Activities at Ouse View Care Home

Today, we had a brilliant exercise session with a surprise for our lovely residents. Our exercises included hula hoops, our residents filled the room with laughter and really adored doing something different. 

The hula hoops even had LED lights which caught everyone’s eye. During the exercise, the residents were curious and all attempted it to their very best ability. 

We enjoyed an Italian-themed day here at home and to celebrate we made our very own delicious pizzas from scratch. It was so much fun mixing the dough!

We also discussed Italian culture, music and shared some interesting Italian facts. It was a great day, and we are looking forward to our next virtual visit. Where shall we go next?
 

Ouse Views took a trip to York’s National Railway Museum with our friends from Rivermead Care Home, and what a lovely adventure it was!

Our residents joined them for a day filled with nostalgia, wonder, and history as we explored the incredible collection of trains — from vintage steam engines to modern marvels. We even made time for a relaxing spot for lunch, sharing stories and soaking up the atmosphere. 

A big thank you to everyone who made today so special — here’s to more days out like this! 

An afternoon of fun, music, and big smiles as we hosted a Dementia Disco – and what an afternoon it was!  We were thrilled to welcome back Pete the Silent Disco DJ, who brought along his wireless headphones and some brilliant fancy dress gear to get everyone in the party spirit. 

At first, it took a little time for some residents to adjust to the headphones, but once the music started flowing, the joy on their faces was incredible. The beauty of the silent disco is that the wireless headphones allowed us to bring the music to everyone, including those staying in bed – and their faces lit up the moment they heard their favourite tunes. 

This activity really highlighted just how powerful music is for those living with dementia. Music can unlock memories, improve mood, reduce anxiety, and create moments of connection – even when words may be hard to find. Yesterday, music truly brought us all together.

 

What a wonderful afternoon with lovely guests, we had the amazing university students from York come and visit us. 

During this time, we got creative and explored various different chalks, sprinkles, tracing, drawing and much more. 

Our residents really found this fascinating and were very engaged throughout.  

Our residents enjoyed getting to grips with poker! We learnt the rules and had our best poker faces on as we played over coffee and cake, card games are a great way to stimulate the mind and we can't wait for next time.

We enjoyed a beautiful music concert at St Chad’s Church followed by some amazing cake and coffee. It was such a joyful way to spend the afternoon together – great music, great company, and lots of smiles all around!

We are already looking forward to our next visit!

The home was bubbling with joy at Ouse View as we celebrated National Prosecco Day in true style! Glasses were raised, smiles were wide, and the atmosphere was filled with music, laughter, and sparkle. 

The incredibly talented Paula Marie joined us for a fabulous vintage performance, taking us on a trip down memory lane with classics like “Roll Out the Barrel” and “Que Sera Sera.” Her beautiful voice and charming ukulele had everyone singing, clapping, and swaying along!

Our residents absolutely loved it — especially when Paula brought out her ukulele! It was a perfect mix of music, memories, and a few cheeky glasses of fizz. 

What an incredible afternoon we had yesterday at Ouse View! We were warmly invited to our wonderful sister home Highfield to celebrate National Cream Tea Day in style—with a live music concert and plenty of sweet treats! 

The incredibly talented Louise kicked things off, singing a selection of our residents' all-time favourite songs—there were smiles, a few happy tears, and even some dancing in the aisles!

Just when we thought the fun couldn’t get any better, Neil Highfield, the amazing Activities Coordinator, surprised everyone by jumping on stage to sing a few songs himself! And if that wasn’t enough, he even convinced our own superstar, Rachael to bravely take the mic and deliver a show-stopping performance of “I Dreamed a Dream”, followed by a crowd-pleasing “Que Sera, Sera”
 

Our residents had a wonderful evening with Guy Fawkes to celebrate this historic event. We had a chilled baileys along with a hot chocolate. As well as this, we enjoyed hearing about the rich history of Guy Fawkes. We also had a quiz to test our resident’s knowledge of the event afterwards, which they found very interesting. 

To top it all off, we made toffee apples, held sparklers and listened to brilliant music.    

This afternoon, we were delighted to welcome back the lovely Griselda, who joined us for a special creative session. With a Harvest Festival theme, everyone enjoyed getting hands-on and expressing their creativity. 

It was a joyful afternoon filled with laughter, colour, and imagination – a wonderful way to celebrate National Arts in Care Homes Day together!

And our winner is… Sue Phillips crowned Deputy Manager of the Year for the NE & Scotland division.  Next stop…the nationals!
Over 5,250 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!  #BarchesterCareAwards2025 #DivisionalWinner 

The amazing Johnny was back with us today, bringing an entertaining and interactive quiz session that got everyone buzzing with excitement! At first, our residents weren’t quite sure about the whole quiz concept — but once they got the hang of it, there was no stopping the fun!

Johnny brought along lots of tablets, which he cleverly connected to the big TV screen so everyone could join in together. It was fantastic to see how technology really helped bring the room to life, sparking smiles, laughter, and a real sense of connection.
Even more special, it was a fantastic way to integrate our new Activity Coordinator, Amber, who jumped right in and helped make the afternoon extra special! 

Tech like this isn’t just fun — it’s a wonderful way for our residents to stay engaged, challenge their minds, and connect with each other in a fresh and exciting way. Here’s to many more afternoons like this at Ouse View!