Author: Pete Kelsey

To celebrate World Book Day, children from Back to the Garden Childcare, located on Statham Avenue, visited residents at neighbouring Statham Manor Care Centre, for an inter-generational afternoon of fun and storytelling.

Dressed as characters from their favourite books, including Supergirl, the Gruffalo and Mog the Cat, the group of eight children were accompanied by the nursery manager and practitioners, also dressed up, bringing with them a selection of books to read with the residents.

Statham Manor residents gathered in the lounge to greet the three and four year olds and together, young and old spent the afternoon reading, proving that age is no object when it comes to a love for books.

The afternoon was great fun for all; with residents from Statham Manor enthralling the children with readings from their favourite books and sharing memories of their childhood.  The pre-school children loved showing off their costumes and delighted the residents with their tales from nursery.

Farai Hanyane, registered manager at Statham Manor, says: “Over the course of the last two months, since the care home opened, we have welcomed several residents, so it was lovely to host a fun afternoon for them with the children from Back to the Garden Childcare.

“With the nursery situated next door to Statham Manor, the World Book Day visit will be the first of many inter-generational events hosted at the home, which we know have an incredibly positive impact on the residents and their wellbeing.

“You are never too old to enjoy a good story and seeing the residents read with the children was lovely; they loved learning about the little ones’ favourite characters and were thrilled to share stories and memories from their childhood.”

Statham Manor resident, Bill Hall, aged 82, adds: “I have always loved books and still enjoy reading, so it was a real joy to see the children today dressed up as characters from their favourite books and share stories with them.”

Alison O’Connor-Limb, nursery manager at Back to the Garden, concludes: “It is so important that children respect and understand the elderly people in our community.  The best way to teach this is for the young and old to have contact, and enjoy time in each other’s company.  World Book Day was a great example of this. 

“Our pre-school children were so excited to dress up and visit residents in the care home, bringing with them lots of books to read together.  Storytelling is so important and we have daily sit down storytelling sessions at the nursery, where often parents and grandparents join us, which the children love.  Without doubt, reading with the residents at Statham Manor was a great experience for the pre-school children – it was a wonderful opportunity for them to use their imagination and be creative.”

Back to the Garden Childcare, with nurseries in Lymm and Altrincham, is an innovative child-led day nursery that focuses on active learning through outdoor play in a stunning garden setting.  Its philosophy of allowing children to be children to explore their environment, experiment with the outdoor playscape and harness their own imaginations allows for a natural approach where each child develops at their own pace.

For further information, to book an appointment to view the new nursery, or for recruitment opportunities, please call Back to the Garden Childcare on 0161 388 2424 or visit www.backtothegardenchildcare.com.

New Care is one of the UK’s leading care home providers.  Its portfolio of purpose-built ‘new generation’ care centres is fast gaining an enviable reputation for outstanding care that is second to none.  Statham Manor is New Care’s latest care facility to open, offering individual, person-centred residential, dementia and 24 hour nursing care services. 

With build fully complete, Back to the Garden Childcare has officially opened its second nursery in the heart of Lymm, Cheshire, and is welcoming its first intake of local children.

Expertly designed, the purpose-built £2million development on Statham Avenue sets new standards in childcare focussing on natural, child-led learning, exploration and play in an innovative indoor and all-weather garden setting complete with magnificent tepee and wooden play structures.

Lymm is the second site in the North West for Back to the Garden Childcare; the operator has a successful and popular flagship nursery in Broadheath, Altrincham, that has fast become the nursery of choice for discerning parents in Trafford.

Renowned for its holistic approach, Back to the Garden’s philosophy allows children to be children, to explore their environment, experiment with the outdoor playscape and all its natural resources, harness the power of their own imaginations and to feel a valued part of an extended and caring family.

There is a deliberate and conscious focus on family values, socialising and good food with the nursery employing its own talented kitchen team to deliver seasonally nutritious menus made from locally sourced organic ingredients, where possible, and shared around the table for the whole team to enjoy together.

Founder and director at Back to the Garden, Jeannie Pickering, commented: “We are incredibly proud of our second setting in Lymm and the new nursery team, and are very much looking forward to welcoming further children over the next few weeks.

“In the childcare setting, our role is to facilitate, to provide the best possible environment in which every child can develop at his or her own pace and learn naturally through the enjoyment of play and socialising with others and I can already see this happening with the team and our children.”

Lymm resident and nursery manager, Alison O’Connor-Limb, added: “It is really very special to be here at the start of our journey in Lymm, to be meeting all of our new children and their families and see everyone settling in, starting to bond and explore our fabulous space.  Over the next few weeks, we’ll be introducing our forest schools programme and other exciting projects for the children and plan to develop an ongoing relationship with the residents at the care home next door.”

With 90 places for children from three months up to five years, Back to the Garden will expand gradually in Lymm with the aim of becoming a wonderful centre of gathering for children and families with a quarterly programme of events, educational sessions and supper clubs.  Further boosting the local economy, job creation will continue with the nursery hand selecting only the most passionate and talented childcare artisans to enhance its team. 

For further information on Back to the Garden, to discuss nursery places or to arrange a show around of the Lymm setting, please visit www.backtothegardenchildcare.com or contact Alison on 01925 698942.

Back to the Garden Childcare is part of the award winning McGoff Group; a family-owned collection of like-minded businesses developing and operating within the healthcare, childcare and residential property markets.  With 50 plus years of experience, the Group is able to acquire, design, build, operate and maintain delivering excellence, passion, innovation and collaboration across all of its projects.  For further information, please visit www.mcgoffgroup.com

To coincide with Employee Appreciation Day (Friday 3^rd March) the McGoff Group has introduced a new employee wellbeing app called Teladoc myStrength, designed and operated by Oomph! Wellness and Teladoc Health.

The app is available to circa 1,000 employees across several businesses within the Group, including New Care, McGoff Construction, Back to the Garden Childcare, Downtown Asset Management, Panacea and McGoff Group Facilities Services.

With shocking statistics regarding mental health in the workplace, including 83% of individuals experiencing mental health issues by middle age*, 48% suffering from poor mental health in their current job** and 68% ready to leave their current role due to stress**, Oomph! and Teladoc Health have formed a partnership to create an emotional wellness app to support employees.

Teladoc myStrength is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, providing meaningful, rich content which combines video footage, articles, images and inspirational quotes from a variety of evidence-based healthcare resources and mental health experts.  It’s simple to use, and can track health, set goals and help to improve sleep.

New Care, the Group’s care home operator, has worked with Oomph! for six years within each of its 12 care facilities, providing innovative and stimulating wellbeing activities for residents.  It was through this relationship that Teladoc myStrength was introduced to the McGoff Group, with the company choosing to launch it on Employee Appreciation Day.

Emma James, Director of Support Services at the McGoff Group, says: “Our employees are the beating heart of the business.  Each member of staff is an asset and collectively our employees contribute to very essence of the Group, which is to acquire, design, build, operate and maintain within healthcare, residential and commercial sectors.  Without our valued employees, we could not do what we do best; deliver expertly designed care and residential settings in a smooth and seamless manner. 

“Introducing Teladoc myStrength was our way of demonstrating our commitment to all employees and what better day to launch than Employee Appreciation Day – a dedicated day to thank the team for its hard work and effort throughout the year and show everyone that they are very much valued within the business.”

Matt Hamblin, Business Director at Oomph! Wellness, adds: “We have worked with New Care for such a long time and have established a strong working relationship.  We immediately thought of New Care and the wider McGoff Group when we partnered with Teladoc Health to create Teladoc myStrength and are thrilled that approximately 1,000 individuals from the Group will now benefit from the emotional wellness app.  We hope they find it engaging and useful.”

Cath Fairhurst, Chief Operating Officer at New Care, concludes: “Working with Oomph! over the years has been incredibly insightful and they never fail to bring new and innovative wellbeing ideas to the table, which benefit our residents with the care homes.  I am confident Teladoc myStrength will be a huge success helping individuals manage their stress and emotional health, allowing for a more positive and productive future.”

Based in Altrincham, The McGoff Group is a £150m collective of like-minded businesses with a seamless ability to acquire, design, build, operate and maintain across targeted healthcare, residential and commercial sectors making it the favoured choice for clients, funders, joint venture partners and supply chain partners alike.  Driven by second-generation family values, innovation, excellence and operational expertise, the McGoff name signifies quality, agility and an unbreakable force that is well equipped to sustain the business for future generations to come.  For further information, please visit www.mcgoffgroup.com.

For further information regarding Teladoc myStrength, please visit www.oomph-wellness.org.

* www.psycnet.apa.org

** Mind Index report 17/18

*** www.stress.org

World Book Day is a charity event held annually in the United Kingdom and Ireland on the first Thursday in March. On World Book Day, every child in full-time education in the UK is given a voucher to be spent on books; the event was first celebrated in the United Kingdom in 1995.

To celebrate this year’s World Book Day we invited our employees to put forward their favourite book.

Please see below our McGoff Group Book List, can you spot your favourite?

Celestial Geometry: Understanding the Astronomical Meanings by Ken Taylor

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Man on Fire by A.J. Quinnell

The Seven Sisters Series by Lucinda Riley

She & Her Cat by Makoto Shinkai

A Song of Ice and Fire Series by George R.R. Martin

Back to the Garden Childcare has appointed a new management team at its recently opened nursery on Statham Avenue in Lymm.

Alison O’Connor-Limb, who lives in Lymm, has been appointed nursery manager whilst Rimini Legge, from Warrington, has been appointed deputy manager.

Alison is responsible for the overall day-to-day running of the nursery, managing the team and providing them with everything they need to teach, learn and care for the children.  She is also tasked with maintaining statutory requirements and growing the new nursery as a business.

Ambitious, Alison hopes to enhance the nursery experience, ensuring her team is fully trained in child yoga and other holistic therapies, develop the Forest School and allotment area, introduce a grow to eat space and maintain an inspiring outdoor curriculum.

Supporting Alison is Rimini, who has worked for Back to the Garden Childcare for many years at the Altrincham nursery, starting off as an apprentice for Early Years and progressing to nursery practitioner and unit leader before being promoted to deputy manager in Lymm.

Rimini’s new role will see her assist Alison with managerial duties, as well as being in the individual rooms alongside the nursery practitioners and children to enhance the experience and guide staff in the company’s unique approach to learning.

On joining Back to the Garden, Alison says: “I have always been a huge advocate for being a child’s voice so the Back to the Garden ethos and approach to teaching and learning really appealed to me.  It’s unique and refreshing to see in a nursery setting.  Since joining, I have loved growing the new nursery space into an holistic centre of children’s learning and look forward to developing this further over the course of the next 12 months.”

Rimini adds: “I have been part of the Back to the Garden team in Altrincham for many years and watched the nursery grow.  In Lymm, I hope to help create a safe space and high quality environment for children and our staff to learn.  The nursery setting and outdoor space in Lymm in stunning and the children will love our outdoor approach, full of Forest school adventures.

“Having progressed through the company myself, I am also committed to working with the team in Lymm to help them develop their careers further.”

Well qualified, Alison has previously worked in a variety of roles from toddler room supervisor and deputy manager to manager and Early Years Trainer.  She has a BA in Primary Education with Early Years specialism, plus vast training in SEN, DSL and safer recruitment, Autism and Makaton.

Through her apprenticeship and working for Back to the Garden, Rimini has achieved NVQ Level 3 in supporting teaching and learning in schools, a Level 3 diploma in children’s learning and development and Level 4 for early years advanced practitioner.

Married with identical 11 month old twin boys, Alison loves making memories with her family, as well as enjoying interiors, gardening and exercising.  Away from work, Rimini likes to spend her free time with her partner Connor, as well as family and friends. She loves travelling too, visiting new cities and countries and exploring their cultures.

Back to the Garden Childcare, with nurseries in Lymm and Altrincham, is an innovative child-led day nursery that focuses on active learning through outdoor play in a stunning garden setting.  Its philosophy of allowing children to be children to explore their environment, experiment with the outdoor playscape and harness their own imaginations allows for a natural approach where each child develops at their own pace.

For further information, to book an appointment to view the new nursery in Lymm, or for recruitment opportunities, please call Back to the Garden Childcare on 0161 388 2424 or visit www.backtothegardenchildcare.com.

New Care has appointed Helen Hartley to manage its Bramhall Manor Care Centre.

In her new role as registered manager, local lady Helen takes responsibility for the smooth day-to-day running of the highly rated care home on Hardy Drive close to Bramhall village centre.

Working with her team of 80 nurses and care professionals, she will ensure high quality personalised care is provided for all residents, ensuring their individual needs and priorities are met and that they enjoy a wonderful quality of life in a warm and friendly environment with fine dining and a varied programme of daily wellbeing activities.

Delivering services in a safe and effective manner will also be key to Helen’s new role, ensuring Bramhall Manor remains compliant with infection control and prevention procedures and all Care Quality Commission (CQC) guidelines.

Well qualified to take the lead at Bramhall Manor, Helen holds a First Class Honours degree in Adult Nursing.  She has worked in healthcare since 2010, firstly as a care support worker for Salford Royal Evening District Nurses and then as a community nurse within the Urgent Response Team progressing to a high level (Band 6).

Having lived in Bramhall for the last 25 years, she watched the development and build of Bramhall Manor with interest, attracted by New Care’s superb reputation within the industry and the high quality and design of the scheme taking shape in her home town.

Feeling that she could improve her work life balance by reducing her commute and working closer to home, she applied for the role as soon as it was advertised and was delighted to be offered the position and has settled in well.

Commenting on her move, she said: “I was attracted to New Care as the company has the same values and care ethos as myself.  New Care homes are such positive places, filled with life and laughter and I strive to use my caring and compassionate nature to create a relaxed and happy home-from-home environment for both our residents and our staff team.”

Commissioning director, Dawn Collett, added: “We’re delighted to welcome Helen to the team.  She has already made such a difference and I am confident that she will continue to excel in her new role.”

Age 44, Helen is married with three children, two dogs and one guinea pig.  When not working she enjoys watching her daughter play netball, socialising with friends and family and walking the dogs.

Part of the New Care group, Bramhall Manor is a stylish and luxurious 71-bed purpose-built care centre in the friendly village of Bramhall in Stockport.  Offering outstanding residential, dementia, 24-hour nursing and respite care services, the state-of-the-art care centre features fully furnished bedrooms, each with a private en suite wet room, plus a selection of communal lounges and dining rooms along with a nail bar, hairdresser, landscaped gardens and outdoor terraces.  For further information, please visit www.newcarehomes.com.