Activities at Chacombe Park Care Home
We understand that the people we support have passions and interests that could be difficult to pursue after moving into a care home – but that doesn’t mean we don’t encourage them to try! Some hobbies can define a person, so our Activities Coordinators are dedicated to ensuring that everyone we support is able to do what makes them happy to the best of their abilities. Social events are organised with individual tastes in mind and with the idea that residents have the opportunity to try new and exciting things.
Heather Gooch
My name is Heather and I am the Head of Activities here at Chacombe Park. My role is to ensure that all residents are supported in enjoying hobbies and events that enrich their life.
I have a Bachelors degree in Theatre Performance, as well as a PGCE in Secondary Drama. I have previously worked for another Barchester home back in 2012 before working as a secondary school teacher, teaching Drama at both GCSE and A Level. I have a passion for person centred care, which has come from my love of pastoral work during my time as a teacher. I want each resident to feel appreciated and supported to enjoy the skills/hobbies that they have treasured before their time at Chacombe.
In my spare time I enjoy singing, cross stitch and learning new skills. I endeavour to bring these hobbies and passions into my role here at Chacombe, as well as learn some new skills from the vast range of knowledge that our residents can bring!
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 Chacombe Park Care Home
Pancake Day
Wild Bill joined us for the afternoon on Shrove Tuesday. We had a singalong, a dance and, of course, lots of pancakes!
A Return to the Butterfly Farm
We visited Stratford-upon-Avon’s butterfly farm recently and it was great to be in with the butterflies; they flew around our heads and even occasionally landed on us. There was also an interesting ant trail set up, which we all found fascinating.
The Monte Carlo Rally
The Monte Carlo Rally came to Banbury for the first time since 1962, so a group of us went into the town centre to support the event and enjoy the sights and sounds of the classic cars. Although it was a very cold morning, it was great fun to take part in this event and be able to look at all the classic cars that came to town.
Pony Up!
We had some special visitors come and see us here at Chacombe; we were joined by two Shetland ponies for the afternoon. They were spoiled by residents and thoroughly enjoyed being treated with apples, Polos and the occasional piece of cake or two.
We are now rated 'Good'
We are proud to announce that we have been rated 'Good' by the CQC after their most recent inspection. Congratulations to everyone who made this possible!
Open Day
We invited the local community along to our open day here at Chacombe and we had an afternoon of African music, from In2Cultures, who played us music from all over Africa. Residents, staff, family members and visitors got involved with the afternoon, shaking our musical instruments and dancing the afternoon away!
