Young pupils from The Dixie Grammar School are continuing to brighten the days of care home residents despite continuing restrictions.

Before the pandemic struck in Easter 2020, our Year 6 pupils had weekly visits with residents of Market Bosowrth Court Care Home. Activities included making bird-feeders, painting with the residents and helping to serve afternoon tea and had a great positive impact on both residents and the young pupils.

Covid restrictions of course prohibited any face-to-face contact, but the initiative evolved to find new and innovative ways of maintaining contact and continuing to offer much needed social contact, support and joy.

Restrictions still mean that pupils are not able to enter the home, but the group of Year 6 pupils still meet weekly to design and create activities for the residents. The latest initiative is a termly magazine, filled with jokes, pictures, colouring activities and seasonal information. Each Dixie Dozen is based around a theme e.g. Autumn, Easter and the final one this year will be Summer. The pupils also make games to send with the magazine, for example life-size spot the difference, life-size snakes and ladders, hangman, snap cards. The pupils often find that activities with a chocolate element are the most popular!

Mrs Helen Daniels, who organises the group, drops the materials off each term and receives regular feedback and pictures from the residents and the home via Facebook. She comments, “I am delighted with the level of care and respect shown by our young pupils. It is hard to overstate the value of connecting these residents, who have an enormous amount of life experience, with young people, who have both much to offer and much to learn. I am hugely grateful to all those involved who have helped make this happen and continue to support it.”