Activities at The Fernes Care Home
At The Fernes we endeavour to make our care as personal as possible, including when it comes to activities. We will give you a 'Getting to Know Me' booklet for you to fill out with your loved one before they arrive, which includes a little life history and a tick sheet for a vast amount of activities. This enables us to offer the activities we know they will enjoy and enables us to learn valuable information about their lives and what might stimulate them in conversations and trips.
Our specialist Activities and Lifestyle staff make sure there are always meaningful activities to take part in, such as helping in the garden, baking some bread to have with our dinner, and trips out to various locations nearby such as the beach and the garden centres. Residents are encouraged to take part, but it is always the resident’s choice to participate or not as we believe that having choice is very important to help our residents feel in control of their lives. There are activities on offer every day (and night for those night owls) in the form of word puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, arts and crafts, needle crafts and board games to name a few. We have entertainment that is organised at least twice a month such as Music for Health, Zoolab or musicians, and also have a wonderful Yoga instructor who comes every other week.
Activities are provided by everyone in our home from carers and specialised activities staff, right through to our admin team. If there is a task that needs doing and a resident would like to do it, such as sealing envelopes and putting stamps on or handing out popcorn for our Movie Mondays, they are very welcome to help out which enables us to give them a better feeling of purpose and self-worth.
We are a registered member of the National Activity Providers Association (NAPA), which means that we are always working to make the quality of life of all of our residents as high as possible by working with person-centred activities that aim to stimulate our residents, both mentally and physically.
Sophie Wasteney
Hi, I'm Sophie, I am the Activities Lead at The Fernes. I've worked in the care sector for 26 years and here at The Fernes for 3 of those. When I started here I worked in care so really got to know the residents, relatives and home very well. When the Activities Lead role arose I naturally jumped at the opportunity as it was one aspect of care I really wanted to do as I really enjoy making people happy. As you cannot put a price on a smile!
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 The Fernes Care Home
National Turtle and Tortoise Day
Residents were delighted to welcome special visitors Arlo and Mavis on world tortoise and turtle day. Arlo is 2 years old and dwarfed by Mavis who is 35, although still a youngster in tortoise terms. Residents also watched and held the tortoises and turtles to compare their shell texture and weight, it all made for interesting conversations about pets they have cared for over the years.
Queens Birthday tea party
We celebrated the Queen’s birthday and took the opportunity to put on our fanciest headwear. A day full of tea tasting, royal quiz and a special afternoon tea. Residents said how much they enjoyed it - being the most English of days!
Our beautiful garden is summer ready!
Residents and the team have been working hard this month preparing for a grand opening of our new and improved garden last Friday, we have added our very own mini fairy garden, water feature and a raised flower bed. We spent the opening day in the sun and enjoying a glass of bubbly and afternoon tea in our new space which is ready for the summer. Thank you again to Garsons Garden Centre for donating vouchers towards the cost of the new plants
Learning a new form of art
Celebrating world creativity week residents had the opportunity of learning the art of paint pouring. Creating art work on stones to made the most unique and beautiful accessories for our garden
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.
Everyone 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.
Happy Easter at The Fernes
To celebrate Easter in style, the home was decorated with Easter eggs, bunnies and colourful banners to bring positivity and a holiday spirit into the home over the Bank Holiday weekend. Team members and residents also created a beautiful and colourful Easter display and everyone got involved in a variety of fun-filled activities, from enjoying hot cross buns and making Easter decorations to quizzes, games and baking.
