Our community/intergenerational champions are Vivianne and Tracie.
“The importance of community involvement”
Our children are not just busy within the ECC but are also active participants in our local community. We try to include our community in ECC events and during Covid -19 restrictions we are finding new ways to include them safely in our activities and special occasions. It is important for the children to participate in these events and make a contribution to the communities in which they live, understanding their place within the community and becoming responsible citizens as they grow and develop.
‘I am supported to participate fully as a citizen in my local community’ H&SC Standard 1.10
“Intergenerational”
“Intergenerational practice aims to bring people together in purposeful, mutually beneficial activities which promote greater understanding and respect between generations and
contributes to building more cohesive communities.
Intergenerational practice is inclusive, building on the
positive resources that the younger and older have to
offer each other and those around them.”
(Beth Johnson Foundation, 2009)
As part of our Intergenerational role, We regularly send or deliver gifts and cards to the residents within Princess Court, adjacent to the ECC. This encourages the children to show care and respect for others, develop an understanding of different generations and the positive impact that this inclusion has on all involved. The residents regularly talk about “Looking forward to seeing the weans” and how it can “Make their day a bit brighter”.
PLEASE SCROLL THROUGH THE PAGE TO SEE ALL EVENTS BY DATE, WITH THE MOST RECENT BEING AT THE TOP
December 2021
The Children and staff had the pleasure of delivering Christmas cards and gift stockings to our residents this year. The cards and tree decoration been made by the children in our centre and the stockings and other gifts inside purchased by Community champion staff. This is a link we make on a regular basis and the residents were, as usual very thankful and grateful for their gifts and visits. The children enjoy visiting the local houses and the sense of wellbeing this gives to both generations is evident in the welcome smiles, thank yous and in the children’s singing and discussions afterwards. We also received some lovely thank you notes a few days later.
HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN COLLABORATIONS, OCTOBER 2021
This year we invited the Primary School and After School group to join in our pumpkin trail community event. We designed a flyer with details of our pumpkin carving/decorating competition, and sent this to each cohort. Below are some of the contributions, with the pumpkins then being placed on the Community Pumpkin Trail within the Bellfield Woods for all to enjoy. The children really enjoyed making these and the After School in particular were glad to be a part of this event. Working in collaboration with others is an important part of the children’s learning and development.
Making and delivering Autumn gifts. October 2021
The children recently made a selection of Autumn bookmarks for the elderly residents of the homes at Princess Court. We talked about the kindness of thinking of others and how it would make them feel to receive a gift from the children. The children helped to deliver these, following Covid safe guidelines and the smiles and positive comments were lovely to see and the children felt really good afterwards. We also received a thank you note the next day. This contributes to positive mental wellbeing between the generations.
September 2021
Hello and welcome to a new term. As we approach the Autumn it is our intention to continue our programme of intergenerational events with our local community and residents at Princess Court. This year we would like to establish a ‘pen-pal’ style of communication with the children drawing pictures for the residents with a short note about themselves, there will be no personal details sent out and the address of the ECC will be used for all communications. As well as developing literacy, this will develop the children’s capacity to think about others, becoming the responsible citizens of the future and feeling involved in their local community. If there is anyone in the immediate area who you think would benefit from this type of link and a wee letter from the children, please speak to either Vivianne or Tracie, both currently working in the Oak room and we can include them in our list. Thank you
“Wednesday 31st March 2021 Easter Deliveries”
We were delighted to take a small cohort of children to deliver Easter Eggs and cards to the residents of Princess Court. The children had been busy making these cards and talking about the kindness of making something for others, and Staff kindly donated the Eggs. The residents who were able to come to the door were very happy to see the children. Government Coronavirus guidelines were followed during this experience.
19th March 2021 ‘Easter Egg Donations’
As we are fast approaching the Easter Break, we are delighted to share with you the Community donations of Easter Eggs for our children.
Emma Wylie-Springer, Community Champion at ASDA Kilmarnock has very kindly donated 96 Easter Eggs to Whatriggs ECC and Tracie and I were delighted to collect these on Tuesday. Emma is a big supporter of Whatriggs and we have been fortunate to receive several donations from the team at ASDA over the the last couple of years.
On Friday we also received an unexpected donation from Bellfield Bowling Club, and we wish to thank Eleanor Tracey for handing these in on Friday, your generosity is very much appreciated.
Thank you to both organisations, we will now be able to provide an egg for all children within the ECC this year. These will be handed out week beginning 29th March before the Easter Break and we hope you all have a Happy Easter.
Also on the Wednesday of that week, we hope to take a small cohort of children to make some special “Easter Bunny” doorstop deliveries to our residents at Princess Court.
March 8-14th 2021
This week is National Intergenerational week and we thought it would be a great idea to highlight the positive impact that bringing the generations together can have on our mental wellbeing.
Calling your Grandparents/Aunts/Uncles and having a chat can make their day a little brighter. When we visit our elderly residents at Princess Court, they often comment on how they love to see the children as it gives them a smile, and for some we may be the only visitors they get to see that day. Generations can learn a lot from each other and especially during these difficult times it is extremely important to maintain those links. Just look how happy this Baby and Great Grandmother are!!
Photo published with permission
WORLD BOOK DAY 4th MARCH 2021
As part of our world book day celebrations, we placed tables of books outside the ECC for our community to take away and enjoy. This was very successful with many of the books selected by the children and adults alike. This is helping to support reading and literacy for all generations. We hope you enjoy your books and may possible make this an annual event.
Below are some examples of the literacy outcomes we consider within the ECC
“I can sit and look at picture books for a short period of time” EX&D 2 (2-3 planning outcome)
“I can listen to a simple story or talk about the pictures and join in” C&R 14 (2-3 planning outcome)
“I enjoy exploring and choosing stories and other texts to watch read or listen to, and can share my likes and dislikes” Lit 0-01b/ 0-11b (CfE, 3-5)
“I enjoy exploring events and characters in stories and other texts, sharing my thoughts in different ways” Lit 0-01c/0-19a (CfE, 3-5)
16/Feb/2021
Good afternoon to you all, we hope you are all staying safe and well at home.
since our last update, we have been busy trying to continue our community and intergenerational work behind the scenes.
In December our children helped to make Christmas cards for the residents of Princess Court and our staff donated a box of shortbread to be delivered to each of these residents before Christmas.
Unfortunately Covid-19 restrictions meant we could not participate in our carol singing for them at this time, however a small group of children and staff delivered the Cards and Gifts through the letterbox of each house. All of these residents live alone, have a variety of medical/mobility needs and some have no family visiting at this time. They are always happy to see the children, even if it was just through the windows on this occasion.
On Thursday 11th February, Tracie and myself also delivered Valentine Cards to these residents, which had been made by the children using the emergency childcare provision during that week. Inside was a lovely wooden love-heart and poem to let them know we are still thinking about them even when we cannot visit with the children.
We also placed Valentine bags onto our garden fence to allow for those in our community to enjoy as well. We hope you got a chance to choose one before they had all gone. x
December 2020
Some photographs of our Socially Distanced Santa Visit and Christmas community quiz event which children and parents were invited to get involved with.
Due to the current situation we are looking for new ways to develop our community/intergeneration work, whilst adhering to the current government guidelines to keep everyone safe.
8/11/2020
As part of our community involvement, we will be collecting items for 2 community organisations from Monday 9th November.
We will be supporting Food Samaritans Ayrshire, and Hillhouse, who both support families facing difficulties throughout the year.
We will be placing boxes at our entrance from Monday 9th November and would be very grateful for any donations of Food items, Children’s Pyjamas ( up to age 16) toys for children and toiletries for older teenagers.
We understand that some of our families may also be facing difficulties at this time and there is no pressure to contribute if this is your wish. Please seek assistance from organisations that may be of help to you if you find yourself in this situation. They are there to help those who require it.
Thank you in advance for any help you are able to give.
