Denby House

Denby House is a registered two to two residential home which accommodates young people of both genders, with emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home is situated within easy reach of local amenities, Horbury town centre and within close proximity to the M1 motorway and Wakefield.

Denby House

Manager: Vicky Cawthorne

Age of Young People

Denby House can accommodate young people of any age; however normally they are between 8 and 18 years old. The admission process is robust and the young people’s needs are considered, including age, stage and emotional development and the completion of a shared living risk assessment which allows the young people’s needs to be carefully matched with co-residents this is to ensure that the placements are in the best interests of both young people.

At Denby House, we prefer planned placements as this gives new young people the opportunity to visit the home and meet the staff team and if there are other young people in placement prior to them moving in.

Facilities

Denby House is a four-bedroom detached home with a fully enclosed rear garden ideal for outdoor activities and summer BBQ’s and a paved driveway at the front and side of the property. The ground floor consists of a living room, dining/kitchen area, bathroom and a conservatory. The first floor comprises of four bedrooms – two young people’s bedroom fully furnished, a staff sleep room, an office/sleep room.

All shared areas of the home are accessible to young people. In the interest of confidentiality young people do not have access to the staff office.

At Denby House we endeavour to ensure that a warm homely environment is created to inspire young people to feel safe and secure. The daily routine of the home is centred on the young people’s needs. We make every effort to involve young people as much as possible with the decisions around the home for example, we encourage young people to personalise their surroundings by actively participating in choosing decoration and furnishings for the home, putting up photographs and personalising their own room.

Denby House staff adopt partnership principals to provide specialised support to young people with additional needs. Through working in partnership with identified agencies in line with the individual needs of the young person, life enhancing strategies and practices can be implemented.

Children form really meaningful relationships with staff. One child told the inspector, ‘Staff are the best thing about living here.’ The attachments that they develop with the adults who care for them have contributed to helping children feel safe and secure living at the home.

Ofsted, 2021

Children make good progress. One child who has moved on from the home was helped to improve her family relations, as well as achieve some functional skills qualifications in education. In addition, staff helped the child to explore her career prospects, which enabled her to focus on her future aspirations.

Ofsted, 2021

Staff ensure that children can experience their favourite things. They provide them with ample opportunities to have fun inside and outside the home. This includes going for walks at the seaside and visiting the zoo to see their favourite animals. The staff’s ambition to make a difference to the children’s lives is helping to create positive and lasting memories.

Ofsted, 2021

Children influence the care they receive in the home. Staff focus on the children’s individual needs and the matters that are important to them. For example, staff sensitively planned out what needed to be in place to enable a child to meet with a friend outside school. This helps children to develop a sense of self-worth.

Ofsted, 2021

Children are better protected because of living at this home. For some children, incidents of going missing from care, inappropriate sexualised behaviour and emotional dysregulation have reduced. Staff recognise the children’s signs of emotional distress, which helps to improve their outcomes.

Ofsted, 2021

Children influence the care they receive in the home. Staff focus on the children’s individual needs and the matters that are important to them. For example, staff sensitively planned out what needed to be in place to enable a child to meet with a friend outside school. This helps children to develop a sense of self-worth.

Ofsted, 2021

Our Approach

Consultation with young people is at the heart of all the work we do and the decisions we make about the child’s life are made with their involvement. We provide a nurturing and supportive environment which engages positively with young people and makes every effort to involve the wider system around them to ensure their needs are met.

We work hard to build constructive and warm relationships with young people and have a strong culture surrounding safeguarding issues where staff feel empowered and confident in risk management.

Girl Smiling

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