Awards for care homes launch in Cinnamon Care Homes
Some very exciting news! Six Cinnamon care homes were the first in the country to receive our new Take Note Music in Care bronze awards, recognising their work using music to support people living with dementia. For full details see here: https://www.roehampton.ac.uk/news/2026/march/cinnamon-care-homes-receive-the-first-take-note-music-in-care-bronze-awards-from-the-university-of-roehampton/
We launched the https://www.takenote.org.uk/ initiative in 2024. It focuses on the benefits of music for older adults in care settings, particularly those living with dementia. Professor Adam Ockelford and Senior Researcher Dr Fi Costa from the University of Roehamoton led the study, created the awards, and presented them to the recipients at the ceremony.
To achieve the bronze award, care home providers had to provide evidence of implementing a number of the Take Note ideas over a four month period. This included enabling at least five residents to have playlists of favourite music that they can access, carers singing songs with at least five residents every day for fun and to help communication, and giving at least one resident the opportunity to learn or re learn an instrument.
Instilling sound cues was also considered an important part of the programme to help residents anticipate activities, for example sounding a small gong to indicate that it is time for lunch or shaking a tambourine when a group music session is about to start.
The six Cinnamon Care Collection care homes which achieved the bronze award are Eden Court, Rectory Court, Leah Lodge, Mornington Court, Sutton Park Grange and Watermeadow Grange. These homes will now prepare for the silver award, which takes a further four months to complete. Congratulations!
Image description: Four Cinnamon Care staff members, two women and two men including Geoff Pride, Wellbeing & Lifestyle Manage, pose with a bottle of champagne and a framed Take Note Bronze Award certificate. Joining them are Adam Ockelford and Fi Costa, the organisers of our Take Note program. Everyone is well-dressed and smiling.