Activities at Woodland View Care Home
Activities at Woodland View
Woodland View is passionately committed to providing residents with a varied choice of entertainment, social, health and well being, craft and relaxation based activities.
Activities will all be meaningful and based on the likes of residents and will continue to evolve depending on our residents. The activities provided will also include involvement from other local community based organisations and are open to all residents, family and friends of residents. Our activities will be facilitated by staff from all departments as well as invited guests. Families are also enthusiastically encouraged to play a part in activities when possible.
There will always be at least one person at every activity who has been DBS checked to ensure the safeguarding of our residents. The dignity of our residents and our respect for them is at the centre of everything we do, each and every day.
We are always reviewing and changing our schedule of activities to be a centre of excellence and actively invite feedback and suggestions for new and meaningful activities and ideas.
Petra Hardman
Hi my name is Petra and I'm the Activities Coordinator here at Woodland View. I love seeing the difference that activities can make to each individual, and finding out what interests they have and ensure I incorporate that into our activities here.
I love music and drama coming from a musical background as a singer all over the country, music is important to me and I feel it makes such a difference to everyone, it evokes memories, and creates happiness. I also love to boost residents self esteem by creating pampering sessions and having one to one time to relax and reminisce.
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 Woodland View Care Home
Expecting a Bundle of Joy
Staff and residents at Woodland View gathered to wish Carer, Rachael Elliott, well as she leaves to take time out to prepare for a new arrival.
A collection enabled everyone to present Rachael with a lovely hamper, featuring a selection of baby products. Residents were very keen to keep tabs on Rachael over the previous few months and that's not likely to change just because she is now on maternity leave. No doubt there will be a baby sweepstake fairly soon - place your bets!
Good luck Rachael - we'll be waiting by the phone!
A hunting they did go!
As part of a fundraising event, Woodland View hosted a car treasure hunt.
No, it's not about hunting for cars! This treasure hunt involves driving around the countryside looking for the solutions to clues.
A series of navigational instructions and 54 questions took those participating around the outskirts of Colchester and the local countryside. As well as navigating in line with the instructions and correctly solving the clues, a 'Great 8' shopping list of items had to be sourced en-route to add further points, which were awarded to those with the quickest time and with the shortest distance taken to complete the course.
One car of hunters were asked after the event if they enjoyed themselves: "It was hilarious, but our navigator should have gone to Specsavers!"
The Woodland View Car Treasure Hunt is still available for people to do as an individual event and makes for a great morning or afternoon activity, so you haven't missed out! Please contact Kevin at kevin.riley@barchester.com, or call him on 01206 855390.
Care Home Open Day
Woodland View opened its doors on Friday 16th June, inviting members of the general public along for Open Day.
Visitors to our home were able to join in a number of activities during the day to sample what life is like here, joining residents for a 'UNO' card game class, a lovely outdoor picnic lunch and an interactive singalong, complete with a balloon game and hundreds of soap bubbles. It was songs and laughter all the way! The afternoon was rounded off by a get-together in the Woodland View bar, the Woodland Arms.
A raffle was also drawn on the day, and we managed to raise £117.00 for Barchester's Charitable Foundation. Prizes included a bottle of champagne, a fresh fruit hamper and some caviar!
Goodbye, Jess!
Deputy Manager, Karen Greenland, called residents and staff together to say goodbye to one of the original members of the team from before Woodland View had even opened its doors. Karen is sporting a lovely yellow Goldilocks costume as part of a fundraising dress-down day for staff.
Jess Hargitay, a much valued member of the housekeeping team, is moving out of the area due a new work opportunity her husband has accepted.
A tearful Jess was presented with a bouquet of flowers and received a round of applause from everyone. She will be missed so much by everyone at Woodland View. Thank you for everything you've done, Jess, and good luck!
Employee of the Month - May
Woodland View was very happy to present its 'Employee of the Month' award to Nurse, Soma Page.
A rather surprised Soma was thrilled to have been chosen to receive the accolade and was as modest about it as we know her to be.
Soma received a bottle of fizz and a gift card to spend how she chooses. Residents and colleagues kept her smiling as they each saw her in turn, congratulating her on the very well-deserved recognition.
Carer's Week
On Wednesday 14th June, Deputy Manager, Karen Greenland, requested that the on-duty Carer's report to the reception, as she wanted a word!
It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and the mercury in the thermometer had been climbing higher and higher as the day progressed. Was there a problem? Was something wrong? A degree of anxiousness was detected on the faces of the care staff.
Once gathered in reception, Karen appeared out of her office carrying a rather large hamper full of chocolate boxes and other sweet treats. As part of National Carer's Week, Woodland View wanted to thank, reward and celebrate the terrific and hard work that Carer's do here each and every day. Anxious faces instantly turned to smiles, laughter and real appreciation for the gesture shown and, of course, the potential sugar increase they were about to enjoy.
The goodies were taken back onto the home's communities to share with the other care staff over the coming days. Woodland View is clearly very fortunate to have such a wonderful team of Carer's, who are such a valuable asset to the home.
