Author: Pete Kelsey

Despite growing at pace, the McGoff Group remains committed to its roots in Altrincham and has agreed a 12 month partnership with local online radio station RadioAlty.

Established at the start of the lockdown in 2020, RadioAlty is a voluntary community radio station broadcasting a wide range of shows with a focus on music across all genres, live football commentary of Altrincham Football Club’s home and away games and local singers, bands and choirs. 

A passion project for the five founding Altrincham locals, the station is run as part of Altrincham Community Media CIC, is presented by local people aged 16 to 80 and champions the people, businesses and community organisations across Altrincham and the wider broadcasting area.

This commitment to the local area caught the attention of the McGoff Group; with its head office located at St George’s Court in Altrincham, the company is active in the town and beyond with a number of live residential and commercial developments.

The McGoff Group’s support will initially focus on Wayne Devlin’s Great American Songbook Show that airs on a Sunday morning and will widen to include other programmes as the 12 month campaign progresses.

McGoff Group marketing manager, Sarah Sanderson, commented: “As a successful national business operating from Altrincham, we are fully committed to the town and happy to embrace anything that supports the other businesses and organisations in the area.  We’re delighted to be on board and wish the whole team every success as the station grows in the future.”

RadioAlty co-founder Rod Maxwell added: “We really admire the McGoff Group, a well known and long established business in our broadcasting area and are delighted to have them on board for the next 12 months.  We have lots of exciting activities planned to highlight the partnership.”

Wayne Devlin added: “The McGoff Group has been very generous in supporting my fundraising endeavours over the years and, as they are at the heart of Altrincham, it feels right to have them as my show sponsors and to have their fantastic support for RadioAlty as a whole. I am extremely grateful to them and I look forward to our continued partnership and indeed friendship.”

Based at Altrincham Garrick Playhouse and producing shows from the new studio and other locations, RadioAlty broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week and can be accessed online at www.radioalty.co.uk, via the free RadioAlty app for IOS and Android, on smart speakers and Streema.

Build is progressing well at New Care’s new state-of-the-art £11m care facility in Grappenhall which is now just a few short weeks away from completion.

Work continues at pace at the 70-bed care centre located on the site of the former Springbrook Pub, off Knutsford Road in Grappenhall, with practical completion forecast for the end of April.

The external brickwork and roof tiling are complete meaning the building is now watertight, and the team of contractors and tradesmen on site are working hard on the interior to ensure the development remains on schedule as it edges closer to completion.

The superb new care facility is the latest for New Care, one of the UK’s leading care home operators and part of Altrincham-based award winning McGoff Group.

Helping to increase the provision of quality beds in the area, New Care’s expertly designed ‘new generation’ care facility is purpose-built to deliver the highest standards of care in a safe and stylish home-from-home environment featuring fully furnished en suite bedrooms, communal lounges and dining rooms, spa-assisted bathrooms, a hair salon, nail bar and beautifully landscaped front and rear gardens.

When complete, it will cater for the aspiring needs of residents in Grappenhall and the surrounding areas offering exceptional person-centred residential, dementia and 24 hour nursing care delivered by an experienced team and enhanced with high end hotel-style services including fine dining and a meaningful programme of daily events and activities.

Commissiong director at New Care, Dawn Collett, commented: “Work at Grappenhall is progressing well; we are now less than four weeks away from practical completion and it’s exciting to see the building taking shape.  Our care facility has been expertly designed to offer outstanding care in a comfortable and stylish environment and we are already starting to recruit the 100-strong team and take enquiries from our first residents.”

New Care’s latest care facility in Yorkshire is on track to open in two months.  The new care home, located on Otley Road in Guiseley, is edging closer to completion, with practical completion now confirmed for early May.

Work continues apace at the state-of-the-art £12m care home.  The ‘new generation’ care facility, which will feature 74 bedrooms, is situated within the leafy and historic surroundings of Guiseley Conservation Area, in the heart of Guiseley Village.

The external brickwork and roof tiling are complete meaning the building is now watertight, and the team of contractors and tradesmen on site are working hard on the interior to ensure the development remains on schedule.

When complete, the care home will cater for the aspiring needs of residents in Guiseley and the surrounding area, offering outstanding residential, dementia and 24 hour nursing care.

The new care facility will be known as Guiseley Manor, and it will complement New Care’s existing care home in the region, Adel Manor, which located just a short distance away.

Chris McGoff, CEO at New Care, says: “Work is well underway at Guiseley Manor and the development is really taking shape.  We’re delighted to be opening a second care facility in Yorkshire, offering much needed high quality, person-centred care services.  Expertly designed, Guiseley Manor promised to be a stunning care facility providing a true home-from-home setting for residents.”

Within Guiseley Manor there will be 74 well appointed, fully furnished private bedroom, each boasting an en suite wet room.  There will also be several stylish communal lounges and elegant dining rooms, as well as a spa assisted bathroom, a hair salon with nail bar and beautifully landscaped gardens. 

The impressive care facility will also provide high end hotel-style services that ensure continued quality of life and enjoyment for residents, including fine dining, concierge services and a busy and varied programme of activities and events.

Ensuring a warm and welcoming environment is created, New Care has enlisted an interior designer to decorate and dress the space, working closely with the clinical and operational team.

Chris concludes: “It’s been almost a year since we opened Adel Manor and the care home has gone from strength to strength.  We are confident Guiseley Manor will, once open in May, be a much-welcomed addition to the region.”

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