OUR IMPACT
CONTENTS
WELCOME
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OUR IMPACT ON RESIDENTS
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OUR IMPACT ON COLLEAGUES
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OUR IMPACT ON FAMILY AND FRIENDS
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OUR IMPACT ON COMMUNITIES AND BEYOND
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BOARD OF TRUSTEES
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SENIOR MANAGEMENT
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OUR LOCATIONS
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This report shares highlights of our impact during the financial year 2023-2024.
WELCOME TO OUR LATEST SOCIAL IMPACT REPORT
This year, we also worked to grow our social impact well beyond our 28 communities of care. Special outreach campaigns helped to demystify care and support families to make care decisions they can feel good about. This year, we also worked to grow our social impact well beyond our 28 communities of care. Special outreach campaigns helped to demystify care and support families to make care decisions they can feel good about. Of course, no year is without its difficulties. Maintaining strong occupancy and recruiting talent remain key challenges, as do wider issues including the Cost of Living Crisis. In September 2023 we also said goodbye to St Cross Grange, our home in Winchester, after securing the effective transfer of residents and colleagues to a like-minded provider. As the challenges in the sector continue to hit the headlines, we hope the stories of individual and collective achievements in this report shine through as examples of the positive impact care communities like ours have on people’s lives.
This update is a yearly opportunity to reflect on our achievements and challenges. It is also a reminder of the impact we have on our residents, their loved ones, as well as our colleagues and the communities we operate in. Throughout these pages, we share highlights of our 2023-2024 financial year and how our work and charitable mission supported people in our care and beyond. In the last year, we continued to work towards our 2022-2025 strategy. The strategy has three major pillars: ‘putting quality first’, ‘inspiring our people’, and ‘growing sustainably’. We are pleased with the progress we have made in these areas. We believe that putting quality first sits behind the strong satisfaction scores of residents and relatives we saw this year. 96% of residents and 98% of relatives are ‘happy’ with the care we provide, both improvements on last year’s already high scores. This year we implemented the Gold Standards Framework for exemplary end-of-life care, and introduced an Activities and Wellbeing Co-Ordinator for the trust to drive consistent high-quality activities provision. In the period, we were also named a Top 20 Large Care Home Group by independent reviews platform carehome.co.uk for a seventh year,
and one of our homes joined the list of top homes in the highly competitive London region. At the same time, we continued to claim our place as an employer of choice. We committed to training even more apprentices, promoted diversity and inclusion and introduced new support including a dedicated Menopause at Work policy. We also recognised the long service of 159 colleagues, who marked between 5 and 30 years with us. In the year, our family of homes continued to grow. We increased the number of beds to 1,275 after reopening the renovated Mount Ephraim House in Tunbridge Wells and welcoming Broadacres, a residential care home in Norfolk. Plus, we continued to improve our existing homes through a £3.5 million investment in renovation, expansion and sustainability projects. We believe that putting quality first sits behind the strong satisfaction scores of residents and relatives we saw this year. 96% of residents and 98% of relatives are ‘happy’ with the care we provide, both improvements on last year’s already high scores.
In the year we delivered around 2 million hours of care and support at our homes
Chief Executive Officer
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Our Impact in 2023 – 2024
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What our residents say: “I came out of hospital knowing I was unable to care for myself. My son made arrangements and I came to the care home the following day. I arrived a mere shadow of myself and left feeling almost normal. Thank you.” carehome.co.uk “This care home is excellent. It is the perfect place to be. The staff are helpful and very obliging. The food is excellent. I would recommend it to anyone.” carehome.co.uk “ We all discuss during the morning the things we want to do during the day, and then the afternoons are ready at our disposal. I like to do exercise classes, my son comes in to lead a weekly quiz for us all, which is nice. I like the open spaces here as you can see who’s coming and going, and what interesting conversations appear to be going on. It’s sort of a hub of socialisation!” Resident interview Our impact highlights: • Our care provision was extended by 23 to 1275 beds after reopening Mount Ephraim House and acquiring Broadacres • As part of our Digital Transformation programme, one third of our homes now use Nourish, new technology that improves how we record and evidence care in our homes, with the remaining homes set to bring the system on board in the coming year • We began our organisation-wide rollout of the Gold Standards Framework accreditation, which promotes the highest standards of palliative care • Our resident satisfaction scores increased, with 96% of residents saying they are ‘happy’ with the care we provide, a 3% increase on the previous year 96% of residents are ‘happy’ with their care (Customer Survey 2024)
OUR IMPACT ON: RESIDENTS
As our organisation continues to grow, we never lose sight of the people who matter most: our residents. In the last financial year, we invested into our residents’ environments, drove improvements to our activities provision, aligned our palliative care with best practices and invested in technology to strengthen our care recording process. We take this year’s increased resident satisfaction scores as a positive sign we are on the right track.
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Our Impact in 2023 – 2024
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“IT’S VERY FRIENDLY… WE CAN DO OUR OWN THING HERE”
Sisters Pam Blight and Vera Wren moved into Borovere, a Greensleeves Care home in Alton, at the same time and into neighbouring rooms. The sisters told us about their life at the home: Pam: “We both wanted to be in the same home, and taking it a step further, our rooms are right next door to each other!” Vera: “Our family come to visit and they can see both of us here, which is nice. We’ve just been visited by a cousin who lives nearby, so we had tea and cakes together. We like having people come to see us at the home, but we don’t make big parties of it.” Pam: “Well, we could if we wanted to! It’s very good here really, it’s very friendly. We can do our own thing here. There’s nobody saying, ‘do this’, or ‘do that.’” Vera: “We make our own life here. We do all sorts with Andy (Activities Co-ordinator). They know we like putting things together and taking them apart, so they always come to us if something needs repairing!” Pam: “Our Dad was quite handy and showed us how to fix things, and that’s served us really well in life. So it’s nice they encourage us to carry on with that here. They’re all very nice, the girls.” Vera: “… and the boys! Don’t forget the boys, they’ll be upset.”
“We make our own life here. They know we like putting things together and taking them apart, so they always come to us if something needs repairing!”
Vera
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Our Impact in 2023 – 2024
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‘REMINISCENCE HIGH STREET’ TO SUPPORT MEMORY Gloucester House, our residential, dementia and nursing home in Sevenoaks hand-built a row of vintage style shops, including a post office, greengrocers, tearoom, flower shop and even a bus stop – right in the home’s back garden. The high street is a step back in time for the home’s residents, many of whom are living with dementia. The street is equipped with vintage-style cash registers, weighing scales, and classic sweets that hark back to their childhoods. Akin to the ‘dementia villages’ made popular in the Netherlands in the 2010s, residents are able to visit the shops at their leisure, enjoy a cup of tea at the tearooms, or buy cards and stamps to send to relatives, allowing them to maximise and preserve their independence while ensuring they are safe and well. Schemes like this are proven to reduce symptoms associated with dementia such as agitation and anxiety, through prompting nostalgia and pleasant memories.
NEW ROLE TO REINFORCE ACTIVITIES PROVISION This year, we introduced an Activities and Wellbeing Co-Ordinator to oversee the activities provision across all our homes, ensuring consistency and promoting larger group activities across our family of homes. We were thrilled to welcome Cassy Swann to the role, who had previously led activities at Kingston House, our home in Wiltshire. “I applied for the role of Activities and Wellbeing Co-Ordinator as I was keen to use my skills and knowledge to support the teams across all of Greensleeves Care and ensure they have the tools, resources and knowledge they need to help our residents stay happy and live enriched, fulfilling lives” said Cassy reflecting on her role.
“From the start of the project, we wanted to make sure it was a real team effort. Colleagues from all departments were involved, and our residents did a great job of painting the ‘shops’! We are always trying to encourage independence within our homes, and this allows us to continue to promote that. It was a real labour of love, and to see our residents enjoying it is just a wonderful result.”
“I feel the Activities Co-Ordinators are the heart of the home, ensuring all residents maintain a good quality of life and are empowered to live their lives as they wish to. “It is very rewarding knowing that my support positively impacts on the activity provision and wellbeing of our residents. I feel having worked as an Activities Assistant in one of our homes is helping me in my new role as I understand the demands of the job and can relate to the teams. I also feel this has helped me connect with residents across all our homes and find ways to meet their needs in a person-centred way.”
Leigh Leggatt, Activities Co-Ordinator at Gloucester House
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Our Impact in 2023 – 2024
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What our colleagues say: “I have worked for the charity for just over 5 years. It’s the best job in care I’ve ever had. I started as a carer and have progressed to Senior. We have regular training and our pay is higher than the other homes around here and we have the opportunity for overtime too. We get lots of other benefits as well if we want to use them.” Glassdoor “That feeling you get when you know the work you do contributes towards helping care for others. People are great here and the work is varied. Never a dull moment!” Glassdoor “Care work is not easy, it can be tiring after a long shift, but having worked in a different sector for a long time, I get so much fulfilment from care. I get to sit with the residents, talk with them heart to heart, and get to know more about them and really take care of them, and that’s something I wasn’t privileged to do in the past. It’s really fun to be here. I don’t see the home as a workplace, I see it as my second home.” Interview Our impact highlights: • We recognised 159 colleagues with long service awards of 5, 10, 20 and 30 years, including our Chief Executive’s 10-year award. • We saw a 26% increase in new users of our Thrive Mental Wellbeing App and delivered drop-in sessions including on stress and anxiety. • We championed diversity and inclusion, marching in London Pride for a second year, introducing a new Menopause at Work policy, and marking important cultural and religious dates across our homes and central office. • Our turnover was 21% - an increase from the previous year however significantly below the sector average at 28.3% (Skills for Care, October 2023)
OUR IMPACT ON: COLLEAGUES
96 new colleagues joined us in the last year
‘Inspiring our People’ is one of the three pillars in our 2022-2025 strategy. This year we have continued to look after, celebrate and encourage our colleagues. We know that good care can only be provided by a skilled, dedicated and well supported workforce. From technology that eases administrative processes to developments in our diversity and inclusion journey, we had plenty to celebrate this year.
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Our Impact in 2023 – 2024
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THREE DECADES OF EXCEPTIONAL CARE AND COUNTING
This year, Viera Gray House in Barnes, London celebrated a beloved member of its care team, Michael Mielnicki, on his 30 Year Long Service Award. Starting at the home in 1993, Michael has been an integral member of the team ever since, with his skills and knowledge providing a great source of support for his colleagues, especially new team members. “In my younger years I did many jobs that I didn’t find satisfying at all. So when I first got into care, I felt like I was finally doing something constructive and valuable. I believe that if you find a job that fulfils you, you should try and stick at it, and I feel like doing this job is very much an extension of who I am as a person. “I know that my actions at work directly impact others, both the residents and my colleagues, and I really value the courtesy and kindness of the team here. “I’ve also met many residents over the years and consider them all friends. One resident at Viera Gray House has been here for over fifteen years, so it’s been a shared experience for us both!” Congratulations, Michael, on your fantastic achievement, and thank you for your dedication over the years.
“I feel like doing this job is very much an extension of who I am as a person.”
Nearly 1 in 4 of our colleagues are aged 50-59 - the largest group
Michael
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Our Impact in 2023 – 2024
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NEW TECHNOLOGY ALLOWS OUR COLLEAGUES TO SPEND MORE TIME WITH RESIDENTS
A NEW COMMITMENT TO ‘GROWING OUR OWN’
This year, we began the rollout of Sona, a new system to simplify some of our administrative processes such as rota creation and shift booking through an app. Anna Muir, Digital Transformation Lead, explains some of the main benefits of Sona: “We know that our residents benefit from being cared for by familiar faces, and we expect that Sona will reduce our agency staffing through providing better visibility of open and available shifts to Greensleeves colleagues. “Other benefits include the ability for managers and administrators to instantly create rotas, which will give our teams much-needed time back to support work on the floor.” The launch of Sona comes as part of our digital transformation strategy, which sees us implementing new systems that harness the power of technology to improve our standards of care and work practices.
We are now proud members of The 5% Club, an initiative focused on boosting the recruitment of apprentices, graduates and sponsored students amongst our ranks. By becoming a member of The 5% Club we commit to raising the number of apprenticeships, students and graduates on formal programmes to 5% of our total workforce within 5 years. After our apprenticeship programme was recognised by the Connect2Care Overall Employer of the Year Award, this latest commitment showcases our dedication to investing in our people from the very start of their career in care. “I am so pleased that we have committed to this initiative. It is vital that we continue to show that a career in care is a meaningful one, with room for progression for those who want it. “We have already seen how our apprenticeship programme has positively impacted colleagues, empowering them to progress their skills and take on new challenges. I can’t wait to see how our membership of The 5% Club will provide many more of these opportunities.”
Sue Harris, Learning and Development Manager
Our Impact in 2023 – 2024 16
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At Greensleeves Care, we know that our residents aren’t the only people we care for. The journey of care-seeking and the process of moving into a care home can be a big adjustment for the families and friends of our residents too. We pride ourselves on being there to support families from their first contact, and are pleased to hear they feel well supported. OUR IMPACT ON: FAMILIES AND FRIENDS
What relatives say: “My dear friend booked herself into a Greensleeves Care home for end-of-life care. I visited her on many occasions and witnessed the care, compassion and friendship she received from all staff from the manager to the cleaner. The welcome she received, the peace she found and the love she felt made all the difference with the standards to her last weeks and days. In her last few weeks on this earth - my friend found the family she had craved all her life.” Friend of resident “Communication is excellent. Someone calls me whenever there is anything to report, no matter how trivial it might seem. The staff want to get to know relatives and make me feel welcome when I visit Mum.” Daughter of resident “The care mum receives is second to none. She has been a resident for eight months and her quality of life has definitely improved for the better. The range of stimulating activities, amazing and varied home-cooked food and level of dignified care given are outstanding. Every single member of staff is courteous, and kind and has mum’s best interests at heart. As a family we could not ask for more.” Daughter of resident Our impact highlights: • Increased satisfaction from families and friends with our services, with 98% of our relatives feeling ‘happy’ with the care we provide, up from 94% the previous year. • 99% of relatives feel welcome and involved in our homes, a 7% increase from the previous year.
99% of relatives say they are made to feel welcome and involved at our homes (Customer Survey 2024)
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NAVIGATING THE JOURNEY OF LOOKING FOR CARE
Leah, whose mother lives in one of our London homes, shares her story about the process of finding care. “As a family we felt we started on the back foot with looking for care, as there were delays with mum’s dementia diagnosis. My dad was also keen to look after mum in their home as long as he could, so even considering care in the first place was highly emotional. “When you have children, everyone has advice and can share knowledge. With decisions about care homes and dementia, there’s less willingness to be open about it. “Trying to find people who had been in this situation and could advise was a big obstacle. I suppose no one wants to talk about it because it’s facing the big questions nobody wants to address. “I had a friend who had done a lot of research into care homes when she was looking for care for her own mother last year. I was able to use that as a starting point which made the whole process easier. “You do have feelings about abandonment, but I am hugely reassured that my mum is getting significantly better care than she was getting from us. We love her dearly but couldn’t anticipate, and aren’t educated on, the needs people with dementia have. “There is an emotional burden that you don’t realise you’re carrying until the person moves into a care home. Suddenly you think “I don’t have to worry about this and that, I can go back to just being a daughter, instead of a daughter and a carer.”
“I can go back to just being a daughter, instead of a daughter and a carer.”
Leah
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Our Impact in 2023 – 2024
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OUR IMPACT ON: COMMUNITIES AND BEYOND
Our impact highlights: • Expanding our high-quality care provision with the reopening of Mount Ephraim House in Tunbridge Wells, and the acquisition of Broadacres in Norfolk • New outreach campaigns to grow our social impact beyond the walls of our care homes • Working towards our Net Zero goals by moving all our electricity supply to renewable energy sources and by improving our recycling rate from 49% to 74% • Our Chief Executive continued to champion the social care sector and older people through voluntary work including for the British Standards Institution
Our vision as an organisation is for older people to live fulfilling lives in a society that promotes their health, well-being and happiness. This year, we started community outreach campaigns sharing expert advice and resources and spreading positive messages around care. We also made progress towards our Net Zero agenda including by revamping our management of waste.
Mount Ephraim House
All our homes now have action plans to reduce food waste
97% of residents are satisfied with the appearance of their home’s building and grounds (Customer Survey 2024)
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Our Impact in 2023 – 2024
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BROADENING OUR SOCIAL IMPACT
This year, we launched two nationwide campaigns to expand our impact beyond our homes by supporting the wider community with care decisions, and busting myths around care home life. In June 2023, to mark Care Home Open Week, we launched a nationwide campaign to de-bunk common myths about life in care homes. ‘Keys to Open Minds’ involved residents and colleagues across our care homes going out into their communities and placing wooden keys in public areas and sharing them with businesses. The keys carried tags with messages that spelled out common myths around care homes and challenged them with facts. Residents and colleagues enjoyed getting out and about in their local areas, making conversations and connections and speaking to their local radio station. The story was covered in sector press, regional and local media, with an estimated reach of 10.3 million people. We then introduced our Warmth of Care campaign, where we provided free resources to families and older people who might be struggling more during the winter. The campaign shared advice on how to approach the subject of care, as well as support for keeping well during the winter months. As part of the campaign, our homes also extended an invite to their Christmas lunches to older people in the local community who might be experiencing loneliness during the winter.
“Our winter campaign allowed us to reach people at a time that is often a struggle for older people and their families. Our research showed that the increase in support families give to their older loved ones during winter can be challenging. Being in a position to support families during these times and allows us to further expand our social impact”, shares Shona King-Abraha, Greensleeves Care’s Director of Business Development. “Keys to Open Minds allowed us to combat some of the still prevalent misconceptions around care homes. As our own data shows, the reality is that for the vast majority of residents, care homes are a positive, much-valued chapter in people’s journey through later life.
“Long-standing myths are damaging not only for the sector, but for the thousands of families looking for specialist, 24-hour care for their loved ones. They want to feel confident and empowered in the choices they make. At Greensleeves Care, we believe that feeling empowered starts with having a myth-free, more accurate idea of what it is like to join a care home community.”
Shona King-Abraha, Director of Business Development
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Our Impact in 2023 – 2024
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EXPANDING OUR CARE PROVISION MOUNT EPHRAIM HOUSE AND BROADACRES
These two projects enabled us to expand our care to an additional 23 residents
In the financial year, we celebrated two major milestones in our ‘growing sustainably’ journey. In June 2023, we reopened Mount Ephraim House in Tunbridge Wells, after a period of extensive renovations. Then, in February 2024, we welcomed Broadacres, an independent residential care home in Norfolk, into the Greensleeves Care family. These projects have expanded our net capacity across the trust to support 23 more residents. They also allowed us to re-establish an important historical building in Tunbridge Wells, and expand our provision in the East of England, where we now operate nine homes including two services rated outstanding by the CQC.
Mount Ephraim House
Renovating and expanding a Kent landmark Mount Ephraim House reopened following a renovation period, during which residents lived in Greensleeves Care’s sister home, Lavender Fields, in neighbouring Sevenoaks. The 17 th century building is an important part of local history in Tunbridge Wells; a rumoured favourite hunting lodge of King Charles II, and operating as a care setting since the 1950s. Preserving this history and longevity of some of the original features of the building was vitally important to the project. Enabling more older people from the Tunbridge Wells community to access our high-quality care within a historical setting is a key outcome from the renovation and expansion project. Growing the home’s capacity by 50% means we could welcome back former Mount Ephraim residents as well as new, expanding our provision in the local area. Caring for more in the East Previously independently owned, Broadacres has been in operation as a care home for nearly 40 years. With capacity for 28 residents, the property was converted from a private residence in 1986 and subsequently extended. Broadacres features large bedrooms with full en-suite facilities, welcoming communal spaces and attractive landscaped gardens. As the newest member of the Greensleeves Care family, Broadacres allows us to progress our decades-long charitable mission of offering high-quality and person-centred care to more older people across England. A key goal of the transition period has been ensuring that Broadacres’ residents continue to receive the excellent care the home has been known for.
Our Impact in 2023 – 2024 Broadacres
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Senior Management
Board of Trustees
Chris Doherty Chief Financial Officer
Dallas Pounds Chair
Maria Townson Vice Chair
Paul Newman Chief Executive Officer
Julie Clarges Director of Quality and Compliance
Dennis Bryan Trustee
Shona King-Abraha Director of Business Development
Tracy Nelson Divisional Director (North)
Toma Omoma Director of HR and Company Secretariat
Angela Morris Trustee (since November 2023)
Mark Foster Trustee
Kim Davies Trustee
Des Kelly OBE Trustee
Mandy Whittingham Divisional Director (South & Nursing)
Sue Weller Digital Transformation Director
Mark Shaha Trustee
Jill Tombs Trustee (until October 2023)
Andrea Willimott Trustee (since November 2023)
Charles Spence Trustee
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Our Impact in 2023 – 2024
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Our Locations
Arden House (Leamington Spa) Borovere (Alton)
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The Briars (Sandown, Isle of Wight) Broadacres (Norwich) - from Feb 24 Broadlands (Oulton Broad) Buckler’s Lodge (Crowthorne) Clarendon Lodge (Rickmansworth) De Lucy House (Diss) Glebelands (Wokingham) Gloucester House (Sevenoaks) Grosvenor House (St Leonards-on-Sea) Harleston House (Lowestoft)
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Norwich
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Birmingham
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Henley House (Ipswich) Kingston House (Calne) Lavender Fields (Sevenoaks)
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The Manor (Old Windsor) The Meadowcroft (Tooting) Mount Ephraim House (Tunbridge Wells) The Orchards (Ely) Pelsall Hall (Walsall) Queen Elizabeth House (Bromley) Rose Cottage (Huntingdon) Sharnbrook House (Sharnbrook) Speirs House (New Malden) St Cross Grange (Winchester) - until Sep 23 Tickford Abbey (Newport Pagnell)
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London
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Bristol
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Torkington House (Acton) Viera Gray House (Barnes) Whitegates (Hastings)
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Our Impact in 2023 – 2024
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