Organisers of a series of online sessions being run as part of a pilot project designed to put schoolchildren in contact with care home residents say they have been moved to tears by the stories of people’s lockdown loneliness.
Staff running the sessions, which are designed to help vulnerable and isolated groups recover from the pandemic lockdown, believe that their work has helped lift the lid on how much young and old people have missed out on contact with others and the effect that it has had on them.
The pilot project is called the Inter-generational Unity Challenge and is being run by the award-winning Nottingham social enterprise Infused Learning, which won a £46,000 grant from the UnLtd Inclusive Recovery Fund in order to launch it.
Pupils from Chuter Ede Primary School in Newark put on 1980s-themed activities and games when they went online to talk to residents at a Nottingham care home in Infused Learning’s intergenerational project.
It has been taking place on a weekly basis involving schools and care homes in Nottingham, Derby and London, with children aged from nine to 16 talking to pensioners, many of whom have dementia, over the internet.
The project was launched at the start of the month and began with children talking about how lockdown and remote learning at home had made them feel cut off from friends and their family – especially their grandparents – which made them feel sad and unhappy.
Two weeks later, the project finally brought the children into contact online with the elderly residents, many of whom had not seen their relatives for many months due to the covid restrictions.
Infused Learning’s founders, Natalie Sharpe (left) and Tara Askham, won a £46,000 grant from the UnLtd Inclusive Recovery Fund in order to launch their project.
Infused Learning’s co-founder, Tara Askham, said: “Once we got the children online taking part in the activities, we realised quite how important this project was and many of our tutors have been moved to tears by what they have seen.
“Many of the children said they’ve been feeling lonely and that they have missed their grandparents, while you can see what being able to talk to the children and joining in their activities meant to the residents as well.
“This has taken us months to plan and it’s been incredibly hard work, but the results were definitely worth it and have shown us what a difference this project would make if we held the sessions face to face on a national scale.”
The UnLtd Inclusive Recovery Fund, which is a partnership between UnLtd, the foundation for social entrepreneurs, and Comic Relief and is supported by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport as, is designed to support community projects taking place in the face of challenges caused by the pandemic.
Natalie Sharpe, co-founder of Infused Learning, added: “There is a wealth of evidence pointing to a range of benefits of intergenerational learning, well beyond the way in which it brings young and old people together.
“The children learn a host of communication skills, as well as patience, respect and an understanding of older people, while for elderly people, especially those with dementia, it encourages them to use their memories and, even if they don’t communicate verbally, it can have tremendous benefits for their health and wellbeing.”
Kim Venables, head teacher of one of the schools taking part, Salterford House School, near Calverton in Nottinghamshire, said: “Any learning that involves an
increased awareness of the needs of others really benefits children in becoming valuable citizens within society and teaches them skills for life, and this provides a vital link to the outside world at a challenging time.
“Taking part allowed them to collaborate on a real project during the isolating period of lockdown and also think about the experiences of other people and the loneliness they may experience, the difficulties of dementia and decreased mobility but also the crippling effects of isolation from family and friends.”
