Leweston takes part in TES campaign ‘Classrooms to Care Homes’

Leweston sent festive cheer into local care homes in the lead up to Christmas.

This year festive celebrations sadly look a little different due to the COVID restrictions, and this is especially the case in care homes. So, TES thought: ‘why don’t we connect schools and care homes to make everyone’s Christmas season a little merrier?’ Classrooms to Care Homes was born.

Lockdown has been hard for everyone, but care home residents and care home workers have been particularly isolated. Leweston hoped that its students could help to ease that loneliness by writing letters, streaming the Pre-Prep Nativity and sending in a recording of the school Carol Service.

Dr Helen Edwards, co-founder of online learning journal Tapestry, said: “More and more early years settings and care homes are appreciating the enormous benefits of intergenerational activities for both groups of participants.

“Older community members are shown love, kindness and empathy by the children, which is so important in relieving loneliness and anxiety. In turn, young children’s progress in communication, literacy and social development is supported through purposeful, mutually beneficial activities such as art, sharing stories and playing games.”

At the end of term, Leweston Prep were delighted to stream some festivity to the local community and shared their Pre-Prep Nativity to local care home, Abbey View in Sherborne, via Zoom. Further to this, the Prep’s ‘kindness elves’ challenged all of the Nursery and Prep pupils to create an extra Christmas card this year which was sent to residents at Abbey View, The Eastbury Sherborne and The Old Vicarage Care Homes, Leigh.

Students in the Senior School at Leweston also connected with local residents and shared their Carol Service and Christmas Concert with care homes in Sherborne, hoping to share festive cheer and make, what is a difficult time for some, a little merrier.

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