Fife Council children’s home didn’t have enough staff to keep kids safe

A children’s care home run by Fife Council did not have enough staff to keep kids safe, inspectors have found.

A scathing report from the Care Inspectorate said it was “very concerned” about aspects of the care being provided at Arndean Home in Dunfermline.

The home looks after children with “the most complex care needs”, according to the local authority.

An inspection of the facility in August found “insufficient staff numbers were in place to ensure young people could be kept safe”.

Broken window and ‘lack of healthy meals’ at Arndean children’s home in Fife

The Care Inspectorate found concerns regarding staffing at Arndean were first raised in December 2022 but had not been addressed.

Inspectors discovered staff did not always have the time to cook healthy food and mealtimes were not a shared activity.

A living room window at Arndean, on Aberdour Road, was found to have been broken for two months without any repairs.

Other parts of the home were “not in good decorative order”.

Arndean Care Home: Series of concerns raised after inspection

Other issues raised by the Care Inspectorate included:

• Staffing levels were seriously impacting on outcomes for young people
• Children and young people were not experiencing consistent trauma-informed care
• Staff felt unsupported and were not receiving debriefs when incidents occurred
• Children and young people did not benefit from Smart planning

Fife Council admits Arndean inspection report ‘disappointing’

Fife Council has now been ordered to make a number of improvements before the end of September.

Maria Lloyd, head of education and children’s services, said: “This inspection report is obviously disappointing, and we are continuing to work hard to address the issues raised.

“A detailed action plan is already in place to help us respond to the improvements that are needed.

“Our residential childcare service looks after children and young people with the most complex care needs.

“We are committed to delivering on these improvements so that staff are confident and competent in responding to the level of trauma and adversity that children and young people can display.

“It is our responsibility to give these young residents the opportunity to reach their potential and enhance their life chances.

“We will continue to work with partners to ensure standards are met and subject to regular review.”