MSP says level of violence in Fife Council’s children’s homes is ‘frightening’

There were 15 assaults on staff in just one month

CONCERNS have been raised over safety in Fife Council-run childcare homes after “frightening” figures showed there were 15 assaults in just one month.

Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Alex Rowley said the shocking statistics, uncovered through a freedom of information request, showed that attacks on staff were a “regular occurrence”.

In the past 12 months, there have been a total of 40 incidents where residents in children’s homes in the Kingdom have assaulted the people who work there.

There were 15 attacks in September alone, almost half of all reported incidents.

In a letter to the council’s chief executive, Steve Grimmond, Mr Rowley said: “No worker should face the threat of assault at their work but as you can see from the figures provided, assault on workers is a regular occurrence in Fife Council’s children’s homes and indeed the figure for September is frightening.

“I would ask that you advise what actions Fife Council is taking to understand what is going on in children’s homes and is Fife Council taking steps to address this?”

Mr Rowley also highlighted a report from the Care Inspectorate from December 2021. This report showed that, on a visit to Ardean Care Home in Dunfermline, five indicators were used to assess the home. Two of the five were deemed weak.

He said the inspection, and another at Glenlyon in Leven, “raised serious concern over the running of these care homes, the safety of children and staff and the quality of the provision”.

Mr Rowley continued: “Can I ask what actions have been taken to address these concerns? Can I also ask that you provide detail of how these services are monitored and what actions are in place to scrutinise the performance of these care homes?

“I am aware that Fife Council does not have a secure unit in Fife and children who require to be placed in a secure unit are sent outwith Fife but it is suggested that given Fife Councils commitment to all Fife children remaining in Fife, children can be placed in unsuitable accommodation and behavioural needs can be ignored and can impact on all residents and staff.”

Fife Council’s head of education and children’s services, Kathy Henwood, said: “While the inspection reports for Arndean and Glenlyon are disappointing we are confident this is not a reflection of the standard of care across the eight residential houses in Fife.

“We have detailed action plans in place to respond to both inspections and all actions have been implemented. We are confident we provide the care and support children’ young people need, as well as supporting our residential care staff.

“The residential childcare homes are all inspected annually, and respond to any improvements required. This fits with our approach to quality assurance and continuous improvement.

“We recognise that some of the young people we support in residential care have complex needs. We do have a skilled workforce, who are working in a regulated and registered service.

“We are also working to make sure staff are confident and competent in responding to the level of trauma and adversity that children and young people can display. We have a comprehensive training plan offering specialist training and support to staff.

“We are working with staff and young people to ensure that the working environment is safe and are promoting the reporting of any incidents in order to better capture and respond to the challenges faced. This data allows us to look at a range of supports.”