Activities at Westlake House Care Home
Residents enjoy playing hoopla and bocce bowls, which combine exercise with the thrill of competitive sport. We invite entertainers and musicians to visit the home on a regular basis and residents very much enjoy watching them perform.
We also have our pet therapy dog, Marley, visit the home on a fortnightly basis, and residents love petting him. They also enjoy health and fitness days, where they get the opportunity to participate in armchair exercises and target games.
We always celebrate National Volunteer Week, which we use as a chance to say thank you for the wonderful work that our volunteers do that further enhances the quality of life for those who live at Westlake.
As well as continuing with our favourite activities, such as arts & crafts, bingo, knit & natter, Scrabble, board games, bridge, quizzes, pampers & manicures, reminiscence sessions and musical memories, we always like to launch new activities for residents, which give them the opportunity to socialise with their friends and families. These could be our own vegetable patches, flower arranging sessions, a book club or anything else that our imaginations conjure up.
Rosie Duhig
I joined the Barchester family in November 2024 and have instantly felt welcome and supported. As an activity coordinator, I am passionate about getting to know our residents and delivering person-centred care and activities to all residents, an approach supported by a holistic, whole-home view.
I have been in a Care support role since 2019 and an Activity Coordinator since 2020. I love that my role brings laughter and joy to others. It so wonderful seeing people engaging in an activity they enjoy and interacting with each other. I am very passionate about Intergenerational projects, as something magical happens when old and young get together.
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 Westlake House Care Home
Pottery Hearts!
Residents painted Valentine Hearts, you can see the concentration on their faces as they created their own special Hearts! Local pottery artist Mandy McKenna Designs - Taste The Colourful Art took back to her studio and fired in her Kiln. Mary made her Heart for a dear friend who is ill in hospital, some others are now on display on our wish tree. They all look beautiful
Horsham Men in Sheds visit!
Our resident Norman used to potter around at home and in his shed on a regular basis, making things from wood which he loves, before moving to Westlake House with Betty his wife. Our activities team are keen to encourage resident to maintain their interests as well as learn new ones so, after a quick call, Chris Avery from Men in Sheds, visited with colleague, to chat about options and they donated a bird box for him to put together with future projects on the horizon.
Horsham Museum visits us!
Residents took a step back in time as we signed out a 1940’s box of items from Horsham Museum & Art Gallery. The box included ration books, and petrol coupons, all brought back many memories which encouraged discussion, tales of hours in air raid shelters and looking forward to a few sweets!
Castle visit!
We took a mini bus outing to the picturesque market town of Arundel, with the medieval castle standing proudly above its stunning grounds watching down at the river, community and South Downs. We enjoyed our refreshments and took in the stunning views
Our Queen's Platinum Jubilee Pudding Entry!
Excitement is running high at Westlake as we have been cooking up a storm to enter the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Pudding Competition being run by Fortnum & Mason to create a pudding that the whole nation can bake for themselves. The winning entry will be served not only at Jubilee parties up and down the country, but to the Queen herself to celebrate her 70 years on the throne.
We put our heads together and donned our aprons to come up with a scrumptious pudding that we think encapsulates the Queen’s reign. Our fabulous pudding is called Charlotte Jubilee and we are very happy how it turned out.
Morning exercise!
Residents are invited to join our morning exercise session for a stretch and flex, already we are seeing improvements in hand to eye coordination and more importantly it brings a smile to everyone's faces!
