff on shift. Furthermore, on one occasion, staff were unaware that children had gone missing from the home. This demonstrates a failure to safeguard children effectively.

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improvement to be good

There are safety plans in place for each child that detail the actions staff must take to manage and reduce risk. However, key information is missing or incorrect in some plans. This makes it difficult for staff to know how to keep children safe, especially new and agency staff. On one occasion, a member of staff allowed a child to buy a non-permitted item and take it home. This resulted in an incident that required the child to attend hospital. This does not demonstrate safe practice.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always administer medication in accordance with the children’s plans. On 2 occasions, staff did not check the records prior to administering medication. This led to one child receiving their medication twice and another child receiving medication on the wrong day. Poor communication between staff during shift handovers contributed to these errors.

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

There has been no registered manager at the home since February 2026. However, there is an interim manager in post. Staff absences and vacancies have led to the high use of agency staff, which has impacted negatively on the quality and consistency of care provided to children. Leaders and managers are actively recruiting new staff. However, in the interim period, this means that agency staff who may not have the necessary knowledge and skills are working at the home.

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

The quality of incident records is inconsistent. Some reports do not provide enough detail to clearly explain what happened, the actions taken by staff and the outcome of the incident. In some cases, information recorded is inaccurate and not easily accessible. Poor record keeping makes it difficult for managers to identify and address shortfalls in staff practice. Management’s evaluation of incidents is not always effective and does not consistently identify learning or improvements needed. Inspection report for children’s home: 2645184 5 Allegations are taken seriously by leaders and managers. Investigations are completed and the outcomes shared with children. However, the records of the process are not always clear or detailed enough, which makes it difficult to understand what happened and whether any learning was identified.

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

Supervision takes place regularly with staff, when they have an opportunity to discuss the children’s needs and reflect on their practice. Appraisals occur annually and include feedback from children. Team meetings take place regularly and include training and support from the in-house clinician.

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

Staff say that they feel supported by the interim manager. They speak positively about the children and acknowledge that the use of agency staff has unsettled the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2645184 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 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

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

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

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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;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vii)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the home’s safeguarding policies and procedures are clear and up to date.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all staff are familiar with, understand and follow the home’s safeguarding policies and procedures. 31 August 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2645184 7 In addition, the registered person must ensure that staffing levels are always sufficient to meet the children’s needs and safety effectively.

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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

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 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

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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(d)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that all staff have the knowledge and skills to meet the children’s individual needs and keep them safe.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that there is a stable and consistent staff team in place, and children know what adults will be caring for them each day.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a consistent quality of care is provided to children. This includes ensuring that all staff know the individual routines and boundaries for each child, and there is clear communication between staff during shifts and at handovers. 31 August 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2645184 8 The registered person must ensure that there are effective monitoring and review systems in place. This includes ensuring that there is effective management oversight of incidents.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicines kept in the home are stored in a secure place so as to prevent any child from having unsupervised access to them;

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Requirement Due date

medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child; and

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff administer medication to children in accordance with their plans. 31 August 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff have access to the children’s local authority records, and these are up to date.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all staff understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all relevant records can be easily accessed by staff. 31 August 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2645184 9

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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: 2645184 10

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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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Inspectors

Joy Viles, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Danielle Allen, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2645184 11 inspects to 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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