Our Founder
OUR FOUNDER
25 years of experience. A personal mission. One community to serve.
A CAREER BUILT ON CHANGING LIVES
Ivan Rolls has spent over 25 years running martial arts and gymnastics classes for children across Merseyside. In that time he has seen thousands of young people discover confidence, discipline and joy through movement — and he has also seen, time and again, how poorly catered for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities are when it comes to sport and physical activity.
Mainstream classes are often too fast, too loud, too unstructured — or simply not adapted at all. Children with SEND are frequently turned away, unable to keep up, or made to feel like they do not belong. For Ivan, this was not just a professional observation. It was personal.
SEN is part of Ivan's own family story. Seeing first-hand the barriers that children with additional needs face — not just in sport, but in accessing the confidence and physical wellbeing that movement brings — made the need for change impossible to ignore.
After decades of experience and a growing conviction that something had to change, Ivan founded A Place To Thrive Community Interest Company — a not-for-profit organisation dedicated entirely to providing inclusive, adapted physical activity for children and young people with SEND in Liverpool and the surrounding areas.
"I have watched children with SEND light up the moment they realise they can do something physical — something they were told wasn't for them. That moment is why this exists."
EXPERIENCE & EXPERTISE
25+ Years Coaching
Over two and a half decades running martial arts and gymnastics classes for children of all ages and abilities across Merseyside.
Personal Connection to SEND
SEN is part of Ivan's own family. This is not just a professional mission — it is a deeply personal one, driven by lived experience.
Community Focused
Ivan has always believed that sport and movement should be for every child. A Place To Thrive CIC is the culmination of that belief.
WHY A COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY?
Ivan chose to establish A Place To Thrive as a Community Interest Company deliberately. A CIC is a legal structure designed specifically for organisations that exist to benefit the community rather than generate profit for shareholders.
Every penny generated by A Place To Thrive CIC is reinvested directly into delivering better, wider and more accessible programmes for children and young people with SEND. There are no investors to pay. No dividends. No profit extraction. Just a clear, unwavering focus on the community it was built to serve.
The asset lock built into the CIC structure means that even if the company were ever wound up, its remaining assets would be transferred to another organisation with the same community purpose — ensuring the mission lives on.
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Whether you want to find out about our programmes, partner with us, or simply have a conversation about how we can help your child — Ivan would love to hear from you.
Get In Touch