Day Service

The Elms Centre

Enrichment

Our enrichment team specialises in providing a meaningful, person centred day service provision for people over the age of 18 years with profound and multiple learning disabilities with complex needs.

The Hollybank Enrichment Department consists of:

  • The Elms Day Service
  • The Bradbury Therapy Centre (Find out more here)
  • Provision of activities to Young People & Adults living in each of our Care Homes.
  • A wide range of community-based activities.

We also work closely with a range of internal and external professionals to make sure that we meet each person’s needs and wishes.

The Elms Day Service

We welcome day-time placements for young people who are over 18 years of age with complex and profound disabilities and sensory impairments.

Our skilled and experienced team work closely with family members, social workers and school transition workers, to create a person-centred programme of meaningful activities.

The young people and adults who visit our Elms Day Service can choose to take part in a wide range of different activity sessions.

The sessions are designed to help our young people and adults maintain and/or develop skills in:

  • independence
  • socialisation
  • communication

and most of all to have fun within a safe and supportive environment. 

Activity sessions available include everything from art and crafts, gardening and nature themed groups to sensory, music and sport-based sessions.

These can be either one-to-one intensive sessions or larger, group activities with up to eight people taking part and are tailored to suit the needs and abilities of each participant. 

The Bradbury Centre

The Bradbury Centre is Hollybank’s hydrotherapy and rebound therapy centre, located adjacent to the Elms Centre on our main site in Mirfield.

The centre comprises of a sensory hydrotherapy pool, spa pool and an activities room for rebound sessions and floor-based activities.

Our Sessions

This session enables clients to produce and control sound and music using the latest technology and switch operated instruments, encouraging an understanding of cause and effect. The interactive musical instrument ‘Khorus’ consists of a ring of brightly coloured interactive light panel switches that communicate with software to produce soundscapes and musical arrangements. Clients are therefore able to put sounds together as an individual or group to create music. Khorus has a large music library, and clients can choose their own music to play. Khorus can stimulate positive interaction, effective communication and creative expression and can also be used as a therapy aid as it encourages physical movement. Using the Khorus encourages teamwork, turn taking skills and social interaction.

Another interactive musical instrument used in Music Technology is ‘Beamz’, which involves laser beams that can be broken using your hands or activated by switches to combine different sounds and create music. Like Khorus, Beamz has its own extensive musical library with various genres. In this session the client also has the opportunity to access our touch screen plasma. This includes a wide variety of interactive games, songs and story making programs. This again encourage movement as the screen works by using touch it also encourages an understanding of cause and effect and can lead the client to develop an understanding of more challenging concepts. Using the plasma screen also encourages choice making and independence. The height and position can be altered to suit the needs of any individual.

The music session gives clients the opportunity to express their creative side and explore a variety of different musical instruments and sounds. This session has an established structure which many clients enjoy the routine to enable them to feel safe and secure and know what’s happening next. The introduction to the session includes a circle time activity using photos to aid understanding and communicating their sound by banging, tapping, or scratching the drum. Clients then explore the instruments around the room and are encouraged to be creative and have fun. The session concludes with another circle time activity in which the clients can choose a popular rhyme or song to share with the group. Each clients is encouraged to join in and explore their voice and can use an instrument to play. The group then pass around the drum to communicate a sound that symbolises ‘goodbye’.

Sign and sing is a great way of learning Makaton, each session lasting an hour which half an hour is singing original known songs with Makaton sign language and half an hour playing Makaton Bingo and other Makaton themed games. Makaton is designed for spoken language – signs are used with speech, in spoken word order to help clients communicate. Using signs can help with adults who have no speech (either because they have communication difficulties or speech that is unclear. This session is fun and enjoyable and is a learning development that is used for all age groups and abilities. Makaton promotes Communication and promotes development of language gestures. It gives clients the chance to express themselves alleviating frustration and making themselves understood.

Get down and boogie in wheelchair dancing! Warm up and stretch, listen to the music, twirl and whirl or freestyle! This session enhances our clients’ spatial awareness and provides the opportunity for them to move independently or with support, all while enjoying the power of dance.to conclude the session the client participate in a game of musical spots, this is a take on the traditional musical chairs but with carpet spots. It can get very competitive but is always lots of fun!

Kurling is a form of the original curling game but adapted so that it can be played indoors on any smooth, flat surface, such as a sports hall, rather than on ice. This is a fully inclusive and tactical game that involves sliding weighted stones towards a circular target. We have a range of specially adapted equipment such as a slide to help those with limited movement push the stones towards the target. This encourages teamwork and healthy competition.

Archery is an activity where you shoot an arrow from a bow to a target. It is one of the oldest sports and is celebrated in the Olympics and worldwide. We have a range of ‘soft’ arrows and ‘soft’ bow which fires at a low range to make the activity more suitable for those with complex needs. This can either be played as a team game or as individuals. This activity develops hand eye coordination and fine motor skills. We have found that this really develops muscle tone and strength, by pulling the string to release the bow. This group involves precise decision making and independence skills.

This is a group for those who’d like to try a bit of all sorts. We play a variety of different sports including parachute games, boccia, ten pin bowling, tabletop cricket, tabletop hockey and many more. This session focusses on independence and choice by encouraging individuals to choose their own sport activity.

IMuse is a state of the art space combining sound, motion, vibration, and visual display into a unique experience for the user. iMUSE can be tailored to the clients’ needs and can be used for sensory relaxation, to increase movement ranges and to improve fine motor control. The room consists of a vibrating platform that reacts to certain sounds. Clients can remain in seat systems, utilise bean bags or even use a standing frame. The level of vibration can be controlled by the Activity Co-ordinator, with the on screen images controlled by the clients’ movements, pitch, and volume. The images created on the screen by the client can be saved and transformed into beautiful pieces of artwork.

Tacpac is a sensory communication resource using touch and music. Tacpac helps people with sensory impairment, development delay, complex learning difficulties, tactile defensives and limited or pre-verbal levels of communication. Combining the sense of touch and music through social interaction, tacpac is delivered via an interaction between two people – a giver and a receiver. The session is structured and takes place in an emotionally safe environment, clear of other sensory interferences.

Bag Books sessions are sensory stories with props, smells, sounds and most importantly, an enthusiastic storyteller! Bag Books are aimed at those who are less able to benefit from mainstream books. They can be enjoyed without being understood as they are told interactively through voice and emotion rather than words and pictures.

Water is an important natural material that provides masses of sensory fun and a multitude of wonderful development and learning opportunities. Clients are given the opportunity to explore and be creative using water. We use deep trays filled with water and a variety of water toys. Many people can find water play both calming and/or invigorating depending on the activity being presented. This session encourages the development of fine motor skills and hand and eye coordination by scooping and pouring water and filling and emptying containers in a multitude of different ways. Clients can explore and experiment with water in their own way.

This group is a creative outlet for expression and emotion. The group involves creating unique pieces of artwork with a variety of artistic materials. We take inspiration from famous artists past and present. Our ideas are ever evolving and allow for individuals to make their own choices and explore new ideas.

This group is part of our enterprise initiative. The clients’ get to design their own bespoke order form in which people can then commission a bespoke handmade item. We have focussed on five key designs and practise them until perfected to sell. This group enables the clients to see a project through from the beginning stages of an order being submitted right up to their completed creation being packaged and delivered to the customer. We use a standard sewing machine without any specially adapted equipment or additional supports. The client simply uses the foot pedal as a hand switch, which is suitably positioned for best access.

The flower arranging session can be adapted to meet the needs of the individual. This can include very sensory experiences of the touch, feel and smell and sounds of the new fresh flowers and old arrangements. For others the session may include specific tasks including preparing the oasis, cutting, and cleaning the foliage and independently arranging the flowers. This session can also be combined with visiting the vast and beautiful Hollybank gardens to collect other foliage for the arrangements.

Messy Art is about getting messy and creative! We use paint, shaving foam, sand, wood shavings, string, material, cotton wool and various other messy bits and bobs to create wonderful pieces of art, enjoying the therapeutic and sensory benefits of getting messy! Messy play is about getting messy with food, trying fun experiments, and exploring new sensations, textures and smells. Come and make some slime or gloop, an erupting volcano, ice boats, bubbles, mud pies, wobbly jelly plus much more!

This session links to sustainability, wellness, mindfulness, mental health, life skills and most importantly nature. The clients taking part in this session can enjoy going on walks around the grounds in Hollybank and using natural objects found on their walks to create unique pieces of art. This session is also suitable for those less able to take part in the physical side. There are lots of bird and/or astronomy elements, collecting rainwater and meditation. Meditation can include relaxing music sounds or nature sounds which can be very soothing for the adults to unwind.

This session aims to be environmentally friendly and allows the client to learn new ways of reusing refuge or repurposing items. For instance, building a birdhouse out of a milk or juice carton. The session aims to achieve positive and effective engagement and interaction. The client can build friendships and develop sociable skills, which can be used for their own way of communication.

Fast becoming a favourite with clients! This session activity coordinators promote clients making their own story/poem using construction Lego bricks. Not only does this create the use of imaginative play it encourages the use of physical movement to reach and build the bricks to complete the story/poem.

Clients have the opportunity to work with assistive technology switches to control the computer and use the computers to play games and surf the internet. Encouraging the use of switches promote independence and develops a great understand of cause and effect. We offer a wide variety of switch games and counting songs. We have an extensive switch toy library for the client to explore in the session and even have the opportunity to take home and share with their family. Our AT suite also includes a switch adapted nerf gun with targets, a switch adapted Scalextric and a Robot Wars. Our AT team have been developing ways to access the PlayStation using switches this is an exciting project which we look forward to getting involved with.

Elms have an exciting new kitchen; bespoke to the adults needs. This is a messy and creative new experience for adults who enjoy the aspects of experimenting.

The kitchen is designed to allow adults to communicate with each other whilst cooking, baking or sensory exploring. The benefits of the kitchen will allow the adults to learn more about healthy lifestyles, wellness and life skills, encouraging independence whilst using objects in the kitchen.

Sessions taking place in the new Elms kitchen will aim to promote a positive and engaging environment for adults to be productive whilst enjoying the company of their peers. 

All sessions take place in our spacious well equipped activity rooms and social areas.

All of our support packages are tailored to the person’s needs and start from £82.00 per day.

Please contact us on [email protected] to discuss your requirements or to organise a visit.

We’re holding an open day on the 30th of September, you can find all the details and how to RSVP here.

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A word from our parents

“Hollybank staff, volunteers and residents are a huge part of our family. You are amazing at the best of times and have proven to be exceptional during such challenging times. A huge heartfelt thank you to one and all.”

Get in touch

To discuss requirements, speak to a team member or organise a visit please get in touch.