A care home for young people in Ayrshire has been handed a favourable review by the Care Inspectorate.
Cronberry House, in Muirkirk Road, Cumnock, was graded as ‘very good’ across a number of key indicators. It follows an inspection earlier this year.
Cronberry House is run by Inspire Scotland, which is registered to provide a care service for a maximum of five children and young people.
At the time of the inspection, four young people were living in the house.
In making its evaluations, the Care Inspectorate spoke with three people using the service and three of their representatives; spoke with 14 staff and management, observed practice and daily life, reviewed documents and liaised with visiting professionals.
An extract from the Care Inspectorate report said the young people enjoyed a “settled house” as, since the last inspection, the service provider had made “significant improvements” in terms of careful admissions and the matching process.
The report goes on: “We found significant strengths in aspects of the care provided and how these supported positive outcomes for people. We evaluated this key question as very good.
“Young people in Cronberry House have been kept safe. Staff have a clear understanding of their role and receive relevant training.
“Young people, the staff and social workers all confirmed that they have seen big changes in the young people’s risks since living in the house. One commented that they “were like a different person.”
In terms of attainment, young people had made “good progress” according to the report and they had been supported to attend or apply to school, college and/or employment.
Plans were made for ongoing learning and, when there were difficulties arising in school, staff advocated for the young people and worked with the school to find ways of “supporting the young people to attend”.
Staffing at the house had also improved, the report notes.
The report concludes: “Overall, the provider had made important strategic decisions in the last year that has improved the quality of staffing and care provided to young people.
“When young people move on, the service should continue to take a careful approach to matching, particularly until the issues of staff retention are fully and sustainably resolved.”
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