Children's home run by Invigor Adolescent Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2724379 1 Registered provider: Invigor Adolescent Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private company. It provides care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2025.

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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 inadequate

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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

Date of last inspection: 28 January 2025

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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: 2724379 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/01/2025 Full Good 15/11/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2724379 3

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improvement to be good

Weaknesses in leadership and management are compromising the children’s overall experiences and safety at the home.

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improvement to be good

Four children currently live at the home, and they all spoke to inspectors. Children say that they enjoy living at the home, that they have positive relationships with the staff team and that they are cared for. One child said, ‘They [staff] are like family.’ There are photos of children taking part in activities they enjoy, such as make-up events, going to the beach, holidays and group parties displayed in the home. Children’s achievements, including attending their school prom and receiving their exam results, are also celebrated.

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improvement to be good

Children do not always benefit from appropriate care planning. Some children have moved on from the home due to staff being unable to meet their presenting needs. In addition, children have moved into the home without leaders and managers fully considering their histories and needs.

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improvement to be good

The home commissions therapeutic intervention to support children’s needs. However, this is not embedded within children’s plans or consistently reflected in practice. Furthermore, this is not reflected in the home’s statement of purpose. As a result, staff are limited in how effectively they can respond to children’s emotional needs, and, at times, their responses have been punitive.

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improvement to be good

Children’s bedrooms are personalised and reflect their interests and personality. Most areas of the home have been redecorated and are well maintained, with plans in place to complete the outstanding work. This will ensure that children live in a welcoming and homely environment.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments are not individualised. They contain generic strategies for staff to follow that are not specific to each child’s specific needs and presenting behaviours. Although incidents are generally managed well, staff have not followed children’s plans consistently, including during episodes of self-harm or when children are missing from care.

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improvement to be good

Not all known risks for children have been appropriately planned for, such as the risk of children leaving the home during the night. As a result, one child was missing from the home overnight during the inspection, and staff were unaware until the following morning. This lack of forward planning leaves children vulnerable to potential harm. Inspection report for children’s home: 2724379 4 Staff complete direct work sessions with children to support their understanding of key topics and risks. Children engage well in these sessions and demonstrate insight into their own risks. Professionals report that the manager and staff respond proportionately to children’s risks and work effectively with other agencies to ensure that there is a co- ordinated plan to promote children’s safety. However, due to children’s changing needs and plans not consistently being reviewed, staff are not always clear about the child’s

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improvement to be good

When issues arise over staff conduct or allegations are made, the manager responds promptly and appropriately. Immediate action is taken to ensure that children are safeguarded. However, the manager’s investigations are not clearly recorded.

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improvement to be good

Staff are subject to safer recruitment checks prior to commencing employment at the home. These checks are carried out to ensure that only individuals who are deemed suitable work at the home with the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leadership and management arrangements are ineffective. There is insufficient oversight of the home by the responsible individual. The manager is due to leave her role imminently, and there are no clear plans in place as to who will manage the home on a day-to-day basis. The responsible individual is consulting with agencies to make improvements to the leadership and management of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There are shortfalls in the responsible individual’s oversight of incidents, including when they involve the manager. There have been some incidents where shortfalls in staff practice have not been identified by leaders or managers. This lack of scrutiny means that inconsistencies and shortfalls in staff practice are unchallenged, which limits improvements to staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Monitoring and review systems are weak. Although children’s records are reviewed, they do not accurately reflect children’s presenting needs. As a result, guidance for staff on how to care for children is unclear, which affects the consistency and quality of care provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff undertake relevant training. However, managers have not ensured that staff have the necessary skills and experience to meet the complex needs of some children who have come to live at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Professionals speak positively about the manager and the staff team. They describe the progress that children have made from their individual staring points. The manager knows the children well and is child focused, with a good understanding of all the children who currently live at the home and those who have lived there since the last inspection. However, at times, the severity of some of the children’s risks have been minimised by the manager and staff. There has been a lack of reflective practice and Inspection report for children’s home: 2724379 5 lessons learned when children have moved out of the home due to complex care needs, resulting in similar issues occurring for other children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The requirement raised at the last inspection under regulation 13: the leadership and management standard, has not been met and has been restated. Inspection report for children’s home: 2724379 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; and

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children’s plans reflect all known risks and provide clear strategies for staff to follow to keep children safe. 15 January 2026

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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 staff work as a team where appropriate; 15 January 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2724379 7 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

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

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

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)(d)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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 children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

that arrangements are in place to— 15 January 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2724379 8 manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. Nothing in paragraph (5) or regulation 46 (review of premises) requires or authorises the registered person to contravene or not comply with—

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Requirement Due date

any other provision of these Regulations; or

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Requirement Due date

any conditions in relation to the registration of the registered person under Part 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000. (Regulation 16 (1)(5)(6))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the statement of purpose reflects the therapeutic input children in the home receive. 15 January 2026

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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: 2724379 9

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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: 2 Warren Bruce Road, Trafford Park, Manchester M17 1LB

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Inspectors

Nicola Rutherford, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Nicola Shaw, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2724379 10 regulates 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 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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Inspectors

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