Scottish Children’s Homes In Crisis

Children’s care homes are in crisis as thousands of staff working with young people do not have the qualifications for the job, a Scotsman investigation has revealed. Figures show that only 18 per cent of staff are fully qualified to work in residential care, more than a decade after inspectors called for urgent improvements.

Insiders claim teenagers are left to “run amok” – allowed to leave the units and return in the early hours of the morning by staff who have neither the qualifications nor the training to do the job properly.

The statistics reveal a grim picture of life for youngsters at residential centres across the country – many of whom have suffered neglect and physical and sexual abuse at the hands of their carers. They also raise serious questions about the calibre of staff who are supposed to be looking after some 2,418 children in care homes in Scotland.

A senior social work source said staff were beset by chronic drug and alcohol problems. “A lot of them haven’t had an education. Some of them are very young and they have drug and alcohol issues themselves. We’re not putting the best people in these homes, but it’s all to do with funding,” the source said.

Last night childcare experts warned that young people were being put at risk as staff shortages left care homes with only one person on night duty to supervise some of the country’s most troubled youngsters – many of whom have a string of criminal convictions.

The Care Commission, a government watchdog, issued 124 warnings to the units last year for failing to meet basic legal requirements on health and welfare. The fresh concerns come just weeks after childcare officials ordered an investigation into why a vulnerable teenager was allowed out of an Edinburgh children’s home on the night she died after taking methadone for the first time.

Danielle Scott died after taking a lethal cocktail of alcohol and methadone when she befriended Peter Meaney, a drug addict. She met Meaney and agreed to go to his Sighthill flat during a “time out” break from Howdenhall Young Person’s Unit. The girl’s mother, Lorraine Scott, maintains her daughter should not have been allowed out unsupervised. City of Edinburgh Council and the General Medical Council have ordered separate investigations into Danielle’s care.

In 1992, the Skinner report recommended radical reforms to ensure that staff were adequately trained, but senior social workers and parents claim little has changed. Angus Skinner, Scotland’s former chief inspector of social work and author of the report, is deeply disturbed by the lack of progress. He said unqualified staff could not hope to tackle the behavioural problems experienced by those in residential care.

“Progress has been too slow and this is a very important task. They should be doing more. It needs a high calibre of staff to tackle it,” he said. “The question is how long do you give local authorities … and the private sector? They’ve known since 2001 that they should be trained up.”

The timetable for change has repeatedly slipped and a target of having 60 per cent of residential care workers fully qualified has not been achieved. The Skinner report – regarded as a blueprint for best practice in social work – recommended that local authorities and independent organisations should aim to have residential childcare staff competent at both HNC and SVQ3 levels.

While social workers must register and have either a degree or a diploma in social work in order to work in Scotland, residential care workers require no formal qualifications.

Of the 3,070 staff in Scotland that responded to the last audit by the Scottish Institute for Residential Child Care (SIRCC), only 553 are fully qualified. Its report raised “critical questions” regarding recruitment and retention and stressed that employers are facing “a crisis” in some areas.

Jennifer Davidson, director of SIRCC, described the situation as an “ongoing problem”. She continued: “It [the Skinner report] recognised staff were not qualified or they were under-qualified. The retention process in this sector means we’re fighting an uphill battle. It’s more difficult in residential childcare because it’s a very intense environment, very high stress. It can be so challenging that people don’t stay for long.”

However, she insisted that progress had been made and staff were working hard to improve their skills to reach the necessary levels. A new audit, due next month, is expected to show an increase in the number of those qualified at the country’s 236 care homes.

Eileen Munro, whose son committed suicide after being sent to the infamous Kerelaw residential school in Ayrshire, called for a root-and-branch reform of the system. She described carers as being “out of their depth” and insisted that staff were routinely drunk and abusive.

“I had no faith in the staff. Some of them had no idea what they were doing. I know they were not qualified to do the job,” she said. “I’m convinced my son was abused by these people … but no-one was prepared to blow the whistle.”

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Social Services Council – the regulatory body which determines the kind of qualifications required – confirmed that no timetable had been set.

She said: “It will take a number of years to get them trained up. There isn’t a deadline for residential childcare workers to have qualifications.” Meanwhile, the Scottish Executive insisted improvements had been made and a five-year action plan had been launched in 2005 with a view to raising standards and strengthening the workforce.

“A new qualifications audit currently being compiled … will indicate how this is progressing, but we do expect to see an increase in the number of residential childcare workers meeting registration criteria when the report is released later this year.”

‘They ruined my son’s life and my life’

When Eileen Munro sent her son, Craig, to Kerelaw residential home in Ayrshire, she thought she was doing the best for her child. The teenager was profoundly deaf and needed specialist help so after months of soul-searching she put him in the hands of the professionals. More than a decade on, it is a decision she will regret for the rest of her life.

In 2004 a report from Glasgow City Council, which is responsible for the school, sparked a massive police investigation that continues today. It has already brought about the conviction of two Kerelaw workers for sexually and physically abusing children in their care.

“I told them I thought he was being abused but they refused to acknowledge it,” explains Ms Munro. “They just told me he was attention-seeking. He had bruises to his face and was self-harming… but nobody wanted to know. I had no faith in the staff.”

Ms Munro, 44, from South Lanarkshire, claims staff failed to recognise that Craig’s mood swings and aggressive behaviour were due to his chronic diabetes. “They never even picked up on the fact that he was ill. My son was losing his grip on life. But no-one was prepared to blow the whistle.”

Her son committed suicide in 2002 at the age of 22 and Ms Munro pins the blame on the care home system. “They keep saying that lessons will be learned, but nothing changes. These are vulnerable young people who are not getting the care they deserve. These people are to blame. They ruined his life and they’ve ruined mine.”

An investigation at one of the units in the school found allegations of systematic physical abuse, deliberate distortion of events to “demonise” children and the falsification of records. Most workers have denied the allegations, insisting the school, which closed last year, was no worse than any other residential facility.