School children visit multi-million pound care home site in Oxfordshire

Hard hats and thinking caps were the order of the day as Iffley Mead School pupils visited the site of a new multi-million pound flagship care home in Oxfordshire to get inspiration for a summer artwork project.

Tommy Trinder, Lukas Page and Liam Richens visited the site of Iffley Residential and Nursing Home to get ideas for a time capsule they are burying on the site.

The home is being built by Sanctuary Group and will be run by Sanctuary Care, who tasked the youngsters to create items that would reflect what life could be like in 60 years’ time and tell people what life was like in 2012. The capsule is to be opened in 2072!

Liam said: “I am hoping to put a video into the time capsule about the year 2012 and will be drawing pictures of some pound coins in case the currency changes.” The 13-year-old, who was very impressed that the home would have Wi-Fi said: “I think it will look really nice when it’s finished.”

Lukas, also 13 said he thought the home would look “lush”. He kept tight lipped about what he wanted to put in the time capsule but said: “I think people opening it in 2072 will think our ideas are awesome!” When asked what he imagines life will be like in 60 years he added: “The project has got me thinking about the future and I think that in 2072 there will be 17 dimension televisions and I will have three grandchildren.”

Children from the school, which is for teenagers with complex learning needs, will work on the project over the summer and return to the site in September to bury the capsule, before the home opens in Winter 2012/2013.

The school’s senior deputy head teacher Lynne Smith said: “The children have been very enthusiastic about thinking about the future and the project has generated some very interesting discussions in class about what life will be like when they are older. They are particularly excited about burying the time capsule.”

Iffley Residential and Nursing Home in Anne Greenwood Close, Iffley will provide residential and nursing care and will also have a specialist dementia suite.

Sanctuary Care’s director of care Len Merton said: “We pride ourselves on our stunning homes and when complete Iffley will be a beautiful flagship home for the people of Oxfordshire.

“We are so proud that the pupils from Iffley Mead School have been so enthusiastic about taking on such a vital role, producing items to put in the time capsule and we hope that they will come back to our home to enjoy activities and events with our residents for years to come.”

When complete, the multi-million pound home will have 76 spacious en-suite bedrooms, including rooms for couples, spacious lounges and dining areas, a hairdressing salon, restaurant dining and a beautiful sensory garden, with raised flower beds for residents to enjoy a spot of light gardening. All areas of the home will be wheelchair accessible.

Image: Left to right senior deputy head teacher Lynne Smith, Tommy Trinder, Liam Richens, Lukas Page and Rita Harris, Sanctuary Care’s regional manager