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INTERGENERATIONAL WORK 2004/2005
Introduction
A primary aim of Age Concern Kingston upon Thames is to involve and empower older people. An evaluation of our intergenerational initiatives over the past academic year has proved highly encouraging in this regard. In particular, the intergenerational approach has shown to be beneficial in challenging ageism, bridging the gap between the generations and providing an opportunity for older people to enhance their quality of life. Intergenerational work has also proved to be advantageous for younger people in terms of improved learning, numeracy and literacy and attendance at school. Therefore, our intergenerational work is able to benefit the two groups in society who are most likely to experience marginalisation and exclusion.
In addition, ACKuTs intergenerational projects have highlighted the positive contribution older people can make and enabled older people to play an active role in community life. This is concomitant with our belief that older people have the same rights and duties of citizenship as every other member of society. Our innovative intergenerational work also provides excellent volunteering opportunities, as well as acting as a powerful agent of social change. With further investment and support, ACKuTs intergenerational projects can continue to add a valuable contribution to the lives of older people in Kingston upon Thames.
Defining Intergenerational Practice
Intergenerational work is a complex field but the *Centre for Intergenerational Practice has agreed the following working definition and characteristics:
‘Intergenerational practice aims to bring generations together in purposeful, mutually beneficial activities which help to build more cohesive communities. Intergenerational Practice is inclusive, building on the positive resources that different generations have to offer each other and those around them. Intergenerational approaches are an effective way to address a number of issues, many of them key government priorities such as building active communities, promoting citizenship, regenerating neighbourhoods and addressing inequality.
Intergenerational initiatives have direct impacts on those involved, as well as on their communities. Participants may feel increased self-esteem from being able to share and give to others. They may experience improvements in health and a greater sense of being valued members of their communities. Older people can provide younger people with positive role models, both of engaged citizenship and of active ageing. Young people represent a link to the future for older people. All generations benefit from engaging with each other on equal terms, breaking down barriers and challenging negative stereotypes'.
Demonstrating Good Practice
ACKuT works closely with the Centre for Intergenerational Practice and the Beth Johnson Foundation, the UK Intergenerational Network of Age Concern England and is also a founder member of the London Intergenerational Network. Nationally and internationally, high standards of intergenerational practice have been developed and these are reflected in our projects. A UK benchmark for organisations providing intergenerational programmes – The Approved Provider Standard (APS) – is currently being designed by the Beth Johnson Foundation and ACKuT is in a strong position to receive this accreditation in the not too distant future.
ACKuTs INTERGENERATIONAL PROJECTS 2004/2005
Age & Youth school-based project
This project commenced in June 2001 and is now firmly established at The Mount Primary School, Knollmead Primary School, Tolworth Junior School and King Athelstan Primary School. Thirty volunteers (men and women) are currently involved with the initiative. They share their talents, knowledge and experience with the young pupils supporting them in, for example, the attainment of higher standards in literacy and numeracy. One of the volunteers is attached to the Autistic Unit at The Mount Primary School.
This project has undoubtedly been an outstanding success. Feedback from the schools, the children and their parents and the older volunteers has been positive from the outset and a ‘waiting-list' of other schools in the Borough keen to be involved is now in operation. Headteachers and staff are also keen to state that the project has had a noticeable effect upon the children's standards of work. Regular monitoring of the project elicits responses from the volunteers and children, such as:
‘I now feel more a part of the community than before'
‘It's lovely being able to pass on the skills of a lifetime to younger people'
‘Thank you for helping us to read and reading with us. I want you to come again because I really like you'
‘If I ask you a question you always have an answer for me'
‘You are the best teacher'
‘You make the time shine!'
Further development of this project is highly desirable and possible, but difficult to achieve without further resources in terms of funding and staffing.
In two schools an ACKuT volunteer has become a School Governor and a third school is also keen to follow suit. Headteachers and staff have been regularly invited by ACKuT to lead feedback sessions and to deliver training for the volunteers on specific subjects such as child protection issues, autism, dyslexia, children with special needs, working with ethnic minority children. They report that they also welcome the opportunity these sessions give to share ideas and expertise with the older people, who are highly skilled in many areas of life.
Learning Mentor Project
Of particular importance, and as a result of the success of the Age & Youth school-based project, The Mount Primary School asked ACKuT to consider the establishment of a ‘mentoring project'. Funding from ‘Excellence in Cities' was obtained by the Headteacher in order that ACKuT might undertake this request and the project commenced in May 2005. Its aim is to help ‘identified children in their final term in Year 5 and moving on to Year 6 in September 2005, who have the potential to achieve academically, but who are considered to be at risk of failure or marginalisation, overcome any barriers to effective learning'. Five of the volunteers with the Age & Youth project at The Mount Primary School agreed to take on an additional role as mentor and a further two mentors were recruited. The seven mentors now work on an individual basis with 13 children and, in a short period of time, a huge impact has been made on their learning, attendance at school and homework. Most of all, however, the children's self esteem has increased. This positive outcome augurs well for the children's transition to secondary school in September 2006. The project will be monitored and evaluated on a continuous basis, as is the case with our Age & Youth school-based project.
Before setting up the project at The Mount Primary School, ACKuT carried out research into learning mentor projects – in particular into teachers' observations regarding learning-mentoring relationships. This research underlines the fact that ‘pupils form better relationships with older mentors (than with young mentors). The two generations accept each other more readily and build bridges rather than barriers. Furthermore, the support and experience of independent adults helps children to make more successful transitions to secondary school; to participate more positively in school life and to develop a more positive self-image'.
Age & Youth Partnerships
Introduced in June 2003 ‘partnerships' between King Athelstan Primary School and ACKuTs Day Centre in New Malden – the purpose being (1) to enable older people to pass on valuable craft skills to young people and (2) to provide an opportunity for social interaction between the younger and older people. On a weekly basis during term time, groups of eight children visited the day centre in order to work with the older people. With supervision and guidance from another older volunteer (an ex teacher), the users of the day centre taught the children how to knit, to hem and sew on buttons; to do cross-stitch and patchwork and to make soft toys and puppets.
This project is fine example of ‘generations in action' and it resulted in a lot of good press for ACKuT. The Headteacher was quoted in a local newspaper, saying that he was ‘proud of the children's achievements and that he greatly valued the facility that Age Concern offered for developing positive relationships with older people. The project also encouraged the children to put their writing skills to good use. They wrote a Christmas play involving the puppets and toys which they had made and performed it to the older people and their colleagues at school'.
Intergenerational Discussion Forums
This project, launched in November 2000, has enabled serious subjects to be discussed between 6 th formers from Kingston Grammar School, Coombe Girls' School and Surbiton High School and members of the University of the Third Age in Kingston. The opportunity to debate with older people has been much valued by the staff and pupils from the three schools and older people report that they are ‘amazed at the topics the young people choose and the depths they reach in these stimulating discussions'.
Given extra resources in terms of funding and staffing, there is great potential to develop this project at other schools in Kingston. It is interesting to note that in 2001 the Government set out its agenda for designing policies and services around the needs of children and young people (DfES, 2001a&b). Denham (DfES, 2001:1b) indicates quite clearly that ministers across departments would commit to encouraging children and young people to have an effective ‘voice' (CYPUnit, March 2001):
‘…We are committed to giving children and young people a real say and real choices about the Government policies and services that affect them. We want children and young people to feel they can influence the services they receive. We want to see them contributing to and benefiting from their local communities'.
The antecedent and principles for this policy direction are reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Children (which the UK signed in 1990) and which states that ‘children (defined as all persons under the age of 18) have the right to say what they think about matters that concern them and have a right for those views to be taken seriously'.
Community Concern at Surbiton High School
This is a long-established and award winning project that includes a Community Visiting Programme involving around fifty pupils and Friendship Hours in the school's 6 th Form Centre. Older people are invited to the Friendship Hours in order to exchange life experiences with young people preparing for university and their own careers. This is, once gain, a mutually beneficial project with older and younger people enjoying the occasions to socialise and talk together. Older people also value the opportunity to acquire IT skills from the young people when the format of Friendship Hour changes to an ‘internet café'. Funding for this project has, for a number of years, been obtained from the Surbiton Neighbourhood Committee and this has enabled Christmas and summer parties to be organised on an annual basis.
In Kingston upon Thames at the present time, visiting schemes to relieve the loneliness and isolation of older people are sadly lacking. Through their school project in conjunction with ACKuT, girls from Surbiton High School have played an important part in addressing and relieving this situation. They have made valuable friendships with, and learnt a lot from, the older people they have supported.
Friendship Hour has also been very successfully replicated outside the Kingston area by King's College School in Wimbledon. Advice and help given to KCS by Surbiton High School and ACKuT contributed to this success and was greatly valued.
Intergenerational Art Project – ‘People at Play Across The Generations'
Throughout our lives we spend time playing, from football to reading, from gardening to sky-diving, plus many, many more activities. All of these are ways in which we express ourselves, indulge our interests and develop our talents. No generation is excluded because we live in a time of opportunity for all to be active should they wish to be so.
At ACKuT we wanted to capture this sense of activity throughout peoples' lives and so, in the summer of 2004, the idea of creating a large mural showing people at play through the generations began to take shape. Pupils from The Mount Primary School, King Athelstan Primary School, Coombe Girls' School and Kingston Grammar School, plus older people – many of whom from ACKuTs Day Centres – were invited to create paintings on the topic of leisure and recreation. Two local artists then faithfully copied, in whole or part, much of this artwork onto the mural, against a backdrop of images relating to Kingston upon Thames.
Much in-depth work was put into this project and over 400 children and older people in Kingston finally contributed to the production of our 4m x 2m mural, which was officially unveiled by The Worshipful The Mayor of Kingston on the 29 June 2005. In no way was it a competition and the selection of particular paintings simply meant that they were the ones considered to form a satisfactory integral whole in the final work. All of the paintings submitted to us were on display when the mural was unveiled. The youngest contributor whose work was incorporated in the mural was 7 years old and the oldest 85, making it a truly community wide intergenerational project spanning many generations and reflecting ACKuTs commitment to bringing the generations together.
The mural is on permanent display in the Bradbury ActiveAge Centre, where it will be enjoyed for many years to come.
Sharing Intergenerational Project Experience
In the pursuit of best practice and as an Associate of the Centre for Intergenerational Practice and a Member of the Age Concern England Intergenerational Network, ACKuT is able to keep in touch with intergenerational project practitioners throughout the UK and abroad.
ACKuT's Intergenerational Projects Co-ordinator attended the Centre for Intergenerational Practice 2005 Conference entitled ‘Building Inclusive Communities – Sharing Good Practice, Promoting Excellence' which took place at Keele University in July. There was considerable interest in the display featuring ACKuTs intergenerational work. In addition, the opportunity to gain information and expertise regarding other intergenerational projects in the UK, as well as intergenerational programmes in the USA, Canada, Botswana, India and Australia was very valuable indeed and might well influence our work in the future.
Two years ago a Rotary Group Study Exchange Team saw our Age & Youth school-based project in operation at The Mount Primary School and described it as a ‘stroke of genius'. Members of the team were also inspired by the Age & Youth day-centre partnership with children from King Athelstan School. They returned to Johannesburg to spread ACKuTs ideas among their supporting Rotary Clubs and with the intention of setting up similar projects.
In July this year, Emeritus Professor Keiko Higuchi from Tokyo Kasei University and The Women's Association For Better Ageing Society based in Tokyo, together with three colleagues, visited ACKuT specifically to learn about our intergenerational projects. They also attended the summer party organised as part of the Community Concern Project at Surbiton High School and spoke to the young people and their older guests. The development of intergenerational work in Japan is regarded as most necessary and it is encouraging to think that ACKuTs pioneering and successful work in Kingston upon Thames could provide the inspiration and ideas for much-needed projects in Japan.
Age Concern Kingston upon Thames Mission Statement
ACKuTs Mission Statement is ‘to be an effective organisation that is recognised as a leader, committed to involving and empowering all older people in Kingston'. Our intergenerational work fully accords with this ideal and there is much scope for further development in the future.
Sheila Gent; Shane Brennan
August 2005
*The CIP, formally established in April 2001, is led by the Beth Johnson Foundation. Its aim is to support the development and improvement of intergenerational work throughout the UK. It has received funding from the Community Fund and the Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales. The Beth Johnson Foundation was established by a Deed of Trust in 1972, with the objective of improving the condition or quality of life (including recreation, education and leisure) of any person living in the UK, who is not less than fifty years of age, by the initiation of exploratory and experimental research in service based projects and the evaluation and dissemination of the results of such research.