Dorchester Care Home Re-Establishes Link With Local Pre-School, The Grove

Team members and residents from Care South’s Maiden Castle House care home in Dorchester have re-established its community relationship with The Grove Pre-School Playgroup, with the children regularly visiting the home and participating in activities with residents.

Maiden Castle House and The Grove Pre-School Playgroup had strong links prior to Covid, which was a wonderful relationship for the home and the pre-school, and something both parties were keen to re-establish. Each week, several children visit Maiden Castle House with their teachers and engage in a range of activities with the residents including arts and crafts, food, fun, exercise and games. The activities that the preschool children get involved with are planned in accordance with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework and are designed to be engaging for all, but free flowing so that the children and residents can participate as much or as little as they wish.

Emma Norman, Activities Lead at Maiden Castle House, said: “It is wonderful to have re-established this relationship with The Grove Pre-School Playgroup. Watching the relationships develop between the different generations is wonderful and both the residents and children look forward to their visits. We have some lovely upcoming plans which include a teddy bears picnic before the end of term and further activities are in the pipeline from September. We cannot wait to continue watching this relationship go from strength to strength.”

Claire Bowen, Manager at The Grove Pre-School Playgroup, added: “Thank you to Emma and the team at Maiden Castle House for reaching out to us to start our visits to the home again. The children are already enjoying their weekly visits to the home and love interacting with the residents.”