At Athena, exceptional dementia care isn’t something we aspire to, it’s something we live every day.
Across each of our seven homes, our colleagues create meaningful moments, build genuine relationships, and provide compassionate, person-centred care that helps every resident feel valued, understood and at home. Today, we’re incredibly proud to celebrate a significant milestone that reflects this commitment: Ashlynn Grange in Peterborough has achieved the outstanding Platinum award, the highest level of NaDCAS recognition, while our other six homes have each achieved Excellent 2-Gold Stars through the National Dementia Care Accreditation Scheme (NaDCAS). Together, these achievements demonstrate a shared commitment to continually raising the standard of dementia care across Athena.
What is NaDCAS?
The National Dementia Care Accreditation Scheme (NaDCAS) supports care providers to develop, recognise, and demonstrate excellence in dementia care.
Through its evidence-based standards, NaDCAS focuses on nine core foundations of exceptional dementia care, including leadership, staff development, participation and engagement, emotional connection, wellbeing, and the care environment.
For Athena, the accreditation journey has been about far more than achieving recognition. It has provided an opportunity to celebrate what we do well, identify new opportunities for growth, and further strengthen our person-centred approach, ensuring every decision we make is guided by the needs, preferences and wellbeing of our residents.
What This Achievement Means
Achieving Platinum at Ashlynn Grange and 2-Gold Stars across our other six Athena homes is a proud moment for everyone involved. While Platinum represents the highest level of recognition, every award reflects the same dedication to delivering compassionate, person-centred dementia care.
It reflects the passion and dedication of our colleagues, who go above and beyond every day to create supportive environments where people living with dementia can continue to live with dignity, purpose and joy.
It’s also a commitment, to residents, families and one another – that we will never stop learning, evolving and finding better ways to deliver outstanding care.
How We're Bringing Dementia Care to Life
As part of our NaDCAS journey, we’ve introduced and expanded several initiatives that enrich daily life across our homes, including:
• Dedicated activity stations that encourage independent engagement and meaningful occupation.
• Dementia-friendly equipment that promotes confidence and accessibility.
• Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) resources, alongside structured CST programmes currently operating across two of our homes.
• Our Connected Living approach, where meaningful engagement is everyone’s responsibility, not just the Lifestyle team.
These initiatives reflect our belief that great dementia care is woven into every interaction, every environment and every moment of the day.
A Message from Our CEO
“Achieving an Outstanding Platinum and 6 Excellent 2-Gold Stars across all of our homes through the NaDCAS dementia accreditation is a tremendous accomplishment and one that reflects the unwavering commitment, compassion and professionalism of our entire team.
Every team member has played a part in creating environments where people living with dementia receive exceptional, person-centred care, and I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve achieved together.
The NaDCAS framework has helped us build on our strengths, challenge ourselves to do even better, and ensure that the people we support remain at the heart of everything we do.
While this recognition is something to celebrate, we see it as another milestone rather than a destination. We remain committed to continually learning, improving and innovating, building on this success as we strive for the next stage of excellence and continue making a meaningful difference to the lives of our residents and their families every single day.”
– Lorna Rose, CEO
The Moments That Matter
Accreditation is an important milestone, but the real measure of success is found in everyday life across our homes.
It’s the reassurance a family feels knowing their loved one is understood. The smile shared during a meaningful activity. The confidence a resident gain through independence. The compassionate support offered by colleagues who truly know the people they care for.
These are the moments that define Athena, and they’re the reason we continue striving for excellence.
Looking Ahead
While we’re proud to celebrate this achievement, our journey doesn’t stop here.
We’re committed to continually learning, investing in our people, embracing innovation and sharing best practice across all our homes, ensuring every resident continues to receive the exceptional care they deserve.
We look forward to continuing our partnership with NaDCAS and sharing more milestones with our residents, families, colleagues and wider community as we continue shaping the future of dementia care together.
To learn more about the National Dementia Care Accreditation Scheme, visit: www.nadcas.org
