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.
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



International Women's Day
During March, we have been celebrating all of our lovely ladies! We began with a wee ladies only tea party - with a few bottles of fizz for the occasion!
We have also spent some time brushing up on our knowledge of some of the world's most famous women and had good fun working our way through some quiz questions!
We have also taken the opportunity to say thank you to the ladies in our life. Staff and residents have had the opportunity to exchange hand written thank you notes - which has been lovely! Well done to all our ladies!

A fond farewell
A much loved member of staff has recently celebrated his retirement. Graeme, one of our Memory Lane carers has hung up his uniform for the final time and enjoyed a great send off from colleagues and residents. Graeme was surprised with a lovely party, where everyone gathered to say their farewells. However he will be staying on in a voluntary capacity to continue driving the Kirkburn bus for our outings. Graeme will be greatly missed at Kirkburn, but we are sure he will now enjoy some more free time to ride his bike and play his piano! A huge thanks to Graeme from all the Kirkburn team – we will miss you!



St Patrick's Day
We have had great fun in March celebrating St Patrick’s Day. As well as donning some of our fancy dress attire, we have joined in with a range of different themed activities. We have tested our knowledge with our Irish quizzes, attempted to do some seated Irish dancing, tried our hand at reading some limericks and even played a few games of gold coin toss! The greatest hilarity came when we assigned everyone their ‘Leprechaun Name’ based on their first name and birth month. A great laugh was had by all.

London Ladies
As part of our International Women’s Day celebrations, Residents from across our services were thrilled to join tour guide, Mandy Morrow, for an exciting talk about some Legendary London Ladies.
Mandy shared the fascinating stories of eight ladies with us, from the one of the richest heiresses in the world to the original 'Roaring Girl'.
Everyone who participated truly enjoyed the experience and were delighted to take a walk down memory lane.

Bingo Bonanza
Across the country our homes and hospitals came together to find out which care home or hospital had the best Bingo players as they teamed up for Barchester’s Bingo Bonanza.
Residents were treated to some exciting virtual games of Bingo as part of Barchester’ very own game show series.
Everyone who participated had a fantastic time and enjoyed some friendly competition.

Top 20 Came Home 2024 award from carehome.co.uk
We are so happy to announce that we have received the 'Top 20 Came Home 2024' Award from Carehome.co.uk!
We have received this award in recognition that our home in in the top 20 rated care homes in our region, based on published reviews from residents and their family & friends.
Everyone at the home has been working incredibly hard to achieve high standards of care for their residents and are thrilled to celebrate this amazing achievement.
carehome.co.uk is the leading care home reviews website in the UK with nearly 18,000 care homes, 16 million+ visits per year and over 300,000 care home reviews.
A broad selection of friends and families have left glowing reviews of their experiences with the home on the website.
To achieve this award is a huge team effort. A big thank you to anyone who left a review. It does show our dedication and support.
Upcoming events

Community Cafe - Last Tuesday of the month
Do you fancy some company and a good blether? Come and join us at our monthly community cafe.

Carer's Support Group - 4th Wednesday of the month
Hosted by Dementia Advisors from Alzheimer's Scotland, come along for advice, support and guidance on local services. All welcome.