Praise for 'very good' fostering, adoption and supported lodgings services in Moray

RECENT inspections of Moray Council’s fostering and adoption services, and supported lodgings for young adults have been rated as ‘very good’.

A recent joint inspection of fostering and adoption services was carried out by the Care Inspectorate, which praised the recruitment and support of prospective adopters, the training of foster carers and the confidence of staff in providing practical and emotional support to foster carers, children and young people.

The dedication and commitment of staff to ‘provide the best service they could’ was also highlighted as a strength. There were areas for improvement, including boosting staff morale and providing meaningful supervision for staff. However inspectors concluded that there was a ‘very good quality of service to people wishing to adopt children’, with ‘very good practice’ being maintained by staff and managers within the fostering service.

The supported lodgings service provides placements for young adults who have been ‘Looked After Children’, to help 16-21 year-olds move from a care setting into a supportive environment to prepare for independent living in the future.

The Care Inspectorate noted in their inspection report that the commitment from staff to provide a good service to carers and young people in these lodgings was ‘unequivocal’, that carers spoke highly of the quality of the training they received, and young people were happy with the support they were receiving.

Chair of Moray Council’s Children and Young Peoples’ Services Committee, Cllr Tim Eagle, paid tribute to the hard work of all staff within the services.

“We’re very lucky to have such committed staff working in fostering, adoption and supported lodgings within the council – all credit goes to them for securing such positive inspection reports, which I know are well-deserved.

“There are already plans in place for the improvements which the Care Inspectorate identified, and we’ll work with staff to make sure these are put in place.”

Famous for its colony of dolphins, fabulous beaches and more malt whisky distilleries than any where else in Scotland, Moray is a thriving area and a great place to live. Nestling between Aberdeenshire and the Highlands, Moray stretches from Tomintoul in the south to the shores of the Moray Firth, from Keith in the east to Brodie Castle in the west.