WATCH: Playtime as nursery children join care home

Wednesday 13 March 2019

Nursery school children are helping elderly islanders keep "young at heart" through a new weekly programme bringing playtime into a local care home.

Inspired by Channel 4's ‘Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds’, three and four-year-olds from Little Dragons Nursery at St. George’s Preparatory School are now visiting La Haule Care Home every Friday.

Started following the suggestion of one pupil's family, the visits, which see one of La Haule's rooms filled with games, colouring books and snacks, have now been going for two-and-a-half months. They have proven so popular that they've been formally incorporated into the school's curriculum.

Video: Inter-generational play at La Haule care home.

While the children were a little bit shy the first time, they quickly warmed up to the residents, whom they call 'Grannies and Grandpas'. Every week they look forward to their visits and ask about the residents every Monday when they come back to nursery after the weekend. 

Jo Wrigley, Head of Early Years at St. George’s who organised the sessions, said the weekly visits have proven extremely popular with the young pupils who really enjoy talking to, and playing games with, the residents.

"Having spent time looking into similar schemes, we were hopeful that our young pupils would benefit from spending time with the older generation, but it’s fair to say that the impact of the visits has exceeded our expectations," Mrs Wrigley said.

Pictured: Jo Wrigley, Head of Early Years at St. George’s, says the children look forward to their visits every week.

"We’re finding that the generations communicate with ease and the relaxed environment allows the children to naturally develop their language and empathy. For some of our pupils who don’t have older members of their family on-island, it’s a valuable opportunity to interact with a generation that has so much to offer, not least their knowledge, experience and patience!"

The residents at La Haule are as eager as the children about the visits as Pauline Safe, Manager of La Haule, explained: "Our residents were extremely enthusiastic about welcoming the children from St. George’s, and they have not been disappointed.

"They look forward to the visits each week and engage with the children in games and sing-alongs. There’s nothing like spending time with the young to keep you ‘young at heart’, and as much as we see the children flourishing from the sessions, we also find that our residents gain a lot from them too. They are very at ease with one another, and chatting away, reading and singing are all excellent activities to keep the brain active."

Pictured: The children and the residents have bonded together over the course of the weekly visits.

Both the nursery's teachers and staff at La Haule have seen the positive impact of the visits on the children and the residents alike. Mrs Wrigley said that some of the children have grown more confident.

"They thoroughly enjoy coming here every week, being with this generation of people, people they don’t interact with normally. They love doing what they do, having their little treats that they get given," she said.

"They’re very happy and it’s lovely for me to see everyone else in the room smiling, it warms your heart to see what the children do and their interaction with the residents and how it makes them just smile."

Pictured: More and more residents want to take part in the sessions every week.

For Mrs Safe, it has been "very special" to see the interaction and to watch some lovely bonds forming."We’re even finding that residents who were previously unsure about taking part are joining in as the weeks go on," she added.

"We look forward to continuing the sessions and to watching the children and residents continue to flourish."