Become A Care Home Friend – Intergenerational Challenge

Welcome to our 10 week intergenerational challenge for young people!

It aims to get more young people connecting with older people living in care homes through a series of fun activities.

Through the challenge, young people will:

  • Think more about different ages and different generations
  • Learn about care homes and the people that live and work in them
  • Make/write something to share with a nearby care home

Get involved below and earn your Care Home Friend certificate!

 

** The Challenge originally ran in Summer 2022, but all the weekly activities are still available to access below.**

 


See the activities

Welcome to Week 1 of our Challenge! We start this week by thinking about different age groups.

Here are the activities to download:

  • Key Stage 1 Activity Sheet:
Download
  • Key Stage 2 Activity Sheet:
Download
  • Key Stage 3 Activity Sheet:
Download

 

Here are the Notes for Leaders – please read before starting!

  • Week 1 Notes For Leaders
Download

 

We’ve also created an assembly supporting Global Intergenerational Week:

  • Key Stages 1 & 2 Assembly – Global Intergen Week
Download
  • Key Stages 1 & 2 Teacher notes – Global Intergen Week Assembly
Download

 

  • Key Stages 3 Assembly – Global Intergen Week
Download
  • Key Stage 3 Teacher notes – Global Intergen Week Assembly
Download

 

This week focuses on connecting with people of different ages.

 

Here are the activities to download:

  • Key Stage 1 Activity Sheet:
Download
  • Key Stage 2 Activity Sheet:
Download
  • Key Stage 3 Activity Sheet:
Download

 

Here are the Notes for Leaders – please read before starting

  • Week 2 Notes For Leaders
Download

What is a care home? Who lives there? This week focuses on an introduction to care homes.

 

Here are the activities to download:

  • Key Stage 1 Activity Sheet:
Download
  • Key Stage 2 Activity Sheet
Download
  • Key Stage 3 Activity Sheet:
Download

 

Here are the Notes for Leaders – please read before starting. We also have some additional information about care homes to support adults to have conversations with young people about the topic.

  • Week 3 – Notes For Leaders
Download
  • Additional information about care homes
Download

This week we are thinking about the people who work in care homes and the different kinds of support they give.

Here are the activities to download:

  • Key Stage 1 Activity Sheet:
Download
  • Key Stage 2 Activity Sheet:
Download
  • Key Stage 3 Activity Sheet:
Download

 

Here are the Notes for Leaders – please read before starting.

  • Week 4 – Notes For Leaders
Download

 

In Week 3 we also released some additional information about care homes which you may wish to refer back to. This information is designed to support adults to have conversations with young people about care homes. 

This week we are finding out about the care homes in our local area. The activities this week involve internet research.

 

Here are the activities to download:

  • Key Stage 1 Activity Sheet:
Download
  • Key Stage 2 Activity Sheet:
Download
  • Key Stage 3 Activity Sheet:
Download

 

Here are the Notes for Leaders – please read before starting

  • Week 5 – Notes For Leaders
Download

This week we are making a postcard to send to our local care home.

As it’s Half Term in most places, children are also encouraged to share with those they live with what they’ve learnt so far in this Challenge.

 

Here are the activities to download:

  • Key Stage 1 Activity Sheet:
Download
  • Key Stage 2 Activity Sheet:
Download
  • Key Stage 3 Activity Sheet:
Download

 

Here are the Notes for Leaders – please read before starting

  • Week 6 – Notes For Leaders
Download
  • Postcards of Kindness Ideas Sheet
Download

 

Over the next 3 weeks, we are creating a hand-made gift to send to older people living in our local care home. We hope this will spread joy and kindness.

We have some ideas of activities you might like to try. Some have step-by-step instructions included (see Notes to Leaders). Alternatively you may wish to create something of your own. If you have more time, you could make more than one gift. Enjoy!

 

Here are the activities to download: 

  • Key Stage 1 Activity Sheet:
Download
  • Key Stage 2 Activity Sheet:
Download
  • Key Stage 3 Activity Sheet:
Download

 

Here are the Notes for Leaders – please read before starting. These notes also contain the hyperlinks to step-by-step instructions for some of the activities.

Download

Congratulations – you have reached the final week of the Challenge! This week children and young people receive their certificates and celebrate becoming Care Home Friends. In the final activities they reflect on their experiences of taking part and consider what they could continue doing with their local care home. It is also Care Home Open Week.

 

Here are the final activities and certificates to download: 

  • Key Stage 1 Activity Sheet:
Download
  • Key Stage 1 Certificate:
Download
  • Key Stage 2 Activity Sheet:
Download
  • Key Stage 2 Certificate:
Download
  • Key Stage 3 Activity Sheet:
Download
  • Key Stage 3 Certificate:
Download

 

Here are the Notes for Leaders – please read before starting. 

Download

 

Congratulations everyone! We hope you have enjoyed taking part.

 


The details

  • Each week has a worksheet filled with fun activities that takes children on an exciting intergenerational journey. Each week will cover a new theme with a bit of information about the topic and different activities to try. 
  • These activities can be completed in class or youth group session, as a homework activity, or as an individual activity supported by a parent/guardian. There are different versions suitable for Key Stages 1, 2 & 3.
  • The activities have been designed by teachers working on our wider Care Home FaNs: Intergenerational Linking project and have curriculum links. Notes to Leaders are also available to support adults, e.g. with lesson planning.
Curriculum links overview
  • At the end, participants will receive a Care Home Friend certificate. If interested, we can also provide further support in sustaining the connection made with your local care home.
  • Don’t worry if you’re reading this after our launch on 25th April 2022, you can find all the activities further up this page.
  • We hope everyone enjoys taking part and encourage you to share photos and updates with us!
  • We’d also love you to tell others about this Challenge.

Why take part?

  • Intergenerational work positively impacts on children. It can foster empathy, boost self-esteem, broaden world views and improve understanding of topics such as ageing and dementia. It can also lay the groundwork for social action and children wanting to make a difference in the world.
  • Feeling part of the community is key to quality of life for people living in care homes, yet they can sometimes feel disconnected from their local communities and the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this. Connection to other community members gives a sense of connection and purpose and can boost wellbeing and decrease isolation. Young people will help make this happen.
  • Some young people may not be familiar with care homes and/or have never visited one themselves. Taking part in this challenge will help educate young people about care homes in a fun and engaging way. For older children, this challenge may even bring awareness that these places have the potential to be great places to work. 

 


More about our national intergenerational project

This challenge was part of Care Home Friends and Neighbours: Intergenerational Linking – the biggest intergenerational project with care homes in England. Together My Home Life England and The Linking Network have been supporting young people aged 5-14 from schools and youth groups to connect with older people living in care homes across 11 different areas of England. Our project has created some amazing connections and so many stories of joy.

Inspired by this, we took one step further. We wanted to give more children across the UK the opportunity to engage in intergenerational social action with care homes. And so the “Become a Care Home Friend” Challenge was born!

 

Visit the project homepage

 

Care Home Friends and Neighbours: Intergenerational Linking was funded through the #iwill Fund. The #iwill Fund is made possible thanks to £66 million joint investment from The National Lottery Community Fund and the Department of Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) to support young people to access high quality social action opportunities. The Dunhill Medical Trust acted as a match funder for this project and awarded grants on behalf of the #iwill Fund.