Anchor - Birkenhead Court

23/10/2025

Happy birthday Pat 💜

23/10/2025

Congratulations to all of our Loving Later Life Award finalists. ✨

Shirley won our Greatest Grandparent award. Shirley was nominated by her daughter Jamie for the wonderful support she provides to her two young grandchildren.

Read more about Shirley's nomination here: https://www.birminghamworld.uk/your-world/birmingham-woman-wins-greatest-grandparent-award-in-national-competition-5362542

23/10/2025

We love these pictures! 💜

23/10/2025

It's official, Christmas cake preparation for our annual competition has begun!

22/10/2025

To celebrate 5 years of our Be Well service, we're highlighting the positive impact it has had on many of our residents.

One strand of Be Well is Be Active. Be Active is our wellness and movement programme that supports residents to take care of their overall health.

At Cherry Trees in Redcar, Be active has been incorporated into many of the residents' daily lives. We spoke with two residents, Sue Mitchell and Maureen Russell, who share how Be Active has created a sense of community as the sessions have created a space for them to chat and get to know each other better.

https://www.anchor.org.uk/news-events-blogs/news/residents-cherry-trees-share-their-experience-be-active

22/10/2025

Meet our 2025 winners for our Loving Later Life Awards. ✨

Our Loving Later Life Awards run annually and give others the opportunity to nominate and recognise Anchor residents who have made a real difference to their community.

There are nine categories that residents can be nominated in, from being a “Knowledge Seeker” to a “Fabulous Fundraiser”. The awards are open to any Anchor resident and family members, neighbours, friends or colleagues are welcome to cast a vote.

Below are 2025 winners.

Sustainability Champion - Kathleen Dunn, Runnymede Court, Oldham

Inclusive Ambassador - Pete Manser, Chasefield Court, Guildford

Bloomin’ Marvellous Gardener - Marek Debecki, Beverley Court, Gateshead

Neighbour Like No Other - Jane Sivyer, Harmer Court, Kent

Greatest Grandparent - Shirley Quinn, Gillies Court, Birmingham

Fabulous Fundraiser - Mrs Julie Williams, Waverley Court, Portishead

Digital Dynamo - Maureen Russell, Cherry Trees, Redcar

Paw’some Pet - Ozzy Chesterton, Chesterton Lodge, Newcastle

Knowledge Seeker - Barbara Spray, St Catherine’s Court, West Sussex

Congratulations to all of our winners and everyone who was nominated. Whether it’s through being a friendly and helpful neighbour or sprucing up shared spaces, these individuals and others like them make up Anchor’s vibrant communities and make our housing locations enjoyable places to live 💜

https://www.anchor.org.uk/news-events-blogs/news/meet-our-2025-loving-later-life-award-winners

22/10/2025

Residents at The Manor House Roundhay share their life lessons 💜

21/10/2025

Be Connected sits under our Be Well offering and includes a variety of ways residents can get to know others, from coffee mornings to book clubs.

Our Chatty Benches are springing up across the country, and our 700th Chatty Bench was installed at the historic landmark Bolton Abbey last year.

We now have over 900 Chatty Benches across the country. To find out more about this initiative and to find a bench near you, please visit: https://www.anchor.org.uk/media/campaigns/chatty-benches

20/10/2025

Our Be Well service offers residents a variety of initiatives and activities designed to support with their wellbeing. These vary from Be Active which focusses on leading an active lifestyle to Be Connected which helps foster connection between residents.

Be Well recently turned 5, and to start the celebrations, Lauren Smith, Resident Wellbeing Lead at Anchor, talks more about how the service has grown into what it is today.

In her blog she talks about how Be Well started as a simple idea to provide residents with the resources to take care of their wellbeing and the amazing things that have been achieved along the way.

https://www.anchor.org.uk/news-events-blogs/blogs/celebrating-5-years-be-well-our-journey-supporting-resident-wellbeing

20/10/2025

20/10/2025

The Manor House Roundhay is about to celebrate its first birthday!

To mark the occasion, they are throwing a spectacular Great Gatsby themed celebration and you are invited.

The evening will include:

🥂 Refreshments & Canapés
🍽️ Delicious Buffet
🎶 Live Entertainment

Everyone is welcome to celebrate this milestone with us. Let’s make it a night to remember!

💖 All proceeds raised on the day will be kindly donated to St Gemma’s Hospice.
📅 Date: Saturday 25th October 2025- from 3pm
📍 Location: The Manor House Roundhay

For more information please visit below:

https://www.facebook.com/122124610580391768/posts/122173769246391768

16/10/2025

Every Friday!

09/10/2025

Did you know that this week is ? It’s a time dedicated to raising awareness about dyslexia, challenging stigma, and celebrating the unique strengths of people with dyslexia. At Anchor, we’re proud to be part of this movement by creating a supportive and inclusive environment where everyone can thrive.

Holding Gold Status with Inclusive Employers, we’re committed to fostering diversity and celebrating differences across our workforce. Our colleague networks play a big role in this, supporting individuals like Emily, who was diagnosed with dyslexia at a young age.

Emily shares her experience living and working with dyslexia: “Dyslexia is a huge spectrum, much like other neurodivergent conditions, and the common perceptions often stop at school-level understanding. While simple adjustments like coloured paper and reading rulers are frequently suggested, the reality is that many more tailored supports can make a big difference.

At work, I’ve learned helpful strategies like requesting follow-up emails and asking colleagues to review my work. But what helps the most is being open about my dyslexia, even when it feels vulnerable. I’m aware of what worsens my symptoms — like tiredness, stress, and anxiety — so I make sure to give myself some grace.”

To learn more about Emily’s journey and how Anchor’s enABLE network empowers colleagues to advocate for themselves, check out: https://www.anchor.org.uk/news-events-blogs/blogs/emily-shares-how-our-enable-network-teaches-people-how-advocate-themselves

02/10/2025

18/09/2025

We’re proud to support Inclusive Employers National Inclusion Week again this year. As a Gold Standard employer, Anchor are committed to being a great and inclusive place to work. We live by the values of accountability, respect, courage and honesty and they go hand-in-hand with making sure we value diversity and champion an inclusive culture.

The theme of this year's National Inclusion Week is , and for us that means the time to demonstrate why inclusion is important for our residents and colleagues, the time to address barriers, the time to educate allies, and the time to make change happen.

We are delighted to bring our resident-facing and colleague-facing inclusion networks together this year for the first combined Anchor Inclusion Conference on 25th September. The conference has a theme of 'inclusive by design,' and aims to bring people together to discuss lived experiences and how we can create equitable services, as well as to champion progress and level-up the impact Anchor is making across communities.

16/07/2025

02/07/2025

🎉JOIN US FOR A FUN DAY! 🎉
📅 Friday 4th July
🕓 4PM – 7PM
📍 [Gautby Road - Play, Youth & Community Centre]

Come along for an afternoon packed with fun, food, and family-friendly activities! 🎈🎨🍔🎶

We’re going to celebrate all things Playscheme & we want you to join us for Heather’s last session before her retirement! Bring your friends, bring your family — it’s going to be a blast!
Everyone is welcome, and entry is FREE! 🌟

26/06/2025

Just one more week to have your say on how we reshape our library service. We want to know things like:

🔹What other services could we offer through our digital library?
🔹How long does it take to get to your preferred library?
🔹Why do you use the library?

The consultation is open until 1 July. To have your say on what services could look like across a core eight-site model for libraries, click on the link in the comments below ⬇️

19/06/2025

Reclaiming Narratives: Pride Month

As part of a series of events, Anchor colleagues and residents are invited to an online panel event to discuss key topics amongst diversity and inclusion – it’s a great opportunity for open discourse and transparency, where real stories and shared experiences can be embraced and reclaimed, hence the name ‘reclaiming narratives’. This month (Pride month) our panel discussed what it meant to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community, and to be the parent of a trans child.

In what was (unsurprisingly!) an emotive session, our speakers talked about "the beauty and sense of community," and "being able to stand up so proudly for what we believe in." Overwhelmingly, what came through was a sense of unity and belonging, and that it's one of the best parts of the LGBTQ+ community.

Both speakers mentioned the importance of being proactive in allyship and in being able to advocate for the whole community, and the session was certainly one that resonated with everyone. It was also wonderful to involve people from other housing organisations in Yorkshire and the Humber, so we can't wait for future sessions!

18/06/2025

We are setting out a plan to reshape our library service.📝

Here are some of the questions we want your opinions on:

🔹What other services could we offer through our digital library?
🔹How long does it take to get to your preferred library?
🔹Why do you use the library?
🔹What other services would you like to access from this library?

The consultation is open until July 1st, to have your say on what services could look like across a core eight-site model for libraries, click on the link in the comments below ⬇️

03/06/2025

He cares, do you?
If you’re a compassionate person with great people skills you could have just what it takes to be a great carer at Anchor. You don’t need previous experience to apply – we happen to have one of the best training schemes in adult social care recognised by Skills for Care.

Look forward to…
- Access to online GP appointments
- Exclusive discounts on major brand shopping, gym memberships, holidays, phones, technology, and more
- Eligibility for a Blue Light card (offering substantial savings for frontline staff)
- Access to training for your Level 2 qualification and beyond
- £250 through our refer-a-friend scheme
- Access to Wagestream and free life insurance
- Opportunities for career progression and promotion (from Care Assistant to Leadership Roles)
- Up to 10% contribution pension from Anchor
…and so much more!

Find out about working at Anchor today, visit: https://bit.ly/4jSmv6r

27/05/2025

BUSY BUSY!

We have been super busy, going out in our bus, last Friday we had a BBQ, staff have been up mountains!

We are always welcoming of suggestions, to keep our residents occupied! Do get in touch or join our next relative meeting :)

12/05/2025

We had a fantastic day, testing our or brand new mini bus. Residents went to Floral Pavilion for Coffee :)