Activities at Kirkburn Court Care Home
Here at Kirkburn Court, we aim to facilitate a personalised programme of meaningful activities, which are designed to promote independence, social stimulation and cognitive function. We strive to create a comfortable and safe environment where fun, creativity and individuality are encouraged. We feel it is important for us and residents to place value on yesterday, today and tomorrow – which is why we invest heavily in getting to know residents and learning their life history.
Our inclusive, yet respectful ethos is reflected in the wide range of activities we offer – ranging from larger structured group activities to one-to-one sessions. Our monthly activity programmes are extremely varied, but some of the activities you may expect to find include concerts, crafts, games, exercise sessions, reminiscing and outings. We also have a strong relationship with the local community and often invite external guests into the home, including performers, schools, and choirs.
Claire Burden
I began my career with Barchester in December 2017. Having worked within the teaching profession for the preceding 8 years, I feel that I bring a range of transferable skills to the activities team.
I strongly believe that the provision of activities is about so much more than just structured, planned events – capturing and celebrating the little moments in daily life, such as enjoying a chat and a cup of tea together, are equally as important.
Activities, no matter how big or small, should be at the heart of every home and that individuality should be celebrated. In addition, I feel that activities should take a person-centred approach, which is why I enjoy spending time with the residents and learning about their preferences and their history.
My own interests include football, politics, crafting and drinking tea, and I enjoy nothing better than engaging with residents on these topics! I aim to bring energy, a friendly smile and a willing ear to the home each day.
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 Kirkburn Court Care Home
Baking Masterclass
This month has seen the debut of our new mobile table top oven. This has been a great addition which allows our residents to be even more involved in our cooking activities. We decided to try our hand at cupcakes and we were delighted with the results! After successfully making a batch of cakes we then added some decoration and it wasn’t too long before all the cakes had been devoured! Activities Coordinator, Claire Burden said “The residents really enjoyed being able to watch the cakes as they cooked and there was great excitement to see how they were going to turn out.”
Nutrition and Hydration Week
This month has also seen us celebrate Nutrition and Hydration Week. Keeping a focus on healthy eating and drinking, we decided to experiment with some new fruit smoothie recipes. Residents once again donned their aprons and tested out their culinary skills with some fruit preparation, weighing and measuring. We made three different varieties and after lots of taste tasting, the cranberry and raspberry variety came out as the overall favourite. One resident, Morag said “they were so refreshing and tasted better because we made them ourselves!”
Pancake Day
This year’s Pancake Day was celebrated by our residents and team members trying their hand at making a few batches of pancakes. Our Activities Coordinator, Claire, is well known as being the world’s worst cook, so the residents’ very much took the lead with this activity. Once the batter had been expertly made by our resident’s, they then had to oversee Claire’s cooking of the pancakes! It was agreed by all that the pancakes were a great success and there were plenty of volunteers on hand to try a sample! Activities Coordinator, Claire Burden, said “the residents did an amazing job of making the batter and it was a real team effort – I even picked up a few baking tips from them along the way!”
Love is in the air
Resident’s and team members have been taking part in variety of love and kindness themed activities this month. Our message boards proved to be popular with residents thinking of kind phrases and compliments that could be given to others. Love heart decorations were made in time for Valentine’s Day to brighten up the walls and residents had great fun selecting different embellishments to personalise their hearts. One resident, Fred, said “the walls look much better with our decorations.”
Freezing fun
We have had lots of snow up in Peterhead over this last month, which has afforded us the opportunity to partake in some ‘freezing’ activities! Well done to one of our team members, Leah, for braving the elements to build a snowman in our memory lane garden. He was given the name ‘Kirkie’ and although it was a bit too cold for our residents to get outside, they did a great job of directing operations from the windows! Great fun was had by all, waving out the window to the snowman! One resident, Emily, said “he looks really cute and friendly”
Christmas Tree Competition
Kirkburn Court recently held a ‘best dressed’ Christmas tree competition, whereby members of the local community were invited to send in pictures of their Christmas trees for our residents to judge and pick an overall winner.
We were delighted with the response from our local community, as we received a large number of entries. The residents had great fun looking through all the pictures and discussing the merits of each one – at the same time reminiscing about their own Christmas stories.
After lots of deliberation, the residents chose their winner and we sent out a certificate and prize to the owner of the ‘best dressed’ tree.
