The Care Home Legends Games is part of a pioneering initiative which aims to engage with residents of care homes by enabling them to partake in activities which will keep them active whilst interacting with residents from other care homes.
After the successful delivery of The Care Home Legends Pilot Games in November 2022. A partnership consisting of Tees Active, Stockton Councils Transformation team and the Care Home Physical Activity Coordinators decided to organise a larger Care Home Legends Games. Working with Billingham Ice Skating Club they also arranged 2 visits to Billingham Forum Ice Arena. One visit included a figure skating display given by Tees Active Sports Academy members Annalise Jones, Faith Freeman, and Lola Reay. The second visit was a Christmas Show involving the young children of Billingham Ice Skating Club.
Over 100 participants from 15 Care Homes, consisting of a mix of older persons residential, learning disability and mental health residential care homes, descended on Thornaby Pavilion to take part in the annual Care Home Legends Games.
The event started with a Funky4Life warm up led by Leanne Oxley and assisted by the children from Treetops Nursery.
Competing in such events as Hungry Henrys, Cup Stacking, Balloon Keepy Up, Archery, Table Tennis, Netball, a Bean Bag Shoot Out and North Riding FA Shape the Play Coach Shaemela Khan put participants through their paces in an energy packed chair-based exercise session.
Each different event was led by pupils from St Michaels RC Academy and volunteers from Knights Solicitors and Tees Active.
Tees Active live streamed the event into the care homes across the borough so non-participating residents could cheer on their teams.
The event also included a performance from 6 members of ARCulele, a group of ukulele players who meet weekly at Stockton ARC.
100% of those surveyed feel the event furthered communication and strategic thinking between care home networks and was widely recognised as an enriching experience for residents.
The Care Home Legends pilot was a collaboration between Tees Active and a number of local partner organisations. This includes Tees Active, Stockton Council, St Michaels RC Academy, Hillcare, SSL Healthcare Ltd, Funky Feet and Treetops Nursery.
The event was a resounding success and has proved that this type of event could be scaled up to include more homes and therefore more care home residents
Tees Active's marketing team have now proved that the streaming of a live event via a private link to You Tube is achievable. It should be noted that relations of residents and Treetops children accessed the live stream
Ben Brown from White House produced a video of the event which perfectly demonstrates to all care homes in the borough the joy of their residents in attending the event and is a superb promotional asset
Staff from St Michael's have reported on the positive feedback received from their pupils as regards their experience on the day
Stockton Care Homes have really ‘bought in to’ the Care Home legends programme and it has been a catalyst for more coordinated physical activity and social events between Care Homes. Residents and staff are more confident and motivated in engaging with the scheme and events throughout the year.
More partners are involved with the delivery of events and the intergenerational aspect of Care Home Legends and the programme is embedded in Tees Actives physical activity programme.
Find out more about how Tees Active are working with partners to drive positive change in the community.
