Below is a list of resources compiled by the experts at Alive to help support you to light up later life.
From activity resources to downloadable guides and videos, our learning resources cover a wide variety of topics to help support carers, care staff and volunteers.
Activity Resources
Conversation Cards
These cards aim to support you, as a relative, friend or carer, to build social connections and conversation with an older person who is living in care, living with dementia, or both.
Tech Resources
Alive have produced three guidebooks, two for older learners – Getting Started: Helping You Get Started With Technology, Making Links: Using Technology in Your Everyday Life – and one for carers, or those assisting an older person with their learning, Supporting Older People to use Technology. These are available to download below.
Tech Training
This accessible guide explains the basics of getting your care home set up for online engagement. Pictures of all the devices you will need and how to connect to the internet and other technology.
Learning Resources
Best Practice Guide
Building positive relationships with residents, a guide for care staff.
Community Engagement
Building Ties With Your Local Community
This workbook contains several exercises to help you think about ways you can work more closely with the local community to enrich care home activity.
Coproduction For Care Homes
This how to guide will get you started with thinking about the coproduction process and how you can embed it within your home in order to allow residents to have greater input in their care.
Intergenerational Linking
Get Started With Intergenerational Activities: Video Series
This series of six short videos is designed to help both care homes and schools start, and facilitate, their own intergenerational activities. Each video provides ideas and advice to get started, and activities you could run to engage both age groups.
How To Run Online Intergenerational Activities
This guide provides information on how you can run intergenerational activity sessions online. It includes information on what equipment you will need, as well as other considerations and top tips to make the sessions successful. This guide is based on Alive’s learnings from our intergenerational Access All Ages project, funded by The National Lottery Community Fund.
Maps of Memory Activity Book
This activity book is designed for care homes to use to engage younger people through our ‘Maps of Memory’ initiative.
Collaborating With Care Homes: A Guide For Youth Groups
A guide for youth groups who are looking to collaborate with their local care home.
Volunteering
Managing Care Home Volunteers
This how to guide aimed at care homes will help you think about the process of taking on volunteers and managing from start to finish.
Volunteering in Care Homes
This information booklet will help care home volunteers prepare for a role as a volunteer in a care home.
Volunteer Handbook
This volunteer handbook is a useful checklist to follow to help you carry out a thorough induction when taking on a new care home volunteer.
Many of the above learning resources are available as training courses that can be delivered in your care home for up to 12 members of staff. Find out more here.