Care Homes Celebrate Care Home Open Week 2021

Care Home Open Week 2021 took place between 28th June - 3rd July and provided the opportunity for care homes across the country to showcase their care homes including the wonderful people living & working in them!

Read on to find out about the creative ways our care home partners celebrated Care Home Open Week this year!

Image:  A resident and staff member of Belmont House, Caring Homes enjoying their Summer Fair!

Care Homes Celebrate Care Home Open Day 2021...

Caring Homes Group's homes launched their 'My World Rocks' project which will be running throughout the summer!

Residents and staff at Caring Homes' care homes celebrated National Care Home Open Week, a national event hosted by Championing Social Care with their summer-long project - 'My World Rocks'. The purpose of the project is to connect care homes with their local communities, challenge misconceptions about care and remind everyone that the unique individuals who live in care homes are supported by dedicated and professional caring teams.

The residents and staff had lots of fun painting wonderful images in bright colours that make them happy on some rocks, which have been used to create lovely bright rock gardens for residents to enjoy.

One of Galsworthy House's residents painting a bumble bee on her rock!

Abbeycrest's residents enjoyed following the step by step rock painting guides created by staff.

We spy a lovely chick amongst Home of Compassion's rocks!

One of Kippingtons residents with her 'be happy' rock

We love the creativity shown by Mill House's residents!

A resident of Magna Care Centre with their wonderful flower rock

Baugh House, Gold Care Homes received an overall 'Good' rating from the CQC!

Baugh House's amazing carers and support staff were delighted to receive a very well deserved GOOD CQC report last week. They celebrated with their residents and community by giving away 10 luxury hampers to members of organisations in their local area who have gone that extra mile for our local community.

Woodland Grove, Oakland Care

Woodland Grove had a week's worth of parties to celebrate Care Home Open Day but the highlight for staff and residents was their All American Barn Dance. The residents were all encouraged to dress up in red, white and blue and our bistro was decorated with stars and stripes. The residents tucked into American party food and enjoyed a line dancing session and great American songbook sing-a-long. It was smiles all round!

Cedar House, Cedar Care

On Wednesday 30^th June 2021 we had our very own beach party at Cedar House… with a guest singer, props, dancing, a BBQ and lots of water! Plus giant bubbles and water guns in the garden.

We got the main lounge ready for the England and Germany football match and watched some tennis.

West Eaton, Heritage Manor welcomed a visit from Luke and his eagles & owls!

West Eaton in Leominster has started to welcome back entertainers outside on their patio, making new memories. They're all appreciating being able to have professional singers back and to see residents toe-tapping, dancing and getting lost in some musical moments. One very special visit was from Luke at Wye Valley Falconry, who brought his eagles and owls to see residents and staff at West Eaton. Luke delivered a very interesting talk and the team thoroughly enjoyed being so close to the magical creatures. Holding Trench the Owl was a dream come true for many residents!

Upton Bay, Barchester bought magic to their residents!

The team at Upton Bay weren’t best pleased with the drizzly afternoons last week., but they still managed to bring some Magic to their residents! On their dedicated Dementia Care Suite, Memory Lane, Upton Bay has specialist technology and equipment to enrich people's quality of life for people living with dementia.

The projection of the magic table cleverly senses movement and responds to the movement of a hand! Activities like this introduce movement and exercise back into daily life. It can be used anywhere across the home, bringing a wonderful sensory experience to every individual. The Live Piano Quartet was a hit, and one of the residents knew all the words to a repertoire of songs!

The British weather didn't stop Belmont House, Caring Homes from celebrating Care Home Open Week!

Belmont House warmly welcomed back their first entertainer since lockdown, an accordionist and singer, David, who was sure to get the celebrations started. Residents and staff sang along and danced away to some classics. The talented Chefs and hospitality team kept the feasts and cocktails flowing throughout.

The team had a Belmont Bake Off between the carers and a few special guests. As always, things got heated in the kitchen - and Chef Doris's job was challenged! The competition was drawn at a tie, as it was too difficult to choose between the delicious dishes.

As part of their activities, Senior Carer, Carla converted the cinema room into a Summer Fair. A chance to relive childhood fairground memories, residents had fun playing games including hook-a-duck, hoopla, tin can alley and more! There were lots of prizes and treats up for grabs!

Four Seasons Healthcare & brighterkind homes celebrated in style!

To mark Care Home Open Week, residents and team members at Four Seasons and brighterkind care homes across the UK showcased their many hidden talents! From knitting to singing, painting to baking and everything in between – including making volcanoes erupt – the care homes have enjoyed a week of performances, arts and crafts, learning new skills and lots of fun as part of their Magic Moments activities programme.

At Four Seasons Hillside Lodge Care Home in Northumberland, talented residents were busy clicking their knitting needles making hats and blankets to provide extra warmth for the babies in their early days at The Royal Victoria Infirmary’s Special Care Baby Unit.

In Durham, residents at Four Seasons Hallgarth Care Home created artworks for their ‘Recycle and Reuse’ themed courtyard using old plastic bottles to create beautiful pictures titled ‘Nature’ and ‘The Sea’.

Residents at brighterkind’s Wheaton Aston Court Care Home in Stafford enjoyed an afternoon of singing and dancing to 1950’s rock and roll when the home’s Magic Moments Club Coordinator, Laura, took to the stage to perform Buddy Holly’s greatest hits.

In Edinburgh, residents at brighterkind’s St Margaret’s Care Home had great fun creating their own papier-mâché volcanoes before taking them outside to watch them erupt!

Steve Gardner, Group Product Development Manager, who leads the Magic Moments Activities programme for Four Seasons Health Care Group, said: “Our residents and team members have thoroughly enjoyed sharing and celebrating their many and varied hidden talents to mark Care Home Open Week this year. The events and activities have truly showcased what unique and wonderful people live and work in our care homes.”

Ryeview Manor, B&M Care enjoyed a Hawaiian-themed day!

Staff and residents at Ryeview Manor had a fun-packed Hawaiian-themed day to celebrate Care Home Open Week 2021. Their day included inflatable flamingos and delicious homemade cocktails!

Dean Wood, Bupa has been enjoying a wide range of activities including a garden party with live music

As well as their garden party which was enjoyed by all at Dean Wood including resident, Dora aged 99 who loved having a dance! The home also celebrated 'New Beginnings' tying in with the lifting of the covid restrictions. Dean Wood's art club celebrated by painting the sun and nature.

Residents at Wheatlands Care Home, Barchester laced up their trainers for their annual Sports Day!

Staff and residents at Wheatlands took to their marks in the egg and spoon, crazy golf and a nerf gun target practice as guests cheered them on. The teams battled it out to be crowned sporting champions. There were lots of winners with lots of medals!

Kingston House, Greensleeves Care participated in a virtual tour of Buckingham Palace!

Greensleeves Care has recently partnered with Vibrant Communities who facilitate virtual days and have done museum visits, outdoor adventures and more for residents.

Southcare Homes arranged lots of exciting activities across their homes!

The team at Grasmere danced, played and laughed their way through Care Home Open Week! (as well as getting through a fair few bottles of champagne!) Events arranged included a Strictly Come Grasmere day, a fashion show parade, a special Pub day where their home turned into The Grasmere Arms, and many more events!

Music is very important to all at Highbury House. The care homes talented Activities Coordinator, Jonny and Administrator, Meg, both have experience in the hospitality industry and performing is second nature to them. Residents enjoyed some beautiful duets and performances from the musical pair. Jonny makes an effort to brighten residents’ days most mornings going room to room and serenading residents with mellow songs and the refreshing tones from an acoustic guitar – what a great start to the day!

Freshford Cottage made some leaps when it came to connecting, spending two days on a whirlwind tour of the Great Outback! Residents made good use of their pandemic passports and sat back for an epic Armchair journey to Australia. They had the hats, the accents (having an Aussie staff member, Maggie, their fabulous Administrator), the food – a good old barby of course – and a blow-up kangaroo! Residents loved exploring the landscape, culture and artwork of this beautiful country. One resident hadn’t been abroad before so she really cherished her homemade passport and the chance to travel – albeit virtually.

Residents at Lime Tree House were whisked away on Zoom to the Amex Stadium to meet with Mr Barber.  Albion FC is very active in their community and residents enjoyed hearing about all the ways their local football team have impacted their community, how they managed during the pandemic and, of course, an exciting discussion about the Euros.

The residents at Lime Tree House are very proud of Albion FC and the home had its very own Southcare Euros Sweepstake, where staff and residents paired up and picked a team to win the Euros. The residents prepared some questions for Mr Barber, and a recording of the zoom call can be found on the homes Facebook page. Everyone at the home was very thankful to Mr Barber for taking the time to be with them and look forward to more VIP chats in the future.

Life had gleams of sunlight last week when children from King Offa Primary Academy performed their very own school dance especially for residents at Heatherdene Nursing Home. The home commented, "Care Home Open Week is all about connecting with the community, it was refreshing to be able to welcome people to our home – even on our front lawn – and speak to people in person."

Agincare marked Care Home Open Week with a big sing-along online with residents, their loved ones and care home teams all joining in!

Agincare marked Care Home Open Week with a big sing-along to ‘I get by with a little help from my friends’ online at over 20 Agincare homes nationwide, with residents, their loved ones and our care home teams all joining in.

They collated clips from all the Agincare homes into a video of the sing-along and posted it on social media for everyone to watch and share: https://fb.watch/v/RxhqEcG_/

Agincare Homes Chief Operating Officer Tim Buckley said: “Care Home Open Week is a great opportunity to showcase and celebrate the fantastic activities, events and celebrations that are a way of life at Agincare's homes.

“Well-being is more important than ever, so we’re marking Care Home Open Week with a big sing-along to ‘I get by with a little help from my friends’ online at over 20 Agincare homes nationwide, with residents, their loved ones and our care home teams all joining in.

“We’ll collate clips from all the Agincare homes into a video of the sing-along and post it on social media for everyone to watch and share. It’s a lovely way to stay connected, build a community and most importantly of all - have fun!”

Westgate Healthcare's homes celebrated with lots of virtual events throughout the week!

Westgate Healthcare celebrated Care Home Open Week 2021 by hosting virtual events across their homes. The week-long virtual celebration was in support of Championing Social Care and gave each Westgate home the opportunity to showcase its modern facilities, elegant interiors and a range of wellbeing & lifestyle initiatives available to residents. Local groups, primary schools and businesses also showed their support by taking part in virtual events such as sing-alongs with residents and offering raffle prize donations.

Kingfisher Nursing Home in Cheshunt organised for their residents to virtually connect with local schools, and children sent gifts for residents to enjoy. The home organised a beach-themed celebration, which was made complete with a visit from the local ice cream van! Home Manager, Rosie said “We are so thankful to Bright Horizons Nursery who made beautiful decorations and cards for us. The residents really enjoyed looking at everything the children had made, particularly as some residents haven’t been able to see their grandchildren due to visiting restrictions. We also received some very generous donations from local businesses such as Jim’s Funeral Directors, Next, Tesco, and Wimpy, which we used in our raffle. It was so moving to see our community come together to show their support for social care, and the day was made complete with a visit from our local ice cream van!”

At St Pauls Care Centre, which is currently rated ‘Outstanding’ by the CQC, the team hosted a live-streamed video on Facebook, offering viewers a virtual tour of the home, as well as information about the range of lifestyle initiatives the home provides its residents. Activities Lead, Beth said “As we couldn’t invite the community into our home, we decided to bring our home to the community! Care Home Open Week gave us the opportunity to virtually open our doors, and showcase the amazing facilities we offer here at St Pauls. We were also able to promote the vast range of activities that have continued behind closed doors throughout COVID. Our residents spent a fantastic day using the ‘Chatterbox’ initiative, which is designed to initiate conversations, and we all learned some very interesting facts about each other!”

Care Home Open Week also provided an opportunity for Westgate Healthcare to celebrate their workforce and the outstanding contribution they make to social care. At Westgate House Care Centre in Ware, staff were awarded ‘Recognition Cards’ at an awards ceremony organised by Home Manager, Nancy; “I wanted to take this opportunity to celebrate and thank our wonderful staff team who make such a significant contribution to social care and to the lives of our residents. It is so important for them to continue to feel valued, recognised and rewarded.”

Byron House and Ashview Nursing Home also hosted some impressive events during the week. While Ashview hosted a ‘Texan-themed BBQ’ for staff and residents, Byron House chose a vintage tea-themed celebration and finished off the week with a raffle which raised a staggering £213 to go towards the Byron Resident Fund.

Westgate Healthcare ended the week by launching the second phase of their ‘Big Wish' campaign. The campaign aims to celebrate staff and support the wellbeing of residents across the group, by granting wishes twice a year.

In January, Ancuta, a Registered Nurse at St Pauls Care Centre, won an iPad to support her daughter’s home learning. In the same month, Mr Shadbolt, a resident at Westgate House Care Centre was granted a live stream virtual tour of the local area via drone footage. Westgate Healthcare has promised to continue the ‘Big Wish’ initiative to show their gratitude to their workforce and to promote the wellbeing of their residents.

Scarlet House, Care UK hosted a virtual country show!

Care UK’s Scarlet House, on Westward Road, invited local people to showcase their talents as part of its ‘Almost Virtual’ Scarlet House Show, in support of the Prince’s Trust.

To make up for the absence of the Stroud County Show, which had been cancelled once again due to the pandemic, the team at Scarlet House created five categories in which local people could shine: Photography, Baking, Flower Arranging, Fruit and Vegetables, and Handicrafts. Each category was divided into classes, such as ‘Freestyle Arrangement’ and ‘Table Display’ for Flower Arranging, and ‘Victoria Sponge’ and ‘Best Decorated Cupcake’ for Baking.

The best three entries in each class received a rosette and a certificate, while each category winner received a £10 voucher from John Lewis. An overall winner or Best in Show prize was also be crowned, and all proceeds went to the Prince’s Trust.

Oakland Care hosted safe events for their residents, organised by their caring team members!

In normal circumstances Oakland Care would organise special events welcoming potential residents, their families and the local community into the care homes, to share what they do and also to experience what it’s like living at an Oakland Care Home. However, their priority is to keep residents and team members safe in our homes.

Nevertheless, Oakland Care was delighted to host safe events for their residents, organised by their caring and compassionate team members.

At Beechwood Grove in Eastbourne, they ran a tennis-themed party, with Wimbledon TV coverage on the patio along with Pimm’s, strawberries and fresh cream. The strawberries were donated by Huge Lowe Farms, who grow strawberries for Wimbledon.

At Hastings Court, they had a fun Hawaiian Luau party with lots of good food, tropical cocktails and a special Elvis Presley entertainer.

Lambwood Heights in Chigwell was pleased to have welcomed Joanne Share-Bernia, Deputy Chair of Epping Forest District Council, and entertainers Tracy Lea and Martin Kelly to their Hawaiian themed garden BBQ with Pina Coladas and mocktails.

Timken Grange went French!

Timken Grange care home celebrated Bastille Day during Care Home Open Week. The French National Day is the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, a major event of the French Revolution. It is viewed as a symbol of freedom and democracy.

Residents took a virtual tour across the country with a live presentation where they visited the sites of Paris, Mont Saint-Michael, and the Loire Valley. They also created Eiffel Tower artwork, and, in the afternoon, turned the tearoom into a French Cafe. Residents sampled an array of French food from pate and cheeses to pain du chocolate and macaroons, with a glass of wine.

Residents really enjoyed themselves and spoke of how good the food was. One resident said, “This is absolutely delicious I could eat like this every day”. They also discussed when they themselves had visited France, resident Beryl said she and her husband had visited Paris and it was such a beautiful city. Other residents had visited the south of France and spoke fondly of their time there.

Activities such as this one creates cultural, education and sensory benefits they also promoted socialising and the chance to reminisce. It was a fun day and even the staff enjoyed visiting the cafe and sampling the French cuisine.

Timken Grange have not only provided their residents with wonderful facilities and an extremely high standard of care but have also gone from strength to strength by placing their resident’s well-being and happiness in the heart of the home. Timken Grange provides their residents with a lifestyle choice, meaning this home is the next chapter in our resident’s lives.

Signature Senior Lifestyle opens up for virtual care week

Signature Senior Lifestyle, which operates award-winning luxury care homes across London and the Home Counties, took part in the recent virtual Care Home Open Week, with an exciting online programme delivered via Facebook that aimed to lift the lid on care, educate and inspire.

The week kicked off with a chance for people to learn about the General Managers of each home and find out about the superstar staff that make the Signature difference, followed by a focus on Signature’s exciting activities programme that keeps residents happy, healthy and engaged.

The second half of the week moved onto the award-winning food and wellbeing offer, including the delicious and nutritious menus developed with 2016 MasterChef winner Devonshire, before exploring the different types of care available. This looked at the spectrum of care options from respite to nursing and specialist dementia support, highlighting Signature’s outstanding carer-to-resident ratio, person-centred care system and the relative’s gateway app. The week then concluded with a look at recruitment and the range of career opportunities available within the industry.

Collectively, the week’s activities and content reached a staggering 1.5 million timelines.

Simon Dickinson, Sales and Brand Director at Signature Senior Lifestyle, comments: “The last 12 months have been about adapting, pivoting and innovating – and this year’s Care Home Open Week was no different. We were delighted to deliver a virtual programme, highlighting the tireless work of our staff, our industry-leading accommodation and care while looking forward to the next few months as lockdown restrictions ease and life gradually start to return to normal. We have been positively overwhelmed with the reach and response to the week.”