Northfleet Residents Join Nearby Nursery For Intergenerational Project

Children of Northfleet Nursery School have joined residents at Dene Holm Residential Care Home for an intergenerational project that will see them participate in bi-weekly visits to one another.

The project started on Monday 9th December, with the children visiting the residents to make Christmas cards. Different groups of children visited in the morning and the afternoon, and the visits will continue into the new year, taking place every other week and alternating with visits from the residents, to the school.

As well as making cards together, the children even sang some Christmas carols for the residents before they left. They’ve also been invited to watch the Nativity play at the nursery on Friday.

As the children were leaving, resident, Margaret said: “What a lovely morning, it’s been wonderful. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

In addition to the visits from the children, two of the home’s residents, Margaret and Sandy, have even trained to be Beanstalk Volunteers, which enables them to visit the school and assist with reading.

Panna Nagar, Headteacher of the school said: “This is something we’ve wanted to do for a long time, so we’re delighted to have started today. Some of the children don’t have grandparents, or they live far away, and some of the residents don’t have grandchildren, so it’s really special to see all the smiles on everyone’s’ faces.”

Christine Hutchinson, General Manager of Dene Holm added: “I’m so excited that we’ve been able to start developing this partnership with the school, intergenerational relationships are proven to be hugely beneficial for the children and the residents and already we have seen the joy it can bring, we’re all very excited to watch it grow.”