Welcome to our schools
Our Mulberry Bush Schools offer specialist therapeutic care and education to children who have suffered early years trauma and whose lives are impacted by social, emotional and mental health challenges.
Our multidisciplinary teams support holistic therapeutic care, treatment and education in order that children can learn to manage their emotions and behaviours through:
An individualised approach
We recognise each child as an individual, shaping support around their experiences, needs, strengths and stage of development.
An integrated holistic programme
Care, education and therapeutic practice work together, creating a joined-up approach that supports the whole child.
Safe and trusting relationships
Consistent, dependable relationships help children feel understood, supported and able to develop new ways of relating to others.
Individual and group settings
Children are supported both individually and within groups, recognising the importance of personal relationships and shared experiences in therapeutic work.
Our schools
Standlake
38-Week Residential Setting
52-week Children’s Home
Ages 5-13 years
To find out more about our residential school in Oxfordshire
Corner School
Mulberry Bush
Corner School - Wembley
Day Provision
Ages 5-11 years
Our Children
All the children we support have suffered emotional pain and some, especially those at our Standlake School, have experienced significant trauma.
Their emotional pain often leads children to display challenging behaviours which make placement breakdown and school exclusions common.
These repeated experiences are difficult for children, but also for their families and the professionals who work with them.
These are the children we support, helping them to make change from within and thrive.
Parents & Carers
We aim to support parents and carers too – we understand the impact of trauma on the whole family and caring network.
To find out more about our Schools, how we work to support our children and other useful information, download our Information booklet here.
To find out more or discuss a referral contact us here:
referrals@mulberrybush.org.uk
Angus Burnett: 01865 300202
Our way of working
Our work is underpinned by psychodynamic principles.
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.
Enabling the development of meaningful relationships is at the heart of our work.
We believe in the importance of clear boundaries within a planned and predictable environment.
We support children to develop the skills and confidence to participate in groups, build positive relationships with others, and strengthen their understanding of and ability to regulate their emotions and responses.
We keep children’s enthusiasm and expectations high in relation to their educational achievement.
To achieve this, our staff are trained to view behaviour as a communication.
By understanding the emotional meaning of the behaviour, and reflecting on the impact of this with the children, we help the children make sense of their complex inner worlds.
Being at the Mulberry Bush helped me to shape who I am. No one wanted to change me, they wanted to work with who I am.
Our statement of purpose
Mulberry Bush Schools work with some of the most challenging children in the country, with their families and carers.
Our early interventions help to break the cycle of deprivation that will otherwise lead to challenging behaviours into their adult life. We believe that our work has the potential to have emotional benefits and deliver cost savings to society.
The Mulberry Bush School at Standlake is different to other residential placements as we create an environment to emotionally contain the extreme levels of emotional and physical unmanageability that the severely traumatised children we care for can exhibit.
Our ambition is to work with families and carers towards returning the child at the end of their stay with us to a stable home base and appropriate school, able to function more appropriately in mainstream society.
Mulberry Bush Corner School, Wembley provides day provision for children who carry emotional pain and require additional support outside of mainstream provision.
Throughout our work we enable the children to better regulate their emotions, create stable relationships and provide a nurturing therapeutic experience that starts to heal their traumas
What we believe in
Our principles
The way we work is as important as the work we do and we value and share key principles:
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Core beliefs
Our practice beliefs
Our core beliefs drive our practice.
What makes us different
Mulberry Schools are different from mainstream and other specialist schools
Community
A community for all – children, parents, carers and professionals together with our multidisciplinary team, working together to ensure the best possible outcomes.
Therapeutic Education
We nurture curiosity, confidence, and a positive sense of self as a learner. Provision is personalised, with opportunities for sensory, play-based, and outdoor learning woven throughout.
Therapeutic Care
Our team, all trained through our Level 5 Foundation Degree in Therapeutic Work, support children through the ups and downs of daily life by building authentic, caring relationships that help them feel valued, respected and nurtured.
Working with Families
Our Therapies & Networks Team supports our children, collaborates with their professional network and provides therapeutic and supportive work to families.
REFERRALS TO MULBERRY BUSH SCHOOLS
We work closely with parents, carers and professionals to support decision-making about whether Mulberry Bush is the right choice for a child.
To find out more or discuss a referral contact us here:
referrals@mulberrybush.org.uk
Angus Burnett: 01865 300202
