Bupa pilots Get Into Reading

The Reader Organisation has just started a six month pilot project in partnership with Bupa Care Services, which will see residents of eight Bupa care homes enjoying weekly Get Into Reading sessions.

The first groups began meeting last week. We ran Get Into Reading groups for a total of 74 residents and 5 relatives who joined in. 16 members of Bupa staff joined us including activities coordinators, care staff and admin staff. Here are some comments about the groups:

 ‘I do hope this happens regularly’

‘You managed to engage everyone in the group the whole time’

‘Well it gives us something that we can all listen to and take part in together’

‘That was really good that, a breath of fresh air and something a bit different’

We've been running GIR groups in care homes since 2006 and research is showing that the shared reading of literature can have a therapeutic effect on readers, helping them to identify with characters and situations in books, and feel deep, personal resonance with poems and stories. Our evaluation of Get Into Reading in care homes has told us that the groups improved mood, decrease agitation and increase levels of concentration and social interaction. This pilot with BUPA is a great opportunity to spread the benefits of Get Into Reading and bring shared reading into the heart of care home culture.

As part of the partnership and to ensure the sustainability of the reading groups following
the pilot, Bupa care home staff members will be trained by us to deliver read-aloud groups
themselves. Following assessment of the pilot, Bupa plans to offer groups to its 305 homes
nationally as part of its industry-leading Activities programme.

Siobhan Drane, who is the Bupa Care Services Community Manager, has told us how please Bupa are to be working with us to deliver Get Into Reading:

We hope that these reading aloud groups will reignite a passion for literature in our residents or spark a new interest and offer an opportunity for reminscence . We believe our residents will benefit from the positive effect literature can have on wellbeing.

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If you're interested in reading aloud to someone that you care for, don't forget about our anthology, A Little, Aloud.