School’s out? It’s fun.

EM Group’s ‘Blue Peter’ crew made sure that February 2020 school half term didn’t mean being stuck in hospital with nothing to do. The school day takes up a significant time in an Ellern Mede school age patient’s day. But when school’s out, the activities get going.

So patients at Ellern Mede made the most of their extra hours in the day with the assistance of the Group’s expert ‘Blue Peter’ style Activity Teams. Arts and Crafts, Outings, Movies, Yoga, and even rock climbing has featured in the half term week.

One patient said: “It’s been a nice distraction. It’s always good to get out and do something. It helps not to be stuck in the hospital with a lot of time because that’s when you can over-think and get upset. I really enjoyed the Abstract Art work and the Ceramics we did at a studio.”

A discharge party at Ellern Mede Barnet, something that always happens on the happy occasion that a person has recovered enough to go home, took place in the week as well and was an opportunity for everyone to get together with staff and celebrate the achievement of goals.

Day 1: Tie Dye, Party, Yoga

Day 2: Baking, Pottery Café, Journalling Group

Day 3: Abstract Painting, Social Lunch at Nandos, Escape Room activity, Community Meeting

Day 4: Yoga, Quiz, Cinema outing

Day 5: Rock climbing, Card games, Process Group, Movie night

Day 6: Hobby craft, theatre trip

As an administrative staff member, I personally had not heard before of ‘Bullet Journalling’ but on hearing the patients say they love it, I chatted to Sienna Bommen, Therapeutic Assistant who runs the group at EMB. The point of the journal is that it is entirely customised by the owner, so it is as unique as the individual and encourages maximum creativity and expression. The journals are blank except for tiny dots which aid the journal owner in whatever type of content they are creating – linear, art, graphics or words. At Ellern Mede Barnet, the activity takes place at 7.30 to 8.30 on a Tuesday evening.

Here is an example of what a bullet journal could look like:

example of a bullet journal