Positive inspection for support service preparing young people for independent living
Last updated | 27/01/2012
Perth & Kinross Council through its Wellbank House facility in Perth provides support to young people who have homelessness issues, to equip them with the skills, experience and emotional resilience to live more independently.
A recent unannounced inspection by the Care Inspectorate of this service will be considered at the next Lifelong Learning Executive Sub-Committee on Wednesday 1st February 2012.
Wellbank House is a project run in partnership by Perth & Kinross Council and Caledonia Housing Association. The Inspectorate visited Wellbank in August 2011 and assessed the quality of care and support, and of staffing as 'very good', with the quality of leadership and management rated as 'good.'
Young people identify benefit from support service
The general view from the young people inspectors talked to at the time of the inspection was that the service had made a positive difference to their lives. The report also recognised that the manager and the team had a vision for continued growth and improvement.
While no recommendations or requirements were identified in the inspection, Councillors will hear that the team of staff at Wellbank, along with young people and stakeholders, had already highlighted a number of areas for improvement through self-evaluation.
All of these are either in progress or have already been completed, for example the establishment of a peer mentoring programme for young people coming into the services, the creation of a participation strategy with service users and carers, and the development of a web based information and advice sharing service.
Lifelong Learning Convener, Councillor Liz Grant said: "Young people receive vital support at Wellbank through our partnership with Caledonia Housing Association, to help them prepare for more independent living. This report therefore makes for very positive reading in relation to the service provided at Wellbank. There is a clear focus on continuous improvement which I am pleased the Care Inspectorate has identified and our self-evaluation process has already enabled us to make changes to the service beneficial to its users and their carers."
