About us Events & training Jobs Contact us Home Our school Research Outreach MB3 Support us Welcome to our school Director, The Mulberry Bush School Lee Wright Set in 5 acres of rural Oxfordshire our School offers outstanding 38-week and 52-week residential care and education to children who have suffered early years trauma and have severe social, emotional and mental health difficulties. The Mulberry Bush School offers individualised integrated therapeutic care, treatment and education overseen by a multidisciplinary team of highly trained professional staff. Our continual focus is to help children learn to manage their emotions and behaviours through the development of safe and trusting relationships within a group setting. Everyone of our children benefits from a highly integrated therapeutic approach to all aspects of their life. It is the lived experience, our unique ‘24 hour’ curriculum, that provides the opportunities for our staff to work therapeutically with our children rather than through individual therapy sessions. Our Community Our community provides a highly structured and psychologically informed environment where social relationships, the structure of the day and the activities are all deliberately designed to help people’s health and well-being. We work, not just with the children, but also their families and networks to ensure the best possible outcomes. The School’s highly reflective culture encourages everyone, children and adults, to be curious about themselves and each other. This approach, coupled with their exceptionally high level of training, enables our staff to see beyond the challenging behaviours that our children can present and be in touch with their emotional experience. This way of working ensures that The Mulberry Bush provides empathetic care and education for all of the children who live at the School. Therapeutic education Children who have had highly disrupted experiences of education are taught to become curious about the world around them, to develop confidence in core functional skills across all national curriculum subjects, and to see themselves as successful, independent learners. Provision is tailored to the child’s needs, with multiple opportunities for sensory, play-based and outdoor learning. Children work in small class groups, with high adult ratios, and are supported by a dedicated team who provide play and support regulation. Education is fully integrated into the overall work of the school. Therapeutic Care The work of our Group Living team is about supporting the children through the ups and downs of day to day life. Our staff work hard to build authentic and caring relationships with the children. The adults continuously role model healthy behaviour and offer a creative combination of good boundaries, high hopes and expectations, sensitive care and positive experiences. This work enables our children to feel valued and respected, from here they can grow through nurture and challenge. Family Work and Therapy The multi-disciplinary Therapies & Networks Team, headed by the school’s Clinical Lead, is fully integrated into the overall work of the school through children’s treatment teams. It offers Music, Drama, Speech and Language and Psycho-Therapies to children for whom it will be helpful. Family and Network Practitioners and our Family Link Worker offer therapeutic and supportive work for families and facilitate collaborative working with the child’s network and other professionals. Referrals Our Referrals & Partnerships Manager works closely with parents , carers and professionals to help you think about whether a referral to the Mulberry Bush is the right way forward for your child. We develop relationships with families and professional networks from the first contact with them, in order to ensure that you know exactly who to go to with questions and issues that arise throughout the planning and referral process. We believe in getting placements right for children so that they experience the consistency and care they deserve and will work with you to ensure this. How to contact our Referrals & Partnerships Manager Please get in touch with Angus Burnett if you have any any questions or would like to know more about the referral process. You can contact Angus via email at aburnett@mulberrybush.org.uk, or by calling him on 01865 300202 or 07775 441730. Ofsted reports Our most recent Social Care inspection was in April 2021 and rated the School as ‘Outstanding’ in all areas: The integrated team approach between therapy, education and group living is exemplary. The children’s individual therapeutic needs are identified and well catered for. As a result, the children make excellent progress and begin to build the foundations for future success. The organisation is committed to using an innovative research-informed form of practice, which focuses on building an understanding of the difference a therapeutic approach can make to both care and education. Children enjoy excellent relationships with the adults, who know the children very well. This serves as an added protective factor in helping the children to feel confident about speaking out regarding any worries they may have. Watchful adults foster an open safeguarding culture. Adults know what to do and who to inform if they have concerns about a child’s well-being. This means that incidents are shared with the correct agencies quickly, and actions are taken to ensure that children are kept safe. Download the 2021 report Visit our Ofsted page Ofsted Education Inspection -Jan 2018. ‘Outstanding’ rating in all areas: The leadership team has maintained the outstanding quality of education at the school since the last school inspection While in your care, pupils make momentous strides in their learning, confidence and self-esteem The new approach to assessing pupils’ progress is now properly embedded across the school and assists teachers in sharing with pupils what they need to do in order to improve their work. The key therapeutic approaches you adopt are woven through every aspect of the school, including the curriculum. Your staff are also acutely aware of the impact they have on pupils. Nothing is left to chance. Every aspect of each pupil’s care is planned in minute detail. Consequently, pupils whose experiences have been negative in other educational institutions, including special schools, often have very positive experiences at your school. Safeguarding within the school is rightly focused on developing pupils’ understanding of how to conduct safe relationships. Social and emotional learning is sensibly prioritised within the school curriculum. The school has strong evidence which shows that its work to help pupils make sense of their own complex and often traumatic life stories is having a positive impact. Download the 2018 report Our organisation Home Our school Research Outreach MB3 About us Jobs The Mulberry Bush Limited Standlake Witney OX29 7RW Tel. 01865 300202 Registered Charity 309565 © Copyright 2021 | Privacy & Cookies Site by Herd