Member Article

Care home teams up with children’s group for National Share-a-Story Month

A Grimsby care home has partnered up with a local children’s group to celebrate National Share-a-Story Month.

Residents and staff at The Anchorage care home, operated by not for profit organisation Hica Group, welcomed children from Nicky’s Childminding group and took part in fun activities based around children’s story books.

National Share-a-Story Month is an annual celebration that recognises the past time of story-telling set up by The Federation of Children’s Book Groups, encouraging children to get involved in all elements of story-telling.

The group read classic children’s books including The Hungry Caterpillar, We Went on a Bear Hunt and The Forgetful Elephant, which is a specialist book to help children understand dementia with the help of a soft toy elephant. Children and residents also enjoyed sing alongs as well as cake and themed snacks including the hungry caterpillar’s favourite fruits.

Bev Milson, manager of The Anchorage, said: “The friendship between the residents and the children goes back a long way. We often enjoy activities together and the residents enjoy spending their time with the children. It brings a sense of nostalgia and joy which leaves lasting memories. The impact is especially noticeable in our residents with dementia and seeing them happy and content thanks to activities like this is fantastic.
“National Share a Story Month was a fantastic opportunity for us to get together, read some of the residents and children’s favourite books and just enjoy spending time with one another. The Forgetful Elephant book is also a great learning tool to make the children aware of the symptoms of dementia.”

The Anchorage care home specialises in dementia care and has recently been awarded a Gold Standard in the NHS Quality Awards for the third year in a row. The home is only one of three within the North East Lincolnshire area. The Hica Group is a not for profit organisation, which operates a portfolio of 19 residential care homes, five of which are for people with a learning disability, along with two retirement villages. The company also runs a home care service providing approximately 11,500 hours of support and care from four regional offices in the North of England.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by The Hica Group .