West Yorkshire care home making the most of rural surroundings

Three Sisters care home, in Haworth, has announced the opening of a new discovery centre designed to help member of the local community feel more in touch with rural life.

The West Yorkshire care home, which is located within 18-acres of farmland and is home to seventeen adults with learning disabilities, has been encouraged to share its qualities with the wider public having seen success in helping its service users to learn rural skills.

Centre manager and local farmer Paul Barnes explains: “Over the years we’ve been encouraging the people we support at Three Sisters to get involved in a wide range of farm-related activities and we’ve noticed it has had a significant, positive impact on their everyday lives.

“Whether it’s feeding the goats or growing a selection of tasty veg, our centre allows people with learning disabilities to develop a sense of responsibility, achievement and self-worth, which is why we’ve decided to make the facilities available to other care providers and relatives who look after a family member with a learning disability.”

Activities visitors to the discovery centre will be able to enjoy include cooking and woodwork, dry stone walling, quad bike driving and horticulture, while Three Sisters have also teamed up with Craven College, in Skipton, to offer ‘Skills for work and life’ qualifications in association with City & Guilds.

Three Sisters is part of the Voyage Care portfolio, who are currently registered as owning 202 care homes across the UK and are the fifth largest provider.