our approach
Relationships first. Understanding underneath.
Relationships sit at the heart of Rubicon’s care. Our frameworks give thoughtful adults more ways to understand, reflect and adapt around the individual child.
how we care
CARE BUILT AROUND THE CHILD, NOT THE OTHER WAY ROUND
Children who come to Rubicon may have experienced developmental and relational trauma, disrupted attachments and significant change. Experiences like these can shape how a child sees themselves, other people and the world around them. They can also affect how safe relationships feel, how emotions are managed and how needs are communicated.
Our approach is therefore not simply about responding to what we can see. We remain curious about what may sit underneath behaviour and what a child might need in order to experience greater safety, connection and trust. Therapeutic parenting helps teams consider the impact of a child’s history, co-regulate when emotions become difficult and support children as they gradually develop greater understanding of themselves and their emotions.
The frameworks matter, but the relationship is where they become real.
pace
Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy give our teams a relationship-based framework for building felt safety and trust. PACE encourages adults to bring warmth where appropriate, accept the child’s internal experience, stay curious about what behaviour may communicate and respond with empathy when things feel difficult. At Rubicon, PACE is not a script and it is not something saved for moments of crisis. It is part of the way adults try to listen, respond and repair relationships in everyday life. That is why it has its own page: children, families and professionals can all understand the same four principles at the level that is useful to them.
Occupational Therapy, sensory-informed practice and Therapeutic Life Story Work
Occupational Therapy offers another way of understanding how a child experiences and participates in everyday life. Lou has an Occupational Therapy background, and therapeutic input across Rubicon helps teams think about individual needs and how day-to-day care or environments may be adapted. Sensory-informed thinking can help adults notice what may be contributing to a child’s state of regulation and consider what activities, environments or approaches may help.
Therapeutic Life Story Work adds a different perspective. A child’s story belongs to them, and carefully supported life-story work can help children explore and make sense of experiences and relationships. At Rubicon House, Ofsted specifically recognised thoughtful life-story and therapeutic work as part of helping children process experiences and rebuild meaningful connections.
Neither area is being presented here as a standalone commissioned Rubicon service because the information supplied does not support that claim. Instead, they form substantial parts of the therapeutic knowledge and practice surrounding children in the homes.
more ways to understand, experience and grow
The Just Right State
The Just Right State brings sensory and attachment-informed thinking into a shared framework for understanding regulation: noticing different states, developing awareness and exploration.
forest school
Forest School takes development into the natural environment through regular, learner-centred experiences involving exploration, choice, practical problem solving and supported risk.
They are very different approaches, which is precisely why each has its own page. Together with PACE, therapeutic parenting, Occupational Therapy and life-story work, they broaden the ways adults can understand and support an individual child.
No framework replaces knowing the child. The purpose is not to collect interventions; it is to give thoughtful adults more ways to notice, understand, reflect and adapt
what people say about rubicon
Understanding Comes Before Responding.