Moor Farm Cottage is a large children’s home located within a village in Derbyshire. The service supports six children and young people aged 8-18 years with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs, as well as behaviours that may challenge.
Moor Farm Cottage has also been rated as ‘Outstanding’ in all categories by Ofsted for a fifth successive inspection.
Supporting the needs of the young people
Moor Farm Cottage is committed to providing a safe, nurturing and stimulating environment for young people, who have previously experienced emotional, social and academic failure and rejection, in order to stabilise their behaviour.
The children’s home primarily focuses on supporting young people who have had placement breakdowns in family based care and other residential based establishments. The majority of the young people will also be experiencing some form of learning disabilities and relationship difficulties.
Moor Farm Cottage believes that wherever possible, children and young people benefit from living within a family environment. The service therefore tries to replicate a caring and supportive setting, and the objective of the home is to provide opportunities for each young person to learn, grow and make informed choices about their own future, whilst offering an environment in which they can take time to rebuild and move forward from any bad experiences in their life. Through offering a physically and emotionally supportive residential setting, this nurtures and stimulates the young people to reach their best potential, building on strengths and celebrating individual achievements.
Moor Farm Cottage has a sister home called Moor Field House. The two homes have the same registered manager but their own deputy house managers, two senior team leaders and two deputy team leaders, child care officers and waking night staff. Both of the homes work closely with each other and have one staff team that covers both of the homes. This improves the level of support for the young people and staff, enabling more opportunities and different surroundings. The staff team is of mixed ages, gender and ethnicity, presenting as positive role models for the young people.
Service summary
- A spacious 5-bedded modern property, situated within a quiet and rural setting, adjacent to farmland
- Rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted since 2015
- Spacious internal facilities, including a family-style kitchen/dining area, large games/pool room, study room, large TV room and a second annex kitchen area
- All young people also have their own individualised bedrooms
- Bespoke care packages and individually tailored education services provided by Eastwood Grange School and other external educational provisions
- Access to a range of therapeutic assessments and services are available, as required
- A wide variety of both on-site and community-based activities
- The facilities available
Each young person at Moor Farm Cottage has their own bedroom, which they can personalise, providing a space to relax and feel safe. The home comprises of a large family-style lounge, where the young people can watch TV and socialise, as well as a separate dining room and fully-equipped kitchen.
The property is situated in a rural location and occupies a private position set within its own grounds for the young people to play and enjoy the outdoor space.
A range of activities
Moor Farm Cottage provides a range of activities at the home and in the community. This includes:
- Cinema trips
- Charity events
- Football matches
- House holidays
- Outdoor adventure games
- Outdoor pursuits
- Shopping trips
- Sports and youth clubs
- Swimming
- Theme parks
- Trampoline parks
- Use of a local sports barn
Achieving positive outcomes
A young person previously came to Moor Farm Cottage from a secure unit and was supported back into education. This was initially on-site and then at Eastwood Grange School, where he is currently working towards achieving GCSEs.
Another young person currently has a job in the community at a car boot sale, attends youth and football clubs, as well as helping at local charity events.