WE ARE HIRING!
Click on the VACANCIES button above to see our job opportunities.

Activities and Social Life

Hannahwood focuses on the transition from adolescence to adulthood, both in terms of learning, development and care. Our young adult space is vibrant and what any young person would want and expect with the meticulous care and standards of Dame Hannahs. Aimed at helping young people to live as independently as possible in their community. On site therapy is accessed through our existing therapists here at Ivybridge.

Here at Hannahwood we have an extensive range of activities available for everybody to enjoy!

We have fantastic facilities that anybody can access day or night including a Music and Activities room, Arts and Crafts room, a bar and lounge area complete with ping pong table, sofas and vast collection of games and DVDs to relax with. We also have a computer suite which our young adults can access with their support staff when they want to so they are able to produce posters, their bi-annual newsletter or for any other reason. There are many different tools available to do this.

Our Music and Activities room has a huge collection of different instruments for everyone to enjoy as well as some fantastic equipment that gives people the opportunity to control the music and lights in the room. We also have a collection of fun inflatable games, music and lighting equipment, switch-activated games and more!

We have a multi-sensory room which everybody gets the opportunity to use whenever they want! This room is fantastic for the users to make choices about what they would like to control as well as providing a lovely relaxing environment – particularly useful after a long day!

Working in collaboration with our friends in other organisations we also access fantastic activities in our local communities!

As well as having sessions with external organisations each month there is opportunity to go to lots of local events. Some of the events we attend are the Funky Llama Festival, food and drink events, classic car shows and club nights.

As well as attending local events we have the opportunity to go on lots of fantastic trips out! Whether it be trips to the theatre, Exeter racecourse, shopping, cinema, bowling, laser tag, Gala Bingo, the aquarium, going out for meals or to the pub! Whatever people want to do we do our very best to go and do it!

  • Social nights

    Every Tuesday night is Social Night! Here we enjoy a range of activities including Quiz nights, live music from local musicians, game show nights, discos, karaoke and parties.

    This gives us all the opportunity to catch up with our friends from other bungalows as well as having lots of fun! We also have Culture Club where we explore cultures, themes and foods from around the world.

    This is especially popular and becomes a real social night of fun and laughter as well as a bit of rivalry for the best cooked foods!

  • Enterprise

    Here at Hannahwood we strive to give as many opportunities as possible. We have our own Craft group who make arts and crafts which are then taken to sell at fayres and stalls in the community.

    We opened a coffee shop which is run by a group of adults each week. This is a fun way for everyone to get involved with learning new skills as well as money-handling, sequencing, communication and improving confidence. This has been a huge success since opening in 2014!

  • Sports and movement

    Boccia, dance, Yoga, Wheelchair Football with PAFC Communities Trust, Tennis and G Fitness (seated exercise) are just a few of the movement-based groups that we have here in Hannahwood.

    All of these workshops are so important as they are very beneficial to get people moving and stretching. We work closely with Improving Lives Plymouth, Double Bounce, Mencap, Far Flung Dance Theatre Company to provide these workshops which are enjoyed by everyone here in Hannahwood on a regular basis.

    As well as these workshops we are also involved with Wheelchair rugby, basketball and sometimes attend Plymouth Argyle football matches when it’s a home match!

  • Evening Entertainment

    Group Nights are something we provide each week. These group nights are both held on site and externally.

    The offsite activities include Bushcraft, laser tag, bowling, trips to the pub, cinema, theatre, horse racing, meals out, Community Makaton Choir in Newton Abbot, Special Olympics Club and much more!

    The onsite activities include pamper nights, table cricket, book reading club, cinema group, film club, games night, science club and poker nights to name a few.
    We also have a variety of performers who come to the site. These include musicians and magicians.

    These evenings mean that everyone gets to be involved with something fun and enjoyable with their friends.

  • Communication groups

    As part of our role to empower and enable everybody here to use their voice, we have a fantastic newsletter that is produced twice a year by a team of young adults from Hannahwood. Here the team are able to write an article on something they enjoy such as health and beauty tips, sports, music and interviewing members of staff! The newsletter is a really positive way for the adults to reach out to friends and family and develop their communication skills.

    In 2015 we joined up with Access All Aerials and set up our very own Hannahwood Radio Show! In the first year it had over 5,000 listeners which is a fantastic achievement! This improves each person's confidence with communication aids as well as enjoying listening to their favourite music. Due to this achievement and the great base platform it provided, each of those who were part of the radio team have their own radio show which they direct. They choose the content of music, discussion or any other theme they feel relevant to them. One of the DJ's has also crossed over to mainstream radio by attending and talking on BBC Radio Devon to highlight her passions in life.

  • Outdoor activities

    As we like to provide as much opportunity for meaningful activities as possible, we are lucky enough to be able to access some fantastic activities in the community. During the summer we go sailing with our friends at Horizons Sailing Charity who have a wheelchair-adapted boat, as well as trips to the beach and moors with our friend Minnie the dog! This has formed a great group called ‘Minnie's Movers’ who explore various accessible woodlands, coastal paths and National Trust properties.

    We also take part in forestry and moorland conservation with the South West Lakes Trust. Here everybody enjoys taking part in different nature based activities and tasks and a favourite has to be toasting marshmallows on the fire!

    Bushcraft skills are also learnt including whittling and making shelters.

  • Community Project

    We have taken part in many appeals including sending parcels to children in different countries at Christmas; community coffee mornings and our own Big Knit Appeal. This is where we asked our community friends for donations of knitted baby goods. We then chose as a group to donate these items to the neo-natal ward at Derriford Hospital and also Barnardo's who work with families in need.

    Our community cohesion group also get involved with local events and activities in the community. This enables everyone to play their part in promoting diversity and inclusion within the community. Whether it’s local coffee mornings or concerts, we like to show our support for our neighbours. One of our young ladies walked in the Women’s March celebrating 100 years of women’s rights to vote where we met lots of wonderful ladies in the community and joined them in the Council building for a cream tea.