At Northgate we are passionate in our support of dementia and age- related charities and organisations. We were delighted when Mrs Harrison from Sandford House (whose son Liam is a past Northgate student) approached us about a befriending scheme. Our students are able to share their experiences with the residents; the residents are able to give our students an insight into their lives. The empathy this fosters is invaluable. All of the students wrote letters to the residents before the first visit. We aim for this to be a long-term association; the joy the visits have brought so far to both students and residents has been wonderful to see.
Kieran was one of the Year 7s who took part. He said of the trip, ‘On Friday the 10th May, some lucky Year 7s went down to Sandford House to visit some of their residents. When we arrived we went to find our residents. We introduced ourselves and had a chat with biscuits.
We went because some of the residents don’t have any visitors so it’s really nice when they do get visitors. I was really happy when I was told that I was going because I have seen, when visiting my grandmother who lives at a care home, how happy the residents are when they have visitors.’
Mrs Harrison commented, ‘We were buzzing all afternoon after the visit we all thought was a great success. The children’s letters were a pleasure to read and so heart-warming.’
