With the Chinese New Year coming staff and service users took some time together to look into the Chinese culture. They looked into this year’s zodiac sign being the year of the Pig with the New Year being on the 5^th of February. They also looked into some of the good luck things to do, with some service users loving the idea around not cleaning as it was bad luck during the period of celebration! To work around this we all agreed to clean from the outside of the room towards the centre to make sure that we didn’t accidently sweep away any good luck! Everyone loved getting involved in the activities of making art crafts and then having an authentic Chinese meal that everyone got involved in making!

BB recently moved in to the Ashby House service having spent that last 10 years in her previous residential placement. It was apparent that BB did not get out much in the community previously and did not get opportunities to take part in simple tasks that we take for granted like having access to the kitchen area and being able to help with meal preparation and making cups of tea when she wanted to. Being autistic, BB had become very rigid and stuck in certain routines that took away from her quality of life.

The team at Ashby House have spent a lot of time with BB helping her take steps away from the rigid routines that she used to focus on to take part in much more meaningful activities. These included getting BB involved with the weekly food shop for the home, meal preps, and just getting the opportunity to go out on social activities with the other service users and staff.

It felt like lots of little steps were taken with BB that helped her get used to a whole new world of opportunities and experience’s and now the difference in BB is a world away from when she moved into Ashby House where she was very unsure and withdrawn to someone who is enjoying life a lot more now!

Well into the mid of January 2019 it is worth a look back at a prosperous 2018 for Godfrey Care. We saw the groups 2^nd home, Ashby House, open in Staffordshire and before the year end, we were pleased to see it at capacity. What is especially pleasing to see is how quickly the residents at Ashby House have quickly settled into their new home. This period of transition and settling in is usually a stressful period for residents. However, with the proactive support and the family-based setting at Godfrey Care we have seen all new residents quickly settle in and make Ashby House their home. The bonds that have developed amongst the residents and between staff is a testimony to the hard work and commitment that is given on a daily basis by all involved which we are extremely proud of and is one of the most rewarding aspects of our jobs.

Meanwhile, things go from strength to strength with our other service Field House, seeing significant progression in the quality of life that is experienced by this service’s residents. Simple steps around healthy eating and being active within the local community has seen one resident lose over 10 stone in weight over the course of the year. Another resident has also managed to secure part time work in a local charity shop and there are plans to get other residents to take steps to help them further realise their hope and dreams this coming year.

As a group we are actively seeking to expand our service offering and are looking at potentially offering complimentary services to tie in with our current offering in the local area, which we’ll keep you all posted on as things develop. All that is left to say is a huge thank you for all the hard work and support during a great 2018 and to wish you all a prosperous and happy New year for 2019!

Godfrey Care services have been getting into the festive spirit with various Christmas activities with the homes and outside. The staff and residents have enjoyed getting the homes looking like Lapland as everyone has worked hard in the run up to the big day! 

Never passing by an opportunity to get the Christmas jumpers out residents from both homes had the chance to get together and spend a lovely day enjoying each other’s company and take part in festive activities, which proved a big hit for all! 

We also arranged for a Santa’s breakfast day out for residents to get the chance to see the big man himself and ask him directly for their Christmas wishes this year. This did prove to be challenging for him with how busy he was but he made an exception and came out to see us and have breakfast with residents which went down a treat! 

We want to wish you all a happy Christmas and look forward to the New Year!

At Godfrey Barnes Care, supporting our residents to take steps towards more independent living and being involved in their local community is one of the most rewarding aspects of what we aim to do. The path to this is not always smooth and there are usually some bumps along the way, which makes the sense of achievement even more so when individuals take these big strides in getting towards achieving greater independence.

In our newly opened service, Ashby House one resident MM showed an interest in getting a job. The team at the home worked with MM to look at what possibilities there were in the local area and made contact with several shops and made appointments to go and see them with MM. MM showed a particular interest in a local charity shop called Sense in Burton on Trent town centre. Since the beginning of September MM has been volunteering there for 3 days a week helping sort and display items for sale in the charity shop.

MM said “I really like helping in the shop and enjoy meeting all the new people that come in”.