NAPA, the professional association for Activity Providers and activity provision in the UK, is dedicated to setting high standards and quality indicators for activity and engagement across adult care and support services. We work closely with our members—including care homes, community groups, hospitals, day services, hospices, and supported living—to offer professional development opportunities and resources that support practice.
In 2024, VTI approached NAPA to explore the potential for providing VTI training for Activity Providers. We decided to partner with one of our newest members—KYN, a relatively new and innovative care provider focused on evidence-based practice. KYN’s approach to person-centred care and commitment to continuous improvement make it an ideal partner for this initiative.
KYN operates a collection of London-based care homes, including KYN Bickley, which opened in January 2022. KYN Bickley is an 86-bed care home offering residential, nursing, and dementia care to people over 65. They have created a dedicated team, which includes dementia specialists and hospitality and life enrichment professionals, to work primarily within Queensmead, the home’s dementia community. KYN’s values-based recruitment strategy has built a diverse team, many of whom bring kindness and compassion to dementia care, even if they have not previously worked in a care setting.
KYN’s innovative approach to dementia care includes a training pathway that upskills team members in using evidence-based practices to enhance resident well-being. As part of their service improvement strategy, KYN has been collaborating with NAPA to build the confidence and skills of their team members in working with people living with dementia, with a particular focus on using the care environment to promote engagement and reminiscence.
When NAPA invited KYN to participate in a pilot project to accredit UK staff using Validation techniques, Emma Hewat, Head of Dementia at KYN, saw it as a perfect complement to KYN’s goal of delivering person-centred care per NICE guidelines. The training also aligns with other holistic approaches, such as Namaste care.
Emma Hewat shared her vision for the outcomes of the partnership: “I would like to see an increase in residents’ wellbeing as their needs and emotions are better understood. We also hope for greater staff confidence in responding to residents who may be in distress and reducing the use of behaviour charts, which can often be a tick-box exercise. We want to spend more time meaningfully engaging with residents. While we already monitor antipsychotic medication and assess pain using AI facial recognition, I hope this training will further reduce inappropriate prescribing.”
In addition to providing training, NAPA and KYN plan to evaluate the impact of the Validation training on resident experience using Dementia Care Mapping (DCM). DCM is a well-established tool used to observe and assess the quality of life of individuals living with dementia. It focuses on capturing the resident’s experience and how they interact with their environment, providing valuable insights into their emotional well-being and levels of engagement.
By using Dementia Care Mapping as an evaluation tool, NAPA and KYN can measure the direct impact of the Validation training on residents and staff. This evidence-based approach will allow for a deeper understanding of how the training enhances residents’ emotional and psychological well-being and improves the overall care environment.
Hilary Woodhead, CEO at NAPA, expressed her enthusiasm for the evaluation process: “By incorporating Dementia Care Mapping into our evaluation, we can ensure that we accurately capture the resident experience. This will help us understand how the Validation method impacts residents’ well-being and allow us to continually improve approaches to dementia care.”
The partnership between NAPA, KYN, and VTI represents a significant step forward in promoting innovative, evidence-based approaches to dementia care.
Together, NAPA, KYN, and VTI are committed to setting a new standard for dementia care, empowering staff through professional development, and ensuring residents receive compassionate, person-centred support. We look forward to sharing the results of this vital work programme and the positive outcomes it will bring to staff and residents at Kyn Bickley.