Nursery children are visiting residents in a care home as part of an innovative intergenerational project in Bexhill. We found out more about the positive impact that these visits are having on both parties.
The children from Rainbow Childcare Centre visit Ashgrove Care Home, which caters for older people and specialises in dementia care, once a week. Activities are set out by the team at Ashgrove for the children and older people to enjoy together.
Sam, the deputy manager of the nursery and lead of the project, says: “I believe the project has done wonders for the language, confidence and social skills of the children
at the setting. They really enjoy the experience and are excited to go.
“Surprisingly, shy children really excel and the changes in self-confidence and self-esteem levels since the start of the project have been astonishing.”
Kelly, the activities coordinator at Ashgrove, said: “Since the project started we have seen positive benefits to our residents. Having the children visit encourages our residents to engage and interact through playing games and sharing refreshments together.
“We have a lady who was in her settling in period here at Ashgrove, and she wasn’t eating or drinking. However, on the morning the children visited she happily sat and had snacks and refreshments with the children and engaged well with them. She has since continued to settle in well. We would encourage further care settings to become involved in this project.”
As both parties enjoy the visits so much, the project is being continued indefinitely.
If you’d like to find out more about doing something similar, there is a handy guide for setting up an intergenerational project on 3VA’s website.
