Children's Home run by Invigor Adolescent Care Limited in Manchester

Inspection report for children’s home: 2605180 1 Registered provider: Invigor Adolescent Care 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 operated by a private organisation.

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Information about this children’s home

Staff may care for up to three children, experiencing social and/or emotional issues.

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Information about this children’s home

There is currently no registered manager, but a manager has been appointed.

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Information about this children’s home

There were two children living in the home and inspectors spoke to both children during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and/or the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 18 December 2024

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2605180 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/12/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 27/09/2023 Full Good 18/10/2022 Full Good 30/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 2605180 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Managers have failed to establish healthy daily routines for children, resulting in disrupted sleep patterns. One child spent over 13 hours in a single session on a gaming device, while another routinely leaves the home early morning and does not return till late evening.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Since the last inspection, one child has moved out of the home. The child did not receive practical support to learn important skills for the next step in his life. In addition, managers and staff did not keep accurate records of the child’s lived experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s relationships with staff are highly varied. Children trust certain adults and feel comfortable sharing their worries with them. However, there are also staff members who children say they do not trust and report that staff treat them unfairly. Children are not receiving consistent care from adults who understand their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Managers have failed to respond to the concerns and complaints raised by children. This affects children's sense of being valued and listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Professionals and family members report that it is their understanding that children are cared for. One parent said they are happy with the care that their child receives. A social worker said that communication is regular, although important information about a change in the child’s lifestyle was not shared with the local authority.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The educational support children receive is inconsistent. When certain team members are responsible for supporting one child, the child often arrives late to education and without essential items. This does not demonstrate that all staff understand their roles in acting as a good parent.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Leaders and managers have made some improvements to the condition of the house. However, there are still areas of the home that need to be redecorated or renovated. Maintenance issues are not resolved quickly.

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

Proactive action is not taken to minimise risks for children. When there are changes to children’s risks, plans and risk assessments are not updated. Managers and staff have not communicated emerging risks to other safeguarding professionals. This is a missed opportunity to prevent harm.

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

Allegations are poorly managed. Managers do not keep records that show the steps taken to investigate serious concerns or to evidence the outcome. The manager does not follow internal disciplinary policies. Poor practice is not being adequately investigated or addressed. Inspection report for children’s home: 2605180 4 Systems for sharing information are ineffective. There have been significant delays in reporting allegations to the relevant authorities. When reporting to Ofsted, the information provided was incomplete and inaccurate. A lack of transparency limits the effectiveness of external oversight.

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

Children have been missing from home. Staff make efforts to locate them and communicate with family members and professionals to support the search. However, one child’s missing-from-home protocol is unclear, resulting in staff being unsure about the actions to take when the child is missing from home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager recently left this home. Since that time, another manager, who is already the registered manager of another home, has been leading the team. These changes have been unsettling and have caused changes in children's behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There is insufficient management presence in the home. The current manager said that he ‘takes a hands-off’ approach, hoping to upskill the staff team. However, as leaders and managers are not in the home very often, there is little oversight of what is happening on a day-to-day basis for children. The manager does not have a good understanding of staffing issues or children’s experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff do not receive regular supervision. Supervision is not reflective or helpful, and in one instance, it contained abusive language about a member of staff. There is no evidence that the current manager receives regular supervision. Staff appraisals are also not up to date. Formal oversight of staff practice is poor.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not effectively address staff performance issues. In one instance, a member of staff was made subject to a performance improvement plan, which was to include training and increased supervision. There is no evidence that this happened.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff do not work well as a team. There is division and a lack of trust between some members of staff. Children are fully aware of this dynamic.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not have a clear plan to drive improvements. Staff do not have confidence that meaningful improvements will happen within a timescale that is helpful for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not have effective oversight of staff training. Staff do not complete training that helps to improve their skills.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The standard of care provided to children does not consistently meet the standard set out in the company’s statement of purpose. Some members of staff effectively use a therapeutic approach to support children, while others do not. This has not yet been addressed by leaders and managers. Inspection report for children’s home: 2605180 5

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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

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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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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)(ii)(iii)(vi)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must make sure that staff recognise new risks emerging for children and take action to reduce these risks quickly. This must include promptly sharing information with social workers and other relevant professionals about children’s risks or behaviours.

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Requirement Due date

All staff, including managers, must know the processes to be followed when allegations are made against staff. This must include notifying relevant safeguarding and regulatory bodies. 30 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2605180 6 Systems must be in place to ensure that these processes are followed.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must have oversight of how staff are responding to and managing children’s risks. The registered person must take action to review children’s plans when risk management strategies need to be updated.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated from the previous inspection.

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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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helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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

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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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ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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

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

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

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feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(b)(c)(e)(f)(g)(ii)(h)) 30 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2605180 7 The registered person must be sufficiently present in the home to provide adequate monitoring and oversight of care.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that they have a good understanding of the quality of care that children are receiving and take effective action to drive improvements to children’s experiences.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make sure that they take effective action to address poor staff practice and adhere to the provider’s own disciplinary policies and procedures.

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The registered person must make sure that they are aware of the dynamics within the team and act when there are conflicts or frictions which impact on the quality-of-care children are receiving.

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The registered person must have robust oversight of staff training and make sure that staff complete training to address any identified shortfalls in skills or practice.

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The registered person must operate a disciplinary procedure which, in particular—

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provides for the suspension from work of an employee if necessary in the interests of the safety or welfare of children;

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provides that the failure on the part of an employee to report an incident of abuse, or suspected abuse, whether past or present, in relation to a child to the appropriate person is a ground on which disciplinary proceedings may be instituted.

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The registered person must ensure that all employees— undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33(2)(a)(b)(4)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff receive regular supervision in accordance with what is set out in the home’s statement of purpose. 30 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2605180 8 The registered person must ensure that the home has and follows an effective disciplinary procedure.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated from the previous inspection.

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Requirement Due date

If there is a referral of a person working in the home pursuant to section 35 (Regulated activity providers: duty to refer) of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006(1), the registered person must without delay notify—

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The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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a child protection enquiry involving a child — is instigated; or

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concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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A notification made under this regulation—

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the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and 30 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2605180 9 any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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must be made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 40 (3)(a)(b)(c) (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e) (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must make sure that HMCI is notified of all serious incidents. Notifications must include all relevant details and be accurate regarding the steps being taken by the provider.

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The care planning standard is that children—

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receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b))

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Specifically, the registered person must make sure that children receive well planned support before they move out of the home.

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The registered person must make sure that all records kept regarding the support provided to children are accurate and representative of the work staff have actually carried out. 30 August 2025

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The registered person must prepare and implement a policy which—

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sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect.

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The procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect must, in particular—

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provide for the prompt referral of an allegation about current or ongoing abuse or neglect in relation to a child to the placing authority and, if different, the local authority in whose area the home is located;

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provide for the prompt referral of an allegation about past abuse or neglect in relation to a child to the placing authority and, if different, the local authority in whose area the alleged abuse or neglect occurred;

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provide for records to be kept of an allegation of abuse or neglect, and the action taken in response; 30 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2605180 10 describe the measures which may be necessary to protect children following an allegation of abuse or neglect; and

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Requirement Due date

describe how and to whom staff are to report, without delay, any concern about abuse or neglect of a child. (Regulation 34 (1)(b) (2)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must make sure that full and accurate records are kept in relation to any allegation.

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The health and well-being standard is that—

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the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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In particular, the registered person must make sure that all children experience a healthy daily routine, including reasonable time limits on screens and devices. 30 August 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a welcoming and homely environment. Specifically, they should ensure that any necessary repairs or redecoration are identified and addressed in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report for children’s home: 2605180 11

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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: 2605180 12

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Invigor Adolescent Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Warren Bruce Court, Warren Bruce Road, Trafford Park, Manchester M17 1LB

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Inspectors

Nicola Shaw, Social Care Inspector Debbie Dawson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2605180 13 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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