Activities at Newlands Care Home
Activities within our home are tailored around the requests of residents. Our Activities Coordinator holds regular activity meetings to seek new thoughts and ideas. The home is committed to offering a varied range of activities for all residents, from hand and nail care to gardening for those who have green fingers. We carry out reminiscence activities, including planned entertainment days, bringing the seaside into the home or dance hall meetings.
We hold strong links with the community, especially schools and local children's sports teams, who visit the home to provide entertainment and engagement with residents. We also maintain relationships with the church to ensure that residents’ spiritual beliefs are met. Externally, we have our own minibus, and outings are planned and carried out, again tailored to residents’ preferences, whether it be shopping, visits to the local pub, tea and coffee afternoons, or a scenic day out in the lakes and lovely countryside that surrounds us. However, the fun does not stop at the residents we care for, but we also hold events to involve family and the wider community.
Hlabekile Nyoni (Nayoni)
Hlabekile Nyoni known by everyone as "Nayoni" is the Activities Co-Ordinator at Newlands Care Centre as of December 2023. Hlabekile joined the Barchester team in August 2023 on a part time basis then later became fulltime at the end of December 2023.
"Nayoni" says, ‘ I love sharing my ideas and knowledge to make residents life at Newlands enjoyable and memorable for them and their families. Each day is a different day and each resident is different therefore I always put that into consideration when coming up with activities that can suit each individual. I am so glad to work with a great team throughout the home, from housekeeping, clinical, care, kitchen, maintenance, admin and managers all play a pivotal role in my work. With my strong artistic background I find it easier to come up with creative ideas. I love my job here at Newlands.
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 Newlands Care Home
Coronation virtual talk
Across our services Residents had a wonderful time participating in an interactive virtual talk with Pippa Catterall, Professor of History and Policy at the University of Westminster, where we delved into the rich history of coronations.
During the talk, we explored fascinating topics such as the coronation chair, the crown, and other significant aspects related to King Charles' upcoming coronation. Our residents were thrilled to have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the memoirs of past coronations from 1937 and 1953, as well as learning about the coronation oath and what to expect from the ceremony, including the music, guests, and pageantry.
Pebble painting
This afternoon we had lots of fun painting facial features onto pebbles. Lots of thinking, problem solving colour mixing and fine motor skills. Later we made funny faces!!
Historic Royal Palaces
Across our services, our residents were treated to a special virtual sensory storytelling session. Together with Art Historian Jon Sleigh and the Historic Royal Palaces community team, we explored several royal palaces through the theme of food, dining and celebration!
We enjoyed a fantastic taste-a-long experience from the comfort of our home, from Tudor treats to Stuart sweets. A lovely time was had by all.
Virtual Book Club
Across our services we had a lovely time joining Mark Piesing for an exciting virtual event to discuss his book ‘N-4 Down: The Hunt for The Arctic Airship Italia’.
Our residents were thrilled to find out more about the book and the fascinating story of the world-famous exploring airship Italia, returning from the North Pole on May 24, 1928. The airship was struck by a terrible storm and crashed somewhere over the Arctic ice, triggering the largest polar rescue mission in history
Chinese New Year
Residents at Newlands have enjoyed a taste of China this week. Those who tasted the snacks really enjoyed their afternoon. We also got creative ourselves and made cardboard lanterns and dragons.
Burns celebrations
Here at Newlands we prepared a traditional Burns Night feast to the tune of bagpipes. To honour the famous Scottish poet, we hosted a poetry and music session to learn more about the Scottish Country Dancing and the Ceilidh and to mark the Scottish institution, including giving the time-honoured address to the ‘Great chieftain O’ the pudding’ race’ – the haggis.
