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 owned by a private company and provides care for up to 3 children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of the inspection, the home had a restriction of accommodation notice, restricting the accommodation to one child.

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Information about this children's home

One child lives at the home. The child spoke with the inspector during the inspection.

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Information about this children's home

The registered provider has recently appointed a new responsible individual, and we are currently checking this person has the relevant capacity, experience and skills to carry out the role.

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Information about this children's home

A new manager has been appointed. The manager has applied to become registered with Ofsted.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate Inspection report for children's home: 2605180 2

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Ofsted undertook a monitoring visit on 30 June 2026. Following a case review held on 7 July 2026, a decision was made not to lift the restriction of accommodation notice due to instability in the leadership and management arrangements. Inspection report for children's home: 2605180 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/05/2026 Full Inadequate 12/11/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 23/07/2025 Full Inadequate 18/12/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2605180 4

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Summary of findings

The child says that they are happy living at the home. They feel safe and have positive relationships with staff.

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Summary of findings

There have been some improvements in the quality of care provided to the child and the home environment since the full inspection of the home.

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Summary of findings

Progress with helping the child to establish a good daily routine is inconsistent and the child's days lack structure. Staff are trying to engage and interest the child in positive activities. However, the child is choosing to spend long periods of time away from the home. The child's whereabouts are not always known.

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Summary of findings

Risk management plans do not fully reflect all known risks to the child and staff lack some important guidance to help them to manage risks.

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Summary of findings

The strategies that staff use to support the child to comply with court-imposed restrictions on their liberty are ineffective. Managers have not taken action to review and address this.

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improvement to be good

The child says that living at the home is 'good' and they like the staff who care for them. However, progress for the child is limited in some areas.

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improvement to be good

The child has recently re-engaged with education and has sat their exams. The child is planning to continue with their education and there is a plan for their enrolment at college.

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improvement to be good

Some progress is being made with helping the child to adopt a good daily routine. The child is generally going to bed at a reasonable time but there are still occasions when they are staying in bed during the day. The incentives that staff are using to motivate the child are ineffective. In addition, there are inconsistencies in staff practice, with some staff being more proactive than others. This does not help the child to understand what is expected of them.

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improvement to be good

Staff are more focused on engaging the child with positive, planned activities. This is not always effective. The child has enjoyed activities with staff, such as trips to concerts and theme parks. However, the child's days lack structure and they still choose to spend long periods of time with their friends away from the home. Inspection report for children's home: 2605180 5 The child has the skills to travel independently, prepare simple meals and keep their bedroom tidy. However, staff have not supported the child to develop skills to help them to live more independently in the future.

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improvement to be good

The child is physically active and enjoys playing football and going to the gym. Staff are promoting a healthy lifestyle and educating the child about the dangers of vaping. The child is anxious about attending medical appointments. The child has told staff about things that may help to ease their anxieties. However, the child's views have not been acted on. This is not effective care planning, and it has led to an unnecessary delay in the child attending a medical appointment.

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improvement to be good

Managers have taken steps to improve the processes for gathering and analysing information prior to children moving into the home. However, the effectiveness of the revised decision-making framework has not been tested in practice.

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improvement to be good

The child lives in a comfortable well-furnished home. The manager is taking steps to help the child to personalise their bedroom. However, repairs to the home are not always completed in a timely way. In addition, the back garden is a bland, featureless space and it is not a welcoming or comfortable space to spend time in.

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improvement to be good

The child says that they feel safe living at the home, and they know how to raise any concerns or worries that they may have.

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improvement to be good

Risk management plans are in place. However, they do not reflect all the risks that the child is vulnerable to. For example, there is no risk management plan to manage the risk regarding the long periods of time the child spends unsupervised in the community. The child may be vulnerable to exploitation and staff are not always clear where the child is. There is no clear guidance for staff regarding how this unsupervised time should be safely managed. Staff make checks on the child's welfare, but they demonstrated an inconsistent understanding of when they should do this. This does not promote consistently safe practice.

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improvement to be good

Risk management plans are not always reviewed following significant incidents. For example, the risk of the child leaving the home through their bedroom window is deemed to be low despite an incident of this nature occurring recently. The manager has not reviewed whether additional safeguards are needed to prevent this happening again. Furthermore, the window restrictor in the child's bedroom was faulty on the day of the inspection.

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improvement to be good

The child is subject to restrictions of liberty imposed by a court and must return to the home at a specified time. The child is struggling to comply with these restrictions and regularly returns home late. Staff are completing work with the child to help them understand the consequences of their choices. However, this is not having any impact on Inspection report for children's home: 2605180 6 the child's behaviour. There is no clear plan about how staff will address this differently with the child, and this means that ineffective strategies are being repeated.

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improvement to be good

There is a protocol in place for staff to follow when the child is missing from home. However, some instructions lack clarity and are open to interpretation. This does not promote a consistent response. Staff are persistent in their efforts to locate the child. They maintain contact with the child whenever possible, and they are proactive in encouraging them to return home. When the child returns from being missing from the home, the staff make sure that the child can speak to an independent person. This provides information that may help in protecting them from going missing again. However, staff do not always follow the agreed policies and update relevant professionals when the child returns home late.

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improvement to be good

Managers complete vetting procedures when they recruit new staff. However, they have not always verified the reasons why prospective employees have left previous roles in the care sector. This means that they have not assured themselves that they have all the information they need to assess whether the person is safe to work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

A new manager has been appointed since the last full inspection of the home. The manager has quickly gained a good insight into the home's strengths and areas for development. She is working with the responsible individual to make changes to staff practice and the home environment to enhance the child's experience of living there.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There is some improvement in the management oversight of the home. However, it is still not sufficiently robust to identify shortfalls in staff practice, record-keeping and risk management plans. For example, the manager has not identified that staff do not always follow the agreed procedures when the child returns home late. In addition, some of the approaches that staff are using to support the child are ineffective. The manager has not identified this or taken steps to introduce new strategies.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Team meetings are regular and purposeful. Managers give clear direction to staff about the standards of practice that are expected of them. All staff have completed the mandatory training provided by the company, including safeguarding training. The manager has taken stapes to strengthen staff's understanding of managing allegations and the company's whistleblowing policy.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff receive regular supervision and an annual appraisal of their performance. The manager uses supervision to help staff to reflect on their practice and identify any areas for development. Staff spoke positively about their roles and the improvements that are being made by the new management team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There is not a full staff team in place but there are sufficient staff to meet the needs of the child. The manager is taking steps to recruit additional staff. No agency staff have been used to cover gaps in the rota. This provides the child with continuity of care. Inspection report for children's home: 2605180 7 Following a case review on 5 August 2026, a decision was made to lift the restriction of accommodation notice that had been imposed on the home. Inspection report for children's home: 2605180 8

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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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all known risks to children are assessed and there are clear strategies in place to manage these risks. 11 October 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; 11 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2605180 9 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

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)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that they use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided to children.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children experience a well-planned and supported move out of this home.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 11 October 2026

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children's home's overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children's needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. 11 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2605180 10 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home's statement of purpose; ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home's statement of purpose; protect and promote each child's welfare;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child's needs, as recorded in the child's relevant plans, taking account of the child's background;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult;

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Requirement Due date

make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child's relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iv)(vi)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the child experiences a good daily routine.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, the registered person must make sure that staff use a consistent, well-defined approach to rewards and consequences.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should maintain good employment practice. They should, as far as reasonably practicable, verify the reasons why prospective employees have left previous roles in the care sector. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that repairs to the home are made in a timely way. In addition, the garden should be a welcoming and well-equipped space for children to use and enjoy. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report for children's home: 2605180 11  The registered person should ensure that children are supported to learn the practical skills they need to prepare them to live independently. They should ensure that children are aware of the local authority's offer to care-experienced young people. ('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: 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: 2 Warren Bruce Road, Trafford Park, Manchester M17 1LB

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Inspector

Sophie Thomson, 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 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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