Gloucester House care home’s activity team celebrates ’highly commended’ accolade at national award ceremony

Residents and colleagues at Gloucester House care home in Sevenoaks, have celebrated after their Activity Team were nominated for a prestigious award at the 2025 National Activity Providers Association (NAPA) awards ceremony.

 

 

Leigh Leggatt (Activities Co-ordinator) and Nickola Lingham (Activities Assistant) were announced as being Highly Commended for the ‘Activities Team of the Year Award’ at the 2025 NAPA awards ceremony, which was held in Liverpool.

Operated by Greensleeves Care, Gloucester House in Lansdowne Road, is a not-for-profit care home that provides nursing, dementia, and residential care for up to 54 residents. 

The awards ceremony was a glamourous evening, attended by over 500 people who work within the care sector.

Leigh has led the Activity Team for the past 16 years and Nickola joined her 3 years ago. 

They won the Greensleeves Care ‘Outstanding Activities Programme’ Award in 2024 and 2022.

Led by the wishes, interests and needs of the residents, their programme is diverse, person-centred and responsive to the changing needs of each individual resident, be it group activities or 1-2-1 sessions. 

They have worked hard to create an ethos where activities are at the heart of the home and every member of staff, regarding of their job role, are part of the activities team. This results in a whole home approach to activities, which include a weekly intergenerational playgroup, arts and crafts, and a ‘vintage shopping alley’ – a permanent feature in the home’s garden that supports residents through reminiscence.

Speaking after their award nomination, Leigh said: ‘’We were delighted to reach the finals and over the moon to be Highly Commended. It is lovely to be recognised for our hard work and dedication. Many thanks to our manager, Beth for nominating us and to NAPA for making us finalists.’’

Gloucester House Manager Bethany Powley who joined the celebrations on the evening said: ‘’We nominated Leigh and Nickola for their continued proactive approach to ensuring our residents live a fulfilled active life considering their choices and abilities. They provide a varied programme which really does enrich the lives of the residents, their families and friends and makes the home, a home from home. We are so proud of their dedication and enthusiasm in really listening and understanding the people they work with and always ensuring a person-centred approach. The activities are the heart of the home and testament to our promise of helping people feel good about care – thank you and congratulations to you both!’’