Residential care for children and young people
Darcy Lodge provides short, medium and long-term residential care for up to five children with emotional and behavioural difficulties, in a caring, structured and homely environment in Grimsby.
Support built around each young person
Every child has an individual care plan and placement plan, created in consultation with them and the care team. Each plan takes account of gender, religion, racial origin, cultural and linguistic background, any disability, and previous experiences.
Therapeutic support
Access to a qualified psychologist through our partnership with Working for Health CIC, alongside CAMHS via Young Minds Matters, so support does not have to wait on a universal referral queue.
Educational support
Every young person has a Personal Education Plan on file. We work with local schools, colleges and alternative provision, and support attendance, homework, review meetings and parents' evenings.
Life skills
Cooking, cleaning and laundry alongside staff, plus managing a weekly allowance and, in time, opening a bank account, so independence is practised rather than talked about.
Health
Registration with a local GP, dentist and optician on arrival, an Initial Health Assessment within 28 days of entering care, and regular Review Health Assessments in line with national guidance.
Emotional and psychological wellbeing
Our team is trained and supported on an ongoing basis to work with traumatised children presenting a wide range of difficulties. When a young person first moves in, the priority is a sense of safety and containment in a nurturing environment.
Education that fits the young person
Most children at Darcy Lodge attend local schools in North East Lincolnshire, or continue at the school they attended before coming to the home. Where mainstream is not the right fit, alternative provision and in-house learning are available.
Local schools, colleges and alternative provision
We work with mainstream academies across Grimsby, with specialist schools for children with additional needs, and with Grimsby Institute and Franklin Sixth Form College for older young people taking A Levels or vocational courses.
Practical skills for a life of their own
From cooking a meal to managing money, these small daily victories build the foundation for a life beyond care. Where possible young people manage their own pocket money and, depending on age, their own clothing allowance.
A steady rhythm of purpose and rest
Mealtimes are flexible rather than fixed, and each week's menu is planned with the young people living here. Structure is not a punishment. It tells a young person the day is safe, the meal is coming, and someone is there.
Activities, community and everyday life
Each week young people plan with staff what they would like to do. Swimming, bowling, cinema, football clubs, skateparks, cycling tracks, ice skating and trampolining are all close by, and Cleethorpes, Mablethorpe and Skegness are within easy reach.
Food and mealtimes
A new menu is created each week with input from everyone living here. Fresh fruit and vegetables are always available, and young people are encouraged to cook and to share meals at the table.
Physical activity
Swimming, football, cycling, trampolining and long walks, either in the countryside or along the beach at Cleethorpes.
Community outings
Days out are planned with each young person, from theme parks and local attractions to holidays away from the home during school and college breaks.
In-house activities
Football, gardening, nature walks, arts and crafts, board games and games consoles, with each young person free to watch TV in the privacy of their own room if they would rather.
Admissions and who we can support
Darcy Lodge provides care for up to five children and young people, male or female. We are clear about who we can support well, because a placement that is not right for a child helps nobody.
We will consider children who
Exhibit verbal or physical aggression; expose themselves to risk of harm; are victims of abuse; self-harm; or have mild learning difficulties. Where drug or alcohol misuse is a secondary factor stemming from previous life experience, we may admit and work with those young people.
We are unable to offer placements where there is
Severe mental health disorder; severe physical disability; severe learning disability; a serious self-harm or suicide attempt within a recent period; fire setting; or a known risk around knives within a recent period.
How a planned admission works
Enquiry, referral papers, an impact assessment agreed with the local authority, discussion with the team and the children already living here, an initial assessment visit, a placement agreement meeting, visits to the home including overnight stays, and the room prepared. Emergency admissions are on a trial basis with a planning meeting within 72 hours.
Talk to us about a young person
Get in touch to discuss a young person's needs, our admissions criteria, and whether Darcy Lodge is the right home for them.
