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Intergenerational friendships


By Staff Reporter

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Dallas pupils and Cathay residents preparing for Bingo.
Dallas pupils and Cathay residents preparing for Bingo.

PUPILS from a village school have made friends with a large group of older people in Forres.

Over the last six months, every Friday, four Dallas Primary P6s have spent the afternoon with Cathay Care Home residents, enjoying games, arts, crafts and gardening together while sharing their experiences of life.

Dallas Head Teacher Mairi Grant suggested the regular fun sessions after a successful festive visit in December.

She said: "We visited Cathay at Christmas to help with Christmas crafts. We were making it at school at the time and I asked if they’d like us to come and do some with the residents.

"I could see the benefits to our pupils, including learning valuable skills for life such as confidence, caring, nurturing and understanding the challenges of growing older so we arranged a more structured programme with Cathay's entertainment co-ordinator, Libby."

She added: "It’s gone so well it’s going to be part of the P6 curriculum from now on!

"The pupils have grown in confidence by speaking with older people and interacting in an unfamiliar setting. They feel proud and pleased that they are helping others."

Libby agreed that the project has been a success.

She said: "The residents love having the younger generation assisting them when are doing activities in the lounge. We hope their visits will continue after the summer holidays."

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