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
Move it or Loose it!
We are delighted to announce that we now have Lee from 'Move It or Loose It!' visiting Kirkburn every second Tuesday to undertake exercise and movement sessions with our residents. The sessions have been a huge success so far and the residents have been thoroughly enjoying them.
Keeping the body active and moving is so important and it is great that we now have Lee's guidance in this area. He has been taking us through fully seated programmes which can get us all moving - no matter what our ability.
We will really look forward to these sessions every fortnight.
Magic Moments
As part of our Magic Moments Series, we like to create individual experiences for our residents. Margaret, has enjoyed a special trip out. Earlier discussions with Margaret had led her to reveal that she loved the Mission Impossible films and that she thought Tom Cruise was a "stud muffin!" We also knew that Margaret's favourite tipple was a Gin and Tonic.
So our first stop was the Arc Cinema to see the new Mission Impossible Film. Margaret really enjoyed all the action scenes and was absolutely thrilled to go to the cinema, saying she hadn't been in years.
Then we headed to Wetherspoons to check out their gin selection. Margaret was very knowledgeable about all the different types and decided to sample a raspberry one. She was very happy to make it to the end of her "fish bowl." We had a great laugh that we would arrive back at Kirkburn singing!
Margaret summed up her trip as "marvellous and very special."
Beach Party
We have recently held our annual Beach Party here at Kirkburn.
We had great fun donning our summer gear and enjoyed sampling a few cocktails! Great laughter ensued as staff and residents had a go at the limbo - although there may have been a bit of cheating going on in places!
We also had a wee game of beach volleyball - which gave us a really good workout! The weather outside may not have been sunny but we certainly created some summer fun inside!
Inside Mayfair
Residents across our services had a fantastic time joining Mandy Morrow for a virtual walking tour to learn about the ‘Herstory’ of Mayfair. The Mayfair of Nightingales may be long gone but it still holds a 20th century charm. Birthplace to the late Queen Elizabeth II, home to one of WWII's most decorated female war heroes and a tale of a wealthy Aristocrat and one of France's favourite designers.
We were delighted to take a walk down memory lane and discover stories from one of London's most iconic areas. The experience was truly enjoyed by all.
Bus Trips
Some of our residents have recently enjoyed a bus trip to the Fraserburgh Beach Café. We received a very warm welcome and enjoyed a lovely fly cup with delicious fine pieces! We also had a wee walk along the promenade afterwards, although the usual North Sea breeze stopped us from going too far! It fairly blew away to cobwebs though! Our bus driver, Graeme, also took us on a wee tour to see some of the local sights! It was lovely to get out and about!
Wimbledon 2023
In honour of this year’s Wimbledon Tennis Championships, we have undertaken a few tennis themed activities.
Of course, we had to begin with a simple game of tennis! A great way of getting us moving and testing our reflexes! We also had a challenge to see who could balance the ball on their racket the longest!
After working our bodies, we also took some time to work our brains and tried our hand at a few tennis themed quizzes and puzzles - did you know that over 140,000 portions of strawberries are served at Wimbledon every year?!
So of course, our next move was to sample some strawberries and cream for ourselves - yum! Lots of tennis-tastic fun was had!
