Mansfield care home residents enjoy first ever Sensory Summer Festival

Nearly 300 staff and residents attended the first ever Cygnet Social Care Sensory Summer Festival, including those from two Mansfield services.

On Friday 12 July approximately 130 residents and more than 150 Cygnet staff came together at Saffron Lane Athletics Stadium in Leicester for the very first Cygnet Social Care Sensory Summer Festival.

Joining the fun were staff and residents from two Mansfield services; Cygnet Cherry Tree House and Cygnet Pines, on Park Hall Road, which support adults with learning disabilities and autism.

Cate Ball, Regional Manager, Cygnet Social Care Midlands, said: “The day was an opportunity to make memories, have fun and celebrate all the wonderful people we have the privilege of supporting, every day of the year.

“I was really looking forward to seeing the happiness and joy amongst the people we support and our staff teams and it was wonderful to witness everyone having a great day together.

“I think it’s so important that the people we support have the same opportunities to experience events like this as the wider community, but that’s not always possible with mainstream festivals, as many of our residents and service users have learning disabilities, are on the autistic spectrum, or have complex needs.

“We’ve been working towards this event since last summer so it was great to see it come to fruition, after many months of hard work and collaboration.”

All the service users who attended received a sensory festival t-shirt and lanyard, with their ticket to the event attached. These featured the Social Care Sensory Festival logo, which was designed by the residents at Elston House.

There was a sensory festival selfie frame and balloon arch for photo opportunities, beach bar with mocktails, four live acts on the stage, inflatable slides, bouncy disco dome, bouncy castle, silent disco, ice cream van, face painting, sensory marquee and lots of sensory activities.

Cate added: “The colleagues from across our services coming together were an absolute credit to their services and their teams.

“The festival would not be possible without our amazing managers, especially those who contributed activities for the day and our staff teams for the incredible work they do day in, day out.

“I’m already thinking how we can go even bigger and better for 2025.”

Gareth Williams, CEO Cygnet Social Care agreed the day was a huge success.

He added: “As I explored the event I loved seeing all the different activities going on. There were lots of sensory activities, things you could do with your hands, smell, taste and touch.

“The silent disco, live music bands, and bouncy castles were just amazing. It was really great to get everyone out and enjoying themselves, and it's so important that service users get a chance to see each other and be with staff and those individuals they hold relationships with, and just to have a great time.

“It was an excellent day for everyone and I’m really proud of everyone in Social Care and the wider team at Cygnet for supporting the event.”