Kibble Admin

We’re delighted to share that Bute and Buchanan, two of our Intensive Services houses, have been awarded the prestigious Advanced Autism Accreditation from the National Autistic Society (NAS). 

This is a fantastic achievement and a real cause for celebration, reflecting our commitment to providing inclusive, high-quality and nurturing care for children and young people.

This accreditation follows in the successful footsteps of our early-years houses, Ness and Tay, who received the exemplary award in June this year. With Bute and Buchanan achieving the highest level of the NAS Autism Specialist Award, assessors spoke extremely positively of the houses and staff teams at Bute and Buchanan, recognising the incredible continuity of care provided to young children through to adulthood. 

This individualised approach is especially important for young people who are neurodiverse, as it ensures their strengths, communication styles, sensory needs and personal preferences are understood and supported in a way that helps them feel safe, respected and empowered. Staff go to lengths to ensure young people achieve in all aspects of their lives, and this has included working alongside education colleagues to develop bespoke timetables that combine educational attainment with vocational skills. 

Assessors also praised the breadth of services provided by Kibble and highlighted our child-centred approach, where care, education and support are shaped around each individual young person rather than the needs of the service.

Promoting Equality and Inclusion

Across Kibble, many of the children and young people in our care have neurodevelopmental conditions, including autism. We therefore take a child-centred, trauma-informed approach across our practice, education, environments, resources and culture to ensure young people feel understood, included and able to take part in all aspects of life.

Over several months, teams took part in a thorough process of self-evaluation and reflective learning before Kibble was assessed against five key areas, including:

• emotional wellbeing
• social communication
• interaction and relationships
• sensory experiences

Assessors spent time in each of the houses, observing practice, the environment, relationships with young people, support and family inclusion. They also looked closely at how staff adapt care around each young person’s individual strengths, needs and preferences, including emotional wellbeing, communication, sensory experiences and opportunities to build independence and life skills.

Damien McGrogan, Executive Director of Secure and Intensive Services shared: “This is a significant achievement and is credit to the dedication, professionalism and commitment of the entire staff team and management group. It also reflects the positive contribution of our young people, whose engagement and feedback have helped shape and strengthen the service.

Thank you to everyone involved in achieving this excellent outcome. This recognition demonstrates our ongoing commitment to delivering high-quality, autism-informed care and support for the young people we serve.

Importantly, this achievement is not the end of the journey. Achieving Advanced status provides a strong platform from which we can now look towards securing Beacon Status within these services. This will require us to continue building on the excellent practice already in place, sharing learning, driving innovation and maintaining our focus on achieving the very best outcomes for our young people. We are confident that, with the commitment and expertise of our staff and the continued involvement of our young people, this is an ambition we can work towards together.”

About the Autism Accreditation Programme

The Autism Accreditation Programme is the UK’s only autism-specific quality assurance scheme, providing organisations that support autistic people with specialist guidance, development and assessment. Gaining accreditation highlights a service’s dedication to developing a deeper understanding of autism and embedding high-quality, evidence-informed practice. It also offers a recognised benchmark for services to demonstrate that their support is thoughtful, effective and centred around the needs of autistic children and adults.

Established for more than 30 years, Autism Accreditation is now recognised internationally and continues to be the longest-running programme of its kind in the world.

A huge well done and congratulations to everyone involved in this successful accreditation, which is testament to the love, care and support shown to young people every day. Supporting young people who require close care and support is not always easy; however, staff go above and beyond to maintain the important stability and sense of belonging that helps young people feel safe. Moving forward, assessors will now focus their efforts on Jura and Islay within the Safe Centre before progressing to further services. This latest achievement is a proud moment for Kibble and a wonderful reminder of the difference compassionate, consistent support can make in the lives of young people.

We’re delighted to share that Kibble has been awarded Autism Accreditation by the National Autistic Society (NAS) across our child and youth care services. The award covers our three schools, residential houses, intensive services and our secure care centre. 

This marks a significant milestone for Kibble, recognising our commitment to embedding trauma-informed and autism-inclusive practice across our services and providing high-quality, personalised support for children and young people.

The NAS Autism Accreditation Programme is the UK’s only autism-specific quality assurance schemes, requiring organisations to demonstrate a clear commitment to understanding autism and delivering high-quality, evidence-informed support. Services are assessed across key areas including emotional wellbeing, communication, relationships and sensory experiences.

The rigorous accreditation process was undertaken over several months, beginning with our early years children’s houses, Ness and Tay, in Lochwinnoch, before progressing to our residential children’s houses, North and Staffa, in Paisley.

Following their successful accreditation, the process was extended across our education services, with Forest View Primary, Goudie Academy and Mirin Academy all achieving accreditation. Together, our education provision is one of only 10 education settings in Scotland to currently be accredited by the National Autistic Society, marking a significant milestone in our commitment to autism-inclusive education. 

The process then continued across our intensive residential children’s houses, Bute and Buchanan, which achieved Advanced Accreditation – the highest level awarded through the National Autistic Society’s Autism Accreditation programme, recognising high-quality autism practice. Most recently, our Safe Centre has also been awarded NAS accreditation, making us the first secure care provider in Scotland to achieve this recognition.

Assessors spent three days at our schools earlier this summer and found a rights-based, neuro-affirmative and trauma-informed approach. Assessors highlighted the inclusive environments created across all three schools, recognising the wide range of specialist approaches we use to help young people feel safe, understood and ready to learn. Our personalised support plans, visual communication tools, bespoke timetables, sensory resources and calm learning spaces ensure education is adapted to meet every learner’s communication, sensory and emotional needs.

At North and Staffa, assessors observed 14 sessions over two days in May. During this period, assessors praised the homely environment we have created within the houses, particularly praising the role of the House Parent who prepares delicious, freshly cooked meals and invites young people to get involved before sitting down at the table together. This provides an opportunity for young people to share how their day has been and has become a valued part of the evening routine.

At Ness and Tay, our primary-years campus in Lochwinnoch, our staff use visual methods, social stories and Makaton across both indoor and outdoor settings. At Bute and Buchanan, our intensive services, young people receive one-to-one and two-to-one support, with life skills taught in-house and regular community activities.

Dan Johnson, Executive Director and Forensic Psychologist at Kibble, said: “Achieving this across our services completes a journey we set out on to embed autism-responsive and trauma-informed care across Kibble. 

“We know the importance of early intervention and creating environments where children and young people feel valued, listened to and supported. This recognition reflects the dedication of our teams and the strength of our approach. 

“We hope it helps us play a leading role in demonstrating what high-quality, inclusive support looks like in practice.”

Christine Flintoft-Smith, Head of Autism Accreditation and Projects at the National Autistic Society, said: “We are delighted that Kibble has achieved Autism Accreditation. The team should be exceptionally proud of their achievement and commitment towards improving support for autistic people.”

We support children and young people aged 5 to 26 who have experienced trauma and adversity, delivering integrated residential care, education and therapeutic services. Many of the young people we support have neurodevelopmental needs, including autism.

Minister for Mental Wellbeing, Public Health, Sport, Alcohol and Drugs, Maree Todd MSP said: “Every child and young person deserves support that recognises and responds to their individual strengths, needs and experiences. I welcome Kibble’s achievement of National Autistic Society Autism Accreditation across its children’s services, which reflects a strong commitment to creating environments where autistic children and young people can thrive. Congratulations to everyone involved in reaching this important milestone.”

We are delighted to share that Kibble has been shortlisted in four categories at this year’s The Herald and s1jobs Top Employer Awards, recognising organisations that create exceptional workplaces and invest in their people.

We are proud to be finalists in:

• Employer of the Year
• Learning & Skills Development Initiative of the Year
• Apprenticeship & Graduate Programme of the Year
• Reward, Benefits & Wellbeing Strategy of the Year

The awards celebrate organisations that demonstrate excellence in workplace culture, employee development, wellbeing and career progression.

Being named a finalist in four categories is a significant achievement and reflects Kibble’s ongoing commitment to creating a supportive, inclusive and rewarding place to work. We know that our people are our greatest strength, and we are committed to investing in their development, wellbeing and success. Through learning opportunities, career pathways, employee benefits and a positive workplace culture, we strive to ensure our colleagues feel valued, supported and empowered to thrive.

Thank you to all of our staff for the dedication, care and expertise you bring every day. Your contribution helps create the positive culture that makes Kibble a rewarding place to work and enables us to make a meaningful difference in the lives of the children and young people we support.

We are delighted to share positive feedback following a recent unannounced Promise Assurance inspection at Lunderston House, part of Kibble’s Inverkip Care Home Service. The feedback has meant a great deal to staff, recognising the care and commitment they show every day to helping children and young people feel safe, loved and cared for.

The inspection, completed by the Care Inspectorate on 4 August 2026, focused on key areas essential to upholding children and young people’s rights and ensuring they remain at the centre of their care. Following the positive feedback, Lunderston House will retain its Grade 5 Care Inspection result, recognising the very good care and support provided by the team.

Young People at the Heart of Their Care

Inspectors highlighted that young people were at the heart of their care, with their views and wishes central to planning and decision-making. Advocacy was also recognised as well established, helping ensure young people’s voices are heard and represented.

Strong, trusting relationships between young people and staff were praised, alongside creative, person-centred approaches to communication, including the use of Makaton to support individual communication needs.

Young people’s own experiences brought this to life. One young person described Lunderston as a place where “people are coming to look after me in my home”, while also praising staff for going “above and beyond when they do not need to”.

A Safe, Homely and Personalised Environment

Inspectors spoke positively about the physical environment and how it has been adapted to meet a wide range of individual needs. Features including therapeutic spaces, a springfree trampoline and a canopy over the hot tub were recognised as examples of how the environment supports and celebrates each young person.

The personalisation of bedrooms was also highlighted, with young people’s toys, belongings, photographs and family mementoes helping to create a genuine sense of belonging and home.

One young person described Lunderston as “a really safe house”, while another said: “I have never not felt safe in this house and I’ve not always had that before.”

Individualised Care and Positive Outcomes

Inspectors found that young people experienced individualised care that helped keep them safe, supported by proactive planning, effective multi-agency working and regularly reviewed plans.

The report noted measurable progress and positive outcomes for all young people living in the house. This included support with everyday routines, such as travelling to and from school, as well as resources that help young people feel safe and calm.

The thoughtful approach to restrictive practices was also recognised, with these only used when necessary and followed by strong post-incident support.

One young person reflected on their experience at Lunderston, saying it had “made me feel like I’m the best person I can be” and that the house “just feels like my home, it is just lovely.”

Values-Led Practice and Strong Team Support

The Care Inspectorate highlighted values-led practice across the service, with a clear focus on upholding young people’s rights and promoting their best interests. The culture of unconditional love and acceptance was particularly recognised, with young people embraced and celebrated for who they are.

Inspectors also recognised effective leadership and a strong commitment to developing practice. This included training and role-play groups, specialist knowledge such as autism expertise, and the sustained use of SIS resources, with clear evidence of the positive impact this has had across the service.

This positive feedback is a real credit to everyone working in and around Lunderston House. Congratulations to the whole team for the care, compassion and commitment they show every day in creating a safe, nurturing and genuinely homely environment where young people feel listened to, valued and supported to build brighter futures.

We are delighted to share that Cochrane House 1, 2 and 3 have been awarded ‘5 – Very Good’ in a recent Care Inspectorate report.

 
Following the unannounced inspection of each house on 10 June 2026, inspectors recognised major strengths in how the service supports children and young people’s rights, wellbeing and outcomes. The report reflects the care, skill and dedication shown by staff across the service. This was demonstrated through the positive relationships between young people and the staff teams there to support them. Inspectors praised staff’s understanding of the individual needs of each young person, which was reflected in detailed support plans that were regularly reviewed to ensure they continued to meet young people’s needs at all times.

Championing Rights and Voices

There was excellent feedback around the promotion of children’s rights, with the Care Inspectorate report highlighting that “young people were well informed about their rights and felt confident that staff represented their views.” Staff also created a safe and supportive environment within each of the houses, where young people felt able to raise any concerns. This was further strengthened through access to independent advocacy provided by Who Cares? Scotland. This was particularly evident when supporting young people through transitions, with inspectors highlighting that “…where decisions were made at short notice, these were informed by the needs and rights of both the young person moving into the service and those already living there.”

Importance of Everyday Moments

The warmth in everyday experiences was also reflected in the report. Young people’s views and wishes were actively sought, helping them take part in enjoyable activities, community clubs, small business opportunities and experiences such as wild swimming. This was made possible through the support and encouragement of staff teams, who ensured young people enjoyed a wide range of experiences and opportunities within their communities.
 

In addition, Education was actively promoted, with positive outcomes including young people attending school regularly for the first time. Maintaining meaningful family connections was another strength, with some young people sharing that they were seeing family regularly for the first time in years.

Specialist Care and Leadership

The report also recognised the specialist care and strong leadership in place at Cochrane House. Staff and leaders demonstrated a strong understanding of child protection, supported by training, trauma-informed practice, reflective discussions and access to Kibble’s Specialist Intervention Service. Inspectors also noted the positive impact of strengthened management structures, which have improved consistency, staff confidence and teamworking. This recognition was echoed by Executive Director of Secure and Intensive Services, Damien McGrogan, who shared with staff:

“I wanted to share my congratulations following the recent inspection and the very positive feedback received. It was fantastic to see the recognition for the genuine warmth, care and compassion across the houses. The inspectors clearly felt the strong relationships you have built with the young people, and the sense of trust, consistency and care that underpins everything you do. This is a real reflection of the commitment, teamwork and professionalism across all teams, and you should be incredibly proud of what has been achieved. Please keep up the great work and continue building on this success.”

This incredibly positive inspection result is a real credit to everyone working in and around Cochrane House. Congratulations to the whole team for the care, compassion and commitment they show every day in helping young people feel safe, listened to and supported to build brighter futures.