Three Felixstowe care homes have welcomed a group of French students into the homes to help them learn more about working in the care industry.
The group of four students, aged 17-19, from Lyon, are studying health and social care and are part of the Erasmus programme, which arranges for students to spend time in education and work placements across Europe.
In March, they spent time working in Mill Lane Nursing Home, Foxgrove and Maynell House residential home, working with a number of staff across departments.
The relationship between the homes and the Erasmus programme began in 2017, when the relatives of a resident at Foxgrove approached the homes’ Manager to see if they might be interested in accommodating some students as part of a learning experience.
The students worked in the homes throughout March, spending time with members of staff in a range of areas including care, housekeeping and catering and activities, to really understand what life is like in an English care home.
The students are working on their last year of a three-year ‘Baccalauréat Professionel’. Before arriving in England, they learnt communication English with an emphasis on health and social care and sent their CVs and a personal description with a picture to the homes so that staff and residents could get to know them a little before they arrived.
Manager of Mill Lane Nursing Home, John Savage said, “It was wonderful to welcome two of the students into our home, so that we could give them some first-hand experience of life in a care home to support them with their studies.
“Our residents really enjoy meeting new people and during their time with us, they made some great friendships with the young people. They told us that they thoroughly enjoyed their time with us, and they were a real asset to the home.
“We would be delighted to welcome them back to Mill Lane in the future.”
Mill Lane, Foxgrove and Maynell House are part of the Healthcare Homes Group.
