Why Continuous Learning Is Important In Facilitating Meaningful Activities
The role of an activities coordinator is crucial in promoting social engagement, mental stimulation, and emotional wellbeing among residents within our care. They aim to create vibrant, fulfilling experiences by fostering a sense of community and offering meaningful activities that cater to each individual's interests and abilities, taking a holistic approach to wellbeing and enhancing the quality of life on a mental, physical, emotional and spiritual level.
To create these experiences - continuous learning and training are paramount. Derra, an activities coordinator at our Meadowlark Care Home, Forres, spoke of her recent training experiences, key takeaways, and advice for others thinking about undertaking continuous learning:
“Throughout my career, I have found several helpful resources that have been invaluable to me in both the planning and execution of meaningful activities – a primary part of my role here at Renaissance. This includes attending the regular free webinars held by the Care Inspectorate with topics such as: ‘Promoting equality in meaningful and purposeful engagement’ and ‘Supporting meaningful connections’. These have been a fantastic way to refresh on certain areas while learning more about others.
"NAPA (National Activity Providers Association) is another resource I use almost daily. They have a fantastic set of online resources which are easy to use, personalised, and relevant to current affairs. They have a resource for everything! The reminiscence training they put on was fantastic, and we even received a box of reminiscence objects which has been a great resource and something the residents love.
"I’m now waiting to begin my Level 3 certificate in Activity Provision in Social Care with NAPA. It’s crucial to continually learn and develop so you don’t become stuck in the same old ideas. Seeing what others are doing keeps things fresh and hopefully enjoyable for the residents too. I’m looking forward to starting the course later this year, and think if the resources are anything to go by, it will be hugely beneficial!”
“I’m passionate about participating in training, whether it’s a webinar or a formal qualification - I always come away with loads of new ideas and a renewed motivation. It gets me excited, and that’s what the goal is with delivering activities – to make a positive difference in the lives of the people we’re supporting. I think it’s so important to continue learning and developing, as everything changes all the time. There may be activities now where we use certain technologies, or help our residents learn new skills, so I feel like having an understanding of these things myself can be hugely beneficial – even when it comes to recording personal outcomes on our new online care-plan platform.
"Activities are a team effort and we always work collaboratively to ensure that we deliver activities that the residents want to participate in. We hold regular resident meetings where residents have the opportunity to input into the monthly planner and take into consideration that some individuals may prefer one to one based activities as opposed to those within a group setting.
"One of the best activities I’ve organised to date would have to be when we had a visit from Rex’s Reptiles. Before the visit, a lot of the residents said there was no way they’d be going anywhere near the snakes or spiders. Ten minutes later and they were all hoping to be the first to hold the lizard! Seeing the residents come out of their comfort zone and engage in something they didn't think they would is hugely rewarding.
"I would recommend anyone working within a care or activities setting to think about joining in with any upcoming training opportunities or even join a few dedicated Facebook groups aimed at activities coordinators. These often provide infinite sources of inspiration."
