Forging friendships between young and old with music, stories and play Monday 17 June 2019 Recent reports on the benefits of intergenerational care – the practice of bringing the young and the elderly together by introducing nurseries and care homes to one another – came as no surprise to us at Rose Court. For 11 years now we have had a special relationship with our neighbours at the care home Headingley Hall and have seen at first hand the positive impact on everyone involved when children and the older generation socialise. The practice of intergenerational care has been growing in Japan and the US for about 20 years and is spreading throughout the world. However, according to the 2018 Mixing Matters report by the think tank United for All Ages, Britain is one of the most age-segregated countries in the world – a gap which has widened in the last 50 years. The report highlighted the first care home with a nursery on site, which opened in London in 2017 and recommended that 500 such shared sites be created across the country by 2022 to tackle growing social divides. A special relationship Although not on the same site as Headingley Hall, Rose Court’s special relationship with the nearby care home started in 2008 when a class of Year 2 children visited with music teacher Chris Turner to sing Christmas carols. That was just the beginning of many visits and, below, Chris writes about how a strong bond of friendship has grown which benefits both young and old. “We have been many times to sing, play recorders and ocarinas and to mingle and chat with the residents, or to play board games with them. Over the years we have taken part in a ‘music in the air’ project, an initiative to introduce music into care homes, and have also sung at Headingley Hall’s open days as well as National Care Homes Day. In turn, the residents have been to Rose Court to watch our shows and nativity plays on many occasions. Shared enjoyment “The children gain confidence from performing to an audience outside of school and they enjoy their trips to Headingley Hall but, more importantly, they learn how their music and their happy conversation can bring joy into the lives of other people, a few of whom rarely spend time with children. “The youngsters are respectful and natural and learn from listening to the residents talk about their lives when they were children: what Christmas was like, what games they played, what songs they sang. It fascinates them to realise that they know some of the same songs (especially at Christmas) and young and old love singing together. “One summer some of the residents became involved in a history project which the children were working on and wrote wonderful letters to them, describing their memories of seaside holidays in their childhood. “For their part, the residents of Headingley Hall look forward eagerly to the children’s visits and find the little ones delightful. According to activities coordinator Suzanne Frain, their faces light up when they see the children come in and time spent with the young people brightens their day.”
