GALLERY: Children wrote and told stories to residents of Swindon care home for national storytelling week

A Swindon care home continued its mission to forge closer links between its residents and the younger local community, by celebrating National Storytelling Week (27 January to 3 February).

Following the success of visits from a local nursery, Abbey House care home in St Andrew’s Ridge is bridging the generation gap further by linking with a Year 6 writing club from the local primary school, Abbey Meads.

Eight children visited on Thursday 1 February to read and discuss stories they have written specifically for the residents.

The school’s writing club have previously visited the residents at Abbey House, which has a focus on dementia care, and went away inspired to develop their stories, based around the theme of a snowman.

Kinga Dabrowska, customer relations coordinator at Abbey House says visits from children have already had a profoundly positive effect on residents: “I have been struck by the incredible impact children have had on our residents at previous events, so I’ve been really keen to develop more links with local schools and nurseries. Dementia can make some people withdrawn, awkward or even challenging in social interactions. But in the presence of children, it all seems to subside, mood uplifts and alertness resurfaces.

"As for the children – they simply do not see limitations in people in the way adults do, and remain their usual playful selves, engaging, laughing, and bouncing around. National Storytelling Week seemed like a wonderful opportunity to bridge the age gap once again.”

Miss Hewitt, the Abbey Meads teacher leading the project, said: “At Abbey Meads School we believe in 'paying forward' – or doing good deeds - and the children in Year 6 have been keen to do this by making a link with Abbey House. We have lots of plans for the year but were keen to join in with the storytelling week. We are currently writing stories in school and it has given the children a real purpose for their writing.”

The children went back to the care home on Thursday 1 February to read their stories to the residents, with the hope that their stories will stimulate conversation and connections between the two generations.