NURSERY school children took a trip to visit elderly patients at St David’s Hospice as part of an ongoing intergenerational project.

Rougemont School’s nursery has linked up with the Day Hospice to hold regular visits, where the pupils will take part in a range of activities with the patients at the Hospice over a five-week period.

Head of Rougemont Preparatory School Lisa Pritchard said that the project was about bringing the generations together to learn from each other.

She said: “The sessions are about opening up that sense of learning and breaking down those barriers.

South Wales Argus:

Making gingerbread men, Jesse from Rougemont School’s nursery and Vernon Smith at St David’s Hospice Care in a ‘making friends through play’ sessions. www.christinsleyphotography.co.uk

“Each week, before we come, we tell the children we are coming, and they remember the patients who they we talking to before.

“Rowan, one of our little boys made a beeline for Harry, one of the patients, in week one, and he went straight to him when we came back to paint the next week.

“You see the patients sharing stories and joining in. It’s lovely to see. They recognise the value of it for the little ones.

“It’s been well over a year in the making. I came to look at the Hospice before to make sure that it was the right environment for the children.

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“After that, Angela and I gave a presentation to the nursery parents sharing with them our vision and what we want to achieve with this.”

Angela Canales, Complementary Therapy manager at the Hospice, approached the school about starting the intergenerational project.

She said: “One of my roles is to bring in new activities for the patients. We really wanted to work on an intergenerational project.

“It’s about bringing something different to the Day Hospice.

“It’s a nice opportunity for the adults and the children to learn from each other.

“All of the patients have been really keen to join in with the activities with the children.

“It’s about building those relationships and learning from each other.

South Wales Argus:

Rougemont School’s nursery has teamed up with St David’s Hospice Care to participate in some ‘making friends through play’ sessions with community. www.christinsleyphotography.co.uk

“Because of the kind of day patients that we have here, sometimes they might not be able to take part on that day, but even then they still come and watch.”

The Hospice is hoping to start a similar project in Pontypool later in the year.

Vernon Smith, a day patient at St David’s, said that he looked forward to the children’s visits.

“I like it when they come in, they are really lovely,” he said.

“You only have to look at the excitement on their faces to cheer you up.

“I enjoy every moment of it. It brings me back to when I had children of that age.”