For Professionals
Nucleus Horizons is a residential Family Assessment Centre providing high-quality, evidence-based parenting assessments for local authorities and the Family Court. Based in Southampton, we work in partnership with professionals to support informed, timely, and child-focused decision-making.
Our assessments are led by experienced social workers with extensive backgrounds in safeguarding, child protection, and court work. We offer a safe, structured, and nurturing environment where parents and children can remain together while parenting capacity is assessed in line with statutory guidance and best practice.
Our Approach
All assessments at Nucleus Horizons are underpinned by the principles of the Children Act 1989 and the Working Together to Safeguard Children (2020) framework. We adopt a strengths-based, anti-discriminatory, and transparent approach, ensuring that assessments are fair, balanced, and robust.
Families are supported by a multidisciplinary team that includes assessing social workers, assistant social workers, and family support workers providing 24-hour oversight. This enables us to observe parenting across a wide range of routines, contexts, and times of day, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of risk, capacity for change, and sustainability.
Assessment Model
Following referral, we work closely with the placing authority to agree supervision levels, risk management arrangements, and assessment parameters. Each family has a tailored placement and assessment plan developed in partnership with the local authority and relevant professionals.
Assessments typically run for approximately 12 weeks, with flexibility where required to meet the needs of the family or court timetable. Regular review meetings are held, and interim feedback is provided to support clarity and transparency throughout the placement.
Our assessments consider:
- Parenting capacity and ability to meet a child’s developmental needs
- Observations of daily care and routines
- Capacity to engage with support and demonstrate sustained change
- Understanding of concerns and risks
- Attachment and parent-child interaction
- Impact of parental history, trauma, mental health, substance misuse, and domestic abuse
Where appropriate, we use specialist tools such as ParentAssess to support parents with learning disabilities and ensure assessments are accessible and meaningful.
Frequently asked questions
Who can make a referral?
Referrals are accepted from local authorities and, in some cases, directly from the family court. All referrals are reviewed by the management team.
What families can you assess?
We assess families with a wide range of needs, including parents with learning disabilities, mental health needs, substance misuse histories, experience of domestic abuse and who have had care experience. We also work with parents who have previously had children removed from their care.
What supervision levels can you provide?
Supervision levels are agreed on a case-by-case basis following risk assessment and in consultation with the placing authority. All bedrooms have cameras and audio devices. We are able to provide full supervision.
How quickly can you accept a placement?
We aim to respond promptly to all referrals and can offer timely placements where sufficient information and risk assessments are provided.
Do you provide community or step-down options?
Yes. We offer community-based and blended assessment models, including step-down support where this is in the child’s best interests.
Whether you’re a family looking for support or a professional making a referral, our team is here to help.
We’ll take the time to listen, answer your questions, and guide you through the next steps.
