Children's Home run by Attivo Care Ltd in Liverpool

Inspection report for children's home: 2828870 1 Registered provider: Attivo Care Ltd

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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 owned and managed by a private provider. It offers care for up to 2 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

One child has moved out of the home and one child has moved into the home since the last full inspection. At the time of this inspection, 2 children were living in the home. The inspector spoke with 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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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

Date of last inspection: 16 December 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2828870 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/12/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2828870 3

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Summary of findings

The children are settled in their home and are supported by staff who know them well. Routines and structures promote children's education and the development of their independence and life skills.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and staff respond appropriately to risk and work closely with professional networks to safeguard children. However, risk assessments do not consistently reflect children's current risks and vulnerabilities and are not always up to date.

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Summary of findings

Following a period of instability, there is now a stable and consistent management team in place. The staff team now benefits from effective monitoring and support. However, quality of care reviews are not evaluative or fully informed by the views of children, staff or external professionals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are child centred and are dedicated about the care and support they provide the children. Staff create a warm, homely environment for children. Children are supported to personalise their bedrooms, and one child's bedroom is currently in the process of being repainted in their chosen colour. There are effective moving in and out plans in place for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager carefully considers the needs of children moving into the home, assessing their needs alongside the needs of the children already living in the home. The manager ensures that they speak to children's network and share information about the home and staff before children move into the home. This helps to build some familiarity with the staff and home. When one child moved on from the home, leaders and managers worked flexibly with the placing authority to identify a suitable semi-independent placement. Staff celebrated the child's time at the home with thoughtful gifts.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help the children to develop life skills appropriate to their age and ability. There are clear plans in place to support them in preparation for independence. The children are encouraged to develop skills, such as budgeting, cooking, travelling and household chores.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff promote children's education. Incentive plans and daily routines support school attendance and the completion of homework. This has resulted in improved attendance for both children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff routinely capture children's views through daily conversations. Children are encouraged to share their views about activities and meals in the home and are encouraged to do group activities with peers and staff. Children also complete feedback Inspection report for children's home: 2828870 4 forms, which provide them opportunities to raise concerns and influence decisions about their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children's identity, including their religious and cultural needs. This helps children to maintain a sense of self and their connection to family and faith.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff understand the importance of family for children and support them in building and maintaining family connections. Staff facilitate regular family time for children, enabling them to celebrate special events with their family and friends. The manager and staff also facilitate sleepovers at the home with siblings. This enables children to feel part of their family and maintain those important relationships.

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

The manager and staff build positive, trusting relationships with children. Children identify staff as trusted adults who they can speak to if they are worried or concerned. This helps children to feel safe and secure.

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

Leaders and managers take allegations seriously. They work closely with relevant professionals to ensure thorough investigations and that children receive appropriate support. This helps children to feel listened to and reassured. However, records of allegations and corresponding investigations are not always clear. Leaders and managers have addressed this shortfall. Staff have completed additional training to strengthen the quality of recording.

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

Staff understand the risks to the children. Risk assessments provide strategies to support staff to prevent and reduce risk. However, risk assessments do not provide an accurate and up-to-date reflection of children's current risks and vulnerabilities. This does not ensure that all staff will be consistent with this approach.

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

Staff manage incidents well and respond to children in a sensitive and appropriate way. The manager provides a detailed overview of incidents and works with the children's networks to put in place plans to reduce risks. Follow-up work is completed with children following incidents to ensure that they are aware of risks, encouraged to keep themselves safe and are aware of consequences and the impact of their actions.

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

The manager and staff work with the children's specialist services to deliver targeted support that addresses children's identified risks. This is helping one child to better understand risks, recognise the impact of negative friendships and develop alternative ways to manage risks.

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

Children are registered with key healthcare professionals and are supported to attend their appointments. Staff respond promptly when children feel unwell and make specialist referrals when required. This ensures that children's health needs are met. Inspection report for children's home: 2828870 5 Staff carry out room searches when there are concerns that children may be in possession of prohibited items. Children are made aware of the reasons for the search, and all room searches are recorded appropriately in line with the home's procedures.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

This has been a challenging period for staffing in the home. There was no registered manager in post from December 2025 until February 2026. Leaders implemented management support arrangements to ensure that staff and children were supported while a new manager was recruited.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A new manager is now in post. She is suitably experienced and has applied to register with Ofsted. She has quickly developed a clear understanding of the home's processes, the needs of the children and the strengths of the staff team. She has identified areas for development and has a clear plan to improve staff practice and the quality of care provided to children. She is committed to improving outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers undertake a 6-monthly quality of care review. However, these reviews do not consistently evaluate the quality of care provided for children or identify any actions on how to improve the quality of care provided. Reviews do not include children's, staff's or professionals' views. This limits leaders' ability to gain a fully rounded understanding of practice in the home, and does not provide a clear evaluation of the quality of care provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring and review systems have been reviewed and strengthened. They now include seniors' weekly audits and checks, and monthly audits carried out by the manager. The area manager produces a comprehensive quality assurance report bimonthly. The manager also uses information from the independent visits to identify shortfalls and areas for improvement. This helps to ensure that the home is compliant with regulations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have prioritised improving the quality of recording and reporting in the home. Staff have completed targeted training to strengthen their understanding of roles and responsibilities when supporting children. This has been reinforced through a team development day, using practical scenarios.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers follow safer recruitment procedures. They undertake appropriate checks and verification processes to explore any concerns. This helps to ensure that only suitable adults work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

New staff are supported in developing the skills and knowledge they need through clear, structured induction programmes. Staff describe the induction as 'helpful and informative'.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular, reflective and supportive supervision. Staff recognise the improvements that have taken place since having a consistent manager. Staff report feeling well supported in their roles and enjoy working in the home. Inspection report for children's home: 2828870 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that risk assessments provide an accurate and up-to-date reflection of children's current risks and vulnerabilities. Staff must understand what they need to do to keep children safe. 8 July 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children(“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months. In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating— the quality of care provided for children; the feedback and opinions of children about the children's home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c)) 8 July 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2828870 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person must ensure that they provide children with a homely environment. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2828870 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Attivo Care, Office 1, 41 - 43 Liverpool Road, Manchester M44 5BQ

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Inspector

Renée Sims, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2828870 9 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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