A warm welcome to our home
Spencer Court is situated a stone's throw from historic Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, in the charming town of Woodstock. The home offers high-quality and compassionate residential and early-stage dementia care for up to 46 residents in a calm, friendly and comfortable surroundings.
- Residential Care
- Respite Care
- Vaccinated against COVID-19
Spencer Court offers dedicated, person-centred care in a peaceful cul-de-sac a short distance from the town centre and close to local amenities. The specialist home environment incorporates a number of features that promote reminiscence as therapy and enhance the quality of life of people living with dementia.
Residents can enjoy the daily social activities going on in the central communal areas with the hairdressing salon open during the week. The sensory room and landscaped gardens are often occupied with residents to relax and enjoy time with their family and friends.
Each private bedroom is a residents’ personal haven and there are cosy living areas in each of the households, along with kitchenettes and dining rooms. For those who join us for respite care, all of the facilities remain available including individual en-suite bedrooms, our delicious home cooked meals and daily activities.
Our key actions against Coronavirus
- Testing for employees and residents means that asymptomatic cases are picked up early.
- Plentiful supplies of PPE.
- Vibrant, fun and socially distanced social bubble activities for all residents.
- Indoor safe visitor spaces installed across the Trust.
- Rigorous cleaning including the use of the latest high-tech electrostatic devices.
- OSJCT is proactive in participating in the latest in research such as ‘instant’ Lateral Flow Tests and the Vivaldi2 antibody study.
We understand there may be a lot of questions and concerns at this time and to provide guidance to those looking to move into a care home view our admissions page.
Services & Facilities
The team
Food
Activities
Events
Pricing and Key Facts
About the team
Our friendly, professionally trained team are on hand around the clock to support our residents, ensuring they spend their day how they wish and enabling them to enjoy a fulfilling and independent lifestyle.
The attentive care team focus on the individual needs of the residents, with a tailored care plan for each person. Their aim is to improve the quality of life for our residents by creating lovely, comfortable, homely surroundings and by providing care, activities and other services designed around each resident’s needs and wishes.
Meet the team
Food
The talented chef and kitchen team prepare tasty, home-cooked meals on site daily from our own kitchens. We source quality produce for our excellent breakfast, lunch and dinner menus. All-day dining is available for lighter meals and snacks and all dishes are carefully balanced to get the best nutritional value and cater for individual dietary requirements and preferences.
Seasonal produce is chosen whenever possible and of course, relatives and friends are always welcome to join us. The menus change daily and the kettle is always on. Our chef bakes every day so there is always a fresh cake for residents, friends and family to enjoy.
Each of the households has their own small kitchen dining room where residents can take their meals if they wish. Residents are also encouraged to help prepare their own food and to make snacks whenever they choose.
Activities
Whether it’s wet or dry outside, we at OSJCT feel that activities are essential in providing the best caring environment to live in.
Hobbies don’t simply stop when living with us at Spencer Court. We have a dedicated Activities Co-ordinator who works closely with our residents to create a programme of fulfilling activities and events, tailored around each resident’s requests, hobbies and interests. The programme of events and activities provide a source of fun and laughter, to help each resident live their life to the full and make new friendships.
We are also fortunate to have the support of many volunteers of all ages from the local community, strengthening our links to this thriving market town. Here is a sample of activities on offer:
- Trips to garden centres, cafés, pubs, sporting events, National Trust parks, wildlife parks, aquariums and museums.
- Visit from Pets as Therapy Dogs
- Exercise and wellness activities, for example Seated Yoga, Zumba
- Fun activities with the local toddler and nursery groups
- Board game competitions and quizzes
- Music therapy sessions
- Gardening
- Arts and crafts
- Communal Church services
- Visit from a pop-up farm including ponies, sheep and goats
- Visit from Paro, a therapeutic robotic seal
Download sample activities schedule
With so many well-being activities for body and mind on offer, we also recognise that everyone needs some personal space for relaxation and mindfulness for personal reflection. The cosy lounges offer an opportunity for some quiet time or to host family and friends.
And that’s not all:
We’ve had silent discos, hoe downs, Chinese banquets, Oscar parties and so much more.
Many of the activities feature Reminiscence Therapy to aid those living with Dementia to remember events, people and places using sight, touch, taste, smell and sound.
Events
As we are within a vibrant community, there's never a dull moment. We run regular activities for all to join in:
- Afternoon teas
- Care Home Open Day
- Summer and Autumn fetes
- Christmas parties
View our full events calendar to see more upcoming events taking place at Spencer Court.
Pricing
Care fees vary depending on the level of care required and this will be confirmed upon completion of a care assessment prior to moving into the home.
Below is indicative pricing per week for self-funded residents.
| Care Type | Fees From | Fees To |
|---|---|---|
| Residential long term | £1190 | £1250 |
| Residential respite | £1290 | £1350 |
Our home charges self-funder rates for the services we provide. We accept third party top ups for individuals funded by the Local Authority up to the self-funder rate.
We understand that paying for long-term care can often be a complex subject, and with several options available to you it can be confusing. You will find helpful guidance on our Paying For Care page.
Key Facts
The Key Facts document contains information regarding this care home which can be used in comparison with other care homes or can be printed for reference and brought with you when you visit the home.
Meet the team
Our homes' professional services are provided by the Management team, Carers, Nurses and Dementia support teams (where required), Admiral Nurses, Support Workers, Activities Co-ordinators, Housekeeping, Handy Person, Administrators and the home's Chef and Catering team. We also have health professional support from Doctors, Nurses and personal services who will regularly come into the home.
Dorte Chandler
Monika Cembrzynska
Sarah Fitchett
Lorraine Hill
Carole 'Candy' Andrews
Julie Brain
Home Manager
Dorte Chandler is proud to be the Home Manager at Spencer Court. Dorte has worked in the care industry for 18 years having initially joined OSJCT as a carer at Mayott House (now an ECH scheme) when she was 20. Dorte was then promoted to Assistant Manager at the age of 21, which made her the youngest in the county at that time. Dorte then moved to Head of Care and after this Dorte became Home Manager at other OSJCT care homes. Dorte then joined the training department in Health and Social Care but, because she missed working in a care environment she re-joined OSJCT in July 2018.
Dorte has a Registered Manager Award, Health and Social Care level 4 and a counselling certificate.
Typically, Dorte begins her day by walking around the home, making notes and chatting with the residents. Dorte meets with the heads of departments on a daily basis to discuss the day ahead and highlight any priorities or appointments.
Dorte feels that every part of her role is equally rewarding, and she particularly loves talking to the residents, making sure they are happy, safe and well taken care of.
Dorte has two particularly fond memories of her time with OSJCT. The first was at Mayott House where she helped a resident fulfil a lifelong ambition of flying in a plane. The second was when she arranged for a resident at Townsend, who used to work on the railway, to go first class on the train to Dawlish in Devon for the day.
In her spare time, Dorte and her husband help their neighbour by doing her gardening and taking her dog out for walks. Dorte also has a love of pets, ballroom dancing and travelling in her campervan.
Head of Care
Head of Care Monika joined OSJCT to work for Spencer Court in 2020, during the Coronavirus pandemic. A qualified social worker, Monika had previously worked in the charity sector and in hospital settings with stroke patients before joining the home.
During the first wave of the pandemic Monika was inspired by the amazing job the care industry and the NHS were doing. This motivated her to apply for the role of Head of Care at Spencer Court: she wanted to be part of the solution to the problem the country was facing, and to be proud of what she does.
Monika’s job is to ensure excellent standards of care are maintained in the home by facilitating good communication and training across all teams. She works closely with individuals on the care teams to ensure their mandatory training is up to date, as well as completing probationary and review meetings with them, and taking care of weekly rotas.
Monika also plays a big part in facilitating a smooth admission process by being on hand to answer any questions and supporting the resident and their family as they move to the home. She continues to be a main point of contact for the residents’ families; keeping them up to date about their loved one and letting them know about any significant events at the home like COVID-19 vaccines and the home’s COVID-secure visiting room.
Having joined OSJCT during the pandemic, Monika acknowledges that one of the ongoing challenges of her role has been ensuring the home implements the latest government and OSJCT COVID-19 guidelines effectively to ensure residents and colleagues at the home remain safe, healthy and happy.
She feels proud to be able to help create a friendly place in which to live and work, and she loves seeing new carers finding their feet and a passion for their role. She enjoys spending as much time with the residents as possible and listening to their stories, which she says are full of wisdom.
Ever since her school days Monika has loved books: she studied English Literature at A Level and has always been an avid reader, mostly of novels. So, when she is not at work Monika finds time to pursue her life-long passion for reading. Monika is also a self-confessed ‘quirky cat lady’, and she says she cannot wait to be able to sign up for Zumba classes again after lockdown.
Administration Assistant
Sarah is Spencer Court’s Admin Assistant and will be the first to offer a very warm welcome to all visitors.
Head Chef
Chef Lorraine is a naturally talented cook who holds a level 2 NVQ in Catering and has worked in the care industry for over 30 years. She joined OSJCT in 2017 and enjoys being able to provide delicious and nutritionally balanced meals for residents at Spencer Court.
Creating varied menus to suit all tastes and dietary needs is an exciting part of Lorraine’s role. She and her team prepare all meals from scratch on-site in Spencer Court’s kitchens and they rise to the challenge of making any required changes in a timely fashion so that mealtimes are always prompt.
Food lover Lorraine believes strongly that food can be helpful towards healing and enjoys the way food can be a talking point as well as contributing towards residents’ wellbeing. Seeing the smiles of residents as they enjoy a home cooked dinner or freshly baked cake is Lorraine’s reward for a job well done.
At Christmas, Lorraine bakes individual Christmas cakes for residents and has been known to don fancy dress, much to the amusement of residents and the team alike.
During Lorraine’s spare time she enjoys unwinding with a good book or a trip to the theatre.
Care Leader
Candy has been one of Spencer Court’s Care Leaders since 2017 and has over 20 years’ experience working in the care sector, holding Health and Social Care NVQs at levels 2 and 3. She started as a cook and then decided to step into the care team, eventually becoming care leader.
Candy loves talking to the residents and her caring nature means she finds it easy to be supportive towards them as well as towards her colleagues.
Carer
Julie is one of Spencer Court’s dedicated team of carers and holds an NVQ level 2 in Health and Social Care.
With a particular fondness for working with older people and having always wanted a job that she could feel proud of, Julie decided to enter the care sector in 2006. Julie finds her role very rewarding; her days are busy yet satisfying and the residents she cares for always know how to make her laugh so there is never a dull moment.
In her spare time Julie enjoys a challenging herself with crossword puzzles.
Latest News
Apr 2021
Further to our previous ever popular online events, join our Admiral Nurses, specialists in dementia care, for a talk and Q&A session on the dementia journey from gaining a diagnosis, through the various stages the dementia journey may take. We will also look at the most common types of dementia.
Apr 2021
The Orders of St John Care Trust (OSJCT) specialists in dementia care held a virtual event to provide carers with support and advice on ways to communicate with a loved one who is living with memory loss.
Mar 2021
A group of young people from the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Oxford decided to give something back to their local communities on Annual Global Youth Day (20 March) by donating food and books to employees at Spencer Court Care Home in Woodstock and Isis House Care Centre in Oxford, both operated by The Orders of St John Care Trust (OSJCT).