A west Oxfordshire charity has received a prestigious award for one of its training programmes.
The Mulberry Bush, based in Standlake, near Witney, was given the Princess Royal Training Award for its foundation degree in therapeutic work with children and young people.
The Mulberry Bush is a therapeutic community, registered as a children’s home and a non-maintained residential special school.
The Princess Royal Award was created by City and Guilds to recognise excellent training and learning and development initiatives in the UK and Ireland.
This is the second time the Mulberry Bush's course has won the award, having first received the honour three years ago in 2021.
The charity's outreach service said it has worked on maintaining and developing the degree to meet the high standard of such an award.
Now on its 16th cohort, who started in September, the course has seen more than 226 candidates graduate and go on to put their learning into practice at organisations across the country.
As an award winner, the Mulberry Bush Charity sits alongside 51 other organisations including IBM, Bentley, Lotus, Specsavers, and Lloyds Bank.
Deputy CEO and head of the outreach service at The Mulberry Bush, Dr Dave Roberts, said: "This is a fantastic reflection on the Mulberry Bush’s commitment to staff development and the commitment to improving standards of care for children, not only those at the Mulberry Bush School but those in other settings where staff enrol on the foundation degree."
"It is insightful, thoughtful, and gave me the knowledge I needed to give me confidence in working in a therapeutic community.
"My tutors were helpful and supportive in guiding me through the two years, and I couldn’t have done it without them. I enjoyed the course so much; I am opting to do a third year."
A spokesperson for the charity added: "With the opening of the charity’s new 52-week home this year, Bramble House, The Mulberry Bush are proud to say that all its senior staff and management have completed their foundation degree.
"Ensuring the highest standards of care for the children placed at The Mulberry Bush.
"The charity are thrilled to have attended the award ceremony at the end of November and celebrate with all the other winners.
"This is a momentous moment for The Mulberry Bush that allows the charity to reflect on what staff have achieved."
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