Activities at Austen House Care Home
Here at Austen House, we like to get to know those we support, and from the day of moving in, our activities team will spend time on an individual basis learning about interests, likes and dislikes, life history and favourite hobbies.
We provide a wide range of activities, from one-to-one time, manicures and board games, through to live entertainment, prize bingo and our ever-popular cheese & wine events. Our activities team will also tailor individual activities to ensure residents can have as much or as little involvement as they choose.
In the summer months, greater focus is given to outdoor activities, such as barbecues and garden parties. In conjunction with our Chef, themed events are planned throughout the year, bringing activities and food together.
In their pink polo shirts, our activities team are easily identifiable and embrace ideas and suggestions from residents and their relatives to ensure that the activities provided keep those we support engaged, stimulated and entertained.
Iuliana Buican
Hi my name is Iuliana, I was a history teacher for 12 years before I joined Barchester in 2017. I am passionate about my job and love working with people. I enjoy planning and delivering meaningful activities which make a difference to our residents lives.
Read our brochure 'Life-enriching activities' for more information about life in our care homes.
Read our brochure
Activities and Events Partnerships
As part of our bespoke life-enrichment programmes, we host a number of live virtual events in the home on a regular basis through a number of partnerships with places of interest and world class performance companies
Life at Austen House Care Home
Diwali
Austen House celebrated Diwali this year. Residents loved seeing the dance group visit and show off their traditional and Bollywood dances. A few residents grew up in India and connected very closely to the celebrations and others were intrigued by the bright colours and lights, tasty sweets and lovely music. It was a lovely day for everyone to enjoy.
Parkinson’s Awareness
We hosted a Parkinson’s information session at Austen House for the family, residents, community, and team members. Many members from the Parkinson’s Society joined us on the day for a chance to talk and discuss issues and experiences of Parkinson’s disease.
A Parkinson’s specialist Dr. Chatterjee and his team from Royal Berkshire Hospital visited Austen House to inform us about people living with Parkinson’s and how to best support them. The Parkinson’s team reminded us how important it is to take our time with people and be patient, loving and caring.
British Sign Language at Austen House
Austen House has organised British Sign Language sessions with team members, residents, family, friends, and community members. Our goal is to learn how to sign a few basic words in order to improve communications with residents who use BSL.
As a team we worked together to learn a new method of communication and we always have the help of the residents who use BSL to guide us.
The Mayor Visits
The Mayor, Councillor David Hare, visited Austen House on Thursday 22nd August for our Magic Table launch party. The Magic table is an interactive light projector, designed to support residents and engage them through specialised sensory games.
Residents’ families were also invited to meet him and enjoy the party. There were a wide range of cheeses and a selection of wines.
The Mayor also took a tour of our purpose-built that has been specially designed for residents living with dementia and for older people who require nursing support.
Sports Day
A big thank you to all residents, children, families, staff and volunteers for attending our sports day! Everyone had fun and loved the egg on spoon race, bean bag balance, and skittles as guests cheered on.
Children received medals and goodie bags from the residents and from the general manager, Natsayi Dunira as a token of appreciation for their participation. After a long day of physical activities we enjoyed homemade cake and refreshments.
The event was a great success. It was an unusual event and all the feedback that we received from the attendants was very positive.
Old Time Music Hall
Residents, their families and staff enjoyed live entertainment from Tickled Pink Productions in the theme of an old time music hall. The crowd enjoyed singing their favorites songs, such as 'Don’t Dilly Dally' and 'Roll out the Barrel', which gave our residents a joyous trip down memory lane.
We also dressed up in sparkly hats, feather boas and danced during the performance. The event brought back special memories to most of our residents, who enjoyed reminiscing about their memories from youth. It was good fun and plenty of laughter was had by everyone.
