A story that’s plot on – Witney care home residents read bedtime stories to local children

Residents at a care home in Witney have been reading well-known bedtime stories to local nursery children as part of a nationwide initiative to celebrate National Storytelling Week. 

Witney may seem a little quieter than usual after residents from Care UK’s Millers Grange, on Curbridge Road, welcomed children from St Hugh of Lincoln Nursery into the home for a retelling of some much loved classics, including Jack and the Beanstalk. 

To celebrate National Storytelling Week, Care UK has created the Bedtime Stories initiative which sees residents across the UK read classic bedtime stories to young children. The campaign, which includes the launch of four free videos of residents reading famous stories, ensures children who may not have a grandparent do not miss out on a magical tale before bedtime.

At Millers Grange, 90-year-old resident, Megan Somerville, read Jack and the Beanstalk to the children as they listened eagerly. Megan said: “It was so lovely having the children visit. I used to read to my children when they were younger and when I retired I would often visit nurseries to read to the children there too – reading Jack and the Beanstalk brought back such fond memories.”

Alison Parry, Home Manager at Millers Grange, said: “Here at Millers Grange we always enjoy opening our doors to the local community, so it was fantastic to be joined by St Hugh of Lincoln Nursery.

“Intergenerational activities are incredibly enriching for all ages and provide a fantastic opportunity for residents and children to interact with one another. The youngsters were able to soak up a wonderful story and the residents benefited from gaining a different perspective from the children on a well-known story. It’s fantastic to host a session such as this to allow the two generations to spend time with one another.

“We thoroughly enjoyed hosting the ‘Bedtime Stories’ reading session with the children and hope that we have helped them to continue building a love of reading.”

To watch four Bedtime Stories read by Care UK residents, or for more information about the Bedtime Stories initiative, visit: careuk.com/bedtime-stories

Millers Grange is a modern care home which provides full-time residential, dementia and end-of-life care, as well as short-term respite care. Designed to enable its residents to live enjoyable and fulfilling lives, the care home has its very own cinema and hair salon, and there is plenty of space both in and outdoors for relaxation and recreation. 

To find out more about Millers Grange, please call Customer Relations Manager, Mark Young, on 01993 764730 or email mark.young@careuk.com

For general information about Care UK, please visit careuk.com/millers-grange