AN INVERCLYDE care home for trauma-experienced youngsters has made "significant improvements" after inspectors raised serious concerns about the facility.

Watchdogs, who had claimed last year that the safety of children living at Dallifour had been ‘compromised’ by a 'pattern' of failures, have now assessed the Kilmacolm house’s support for young people’s rights and wellbeing as ‘good’.

The Telegraph reported earlier this year that the service, operated by Greenleaf House, had received a ‘weak’ grading, its second consecutive poor evaluation, from the Care Inspectorate.

The watchdog said in March that allegations of misconduct had been made by young people in care and "not followed up" by management, while young people were said to have been "at greater risk of harm" due to a "lack of analysis and understanding of risk" among staff.

A follow-up inspection was completed in July and a new Care Inspectorate report reveals that the service has met all the required areas for improvement.

The latest report said: “The leaders of the service had made a concerted effort to deliver stability and improvement.

“There had been a significant improvement in the knowledge and understanding of staff which meant that they were better equipped to provide effective care and support.

READ MORE: Young people's safety 'compromised' as inspectors find 'serious concerns' at home

“When young people were approaching critical points in their lives the service was pro-active in championing their best interests.

“A significant development since the last inspection was young people's access to mental health support.”

Inspectors found that young people were kept safe and that the service had “responded appropriately” and worked well with external agencies like the police and social work when youngsters had “at times placed themselves at significant risk of harm”.

The report said: “The service ensured that young people had a range of responsible adults that they could turn to.

“Since our last inspection, the staff and management team had remained, and this consistency was giving young people stability.

“It also meant that staff had a developed understanding of their role and of the young people they were supporting.

READ MORE: Improvement notice for children's home after inspectors find 'pattern of concerns'

“Progress had been made in approaches to helping young people when in distress and this was reflected in the absence of restraint.

“We found that staff were equipped with the right skills to support the young people in their care.”

Inspectors said they were pleased to see a "much more analytical approach" to care and support, adding: “The manager and staff had accessed external consultation to fully reflect on the impact of trauma and this was having a direct impact on how they interacted with young people and how they adjusted their support.

“We found this was having a positive impact on building relationships.”

Inspectors also identified family connections as a strength of the service.

The report said: “The leaders of the service had made a concerted effort to deliver stability and improvement.

“The staff team were inspired to improve, and this was led by a manager who focused on the necessary improvements and delivered change.

“The impact of this was a direct improvement in outcomes for young people.”

Consistency and stability brought about by the retention of staff had had a positive influence on the overall culture of the house, according to the report, while a much more advanced approach to risk management had been applied.

The Care Inspectorate had served an improvement notice on Dallifour in April 2023 after highlighting a "pattern of concerns" during inspections.