A Lanarkshire children’s home has been given the thumbs up by inspectors.
Fort Street Residential Children’s House in Motherwell was visited by the Care Inspectorate over two days in November and have been given a seal of approval by the individual who toured the facility.
The home, which is run by North Lanarkshire Council, was a given a ‘good’ rating in its support for the children’s health and wellbeing.
The report states: “It was encouraging to find that staff were well prepared, able and equipped to meet the distinctive and sometimes unique needs of children and young people being admitted from overseas.
“The background information available for these young people was often limited and most of them had endured extreme hardship and trauma.
“Despite this, staff used their own knowledge and skills, and worked alongside interpreters and relevant community based organisations to help these young people feel safe and understood.
“Overall, the design of the setting helped to ensure that children and young people experienced the advantages of small group living.
“They were very proud of their home, and were keen to show us their bedrooms and the overall living environment.”
Fort Street was also rated ‘very good’ in terms of helping young people feel safe and ‘good’ in the leaders and staff category.
The report adds: “Young people also told us that they wanted to stay at Fort Street until the time was right for them to move onto more independent living, which is testament to them feeling included and supported.
“ Young people presented to us as growing in confidence and it appeared to us that their sense of worth and identity was protected and valued.
“It was evident that young people had faith and confidence in the staff team.”
Councillor Angela Campbell, NLC’s Convener of Education, Children and Families, told Lanarkshire Live: “This positive inspection report reflects the commitment and hard work of residential staff in ensuring the best outcomes for our care experienced young people.
“This report, together with recent positive inspections for our four other children’s houses, highlights the importance of staff relationships with young people which are vital in allowing us to deliver The Promise in North Lanarkshire.
“It is also encouraging to see the care inspectorate’s positive comments about the support being given to unaccompanied asylum seeking children residing in North Lanarkshire, which reflects our commitment to support these children through The National Transfer Scheme.”
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