Burnside Day Opportunities Hub

27/02/2026

🌟 At Burnside, we treasure our “gold‑dust moments.” 🌟

✨Those tiny sparks of magic where someone feels truly seen, valued, and celebrated. ✨

🏳️‍🌈 Choosing to live as your true self is one of the bravest things a person can do — and we’re here for every step of that journey 🏳️‍🌈

So to everyone embracing who they are… Shine boldly. The world is brighter when you are you ❤️💛🩷💙💜🧡💚

For LGBTQ+ History Month, Adults’ Services met with Josh, who attends Burnside Day Centre, to share his story about what it means to live as a gay man.

25/02/2026

Our Digital Community Group swapped screens for sea views this week and what a day we had! ☀️🎤

We headed down to Eastbourne for some fun at TenPin Karaoke in style!🎤

From powerful solos to brilliant duets and full group performances, everyone stepped up to the mic with confidence and big smiles. The song choices were fantastic, the energy was high, and the cheers were even louder! 🌟

After singing our hearts out, we made the most of the gorgeous sunshine with a picnic along Eastbourne Seafront. Fresh sea air and lots of laughter. The perfect way to relax before heading back to the service. 🌊🥪

Days like this are what community, confidence and connection are all about. We are so proud of everyone for giving it their all! 💙

24/02/2026

This week our sensory art session got creative using some beautiful artificial flowers that were generously donated to the service 💐

The group worked together to carefully arrange the flowers to spell out the word SPRING, creating a bright and colourful display. To give it a real garden feel, everyone added pieces of green paper to the background.🌿

As we created our artwork, we explored the sensory theme through conversation:
🌷 What flowers might you see in a garden in spring?
🌼 What colours stand out?
👃 What smells would you expect?
🌻 How do different flowers feel?

The session sparked lovely discussions, shared memories of gardens, and plenty of smiles. It was wonderful to see creativity, teamwork and sensory exploration all coming together in such a meaningful way.💐

19/02/2026

This week in our Nature & Conservation session we completed a beautiful circular walk from Cooksbridge, through Hamsey, finishing in Offham 🌿

We followed the River Ouse, passing a couple of wartime pillboxes along the way, giving us a chance to connect with local history as well as nature.🏞️

Everyone had their own copy of the map with written directions and took turns leading the group. This builds confidence, teamwork, navigation skills and real responsibility, which is not always easy, but such an achievement when done together 👏🗺️

Well done everyone for supporting each other and stepping up to lead! 💚

18/02/2026

It’s that time of the year again! 🥞 🍳

Following on our yearly tradition, we thoroughly enjoyed making pancakes for Shrove Tuesday yesterday! 🥞 🍋

The Self-Advocacy and Sensory Kitchen groups joined forces and created a huge batch of delicious pancakes, and prepared a variety of yummy toppings for them! We all worked as a team to prepare the pancakes, before enjoying eating them! We then worked together to tidy up and clean after. It was a fantastic and very tasty afternoon!🤩

What is your favourite pancake topping?🍫🍓🫐

17/02/2026

We were really feeling the love here at Burnside last week, with a lot of our sessions themed around Valentine’s Day!❣️💌

Our dance group performed a fabulous routine to Queen’s hit song “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”, which filled the room with smiles! Our Cook My Lunch Group made delicious home made pizzas which were heart shaped and topped with a variety of yummy toppings. And our Self-Advocacy group spent time discussing love, especially the importance of self-love. They finished their session by creating beautiful Valentine’s cards for their friends & loved ones. 🥰🎀🌹

Overall it was a lovely week, everyone was filled with joy, excitement and of course love for themselves and others. 💕

12/02/2026

Our music therapy sessions are all about self-expression, confidence, and having FUN! Whether it’s choosing a favourite song, feeling the beat, or bravely stepping up to the mic, everyone is encouraged to express themselves in their own way.🤗💙

Singing into the microphone can be a huge confidence boost and it’s made even better when friends are cheering, clapping, and celebrating each other every step of the way 🙌💛

The room is always filled with music, laughter, encouragement, and proud smiles. It’s not about being perfect, it’s about being brave, being heard, and enjoying the moment together 🎵💫

11/02/2026

Our Me Time session was all about slowing down and taking a moment to relax. We enjoyed foot spas, hand spas, gentle hand and foot massages, and face masks, creating a calm and soothing environment for everyone. 🧴✨

Sessions like this support relaxation, sensory regulation, and overall wellbeing. They can help reduce stress, promote comfort, and encourage people to listen to their bodies and enjoy some well-deserved self-care 💛

A lovely, peaceful session focused on feeling good and taking time for ourselves ✨

10/02/2026

Recently within one of our DCG sessions, we marked Safer Internet Day by talking about staying safe online, with a focus on the use of AI. The group shared different examples of AI, such as Alexa and Siri, and discussed how we may use these in our own everyday lives.💻

We also looked at some of the benefits and negatives of AI, what is safe to share online, and who we could talk to if something online made us feel worried or uncomfortable. This helped everyone feel reassured that support is always available. It also linked into conversations around online bullying and using the internet in a safe and respectful way.✋🏻☺️

It was a really positive session that encouraged reflection, awareness, and safer choices in the modern digital world 👏💬

06/02/2026

Happy Friday, everyone!!🤗

04/02/2026

Exciting things have been happening at Burnside today🎉

We’ve been proud to support one of the gentlemen we work with as he shared his personal story to help celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month. 💙❤️

02/02/2026

In our Beyond Words session, we explore storytelling in a different way using the Beyond Words books from the library. These books are made up entirely of pictures. 📚

Using images allows people to personalise the story, share thoughts, make connections, and express feelings without the pressure of finding the “right” words. It supports communication and opens up meaningful conversations through visual storytelling.🥰

This week we looked at “Rose Gets in Shape”. The pictures sparked lots of discussion around health, motivation, routines, and how making small changes can feel challenging but rewarding. Many people could relate to Rose’s journey, whether that’s trying something new, building confidence, or working towards a personal goal at their own pace. 💪🌹

A brilliant session showing that stories don’t need words to be powerful 💙