Activities at Red Oaks Care Home

We had a truly wonderful day at Red Oaks Care Home as we welcomed some very special visitors to celebrate Emergency Services Day. 

Our residents were delighted to welcome members of our local Police, the RNLI and HART, who kindly took the time to visit us, chat with our residents and share more about the incredibly important work they do to support and protect our local community.

It was a fantastic opportunity for our residents to learn more about the people behind these vital services, hear fascinating stories and ask questions about their roles. The visit sparked lots of conversation, memories and smiles throughout the home.
One of the biggest highlights of the day was undoubtedly the opportunity for our residents to climb into the back of a police van!  There was plenty of excitement as everyone took their turn, making it a very memorable experience and certainly something our residents will be talking about for some time! We would like to say a massive thank you to everyone from the emergency services who gave up their valuable time to visit us. Your kindness, enthusiasm and willingness to engage with our residents made the day incredibly special.          

At Red Oaks, we love creating opportunities for our residents to remain connected with the wider community, meet new people and enjoy experiences that bring joy, curiosity and wonderful memories.

Thank you to all our emergency services for everything you do, every day, to keep our communities safe. We are incredibly grateful for your dedication and commitment. 

And our winner is… Sue McHoy crowned Apprentice of the year for the South West Division. Next stop…the nationals! Nearly 6,000 incredibly high-standard nominations were received this year.

Sue will join winners from across the UK at a special awards event in October to celebrate their outstanding achievements and see if they’ve won a national award.

Huge congratulations to our amazing Sue, we are all so proud of you and couldn’t be happier that you have been recognised for this award! Your dedication and passion for your role goes above and beyond expectations, from every one at Red Oaks we thank you for the changes you make every day!

This National Carers Week, we would like to say a huge thank you to all of our amazing care home carers. 

Your compassion, patience, dedication, and kindness make such a difference every single day. From the smallest comforting gesture to going above and beyond for our residents and their families, your care never goes unnoticed.

You are the heart of our home, and we are incredibly grateful for everything you do to bring dignity, happiness, and support to those in your care.

Thank you for your hard work, commitment, and the smiles you bring each day.                 

A big congratulations to Sue, Red Oaks' activity lead, who passed her Community Activator Coach apprenticeship with flying colours, gaining a distinction in all 3 aspects. 

With some fantastic feedback providing excellent context around the programme, robust examples of how to adapt approaches to support harder-to-reach participants. Showing initiative with meaningful impact in building health, wellbeing and social connections.

An outing to the local village pub in Henfield is a trip enjoyed by residents initiated by request of residents resulted in the sharing of fond memories and connecting with the wider community.

Presenting the opportunity for residents to enhance social and emotional wellbeing in a relaxed environment it encouraged the group to bond and strengthen relationships outside of Red Oaks. There was much laughter and engagement with the local community enhancing quality of life.

These regular pub outings promote social inclusion, emotional wellbeing, independence and contributes positively to residents overall happiness and sense of fulfilment. 

There was a very special reason to celebrate at Red Oaks as we came together to wish Donald a happy 105th Birthday.
What a remarkable milestone: 105 years of memories, stories, laughter and life. We are incredibly privileged to be able to celebrate this very special occasion,

Donald enjoyed celebrations over several days with a lovely birthday party surrounded by family and friends, a delicious birthday cream tea with his fellow residents and a trip out to the local garden centre with friends. It was wonderful to see Donald enjoying his special day.

We're incredibly proud to shine a spotlight on our amazing catering team here at Red Oaks.
We are delighted to share that we've achieved a 5-Star Food Hygiene Rating.

The inspector praised the home for its excellent quality standards, recognising the high level of care, cleanliness, and dedication shown by our catering team every single day.

Well done to everyone involved for their hard work and commitment to providing delicious, safe, and high-quality meals for our residents. We're so proud of this fantastic achievement

The weekly art club has been flourishing with residents utilising it indoors and outdoors to create personal projects. The club creates conversation and confidence where residents continue to enjoy and share their talents. 

From painting and drawing, the use of different mediums used is always a personal preference. This month the concentration has been flowers.       

Red Oaks marked the 81st anniversary of Victory in Europe Day in style by throwing a 1940s afternoon tea party to remember.  The home was decorated in red, white and blue and residents and staff dressed up in their 1940s-inspired glad rags and enjoyed an afternoon of big band music and dancing.

Head chef Carlos whipped up a delicious fish-and-chip lunch and celebratory cake served in boxes for a wonderful community street party, all washed down with pots of tea and a celebratory glass of wine to mark the occasion.  

Residents observed the national two-minute silence and reminisced about their memories of VE Day. The community choir led everyone in singing familiar wartime favourites, creating a fantastic atmosphere of unity and joy. Entertainment, singing and dancing ended the celebrations as timeless classics were enjoyed by all.         

Each week Red Oaks holds a community choir which is led by Music Therapist Kylie. It brings together music, memories and social connection in an inclusive and enjoyable session. The session is fun with popular songs that are easy to sing, with large print lyrics and requests from the group are always welcome.

Singing always lifts our mood reducing any stresses and creates a sense of joy in the home. Residents in enjoy the Henfield community joining us alongside family members creating meaningful shared experiences with the local community.

Friday is always looked forward to see friends that have been made, singing together and a good natter over tea and cake afterwards to catch up on the events that have happened over the week.

Staff and residents came together for what has become an annual tradition at the home, where staff and residents spend a day celebrating their different cultures. We are proud to have team members from eight different nationalities working at the home, from countries as diverse as Brazil to Norway, Romania to Afghanistan and Portugal to the Philippines, bringing a wealth of different traditions and experiences for everyone to share and enjoy together.  

On Culture Day, many staff members like to wear traditional dress from their different countries, bring in cultural objects to show to the residents and cook traditional dishes for everyone to share. As the team members introduce each country, they play the national anthem of that country and give an introduction to the foods that they have provided, and some facts about their country. Not only that, but this year Virginia and Lesley demonstrated a traditional dance from the Philippines and Smahane demonstrated an Algerian dance. The residents and their families had a wonderful time joining in the dancing and sampling all the different dishes the team members had brought for everyone to try.

For many of our residents, faith has been an important part of their lives for many years. That’s why supporting residents to attend church and continue practising their faith is such an important part of person-centred care.

At Red Oaks, we believe that living in a care home should never mean giving up the things that matter most to you. Supporting residents to attend church allows them to continue their traditions, find comfort and spiritual connection, and remain part of a community that is meaningful to them. It is about choice, dignity, identity and wellbeing — recognising each resident as an individual and supporting them to live their life in the way that is important to them.

There is something very special about seeing our residents enjoying a church service, hearing familiar hymns, meeting familiar faces and continuing a tradition that may have been part of their lives for many years.

Faith can bring comfort, belonging, purpose and joy — and we are proud to support our residents to continue their faith and maintain those important community connections.

An amazing weekend was enjoyed at the Henfield Garden and Arts Festival with a full programme of live music and more than 25 art and craft stalls on display throughout the weekend.

Residents, family members and friends all came together to enjoy the event, soaking up the wonderful atmosphere and exploring the beautiful gardens at Red Oaks. Visitors travelled from far and wide to be part of the celebrations, making the weekend a huge success for everyone involved.

The festival ended on a high with a lively band performance, as residents and guests danced the evening away and created many special memories together.    

Coinciding with the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, residents and staff were happy to get involved by hosting a much-deserved Nurses Day celebration party. Celebrating nurses both present and past, including residents who had careers in nursing.

International Nurses’ Day is a day to give thanks for the dedication of caregivers everywhere, who go above and beyond the call of duty to deliver extraordinary care and support. This dedication is still seen today by residents who had a nursing career. Their caring nature always shines through.

Sue, who lives at Red Oaks, said she spoke with everyone about her career : I started my nursing career in the 1970s and have always felt privileged to work in a profession that I truly enjoyed, especially later when I went on to run my own care home business.

What makes me proud to be a nurse is simply being able to care for others and make a difference in people’s lives. During my career, particularly throughout the 1990s, I became an established figure within the care sector. I was involved with the East Sussex National Care Association and helped contribute to shaping the care industry as we know it today.         

With the large garden at Red Oaks resident the gardening club have been busy sprucing up the courtyard, planting, tidying ready for the burst of colour that they will have in the coming weeks. Working as a team it was wonderful to see everyone taking pride and creating a beautiful welcoming  environment bring the courtyard to life.

Gardening is an activity that many of our residents enjoy, adapting to people’s abilities, it plays a meaningful role in supporting physical and  emotional wellbeing. Being surrounded by nature, plants, fresh air and natural light boost mood  and create a sense of calm. For many residents gardening offers a sense of purpose and achievement seeing the plants grow and thrive under their care.