Our Homes
Staverton is a large detached house in its own extensive grounds
It is situated in a pleasant residential area close to Wokingham town centre and the railway station is within easy walking distance, with access to Reading and London Waterloo, with the link road to the M4 five minutes’ drive away.
The house provides lovely, spacious accommodation on three floors. The grounds cover approximately one acre and include an extensive south-facing rear garden and patio. We also have a sensory cabin in the garden, and a swing, a range of benches and garden furniture for people to use, as well as lots of flowers and large grassy areas.
With 13 individual bedrooms, each is personalised to the residents’ choice of style, furniture and colour scheme. The communal areas consist of two lounge/dining areas, with a large comfortable lounge and light, airy conservatory. One is used for quieter hobbies like painting, craftwork, reading or computer work, while the larger one has plenty of space for all to enjoy television, movies, console games, music and social gatherings.
The large kitchen is the hub of the house
It is a busy place most days, for anyone to chat and spend time as well as a place to prepare food and drinks.
The house has a warm, caring and homely atmosphere, and is a lovely, comfortable environment to live and work in. The walls have pictures of resident’s holidays and their artwork as well as photos of different activities and events that have occurred over the many years, just like many other homes.
Our residents call Staverton their home
Most of our residents have lived here for many years and have regular residents’ meetings with the added bonus of doughnuts! These give everyone the opportunity to discuss openly what they are happy with or what they might like to do differently, or plan with us a particular outing or holiday.
Ashton is a semi-detached 3-bedroom house in a quiet residential area
It has three people living there and has a very comfortable lounge and kitchen – dining room, with a downstairs walk in shower area. This house is maintained to a very high standard.
It is very warm and welcoming and the people that live there enjoy more independence, as they typically need less support than those at Staverton. Yet, they can also get involved with activities, parties and other social events at Staverton if they choose to.
The house is in easy walking distance of Wokingham town centre and all its amenities. The railway station is within easy reach, with access to Reading and London Waterloo, and the link road to the M4 is only a few minutes’ drive away.
Moving to one of our homes starts with a referral
This normally comes through care managers but as we are known to many local families in the Wokingham and Bracknell area, they sometimes come via a family member.
A gentle transition before moving in
We always arrange a transition period for new people, before they actually move in. This typically includes some day visits and overnight stays to make sure they have a chance to experience life with us, and become more familiar with the environment. These visits enable them to meet the residents, start to get to know each other and see if they feel it’s the right place.
Once this has happened and everyone is comfortable, we then work with the Local Authority and their families to agree a date to move in.
Personal reviews and consultation for 12 months after moving in
During the first 12 months at Staverton or Ashton there would always be very close consultation with their nearest relative and/or their carer and care manager.
Personal reviews take place after three, six and twelve months after moving into the house. The meetings include everyone in their support circle; relatives, their advocate, care manager, key worker and home manager. Support is offered by us at all times.
Visits from friends and family are always welcome
We aim to have a family like atmosphere at Staverton and Ashton, and this is a major part of the ethos of our homes. Family and friends are always welcome, and individuals are encouraged to invite their friends over whenever they wish. Family members regularly drop in for visits, and friends are invited to our yearly Christmas Party and Summer BBQ.
Daily life
There’s always a lot going on
Most days begin at 6:30am, when everybody starts to get up for breakfast, and depending on their activities, get ready to go to the Acorn Centre in Wokingham, or for in-house experiences, which we call ‘Day Opportunities’, starting at 9:30am.
Most of our residents are out during the day and start to return home from 3:30pm. Our staff support them with personal care, appointments, shopping until the evening meal at 5pm.
Relaxing and socialising
Evenings allow individuals to spend time in the communal areas or their rooms, watching TV, reading or playing games. And sometimes there is even a pub trip.
Weekends are more relaxed, where they can wander into Wokingham town centre for a coffee, go to the cinema and have family and friends to visit.
Maintaining active interests
We provide stimulating experiences for everyone who lives at Ashton and Staverton, and our aim is to enable them to maintain and continue to be active in areas that they love and are interested in.
Each person has their own timetable of events and activities both in house or out in the community that they have chosen to join and or participate in. We support them with a range of different options to suit their needs and abilities between Monday and Friday.
These options are selected by the individuals such as bowling, cookery, arts and crafts, pottery, fitness, walking, choir, ice skating, trips to local parks or rivers, zoos and garden centres, and gardening. The timetables are reviewed with residents regularly and are often updated depending on what they are enjoying most.
We are very lucky to live in an area with many local leisure facilities around us, and our residents regularly visit these as part of their weekly timetable:
- Wokingham Leisure Pool
- Wokingham Bowling
- Wokingham Library
- Acorn Community Centre
- Bradbury Centre – café and choir
- Coral Reef - swimming pool
- Windsor and Henley
- Salvation Army Hall – pottery
- Bracknell Sports and Leisure Centre
- The Lookout/ California - country parks
- Ice Skating
- Zoos / Animal Parks - Beale Park / Bird World
- Blackbushe Airport - plane spotting
By Laura Fixter, Day Opportunities Team Leader
“Starting at 9:30am each day, we run a two week rota and timetable, which changes every 3 months with the seasons. We offer a wide range of individual activities, depending on the residents needs and requests. We go out all-together, in small groups, or on a 1-1 basis depending on the activity and numbers.
We take an active part in the community with residents having an opportunity to volunteer at the church coffee shop and the charity shop which they really enjoy and gives them an opportunity to make friends.
We like to include the different interests of all the residents. We find out what their interests and hobbies are and make these part of their timetable. For example one gentleman enjoys Reading Football Club, so we ensure he visits the stadium and watches the team play. We record all activities and all other information that is required throughout the day and we finish at 3.30 pm.”
Holidays provide a wonderful break
Every one of our residents has the opportunity to go on holiday every year and we help them to plan and organise it, whether it is a solo trip, in a small group or accompanied by one of our staff.
Interacting with the local community
Many residents are known in the local community, due to working in local charity shops, Bradbury Centre Café and having lived in Wokingham for many years.
The Salvation Army in Wokingham host a pottery class, which several people form Staverton and Ashton attend. CLASP run an inclusive choir for all in the Wokingham area which lots of our residents attend and raise money throughout the year for charity events such a Red Nose Day and Children in Need.
Our annual summer and Christmas parties have a large attendance from family, friends and people in the local community and is always enjoyed by all. Some residents use the local facilities independently, shopping at weekends, going for walks and attending local events in the town centre.
