Social Activities

We will try to make it possible for our residents to live their lives as fully as possible. In particular, we do the following:

1. We aim as part of the assessment process to encourage potential residents to share with us as much information as possible about their social, cultural and leisure interests, as a basis for helping them during their period of residence in the home.
   
   
2. We try to help residents to continue to enjoy as wide a range of individual and group activities and interests as possible both inside and outside the home, to carry on with existing hobbies, pursuits and relationships, and to explore new avenues and experiences. All residents are entitled to use the dining room, the communal lounges, other sitting and circulating areas, and the grounds of the home, but those who wish to, may remain in their own rooms whenever they like. Residents are encouraged to personalise their own rooms with small items of furniture and other possessions, and we try to follow individual preferences in matters of decoration and furnishings.
   
   
3. Group activities take place each week day morning in the main Communal Lounge. These include:
   
   Bingo
   Bean Bags
   Walking stick golf
   Skittles
   Reminiscence
   Quizzes
   Memory games
   Quoits
   Armchair exercises
   Carpet bowls
   Giant snakes and ladders
   Word games
   
   A range of materials is available for personal hobbies, including equipment for
   
   Knitting
   Embroidery
   Weaving
   Latch hooking
   Art work
   Flower arranging
   Crochet
   Well stocked book shelves
   Cross stitch work
   Basket making
   Simple leather craft
   Gardening
   Indoor plant care
   
   Ideas for group activities and requests for materials/equipment for personal hobbies are always welcome.
   
   Every Tuesday 3pm-4pm an Art Class is held in the dining room and during the winter months regular ‘film shows’ are held in the Communal Lounge.
   
   
4. The home’s facilities include well-stocked bookshelves and writing materials in the Quiet Lounge and sitting areas in the garden.
   
   
5. To assist with the home’s social program we have an activities assistant. A selection of newspapers is available daily.
   
   
6. We recognize that food and drink plan an important part in the social life of the home. We try to provide a welcoming environment in the dining room and to ensure that meals are pleasant unhurried occasions providing opportunities for social interaction as well as nourishment. As far as possible we encourage residents to choose where they sit in the dining room, and meals can be served in the residents’ own rooms if desired. Three full meals are provided each day, there is a regularly changed menu for lunch and the evening meal, residents are always offered a choice at meals, we cater for special and therapeutic diets as agreed in each resident’s care plan, and care staff are available to provide discreet, sensitive and individual help with eating and drinking for those needing it. Snacks and hot and cold drinks are available at all times. We aim to make all of the food and drink we provide attractive, appealing and appertising, and to mark special occasions and festivals.
   
   
7. We try to ensure that the home is a real part of the local community, so in principle we encourage visitors to the home such as local councilors, members of parliament, representatives of voluntary organizations, students, school children and others. Naturally we respect the views of residents about whom they want to see or not to see.
   
   
8. We recognize that risk-taking is a vital and often enjoyable part of life and of social activity and that some residents will wish to take certain risks despite or even because of their disability. We do not aim therefore to provide a totally risk-free environment though we take care to ensure that residents are not subjected to unnecessary hazards. When a resident wishes to take part in any activity which could involve risk, we will carry out a thorough risk assessment with that individual, involving if they so desire a relative, friend or representative, and will agree and record action which will be appropriately balance the factors involved. Such risk assessments will be regularly reviewed, with the participation of all parties, in the light of experience.
   
   
9. For the benefit of all residents and staff, most of the communal areas of the home are designated as non-smoking. Residents who wish to may smoke in the Quiet Lounge.
   
   
10. There may be a change associated with some social activities and services; where this applies, the details will be made clear to the resident in advance.
    
    
11. Consulting residents about the way the home operates. We aim to give residents opportunities to participate in all aspects of life in the home. In particular, residents are regularly consulted both individually and corporately about the way the home is run. Our objective is always to make the process of managing and running the home as transparent as possible, and to ensure that the home has an open, positive and inclusive atmosphere.