Activities at Fountains Care Home

We understand that the people we support have passions and interests that could be difficult to pursue after moving into a care home – but that doesn’t mean we don’t encourage them to try! Some hobbies can define a person, so our Activities Coordinators are dedicated to ensuring that everyone we support is able to do what makes them happy to the best of their abilities. Social events are organised with individual tastes in mind and with the idea that residents have the opportunity to try new and exciting things.

Enriching life
Watch our video on life enrichment in our homes.

Louise Crooks

Activities Coordinator

Hello I am Louise,  my first role with Barchester was caring for our residents.  Previously I worked in an early years environment for 17 years where I organised activities and events.  I am thrilled to now be Activities Lead and being able to continue enriching the life’s of our lovely residents here at Fountains.

Life-encriching activities booklet

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 Fountains Care Home

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Tree of Reflection

Fountains staff and residents were delighted to be invited to contribute to The Tree of Reflection by Citizens Advice Solihull Borough CAB 

They worked on their art work in preparation of the launch at The Core in Solihull. 

Fountains attended the unveiling alongside The Mayor, members of the community, CAB and the brainchild of the project - Sharon Gates.

Sharon is a social prescriber for CAB, who works with the most vulnerable members of our community through referrals from the GP”s across the borough.

Sharon recognised during COVID that the community would benefit from a space to visit, reflect and add their contributions as to how the pandemic had effected their lives.

The contributions represent loss, fear, change but also hope including decorations that celebrate a covid baby boom!

It was such a pleasure to see our residents art work proudly hanging from the branches of this very special Tree of Reflection.

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World's Biggest Coffee Morning 2021

Fountains residents were delighted to get involved in the ‘Worlds Biggest Coffee Morning’ over the weekend. 

We first celebrated the day with a trip to Solihull Methodist church for a morning of coffee, cake and raising money too! 

Our fantastic kitchen team baked and donated 2 delicious Victoria Sponge Cakes which the members of the church were very grateful for. 

Over the weekend we hosted our very own Coffee morning inviting our residents’ nearest and dearest in for visits in our gardens and a chance to enjoy some delicious home made treats. 

We had a marvellous selection of cakes which were enjoyed by our residents with their friends and family. 

We are very proud to announce that we raised £100 pounds for Macmillan Cancer Support. The money raised will make such a difference to the charity.

We wanted to take the opportunity to thank our wonderfully generous families that gave their time and money and helped us achieve our target. 

We look forward to raising money again next year.

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A visit to Hillfield Nature Reserve

Getting outside for some fresh air has so many benefits; lifting our spirits, strengthening our immune functions, keeping vitamin D levels healthy as well as enhancing relationships too. 

Here at Fountains we enjoy spending a lot of time in the outdoors. This week we decided to make the most of the September sunshine and we headed out for a bird watching session at Hillfield Nature Reserve. 

Our residents loved spending time in the fresh air and looking out for their favourite birds. We are so lucky to have such a beautiful park right on our doorstep! 

Over the next 10 weeks we will be taking part in the ‘100 Hours Outside Challenge’. Whether it’s walking, bird watching, gardening, or just relaxing in the sun we will be enjoying plenty of time outdoors.

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Wine tasting

Fountains residents were delighted to participate in a virtual wine tasting afternoon yesterday.

Hosted by our own Hospitality Manager Christophe and special guests Lee and Nick from Unity Wines and Spirits.

Lee talked us through the tasting process, whilst sharing an insight into the history of wine, wine making and some interesting anecdotes from his 20 years in the trade.

Our residents thoroughly enjoyed the session and learnt so much about the wine making process. We sampled sparkling, white, rosé and then red. However the firm favourite from Fountains residents was the sparkling.

Our wonderful kitchen team provided us with a delicious selection of cheese, biscuits and fruit which accompanied the wine perfectly. 

It was a fantastic afternoon enjoyed by us all.

Thank you to the Barchester Life Enrichment Team and Unity Wines for organising such a special event. 

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Armchair Dance Class

Thank you to the wonderful Lisa for our fantastic armchair dance class. 

Lisa filled the room with so much energy - playing everyone’s favourite songs!

Our residents loved practicing their dance moves through a variety of seated exercises. It was such a wonderful start to our day! We can’t wait for the next session. 

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Later Life Planning Clinic

Fountains hosted a Later Life Planning Clinic with Nicola Bywater from BeSpoke Advice and Sophie Fenn from Wilkes Partnership.

It was a really enjoyable garden event and the sun even made an appearance! 

Our fabulous hospitality team did us proud, as always, and prepared a delicious afternoon tea which was enjoyed by all.

The feedback was how interesting the information received was and how better people felt informed.

Planning for care never felt so positive.

Looking forward to our next September event.

Upcoming events

Reminiscence Cafe

Please join us for our monthly Reminiscence Cafe where we will pick a topic and talk about our memories, whilst making new friends and enjoying some refreshments. 

July

Hello July! - we have another month filled with activities for our Residents and community to enjoy.  Please come along.

Don't Dine Alone

We know meal times can be a lonely time for some people, that's why we're inviting local older people to join us for lunch every Friday from 12.30pm. 

Room for Hire

Looking for somewhere to hold your meeting or event? We have a meeting room that is available for free to members of the local community and professionals.