About Decoda
At Decoda we enable profoundly disabled people to lead richer lives with more choices.
Space, freedom and interactivity are combined with sound and music technology to allow individuals to express themselves and assert their independence.
Our services help carers and clients build stronger relationships and start a series of small changes that can become a significant journey.
What is Decoda?
Decoda is a social enterprise. Put simply, we’re dedicated to communicating in a meaningful way with people who have complex needs.
Why “Decoda”?
Coda’ is the musical term for the end of a piece, while to ‘decode’ means to bring out the hidden meaning. At Decoda we use music to find hidden ways of communicating, producing outstanding benefits for our clients and carers alike.
How it was formed
Decoda was born out of frustration - our own frustration, at being unable to engage people using conventional musical instruments - and the frustration of others, at being excluded.
As ‘Count Me In’ we’d been taking musicians into day services and homes for people with learning disabilities or mental health problems, since 2000. In 2003 we realised that we needed to become an incorporated body, so that we could develop the services we were offering, and chose the model of a social enterprise.
Our Ethos
At Decoda our unique equipment is only one half of the story. Interaction is the key to every journey of personal development.
Our philosophy is based on starting where someone is right now and encouraging them to take small steps. We bring no set ideas about how a person should behave and simply explore all the possible ways they could assert themselves.
Progress is often extremely slow so you need the patience to notice tiny changes. We work with carers and clients to build on each new action and give individuals choices in how they relate to the world around them.
Decoda is a social enterprise dedicated to communicating in a meaningful way with people who have complex needs.
Social enterprise
Dedoca is a social enterprise that uses a business model to fulfil this mission and all profits are used to expand our services. Our legal structure is that of a not-for-profit co. ltd by guarantee. We are also a member of Social Firms UK as we aspire to employ more people who are marginalised in the jobs market.
Susan Heath, a director, has long been an advocate of the social enterprise model. In 2005 she wrote a beginner’s guide “A What Enterprise?” and has mentored potential social entrepreneurs, individually and in collaboration with the local Social Enterprise Development Officer. Currently she’s working towards her ILM Diploma in Social Enterprise Support.