Activities at Orchard House Care Home
Our home is always full of life, and we can thank our wonderful Activities Coordinators for this. Dedication to creating a unique and interesting activities programme is what sets us apart from other homes. We always take into consideration that some people would prefer to pursue their own interests, which is why our team strive to incorporative activities that cater to a wide range of tastes and hobbies. Our trips out are always fun and exciting as well, and residents are guaranteed to return with stories to tell their loved ones!
Katalin Schlepp
Hello, I’m Katie Schlepp, and my job as the Head of Lifestyle is more than a career; it’s my passion. Every day, I have the pleasure of enhancing lives and creating moments of joy for our residents. It’s a privilege to be a part of this community where we celebrate life in all its richness, from organizing engaging activities to fostering connections and ensuring our residents well-being, I’m dedicated to making every day extraordinary. Our residents happiness and comfort are what drive me, and I’m committed to ensuring that your time at Orchard House is nothing short of wonderful.
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 Orchard House Care Home
Supporting Mountbatten Hospice Nurses
We visited the team at Mountbatten Hospice yesterday with gift bags for their nurses. Thank you to Bev, Jackie and Michaela who accepted the bags on behalf of the team, Liz Arnold, Director of Nursing at Mountbatten said:
“International Nurses’ Day is a moment in time for us to reflect on what it means to be a nurse, particularly a Mountbatten nurse and what Mountbatten Nurses mean to our community. Florence Nightingale once said, ‘for the sick, it is important to have the best’. We know at Mountbatten that we have the very best and we thank each and every one of them.”
Our Orchard House team are so pleased to support you and we hope you enjoyed the handmade cupcakes by our chef Claire!
International Nurse Day Celebrations
We wanted to show appreciation for our nurses here at Orchard House today to celebrate International Nurses Day, what better way to start than a wonderful handmade cakes by our head chef Claire!
With gift and certificates for every nurse from Barchester Healthcare it was a lovely celebration - thank you everyone for your commitment to our residents
Residents raise money for Captain Tom's 100
Residents completed a 100 lap wheelchair relay in order to raise money for Captain Sir Tom’s Challenge 100, which will be donated to the British Legion.
Captain’s Tom’s challenge is to set yourself a goal of 100 and raise money for the charities close to the heart of the late great Captain Sir Tom. On the day we had raised £80 but continued to receive donations so the final total was over £150!.
Residents decided that their challenge would be to have a wheelchair relay. Luckily the weather held for us and we were able to clock up the 100 laps! The residents had a marvellous time out in the fresh air counting their laps, and also looking at all the cars, birds, squirrels and flowers. For Debbie Webb, Activities Co-Ordinator, and Keely Heald, Activities Assistant, it was a complete workout as they were pushing the wheelchairs and certainly had their own challenge to keep going!
Delicious shortbread!
Residents decided to bake their own shortbread biscuits today and shared with the whole home! There was plenty of chatter around the table about making biscuits with their own mothers and then their children - baking truly is a multigenerational activity and as Sheila said our efforts do look 'very profession
Residents pay their respects to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Staff and residents paid their respects to the Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh on the day of his funeral, Saturday 17 April 2021. The whole home came together to honour Prince Philip’s long and extraordinary life of service to the Queen, the British people and the Commonwealth over his 73 year marriage to the Queen, making him the longest-serving Consort to any British monarch.
Residents and staff watched the televised service that took place at St George’s Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle and observed the minute’s silence in memory of the Duke. After the ceremony, staff and residents discussed their memories of Prince Philip and the Queen and what the royal family has meant to them over the years. They reminisced about royal tours and the Duke’s contribution to many different aspects of British life.
After the service residents were served a delicious high tea to bring back happier memories of royal events celebrated over the last 100 years.
General Manager, Kim Fleming, said: “We all felt it was really important to mark this occasion. Prince Philip achieved so much over his 99 years. We wanted to come together and give thanks for his life and to celebrate his many achievements.”
Easter Bonnets at Orchard House
Residents made their own beautiful Easter bonnets to wear over the weekend, they chose their own decorations to suit their personalities and you can see how happy it made everyone feel!
