Top Marks for Kibble from HM Inspectorate of Education

Young people are being helped to change their lives for the better at a Scots care centre, according to Government inspectors.

A recently-published report has praised the work carried out with young people who have significant social, emotional and behavioural needs by staff at the Paisley-based Kibble Education and Care Centre.  Inspectors from the HM Inspectorate of Education visited Kibble and monitored staff and pupils there.  The inspectors ranked the way the school met learning needs as ‘excellent’ and said that improvements to performance; learners’ experiences; the curriculum and improvement through self-evaluation was ‘very good’

Their report lists the particular strengths of Kibble as:

• The success the school achieves in improving the lives of young people.
• Personalisation of the curriculum to meet the needs of individual young people.
• Outstanding personal support that enables young people to benefit greatly from their Kibble experience.
• High quality relationships between all staff and young people, which make the young people feel safe, valued and respected.
• Commitment of staff to improve the services Kibble provides.

Inspectors stated that: “Across the service, young people enjoy very positive relationships with staff who are motivating them to learn and become more confident.  Young people receive a range of learning experiences across care and education settings. These experiences are helping them to gain success in learning and to change their lives.”

The report also highlights the young people’s sense of achievement and improvements to self esteem gained by their charity work for the local community. The Kibble’s football team was also mentioned as helping the young people exercise self-discipline and working together as a team. Kibble was also praised for the way it tailors the curriculum to suit the needs of young people.

The reports says: “Overall, young people receive outstanding personal support that enables them to gain as much as possible from their Kibble experience.  All staff have very high expectations of behaviour. They have established a calm and purposeful atmosphere across the centre and places a very high value on raising young people’s expectations of their future lives.”

Kibble chief executive, Graham Bell said: “This report is testament to the dedication and hard work of our staff. Our aim is to lay the groundwork and help young people achieve their full potential making a better and more positive life for themselves.  However, we will never be complacent and we continue to develop new and more innovative ways to teach and care for young people giving them a better chance to improve their lives.”

Kibble is the largest multi-service centre in the UK and Scotland's specialist centre for young people at risk. It provides community outreach, residential care, secondary education, intensive fostering, secure care and also employment training for young people delivered through a portfolio of social enterprises.  Young people from all over Scotland are referred to Kibble by the courts, the Children’s Hearing system and local authorities.