Young people defend carers after critical inspection report found children’s home was ‘not safe’

Young people in the care system have come to the defence of staff at a new children’s home after inspectors raised  concerns.

They praised carers and questioned the findings of a report, which found young people were “not safe” at Stura in Tingwall.

One young man said: “Dedicated staff provide the best care possible, and I would like to thank them for all their hard work.”

Another added that “staff do the best job ever” and the negative reports had “upset a lot of people”.

The Care Inspectorate found the home was “adequate” overall –  but noted that its “strengths only just outweighed weaknesses”.

The SIC-run service opened in 2021 – but the report found its leadership lacking and said it had encountered “significant challenges”.

Staff shortages were said to have had a big impact on the new team and its development.

Despite the challenges, inspectors found staff were committed to providing a good service and young people were supported to be part of the community.

Friends and family were also encouraged to visit and made to feel “very welcome”, the report added. But although staff “did their best” to protect young people from bullying, the inspectors found they were not “physically safe from each other”.

The report noted staffing changes meant young people did not feel “emotionally safe”.

“Some staff felt they lacked the level of skill required to meet the needs of young people with complex needs,” the inspectors said.

The report was discussed at Monday’s education and families committee meeting, along with a number of other recent inspections, which had more positive findings.

Lerwick North and Bressay member Stephen Leask highlighted concerns with the Stura report.

“I just worry when I see young people were not safe and that’s quite alarming for us here,” he said.

Children’s service director Helen Budge said her team did not like to hear such reports either.

She said Stura provided services to very vulnerable young people – and some of their behaviour could be “quite challenging”.

Mrs Budge said that while the council sought to help as many children as possible close to home in Shetland, some needed to go off island for their care.

The Stura inspection was carried out in August 2022.