Intergenerational nursery at care home village gets green light

The first intergenerational nursery to open in a care home village setting in the North West is set to welcome young and old in the new year.

The intergenerational nursery is based at care home operator Belong's new care village in Chester which will open its doors to nursery children from January 2022, after planning permission was recently granted.

Belong is opening a 25-place nursery for children aged from birth to age five.

Liz Ludden, who owns Liverpool’s Dukes and Duchesses Nursery School, has been appointed to run the new nursery.

A spokesperson for Belong, which runs 14 care homes and adult day centres, said: "The intergenerational nursery is designed to offer shared learning experiences and opportunities for children, families and older people, and will develop into a blueprint for intergenerational practice.

"Village and nursery teams will work closely together to create a truly shared environment where children and older people can actively spend time together building meaningful relationships and connections.”

The nursery will be managed by charity Ready Generations, which specialises in intergenerational learning.

Intergenerational learning 'improves cognition and health'

“Building connections between generations is proven to have extensive benefits for both older and younger people” says Sue Egersdorff, founder of Ready Generations.

“Intergenerational interactions are shown to improve cognition, health and wellbeing, including supporting the learning and development of children and reducing feelings of disconnect and loneliness in older people.

“Young people also gain life experiences and improve their personal and social skills within new situations and environments. Both enjoy positive social interactions and the chance to develop meaningful friendships where age is of no significance."

Fostering intergenerational communities at Belong care settings across the UK has already led to the creation of play facilities for young children and Belong's work with schools has developed intergenerational activities involving reading, singing, art and even science experiments.

Firm friendships between care home residents run by Belong and children have been made across the country. As part of National Intergenerational Week (8-14 March) residents at Belong Newcastle-under-Lyme created their very own ‘Ugly Mugs’ which were sent to be painted by school children at St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Blackfriars Academy.

Once opened next January, Belong Chester will give care, housing and support for older people and its facilities in the village centre includes a bistro, hair salon, gym and art studio.

As well as apartments for independent living, the village will have family-sized households for people requiring round-the-clock care, including specialist dementia and nursing care.

Belong’s deputy chief executive, Tracy Paine, said: “All our villages provide a vibrant hub within the wider community, and we are particularly excited about the unique possibilities of having an integrated intergenerational nursery on site.

“With a successful track record in promoting intergenerational engagement, we already witness the benefits of this approach. By working closely with Ready Generations, we have been able to access the most advanced knowledge from research and practice to take this a step further.”

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