How L4A benefits older people

Research has shown that keeping elderly minds active can delay the onset of dementia, build confidence, boost sociability and create a positive outlook on life in older people. Providing learning to care homes also allows residents to retain dignity in the final stages of their lives.

To date activities have included, ancient roman history, French, literature, art and craft, theology, knitting, watercolours, watching and discussing ballet, learning Russian, singing, IT, karate, desert island discs and film. Residents also seem to benefit greatly from the intergenerational learning aspect of the L4A service.  Older residents get a sense of real worth by passing on their skills and knowledge, for example oral history or knitting, to our L4A learning mentors who are younger than them and from diverse  backgrounds.

Many people who live in care homes need 24 hour physical care and are mentally alert and active but they receive very little mental stimulus. The mental health of residents can be maintained and prevented from degenerating by the provision of our services. Their wellbeing is boosted by stimulating conversations and by activities that are the interest of the resident. Our services improve sociability and promote residents having conversations with each other about their interests, and with their relatives and care staff.

The impact that the service has had is personal to each individual resident. However, feedback that we have received has been over 95% positive from both residents and managers. We have seen huge confidence boosts in residents who were previously quite shy, retiring, bored and lethargic. We have also noticed large increases in the levels of social interaction stimulated by activities, improvements in residents' wellbeing and confidence and these positive impacts are confirmed by testimonials from managers, the residents and relatives.

In the majority of care homes, residents are provided with occasional group activities although many do not take part.  The care staff who provide these are also primarily there to ensure the care needs of the residents are covered. For instance, a game of dominoes falls apart if there is an emergency buzzer sounding in another part of the home. Moreover, the main lounges tend to be used by  those residents who need more support and care and who, in some cases, are unable to speak out about their needs for themselves. As a result, many residents who are more able choose to spend their time in their own rooms. By the very nature of our one-to-one, personalised service, L4A has also been able to engage those who spend time in their own rooms in care home settings.

The opinions of the residents are of the utmost importance to us.  So too, is the support of the managers and the commitment of our learning mentors. We evaluate the service that individual residents are receiving regularly, as well as seeking the opinions of managers and staff. Care home managers and residents are involved in discussions about the evaluations, and feedback from them with open ended questions highlights measures of success that are important to them and shows that L4A is an innovative and very valued service.