Wick Family Centre given until next month to make a number of improvements following inspection
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A Wick centre, which provides a care service for children and young people with additional support needs, has been given until next month to carry out a number of improvements.
The decision was reached by the Care Inspectorate after it carried out an unannounced follow-up inspection at the Wick Family Centre in Bank Row on August 10.
It gave the service provided by No Limits Caithness and operated during school holidays and on Saturdays during school term a poor report and described the leadership and staff team as unsatisfactory, while the care, play, learning and setting were rated as weak.
The former was scored at one while the latter was given a two. A six-point scale is used with one regarded as unsatisfactory and six, excellent.
The centre had been issued with a letter of serious concern following a visit earlier in the year.
The inspectors found that overall, children experienced "interactions with staff who were caring and nurturing" while regular visits to local play parks supported children's physical development.
They pointed out that parents "appreciated the service and spoke positively about the staff team".
However, the report stated that "a significant lack of progress to make improvements meant that children did not experience high quality care and their safety and wellbeing needs were not always met."
"The service was not effectively managed or lead, resulting in issues not being identified or addressed" and pointed out that children and young people were "placed at significant risk due to ineffective supervision".
The report added: "Quality assurance processes were ineffective which led to serious concerns regarding children and young people's safety, health and wellbeing. Gaps in professional knowledge and skills impacted negatively on the quality of children's experiences."
On leadership and staff team, the inspectors stated: "We were very concerned about aspects of the care being provided and we evaluated the service as delivering an unsatisfactory level of care."
They were also unhappy with the care, play, learning and setting and said while "some strengths could be identified, these were compromised by significant weaknesses."
The centre has been given until October 8 to make improvements.
As previously reported, the directors of the Wick Family Centre called for the overhaul of the care inspection system as they claim "the one-size fits all" approach needs changed.
It was pointed out that under the current inspection system, assessments for children's services are based on Early Years Learning – the same criteria used in pre-school nurseries – which the centre management says is not appropriate for facilities such as the family centre.
At the time, director Louise Furniss said: "One size does not fit all. The observations made on the day are not representative of our practice or provision. Opinions and judgements were based on single observations without knowing or understanding the context or the background of the situation, or the children."
She added: "If we used the Care Inspectorate's one-word grading for the inspection process, we would say it was 'unsatisfactory'."
