Inspectors Praise Newport Home’s Children

INSPECTORS praised the behaviour of children at a Newport children’s home Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales said Newport’s Cambridge House said children’s behaviour had improved within the home since 2007.

They added the home needs to deal with the wear and tear of the facilities.

Inspectors visited the home between July 2 and July 21 last year.

A previous inspection in 2007 identified concerns with how staff managed children’s behaviour.

They said: “There was a reluctance to exercise sufficient control of the children on a day-to-day basis.”

By the time of the new inspection a new management structure was put in place, which put routines and boundaries being established within the home.

They said: “This had resulted in a general decrease in the number of incidents within the home, and more of a settled period for the young people.”

However fixtures, furnishings, curtains and carpets were described by inspectors as generally tired and worn.

They add that the home needed to provide accommodation to the national minimum standard the whole state of the home and its furniture should be assessed.

They said closer detail should be paid to the small details where repair was necessary to keep it homely.

Problems included a broken vent in the dining room, a broken radiator cover in the lounge, a broken tile in one of the bathrooms and no toilet roll holder in one of the toilets.

One of the bedrooms needed attention because of odour, inspectors wrote.

However young people’s comments were good about care arrangements, and social workers were also positive about the way staff worked with young people and the support they gave.