Training projects for staff in care homes
Silver Belles: Sing for Life:
The Silver Belles are a group of older women singers who have been meeting at The Sage Gateshead since 2007. Equal Arts worked with them in two residential care homes to develop a training project for care staff to develop their confidence in singing as a powerful way to engage, stimulate and communicate with people with dementia. One home subsequently developed a care staff choir, the Leazes Lovelies, who have gone from strength to strength as their confidence has grown. We also worked with over 100 care staff in sessions at The Sage Gateshead.
A partnership with The Sage Gateshead and Tyne & Wear Care Alliance from 2011 will see further training opportunities developed for staff who are employed by the 600 plus independent care homes the organisation supports.
"We have benefitted in numerous ways from the Sing for Life project, team building, learning more about the importance of music in a care setting … confidence has grown as we have developed strengths and felt able and comfortable to sing as a group."
Opening Cultural Doors
Equal Arts held a training session in September 2010 for managers of Sheltered Accommodation schemes in South Tyneside, to encourage them to see the benefits of getting involved in arts activities. Thirty managers enjoyed working with artist Jill Gower to create a table cloth using silk painting methods. Future sessions will include visits to exhibitions at the Customs House and South Shields Museum, as well as more practical sessions.
