A care home in Epsom hit the books recently when it took part in this year’s World Read Aloud Day.

Residents from Care UK’s Appleby House care home on Longmead Road were joined by pupils from Epsom Primary School, who came prepared with some of their favorite short stories and poems to read aloud to the residents.

The residents and students also enjoyed a day of interactive reading and literature-based activities to mark the annual event.

The Care UK team also invited the local community to join residents for the day, and enjoyed an exclusive screening of a short film created by Care UK featuring international Storyteller Laureate, Taffy Thomas MBE.

In the film, Taffy, the patron of The Society for Storytelling, provided his top tips and advice for reading and explained the therapeutic benefits of reading aloud to older people.

Home manager, Shona Bradbury, explained why Appleby House was one of several Care UK care homes that took part in World Read Aloud Day: “It may come as a surprise to many just how beneficial reading aloud can be for older people; particularly those living with dementia. Here at Appleby House interactive reading sessions are very important to us as they help us to engage residents and encourage communication.

“We had a brilliant day of storytelling with the pupils from Epsom Primary School, and the residents were delighted to hear some of the students’ favourite stories.”

For more information on Appleby House, please contact Shona Bradbury on 0333 434 3002 or email shona.bradbury@careuk.ppcom.

For more information on which Care UK homes took part in the World Read Aloud Day, please go to www.careuk.com/wrad World Read Aloud Day encourages children, teens, and adults worldwide to celebrate the power of words and creates a community of readers taking action to show the world that the right to literacy belongs to all people. For more information, please go to litworld.org/wrad/ For more general information, please go to www.careuk.com/appleby-house

Article supplied by Amy Lehal