Acorn Cottage

4-bed all girls home / Ofsted rating: ‘Good’

Acorn is registered for four girls aged between 10 and 18 years who display emotional and behavioural difficulties.

Provides a safe & nurturing environment Inspires a positive outlook towards the future. Promotes self control through safe boundaries Cultivates Confident Responsible Growth Prepares for independent living.

Acorn Cottage is a cosy detached cottage, extended and modernised with a spacious living environment. It is situated on the edge of a small village in the Suffolk countryside overlooking farmland.

The Home provides a safe, homely and nurturing environment where young people are supported as they try to turn their lives around and assume self-control and responsibility for their own behaviour. This is achieved through a consistent programme, which includes circle time, key-working and young people’s meetings.

The Home is recognised by Ofsted as ‘Good’.

Placement at Acorn Cottage can be a stepping stone in breaking negative cycles of behaviour. The relative seclusion of the Home allows the girls the space to address their past and deal with unresolved feelings. The level of staff support allows for consistency of care and clear boundary setting, and also containment of any difficult behaviour. However, proximity to Ipswich ensures access to a wide range of recreational activities,

The girls at Acorn Cottage are encouraged to access the extensive range of hobbies and activities that are available in the local area, this includes horse riding, gym membership, voluntary work, dance classes, singing lessons, skiing lessons, sailing, the Air Training Corps, rollerskating and many other of the enjoyable pursuits that we are fortunate to have available in the Suffolk region.

This is a therapeutic home, run according to the principles of Social Pedagogy. Maintaining boundaries, and ensuring established routines are followed, are an essential part of the day.

The staff at the home are encouraged to make their decisions in the spirit of “good parents. In particular they are reminded that as a “good parent” they should take appropriate action to prevent young people in their care from running into danger, should they have reason to believe that this is being considered.

To protect the safety and welfare of our young people, we do not publish our Statement of Purpose and Function on our website, but a copy is available by request.