FAQs

Homemade Circus is a two-year project by Upswing that brings the joy and wonder of circus activities to care homes across London and the Southeast. In partnership with care home staff and activity coordinators from Anchor, Excelcare, and BUPA, and funded by City Bridge Trust and The Rayne Foundation, we delivered practical circus sessions for residents and trained care home staff to continue leading these activities independently.

The Digital Toolkit website is an online resource providing accessible guides for care home staff to learn to run circus activities within their own settings.

Upswing’s Toolkit will show you step-by-step how you to use Circus equipment (such as juggling balls, coloured scarves and hats), and adapt the sessions to anyone’s needs, to help improve dexterity, mobility, concentration and to lift the mood of your home. The toolkit is made with complete beginners in mind! We will guide you from start to finish through our instructional videos, downloadable worksheets, equipment links and ‘Help’ section.

All of the activities in the toolkit can be adapted to suit the needs of your care home, and you can watch the videos at your own pace. Some of these activities can be delivered in just 5 – 10 on a one-to-one basis. We’ve learnt that even these short sessions encourage connection between staff and residents, and bring benefits to your staff and the people who live in your home. You could also consider scheduling a regular weekly session at the same time each week so that people know when the session is happening.

If you want to run a full session, we recommend 45-60 minutes of uninterrupted circus activity. Ideally, you should allow time before the session whilst people are entering the room and add some time at the end of the session for a gentle warm-down and socialising afterwards. We will guide you through running your first circus session in the ‘Planning Your Workshop’ section of the toolkit.

We have done extensive testing and research to choose the most accessible and adaptable activities for the Digital Toolkit. Every activity can be changed to suit someone’s needs, and we show you how to do this in our video tutorials. We wanted to ensure no one was ‘counted out’ when it came to who can take part. As a result, absolutely anyone can take part in these activities, including those with dementia, those living with cognitive/physical impairments, and activities can also be taken to those who are not able to move from their beds. We have seen some of the best results and changes in people who care home staff initially thought might not be able to take part.

We will provide you with links to the websites of circus equipment providers in the UK where you can purchase equipment for all of the activities that we teach you in our videos. 

Introducing circus activities into your care homes can be a transformative experience, enhancing residents’ quality of life, including those with dementia or physical disabilities. Circus offers benefits like increasing physical movement, communication, and alertness to uplifting moods and decreasing anxiety. These vibrant, tactile activities get people out of their comfort zones in an encouraging way and foster social connections, strengthening bonds between residents and staff. Crucially, the activities that we teach can be adapted to meet diverse abilities, ensuring an inclusive and rewarding experience for everyone. By embracing the magic of circus, you’ll open the door to a world of wonder, joy, and meaningful connections, empowering residents to rediscover their vitality and purpose.