The Beehive Centre
Our day activity and therapy centre. It’s a lively and sociable setting for adults with disabilities. It’s a place where people can meet and make new friends, acquire new skills, and enjoy a wide range of experiences.
“The Beehive Centre has always brought a massive grin to Colin’s face. It’s a place of support and comfort.”
Colin’s parents
What to expect...
Our therapy suite overlooks the garden, allowing visiting professionals to provide physiotherapy and other therapies, and for staff to deliver relaxation and massage, as well as daily physio following each individual’s programme.
At the heart of the building is the kitchen; this is run as a side-by-side accessible kitchen where students can learn new skills to use in their own homes, as well as preparing food to enjoy together. The kitchen includes a number of height-adjustable independent workstations so that these activities are fully accessible from any wheelchair height. For those less independent, the sensory side of preparing meals; smell and touch, is also enjoyed.
Providing daily experiences
The Beehive Centre emphasises choice, flexibility, and spontaneity; each day offers a variety of activities for people to participate in as part of a group or on an individual basis. These include music, arts and crafts, cookery, gardening, fitness training, swimming, drama, and a community café.
We work in partnership with the National Trust at Kingston Lacy and a small group of students and staff have been working on an allotment growing tomatoes, lettuce, onions, green beans, and courgettes. All the produce is sold, and proceeds benefit the centre.
In the summer season there are opportunities for everyone to get out in the community a lot more – whether that is taking advantage of schemes such as sailing with Sailability, carriage riding at Holton Lee, or a boat trip around Poole Harbour. Staff also organise activities and outings for those they support based on their interests and abilities, for example trips to Marwell Zoo and Waltzing Water Spectacular on the Isle of Wight, which enable students to experience new environments and sensations.
Students also go for swimming sessions at local public pools and Langside School, these take place once a week and some students take part in wheelchair aerobics or tai chi.
Come with us on a virtual tour of The Beehive
Come with us on a virtual tour of The Beehive
The Sensorium
The design of our new Sensorium has been developed in partnership with a company that harness vibration technology so people can experience sensations through their body via speakers under the floor, corresponding to different environments and musical compositions.
4K images project across all four walls of the immersive space; creating 360-degree image to completely change the visual environment. The room is interactive via four motion tracking cameras, which enable people to move images around the room at the wave of a hand, nod of a head, or kick of a foot, depending on their personal abilities.
Ambisonic 3D sound played from eight speakers add to the atmosphere to make everyone’s time in the space truly immersive. We aim for people to feel transported into an environment as if they were there, such as a busy shopping centre or an air show, before experiencing them in the real world.
This room enables people with profound learning and physical disabilities to enjoy a special sensory experience, such as ‘hearing’ music in a new way, or seeing soothing colours, soundscapes and relaxing vibrations wash over them. This can also be used to support a physiotherapy programme, such as gently stretching muscles. People we support enjoy engaging with their environment using the interactive screen to play games or influence their environment where they may often struggle to do so.
Support where it’s needed
Staff are trained to support students with a range of health needs including individual physiotherapy programmes, administration of oxygen, medication, PEG feeding and suction. Recruitment processes set out in the CQC National Minimum Standards are followed, so all staff are reference checked and undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check before they start work at the centre.
The Beehive Centre students are usually funded from either Health (Continuing Healthcare) or Social Services, after an individual assessment of their needs. A smaller number of people receive money from Social Services in the form of a Direct Payment and choose to spend this buying a service from The Beehive. Please contact your local team for a referral.
How do you refer?
Getting in contact
Phone: 01202 739560
Email: thebeehive@diverseabilities.org.uk
Address: The Beehive Centre, 13 – 15 Manor Avenue, Parkstone, Poole, BH12 4LB
Opening Hours: Monday – Friday 9am – 4pm (excluding Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day)