Case study

Kingsmead Care Home in Swindon supports residents with a wide range of needs, including nursing care, residential care, respite care, palliative care and nursing dementia care.

Many residents at Kingsmead have learning disabilities, autism, high needs or are non-verbal. That means activities need to be flexible. Some residents enjoy group sessions. Others need one-to-one support, sensory activities, gentle exercise or something they can take part in from their room.

For Lisa Stevenson, Lead Activities Coordinator at Kingsmead Care Home, PCS Wellbeing helps make that possible.

The challenge

No two residents enjoy the same kind of activity. At Kingsmead, some residents are living with dementia. Some are chair-bound or nursed in bed. Some are non-verbal. Others may become anxious, distressed or overwhelmed if an activity does not feel right for them. That makes activity planning a proper skill.

Before using PCS Wellbeing, Lisa often looked for ideas on Pinterest. Some looked good at first, but they were not always suitable for the residents she supported. A craft might need too much dexterity. A group activity might leave some people out. A quiz might work for one resident and miss another completely.

It took time to find ideas that could be adapted. And when you are one person with one set of ideas, repetition creeps in.

What Kingsmead needed

Kingsmead needed a way to plan activities that worked for different personalities, abilities and care needs. The team wanted ready-made ideas, expert-led content and resources that could be used in different ways. The goal was simple: more choice, less pressure and better days for residents.

Making meaningful activities easier to deliver every day

Activities that can flex around each resident

PCS Wellbeing gives Kingsmead access to a wide range of activities, from exercise classes and meditation videos to quizzes, reminiscence packs, recipes, virtual tours and music sessions. That variety matters because residents do not all join in the same way.

Lisa uses PCS Wellbeing for one-to-one sessions with residents who are nursed in bed or chair-bound. She can put an exercise video on and move through it with them, adapting the activity to what they can manage.

For one resident who is non-verbal, autistic and living with Lewy body dementia, Lisa uses guided forest relaxation videos. The familiar sounds and visuals help the resident move from distress into a calmer state. Small details like that are the difference between filling time and meeting someone where they are.

Easier planning for the activities team

PCS Wellbeing gives Lisa a bank of ideas she can build into the home’s activity calendar. This saves time, but it also raises the quality of what she can offer. The platform includes content created by people with expertise in wellbeing, mental health, dementia and nutrition, which gives Lisa confidence when running sessions such as seated exercise or dementia-friendly activities.

The built-in calendar helps her plan ahead, and resident profiles help staff remember individual interests, such as cards, crosswords or favourite topics. That means activities can feel more personal, even when different staff members are supporting them.

Favourite activities at Kingsmead

Some of Kingsmead’s favourite PCS Wellbeing activities have become proper home moments.

• Burns Night: quizzes, colourful activity books, a Burns Night menu, Scottish music, colouring sheets, poems and even Lisa dressed in a kilt

• Royal Tea Party: activity books, tea ideas, banners, invitations, decorations and staff joining residents for the occasion

• Singing with Wim: music sessions led by Wim Koevoets from Richmond Music Trust, with songbooks, percussion and clear direction so residents can join in

These are not just activities on a calendar. They give residents something to talk about, take part in and remember afterwards.

More choice and better evidence of wellbeing

PCS Wellbeing gives Kingsmead more ways to include every resident. Lisa can plan activities faster, bring in more variety and adapt sessions around each person’s needs. Residents can take part in ways that suit them, whether that means joining a group, watching from bed, using an iPad or taking part with one-to-one support.

The platform also helps Kingsmead evidence wellbeing. Staff can record activities, use visual proof such as photos and pull reports when needed for CQC conversations.

For a home supporting residents with complex and varied needs, that matters. It shows not only what happened, but how residents were supported to stay engaged, active and connected.

Helping Kingsmead create more meaningful days

At Kingsmead, PCS Wellbeing gives the activities team more than a list of things to do. It gives Lisa and the team a wider set of ideas, safer content to lean on and more ways to adapt activities around the person in front of them. For residents, that means more choice, more connection and more chances to enjoy the kind of moments that make a day feel good.