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What is Care Home Open Week?
Every year thousands of care homes open their doors to their local community as part of Care Home Open Week. This enables them to show how care home residents live and the kind of activities they do every day.
A huge amount of people have never even stepped inside a care home. Yet suddenly when their family member falls ill, they are faced with the daunting prospect of helping them choose a care home.
Care Home Open Week 2026, which takes place from 15 June 2026, is a chance for people to see for themselves what a care home is really like.
See the facilities and kind of care on offer
The move to a care home often needs to be done extremely quickly. So getting a look inside how a care home works and how residents live can really help. This can mean people choosing the care home will know the right questions to ask and what things to look for when selecting a home.
This year will see care homes hosting a whole range of events inspired by the World Cup.
World Cup theme
Mitesh Dhanak, board member of Championing Social Care and chair of the Care Home Open Week committee, said: “The NAPA World Cup toolkit equips care homes to plan everything from large communal events to small, quiet sessions tailored to individual preferences.
“Whether it’s a full World Cup watch party, a gentle music-and-movement group or a simple flag-voting activity, the pack is an indispensable guide to inspire and help staff deliver moments of joy for residents, staff and communities.”
Great British Care Cycle Relay
Care Home Open Week will be supported again by Championing Social Care’s Great British Care Cycle Relay. The Relay will take place a week ahead of Care Home Open Week. The Relay will cover around 500km in total. It will encompass five individual day-long cycle relays around different regions in the UK – Edinburgh, Wales, York, East Midlands and London. Each day, cyclists taking part in the Relay will cover a distance of 100kms.
Celebration of care homes
Care homes are being encouraged to host football‑themed events such as seated football, tabletop football and a gentle penalty shootout challenge, as well as hold parties and inter‑generational activities that showcase the warmth and creativity of residential care.
You can search to see what care homes are taking part in the initiative on Care Home Open Week map.
Last year around a third of care homes in the UK took part in Care Home Open Week.
Find a care home near you
