Activities at Upton Bay Care Home
Activities are an integral part of life at our care home. We want to ensure that the people we support have as much fun as possible during their time with us, so it’s important that our activities programme is created with the interests of residents in mind. Our skilled Activities Coordinators bring a certain uniqueness to the home that can’t be found anywhere else, and which is reflected in the activities they organise.
Karen Grant
I first worked in the care sector in 2010, starting in domiciliary care and progressing to Care Coordinator. I have since gained a wealth of experience in dedicated dementia and residential activities, working as a peripatetic activities coordinator in 16 out of 20 homes within a group, and then in 2018, I was part of a team that commissioned a new luxury care home, where I was an Activities Team Leader.
I enjoy making wishes come true for residents: in February 2015, I organised my first wedding in a care home. The lady resident who was living with dementia was unable to travel to Hertfordshire for her granddaughters wedding, so I brought the wedding to her. I organised a wedding blessing at the home; we had a vicar, a choir, all of the bridal party, the flowers, a buffet, a wedding cake, champagne—the full works.
In 2017, I organised a smaller wedding in the garden, and this was a special wish for a gentleman resident to see his granddaughter married. Organising these special moments gives me a lot of pleasure, knowing I have made them feel special and to give families that happiness and see them smile.
I cannot wait to welcome our residents into their wonderful new home and help to bring smiles, joy and laughter to each day.
Karen is also one of our dementia champions
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 Upton Bay Care Home
Wimbledon 2022!
What an end to Wimbledon 2022!
Our lovely ladies and gentlemen, after watching just about every match of the season, were elated to witness tennis champ Djokovic claim his 7th victory on centre court
"I was routing for our Norrie, but it was a great season" said Eve, who still congratulated for the winning sportsman despite pinning her hopes on the plucky Brit for the title!
As in true Wimbledon fashion, the day was fueled by organic strawberries and heaps of clotted cream (and chocolate for good measure, of course!)
We're ready to put our rackets aside til next year and make the most of this heatwave.
Good for what Ales you!
We toasted to National Beer Day yesterday, another excuse for a knee's up! We laid out a selection of beers, ales, stouts and ciders to taste, brewed all over the world! from San Francisco to Bangkok, Newcastle to Kent, the punters favourite was by far the Chocolate Stout, a 'naughty but nice' tipple that unexpectedly delighted
And no afternoon in the sun is complete without live music - we welcomed crowd-pleaser Steve Linn, who entertained with hits from the decades and audience requests
The History and Mystery of Brownsea Island
Today we welcomed special guest speaker Jonathan Ball to Upton Bay, to deliver a fascinating talk about our coastlines beloved Brownsea Island.
With a rich past delving back almost two millennia, Jonathan toured us through the islands heritage, from high profile hotspot of kings and queens of Europe, to housing the elite of the political world, Brownsea Castle has had many facelifts in it's time. Jonathan, local historian of the land, brought with him an exceptional archive of paintings, maps, and photographs, even featuring the infamous Henry VIII! Within the walls lie secrets of disastrous fire, gruesome deaths, and embezzlement...not what you'd expect from such a quant little island!
Thank you Jonathan for sharing your passion for this hidden gem. Our residents feedback was, 'totally fascinating', 'a history I never knew after 30 years down here', and 'a marvelous speaker and wealth of knowledge'.
And as with any afternoon of interest, G&T's were a must on this fine day!
Life's GOOD at Upton Bay!
We have many reasons to be celebrating this week... Upton Bay has achieved a rating of GOOD, following on from our first inspection by the Care Quality Commission in April!
Our residents were delighted to get involved in the celebrations, posing for a photograph with balloons, and displaying the official banner. Achieving an impressive 'good' rating in all 5 areas - safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led, we could not be prouder of our team, each of whom play a huge part in the day to day running of Upton Bay.
“We’re so proud of the team for their achievement,” said Margaret, “They work so hard to make this a beautiful home for us.”
All team members were gifted with a £100 voucher as a token of appreciation from Barchester Healthcare.
We also celebrated our amazing rating of 10/10 on carehome.co.uk, landing us in the top 3 care homes in Poole! Plus a score of 5 from our Environmental Health Inspection - hats off to the chef!
Take a look at our report here https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-10439819700
Armed Forces Day!
Upton Bay was proud to pay resects to our forces, past and present, on Friday 24th June. Armed Forces Day is an annual event celebrated in late June to commemorate the service of men and women in the British Armed Forces.
We shared this day with family and friends over a delicious cream tea, with an old fashioned knees up to top off the afternoon - just look at all those scones!
The day coincided with World Beatles Day, so of course we threw into the mix a few favourites from McCartney, Lennon, Starr and Harrison, who's values of world peace seemed to fit quite well with the theme of the day.
The Queens Platinum Jubilee
Upton Bay wishes HRH Queen Elizabeth II a magnificent Platinum Jubilee, after 70 glorious years reigning over our wonderful island!
A truly incredible lady who has devoted her life to the people of The United Kingdom, whom we are proud to honour and celebrate today with our community.
Upton Bay shared this once in a lifetime day with family, friends, and our community down at Friends of Hamworthy Park , where we devoured a delicious picnic before listening to the triumphant tunes of the Borough of Poole Sea Cadets Band!
Topping off the jubilations with a toast to Her Majesty and a fantastic live rendition of God Save The Queen, courtesy of the band. And back on the minibus home in time for the downpour!
Thank you to everyone who joined us on the green! We wish you a very happy bank holiday!
Upcoming events
Knit and Knatter - weekly group
Open to the community. This fun, social group meet every Thursday 10.30-12.00 to knit and chat. Refreshments included
Christmas Fair - Saturday 7th December
Join us for a fun, Christmas event with a variety of stalls including candles, cards, gifts for all your family and friends. Join santa in his grotto
