Sandwood childrens play session a hit | Abbeyfield Living Society

Joy Across Generations

Sandwood care home in Nottingham have been running a weekly ‘stay and play’ session, to which parents and grandparents can bring their children or grandchildren to talk, play and interact with the residents.

Activities coordinator, Emma Cass, explains, “Our residents love welcoming children to the home, and you can see their faces light up.

“The session is open to anyone in the community with children or grandchildren of preschool age. We advertise primarily on Facebook, and it has proved quite popular so far. We have only been running the group since May, but the feedback we have had from both parents and residents has been overwhelmingly positive.”

Sarah Sansom, who regularly attends the Sandwood sessions with her two-year-old daughter, Willow, says, “I take Willow to a few playgroups, but this one is different. Not only do the children enjoy playing together and with the residents, but the residents also get so much from it too. You can see the smiles on their faces, and it is so heartwarming.

“Willow remembers the name of one of the residents that held the bubble machine for her to play with and looks forward to coming to the group every week.”

Resident Kath Tremayne (pictured), 93, added, “It's wonderful to watch the children playing, they have so much energy!”

Emma continues, “We predominantly have toddlers, who are usually more than happy to play with the residents. Sometimes we’ll have a few babies, who can’t interact so much, but seeing them helps the residents to remember and talk about their own children when they were that age.

“The sessions are fairly flexible, and we’ll have toys, books and a couple of arts and crafts activities dotted around. We’ll normally sing a few songs at the end, which the residents all join in with, and we’ll have a story to finish off. Our chef will also prepare a packed lunch for each child to take away when they leave.

“Each week will also have a theme, and I like to create a fruit display to match it. For example, we have had a melon T-Rex for the dinosaur theme, and a pineapple crocodile for the jungle theme. It puts a smile on everyone’s face and might even get the children and the residents eating some fruit!”

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