Belong Crewe reaches for the moon to improve social care

Residents and staff at Belong Crewe, donned hula skirts and straw hats recently as they starred in their very own tropical film shoot. With the help of social enterprise and charitable organisation ‘Ladder to the Moon’, residents enjoyed performing famous scenes from the 1950s movie classic ‘South Pacific’, which has been captured on DVD for residents to have as a keepsake.
The film shoot was part of a three-day workshop designed to help senior support workers develop skills in team building and leadership, and to inspire care teams to provide fun, meaningful activities that encourage resident interaction.
After taking part in a variety of creative team exercises, the village hosted a tropical ‘Tiki’ party, where households came together to indulge in exotic fruits, tropical punch and nibbles as they celebrated the creation of the village’s first Belong village DVD.
The themed activities have proven so popular with residents at the village that they will now be hosting competitions throughout the year for households to design and decorate their living space according to a particular theme, chosen by the residents.
Caroline Ray, support manager at Belong Crewe, found the sessions extremely rewarding. She said: “The ‘Ladder to the Moon’ experience was a very fun and refreshing way of encouraging staff to take responsibility for their personal development. With the help of ‘Ladder to the Moon’, we have been able to understand our residents’ needs better and this has allowed us to improve the quality of care we deliver on a daily basis.”
‘Ladder to the Moon’, which has been funded by the Department of Health’s Social Enterprise Fund, provides learning and development for those working in care services, in order to improve and enhance the quality of residential care for older people and people living with dementia.