Acorns Unit reopens with a flurry

The event was an opportunity for staff and visitors to celebrate the completion of the 750,000 refurbishment of Acorns and to look round the hugely improved facilities.

This is a service which provides respite care for disabled children in East Sussex. It has now expanded so that staff can take care of children with learning difficulties but also those with physical disabilities who previously had no access to the building.

Acorns used to be on the first floor but, following months of building work, is now on ground level with more space and specialised equipment, meaning staff can look after more youngsters both overnight and during the day in school holidays.

The new unit has been operating since April but this week the County Council's Lead Cabinet Member for Children and Families, Councillor Meg Stroude, cut the ribbon to formally mark the centre's re-opening.

She said: "This really has been money well spent. This service is so valuable for families that have children with disabilities. It basically provides a home from home for the child, somewhere for them to be looked after and cared for, while the family has a break."

The unit now has seven bedrooms for youngsters to stay overnight compared with the previous five, and has completely new specialised bathrooms, kitchen and living accommodation. It has been completely adapted to ensure it is fully accessible to children with disabilities - for instance there is a huge new bathroom with a hoist, a large soft play area, an outdoor garden so they can have fun and be completely safe, and the bright cheery bedrooms are cosy and comfortable for the night spent away from home.

The other parts of the Dorset Road building house a social work team, and an Outreach service, both of which also benefitted from the refurbishment.

Unit Manager Janet Osborne said: "I feel excited really - it is good to be able to show everybody how their money is being put to good use. The County Council has spent 750,000 on the refurbishment so it was a real investment in the disability service because it was recognised that the five beds we had were not enough and we couldn't take children with physical disabilities, so we needed a new unit."

The building work began last September so Acorns found temporary accommodation at the Lansdowne Children's Home in Hailsham before coming back to Bexhill and settling into the new accommodation which opened on April 3.

Just a few weeks later an unexpected Ofsted inspection was carried out and the unit came out with flying colours.

Janet said: "It was an unannounced visit and the inspector was here for seven and a half hours. We got "outstanding" though, and that is the highest you can get - I am so chuffed with that."

She had been with Acorns for five years, having started off as a home help and care officer, then went to college and progressed up the career ladder before returning as manager. She is now watching the effects of the refurbishment both in terms of taking on extra youngsters and extra staff to care for them.

"We have been able to split the unit into two sub-units, which is particularly helpful when you have seven children in. Some of the children have complex disabilities and behaviours and needs...some of the children in wheelchairs are fed via a gastrostromy in the stomach, and are very vulnerable, while at the other end of the spectrum we have got teenage boys with severely challenging behaviour who need two members of staff with them all the time. So we are able to have two sub-units now, and it is about keeping the children safe - each unit has its own bathroom, dining and lounge area."

Acorns provides a respite service which is invaluable to the children who stay there, as well as their families who might be in need of a break, but Janet claims it is all about "children first, disability second".

"The children are treated as any other children. We don't treat them any different...there is a code of behaviour they need to follow, and we promote their independence as well. There are lots of different activities for them here, they are always going out, and doing different stuff. The children really love coming in and sometimes they don't want to go home - it is a bit embarassing sometimes when their parents arrive, but we have got all the resources here, and sometimes they just don't want to go."