Mulberry Bush School Standlake
Set within five acres of rural Oxfordshire, providing 38-week and 52-week residential therapeutic care and education for children aged 5 to 13 with complex social, emotional and mental health needs.
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What we provide
Outstanding 38- and 52-week residential therapeutic care and education, set in five acres of rural Oxfordshire.
Set within five acres of rural Oxfordshire, Mulberry Bush School Standlake provides outstanding 38-week and 52-week residential therapeutic care and education for children whose early experiences have profoundly affected their emotional development, relationships and ability to engage with learning.
Each child benefits from an individualised and integrated approach to care, education and treatment, supported by a team of highly trained professionals.
Our practice is rooted in the understanding that behaviour is communication. Through safe, dependable relationships and life within a therapeutic group setting, we help children make sense of their emotions and experiences, develop trust and discover new ways of relating to others.
Therapeutic practice is embedded throughout every aspect of life at the School. Our unique 24-hour curriculum creates opportunities for learning, reflection and emotional development in classrooms, residential houses, shared activities and everyday relationships.
Rather than relying solely on individual therapy sessions, our staff work therapeutically alongside children in the moments and relationships that shape daily life.
Therapeutic education
Small-group, needs-led teaching that helps children re-engage with learning as capable, increasingly independent learners.
Children whose experiences of education have been disrupted are supported to rediscover curiosity, build confidence in core skills across the national curriculum and see themselves as capable, increasingly independent learners.
Teaching is shaped around each child’s individual needs, with opportunities for sensory, play-based and outdoor learning. Children learn in small class groups with high levels of adult support from a dedicated team who use play, relationships and co-regulation to help them engage with learning.
Education is fully integrated into the wider therapeutic life of the School.
Therapeutic care
Consistent, authentic relationships that help children feel safe, valued and understood.
Our Group Living Team supports children through the everyday experiences, relationships and challenges of shared life at the School.
Staff build consistent, caring and authentic relationships, helping children feel safe, valued and understood. Adults model thoughtful and healthy ways of relating, while offering clear boundaries, high expectations, sensitive care and positive experiences.
Through this balance of support and challenge, children are encouraged to develop trust, confidence and new ways of managing their emotions and relationships.
Family work and therapy
A multidisciplinary therapies and networks team working alongside each child, their family and wider network.
Led by the School’s Clinical Lead, our multidisciplinary Therapies and Networks Team is fully integrated into each child’s care, education and treatment through their wider treatment team.
Where appropriate, children may access Music Therapy, Drama Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy and Psychotherapy as part of their individualised support.
Our Family and Network Practitioners and Family Link Workers work alongside families, professional networks and other services to strengthen understanding, relationships and collaborative planning around each child.
For Parents & Carers
Term dates, the Information Booklet and practical guidance for families and professionals.
School Calendar
Download our 2026/27 School Calendar for key term dates and important information throughout the academic year.
Information Booklet
Our Information Booklet provides parents, carers and professionals with practical information about a child’s time at the Mulberry Bush School.
It includes details about how we care for and support children, how and when to contact them and the School, and other useful guidance for the duration of their placement.
Referrals
Specialist placements for children aged 5 to 13, with referrals accepted up to age 11.
Our Referrals and Partnerships Manager works alongside parents, carers, commissioners and professional networks to consider whether a placement at the Mulberry Bush School Standlake is the right way forward for a child.
We begin building relationships from the first enquiry, providing a clear and consistent point of contact throughout the planning and referral process. We understand the importance of getting placements right and will work collaboratively with everyone involved to consider the child’s individual needs, experiences and circumstances.
The Mulberry Bush School Standlake provides specialist residential therapeutic care and education for children aged 5 to 13 with complex social, emotional and mental health needs. We accept referrals up to the age of 11 from commissioners seeking long-term, integrated support.
Contact our Referrals and Partnerships Manager
To discuss a potential referral or find out more about the process, please contact Angus Burnett.
- Email: referrals@mulberrybush.org.uk
- Telephone: 01865 300202
- Mobile: 07775 441730
Ofsted reports
Our most recent Ofsted report for Education was in September 2024 and rated the school as ‘outstanding’ in quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership and management.
- Pupils thrive at this transformative school.
- A sense of calm and purpose pervades the school.
- Personal development is intricately woven through all areas of the school.
- The school’s curriculum is highly ambitious and broad. This holistic curriculum has a profoundly positive impact on pupils’ well-being and learning. As such, pupils achieve exceptionally well.
- Expert staff rapidly build trusting and positive relationships with pupils. Pupils receive constant nurture and guidance from staff. This helps pupils to understand the impact of their behaviour and find ways to change it.
- Pupils feel valued and listened to. This school is truly a community.
- Staff are immensely proud to work here.
Ofsted - Standlake
Read the full September 2024 inspection report for Mulberry Bush School, including Ofsted’s outstanding judgements for quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management.
Senior leadership team
Hannah Curley
Head of Education
Claire McCarthy
Head of Group Living & Registered Manager
Jennifer Browner
Consultant Child Psychotherapist & Clinical Lead
Angus Burnett
Referrals Manager
Lee Wright
Director of Specialist Therapeutic Practice
Policies
Browse our policies and procedures here.