Children's Home run by Brighter Horizon Homes Ltd in CroydonOfsted inspection, 10 Sept 2026

Inspection report for children’s home: 2841052 1 Registered provider: Brighter Horizon Homes Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home is registered to care for up to 3 children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in September 2025. The manager registered in April 2026.

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Information about this children’s home

There were 2 children living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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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 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2841052 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/03/2026 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2841052 3

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Summary of findings

The home provides a safe, warm and nurturing environment where children are making good progress. Children are cared for by a knowledgeable and nurturing staff team, and the relationships between children and staff are a particular strength of the home.

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Summary of findings

Staff understand the children well and are attuned to their needs, providing care that is therapeutic and child focused. The registered manager and management team are well organised and motivated, and they provide enthusiastic leadership to the staff team.

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Summary of findings

They have established effective communication with multi-agency partners, ensuring that children’s individual needs are well understood and responded to. Children, professionals and parents speak positively about the care provided.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive nurturing and individualised care from staff who know them well. Children are relaxed and comfortable in their home and enjoy humorous and playful interactions with staff. Staff listen to children and show genuine interest in what they have to say. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of the children’s individual communication styles, as well as their emotional and behavioural needs. Staff notice and respond thoughtfully when a child’s mood or behaviour changes, showing a good understanding of what might distress or unsettle them. This awareness helps staff to shape their support, so that each child is treated with consideration and kindness.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s wishes and feelings are well considered. Children take the lead in daily activities where this is safe and appropriate. This helps children to exercise choice and control in their daily lives and promotes their independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Key-work sessions and informal chats with children have a clear purpose, and the records of them are consistently well documented. Staff use this time with children to talk through relevant risks and any specific concerns. This covers areas such as community safety, personal boundaries, relationships, online safety and building independence skills. This supports children to understand and manage risks in ways that suit their individual abilities, communication needs and stages of development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of activities both in the home and in the community. Children enjoy playing football, basketball and using the trampoline in the home’s large garden. There is also a cabin nicknamed the ‘treehouse’ by the children, which provides additional space for recreation and a quiet space where children can relax and de-stress if they feel overwhelmed. Children say that they feel safe living at the home, that it is ‘fun’ and that ‘staff understand me’. Inspection report for children’s home: 2841052 4 Leaders, managers and staff promote positive relationships between children and their family members where safe to do so, supporting family members to visit the home and remain involved with their children’s lives. One parent spoken to said that they have seen ‘big improvements’ in how their child manages their emotions and that they ‘trust the staff’, adding that ‘they can’t do enough for us’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health and education needs are appropriately prioritised. Arrangements for both children’s return to formal education are being finalised. For one child who is neurodiverse, a carefully planned move to school has been agreed with the social worker and education professionals, which is being managed gently with the child’s needs in mind.

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

Staff have a good understanding of safeguarding responsibilities, processes and procedures, and they understand the individual vulnerabilities and risks associated with each child.

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

Risk assessments and behaviour management plans are dynamic and regularly reviewed by senior staff and managers. Where there are changes in children’s circumstances, behaviour or presentation, changes are promptly and accurately reflected in the children’s plans. This ensures that staff have current information about how best to support each child and that learning from incidents informs future approaches to behaviour management. Information-sharing and multi-agency working ensure that children receive effective specialist support when needed. For example, staff have worked closely with agencies, including the British Transport Police, to support a child in understanding and managing risks in a way that respects their neurodiversity. This support has helped the child feel safer and more confident when out in the community.

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

Leaders, managers and staff consistently demonstrate professional curiosity and understanding of children’s individual needs and triggers, allowing them to respond sensitively and proactively. For example, following a period of increased incidents involving one child, staff worked closely with multi-agency partners to explore the possible underlying causes. This led to changes in the child’s medication and behaviour support plan, which helped reduce these incidents.

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

Children’s health needs are responded to appropriately; medication is administered safely and recorded accurately.

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

The use of physical intervention in the home is rare. When it is used, it is a reasonable and proportionate response to risks presented by children’s behaviour. Leaders and managers take the time to explore any incidents with children and staff, helping children make sense of what happened and supporting restorative conversations to rebuild trust when needed. Inspection report for children’s home: 2841052 5 The home has introduced consultant psychological services to help staff understand children’s behaviour and emotional needs. This gives staff an opportunity to explore what might be behind behaviours and how to respond in ways that meet individual needs and keep children safe. This additional support complements formal supervision and provides space for staff to reflect, recognise emerging concerns and adapt practice when needed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are confident and ambitious and have high aspirations for children in their care. They provide strong oversight of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers know their strengths and weaknesses well. Any areas for development are identified quickly, and the registered manager acts swiftly to implement effective change. Leaders evaluate the quality of care provided and demonstrate a good understanding of the children’s progress, needs and the strengths of the home. Statutory reports are completed and shared with Ofsted as required. However, the quality of care reports do not consistently include direct feedback from children, parents or professionals. This limits the extent to which they fully reflect the views and experiences of those involved and does not always provide a fully rounded picture of children’s experiences and the effectiveness of the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team is committed to staff development. Regular supervision sessions take place, and the organisation’s appraisal and probation processes are well established and consistently followed. Staff say that they feel valued and that the organisation invests in their ongoing professional development. One staff member said that managers put ‘time and effort into my progression’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers ensure that staff complete mandatory training. Additional, bespoke training is arranged where required to strengthen staff practice and help them to meet the specific needs of the children who they care for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The organisation has also developed a management development programme, through which the responsible individual supports senior staff to develop their skills and experience for future management positions. This demonstrates effective succession planning and investment in the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The introduction of consultant psychological support is an additional strength. Leaders recognise that working with children with learning disabilities and neurodiversity requires staff to have a strong understanding of individual communication, behaviour and emotional needs. Providing opportunities for reflective discussion and consideration of incidents supports staff to develop their practice and maintain their resilience. This helps to ensure that children’s needs remain central to decision-making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The requirement from the last inspection has been met. Inspection report for children’s home: 2841052 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that Regulation 45 monitoring reports consistently include feedback from children, their parents and relevant professionals, so that monitoring provides a comprehensive evaluation of the quality of care provided and children’s experiences. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2)

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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: 2841052 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Brighter Horizon Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: International House, 109-111 Fulham Palace Road, London W6 8JA

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Inspector

Amanda Burrows, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2841052 8 and 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 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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