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Dearnevale, rated outstanding by the CQC in March 2020, is a friendly 40-bed complex needs care home in Grimethorpe, Barnsley, which supports people living with complex physical disabilities, neuro-disabilities, high dependency nursing needs and long term conditions.
The home also has a four-bed OneCare service which provides specialist nursing...
Care Provided by Dearnevale
Primary Care Categories
- Mental Health Condition
- Physical Disability
- Visual / Hearing Impairment
- Younger Adults
Length of Stay
- Permanent Care
Care Types Provided
- Nursing Care
- For a maximum of 44 Service Users
Other Care Provided
- Parkinson's Disease
- Stroke
- Palliative / End of Life Care
- COPD/Pulmonary Disease
- Bariatric Care/Obesity
- Acquired Brain Injury (ABI)
Facilities
- Own Furniture if required
- Pet Friendly (or by arrangement)
- Close to Local shops
- Near Public Transport
- Minibus or other transport
- Lift
- Wheelchair Access
- Gardens
- Residents Kitchenette
- Television point in own room
- Residents Internet Access
Funding & Fees
Contact Dearnevale to confirm what's included and get a personalised quote:
Funding Types Accepted
- Self-Funding (Private)
- Local Authority with Top-up
- Local Authority
- NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC)
Good to Know
Group / Owner
- Exemplar Health Care Services Ltd
- Private Owned
Person in charge
- Helen McGowan (Home Manager)
Local Authority / Social Services
Admission Information
- Mixed (no single-gender units)
- Ages 18+
Care Home Design/Build
- Purpose Built: Yes
Room Information
- Single Rooms (44)
- Single Rooms with ensuite Wet Room (44)
Visiting
- The home has an open door policy, welcoming friends and family at all times. If a meeting with the Home Manager is required, please call in advance. Meal times are protected - there will be no answer to phone calls or the door during these times. Please contact the home directly for information on mealtimes.
Parking
- The home has free onsite parking.
Dearnevale Reviews (68)
Dearnevale has a Review Score of 10 (10.000) out of 10, based on 21 reviews in the last 2 years.
Over all time Dearnevale has 68 reviews.
At the beginning he found it difficult to adjust, the past year he has accepted his situation with the care and help that he has received and is now beginning to interact more and speaks of them as “his family”.
My brother needs 24/7 care and support in which he gets from a dedicated care team. I cannot fault the care he receives from the staff and all the personnel who work at Dearnevale in which they demonstrate great quality of care and working hard by putting all patients consistently first.
On my past visits, I have always been made to feel comfortable by the friendly and warm staff.
I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation for all the hard work given to my brother, especially through these very difficult and uncertain times.
I would highly recommend this excellent care home to anyone!
Best wishes and stay safe.
All the staff are very helpful, always speaking asking how you are etc.
The manager is brilliant, always takes time to speak.
You know she takes time with her staff and patients.
I am always happy when I go, and it's a nice feeling to know my sister is being looked after.
Would recommend this care home as very good.
No matter when friends and family visit their residents, the standard of care is unchanged, stimulus, respect and dignity is always a priority towards everyone, and the staff are polite and professional to each other. The managers are always available.
I am a retired nurse and have been in many such facilities as Dearnevale to visit residents. I can honestly say that this is the best home I have ever visited. I truly cannot fault any aspect of the care my friend receives in this home. With the NHS in the terrible state is currently in, Dearnevale is a shining light and a beacon for good quality care.
My son has been a resident at Dearnevale since September 2016. I am very happy with the care and commitment that the staff have towards my son. He is completely blind and has complex needs. At times he has displayed challenging behaviour and the staff have worked really hard to meet his needs and have formed a really good rapport with him. I would recommend Deanevale 100%.
We rest assured she is in excellent hands. Many thanks.
Definitely a place to be recommended.
I could not have wished for a better quality of care for my wife who was looked after extremely well by Dearnvale for several years. Very caring staff. Highly recommended.
We are so pleased our team lived up to your expectations - and treated your wife with the care, dignity and compassion she deserved during her time at our home.
Thank you again. If there is anything more we can do, please let me know.
This care home is the best example I have ever seen of dedicated management and teamwork. Dearnevale and Exemplar are second to none when it comes to care and support and sets an example others in the sector should follow.
I need not have worried in the slightest. The manager and two carers/support staff came to my previous home near York and helped me pack. The staff I met seemed very friendly and indeed they are. I was greeted by an unknown amount of staff. They were down to earth, extremely pleasant and as I have found after my short term here, dedicated and professional carers and nurses.
I can go out as many times as I wish and nothing is too much trouble for them. The management from the top down are so helpful and obliging and the staff have great respect for them as do the managers for the staff.
If you are looking for a nice welcoming nursing home for yourself or a loved one you need look no further than this fantastic place. If you have a sense of humour and enjoy the laughter of everyone resident or staff then this is the place for you.
I would highly recommend Dearnevale 100%.
My Dad became a resident at Dearnevale in August 2018, following a lengthy stay in hospital after suffering a stroke. His deterioration in hospital was so rapid that they released him with a short life expectancy prognosis. The staff at Dearnevale immediately welcomed us as if we were family, and not only cared for our dad but have been a tremendous support for us too as a family. They have provided Dad with support and day to day care that is outstanding, nothing is too much trouble for them. Although nothing much more can be done now for Dad, we have peace of mind that he is well cared for at his time of life and comforted both day and night. I would recommend them to anyone.
This was our second residential home as we had experienced problems at the previous one.
The staff here are genuine, caring people and are always available to answer my questions.
My son has very complex needs and I am satisfied that his needs are being met here.
I can now sleep at night and not worry about him.
I can visit him at any time day or night.
Warm, friendly and caring staff. Very clean, excellent care and very family-like atmosphere. I wouldn't want my brother to be cared for anywhere else, a fantastic place that deserves more recognition.
Everywhere is really clean and fresh smelling. I can't speak for other patients/residents but my friend is always so well cared for - apart from medical attention - which I am not qualified to judge - her hair, nails, clothes and bedding are as one would hope and expect. Her room is bright, clean and homely. We always leave feeling grateful that my friend is at Dearnevale.
Very attentive towards his needs welcoming and helpful to his needs and polite to everyone.
Very happy with them.
Thank you very much C W, for your kind words and for sharing your feedback. Helen, Home Manager.
The staff are caring and courteous and helpful.
It is a fabulous place, he is happy and content and a part of the Dearnvale family.
The staff are all outstanding, from kitchen staff who deal with various food requests, the cleaning staff keep everything immaculate. All maintenance staff keep everything tip-top.The care staff and management are simply fabulous, they care for my son and look after all his needs.
Without respite, we would be exhausted all the time, but this gives us a breather to recharge the batteries.
We have had horrendous experiences of previous care facilities, and I sincerely wish they could look at Dearnevale to see how things can and should be done.
My local authorities tried to remove my son from here, but with help and advice from staff he has stayed where he is happy and extremely well looked after.
What a first class care home, both management and staff couldn't do enough for my brother, me and my husband. If all care homes have what Dearnvale has, there would never be any problems. The care is above and beyond anything I have ever seen. The first time in 2 years we can relax. He is safe, happy, content and clean. Thank you all for making my brother's life, a happy home to live in.
My mum has Huntingdons' Disease and been a resident at Dearnevale Care Home for the past 7 years. No other home can care for my mums' specialist care needs in the excellent way in which Dearnevale cares. All staff, from caretaker and gardener up to the manager, are all genuinely patient care-oriented. Dearnevale genuinely places patients and family members at the heart of what they do. Dearnevale sees patients as individuals, all staff show respect and dignity to patients and their families, so we know that can our loved ones are safe, secure and very well cared for at Dearnevale. Dearnevale is also a place where my mum enjoys being. My mum often tells me about fun activities she has been doing since we last spoke. These fun activities are part of what has kept my mum active, interested and engaged for the past 7 years. I really cannot rate Dearnevale highly enough. The home should be experienced, for all the right reasons, to be believed.
Regulatory Rating
Care Quality Commission (CQC) Rating
Date: 10 March 2020Outstanding
- CaringOutstanding
- EffectiveGood
- ResponsiveOutstanding
- SafeGood
- Well-ledOutstanding
Inspection ratings
We rate most services according to how safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led they are, using four levels:
- Outstanding - The service is performing exceptionally well.
- Good - The service is performing well and meeting our expectations.
- Requires Improvement - The service isn't performing as well as it should and we have told the service how it must improve.
- Inadequate - The service is performing badly and we've taken action against the person or organisation that runs it.
- Not rated - we have not yet rated this area of the service, this is normally because the assessments we have carried out have been focused on other key questions.
Bed Vacancies
Please contact us for latest vacancies.
News (27) & Events (0)
- 08 Jul 2026
Exemplar Health Care has launched its latest ‘Service user engagement impact report’, showcasing how residents and families are helping to shape and improve care across its homes. The report highlights...
- 05 May 2026
Exemplar Health Care is incredibly proud of the people who make our homes places where people truly feel cared for. The annual Values Awards are a chance to recognise those...
- 16 Mar 2026
At Exemplar Health Care, supporting people to continue enjoying their hobbies and interests is an important part of daily life. For Richard, this has taken the form of a growing...
There are no upcoming events for Dearnevale.
Awards / Recognitions (16)
- 30 Jan 2026Recipient: Dearnevale
- 31 Jan 2025Recipient: Dearnevale
- 01 Aug 2024Recipient: Dearnevale
Accreditations
There are no accreditations posted yet for Dearnevale.
Meet the Team (1)

Hi, I’m Helen and I’m the Registered Manager at Dearnevale in Grimethorpe, Barnsley.
I qualified as a Nurse in 1986 after completing my training at the Sheffield School of Nursing. My ambition from the age of three was always to be a Nurse, and I’m so proud that I achieved it!
After qualifying, I worked at Lodge Moor Hospital in the infectious disease unit, and then in general medicine before joining the British Army and serving in the Queen Alexandra Royal Army Nursing Corps.
Following my time in the Army, I worked for the Ministry of Defence in Germany.
When I returned to England, I started working in elderly care and general rehabilitation, including in a specialist stroke rehabilitation unit.
I joined Dearnevale, part of Exemplar Health Care, in February 2008 working as a Nurse.
In the summer of 2008, I became Unit Manager in Darbyshire Unit at the home, and in 2010, I became Clinical Nurse Manager.
Five years later I moved into the Home Manager role. I’ve loved that my whole career with Exemplar Health Care has been spent at Dearnevale – it’s my second home and family!
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