Making things personal: a project promoting the wellbeing of older residents and staff in sheltered housing and care homes

Purpose This paper aims to present findings of a project implementing training to enable care staff to create simple audio-biographical resources with older tenants and residents in sheltered housing and care homes. Design/methodology/approach This paper draws on written evaluations by participants of training workshops delivered to 136 care home staff within 28 care homes of the NorseCare group in Norfolk, UK and of their experience after three months in the workplace. Findings The evaluations showed a high degree of satisfaction with training and impact of the intervention. Successful implementation of training in the workplace depended on factors of time and leadership within individual homes and housing schemes. Originality/value Making innovative personal information documents valued carers' unique understanding of residents and tenants. This creative co-production may have benefits in personalising and enriching the experience of care for both staff and residents.