Let's Get Going Again

After a very limiting year of what we could do socially and with the community, as things start to open up and ease we are keen to start looking forward to getting back active within the community.

We have various plans in the pipeline with collaborative working, and starting up the visits with Holy Family Primary School. We have new relationships and initiatives that we are hoping can start in the summer.

During the pandemic we have received some great support from the community, which we are very grateful for. Christmas cards from Greenbank High, visors from Birkdale High, zoom calls from 58th Holy Family Beavers. It has been really appreciated and all these acts of kindness have really kept the residents and staff going. 

With all the sacrifices people have had to make due to the pandemic, we want this year to be as positive and fulfilling as possible.

We look forward to seeing you more in 2021.

2020 Activities with Holy Family Catholic Primary School

This year we have lots of exciting activities planned in our community initiative with Holy Family Catholic Primary School. We are really lucky that they wish to continue working together long time, as we think it brings a lot of benefits not only to the residents but also the pupils. The children's visits are definitely amongst the favourite social activities with our residents.

This year so far, we have the following planned:

On 11th February we will be writing Love Letters to our favourite memories or places. We will be writing about something that holds a special place in our hearts, with help from the children. We will then collate these letters and put them into a booklet for people to read.

On 3rd March, we shall be taking part in World Book Day's 'Share A Million Stories' campaign. You can read more about the campaign here. We will be talking about our favourite books and then logging our session onto the World Book Day website to help them reach their target. Books are such a great way of transporting us to a different place or time, and being able to share them is really special.

Holy Family's Eco Council will be looking at ways that we could make a piece of art for the garden out of recycled materials with the residents. We think it would be really great to have a piece of art that the residents have helped to work on, and something they can look at when sitting in the garden in the warmer months. We hope this will encourage the residents to be creative. We will also be talking to the Eco Council about any ideas they may have to help us be more environmentally friendly.

In October we shall be working together on creating a poster for World Mental Health Day. Mental Health is such an important topic and can affect everyone. We will be putting together ideas of what we like to do for self-care and what makes us happy. We then hope to have this poster displayed in the GP surgery. We try to help promote the positive mental health of our residents. Some of them are unable to, or do not wish to, go out often so it is important that we look at ways to keep them feeling positive and still part of the community. We hope by children and older people working together on this project, it will highlight that positive mental wellbeing is important to everyone.

National Poetry Day at Holly Bank

Over the past year, Holy Family Catholic Primary School and Holly Bank Nursing Home have formed a community initiative and have been working together on school projects, reminiscence sessions and even taking part in Sefton’s Year of Friendship. 

There have built some great friendships built and the pupils have been a really welcomed source of company for our residents. The positive effect on the residents’ mental health and wellbeing has been noted not only by staff, but by families and friends.

As part of our on-going relationship with Holy Family, we decided to spend the afternoon of National Poetry Day together. National Poetry Day, the UK-wide celebration of poetry, took place on Thursday 3^rd October. 

To mark the event, a group of Year 6 pupils from Holy Family Catholic Primary School visited the residents of Holly Bank Nursing Home to read and share poems with them. The standard of the poetry was exceptional and the residents thoroughly enjoyed listening to the pupils’ work. There were poems that the students had written, as well as some favourite poems from poetry books they had brought in.

After they had read their poetry to the residents, the pupils then spent time going around and sitting with each resident and showing them their work. The children always spark some great conversations with the residents, and they helped them to reminisce about what some of their favourite poems/stories were when they were younger.

Chicken Run

Today, Jay, our fantastic hairdresser, brought her two chickens in to meet the residents. They are silkie chickens named Chanel and Prada.

The residents absolutely loved getting to meet them. The chickens were really well behaved and enjoyed having a wander around the lounge.

They even went on a little tour of the nursing home to visit people in their bedrooms too.

It was really lovely to see the residents interacting with the chickens, and it brought a smile to all their faces.

Chanel and Prada will be coming for another visit in a few weeks and everyone is already looking forward to seeing them again.

We are really pleased that everyone had a fun afternoon, and thank you to Jay for bringing the chickens in.

Year of Friendship

Sefton Council have dedicated 2019 as their Year of Friendship to help tackle loneliness and isolation.

At Holly Bank, we are conscious of trying to ensure our residents still feel part of their local community. With this in mind, we decided to take part in the Year of Friendship.

Over the last school year, we have built a community initiative with the year 6 pupils from Holy Family Catholic Primary School. The pupils have spent time coming to visit our residents and take part in various activities with them. Yesterday, eleven students came along to help our residents make friendship bracelets.

The residents had a fantastic afternoon working with the pupils. There was lots of lively chatter and plenty of smiles from everyone.

The pupils have been really fantastic at getting the residents chatting about their past, and the residents have enjoyed telling them stories.

It has been an absolute delight working with Holy Family, and the children have been a real credit to them.

The friendship bracelets that were made are now being sent back to Sefton Council to become part of a larger art project which will be unveiled towards the end of the year.

We are looking forward to continuing working with Holy Family in the next school year.