BROWN Clee CE Primary School in Ditton Priors has teamed up with a local care home, to bring together children from the school and the residents in Ditton Priors Care Home, with the aim of mutually benefitting all.

Every Tuesday afternoon, a team of four pupils, called Brown Clee Buddies, head up to the care home with their headteacher, Sue Relph, to share time with the residents.

They share stories together, play games, do puzzles or just enjoy a chat, and have built up good friendships.

Both generations benefit from the social interaction, with the children developing increased confidence and self-management skills, and the residents experiencing an increase in social interaction and reduced isolation.

A class of seven to nine year olds recently headed up to the care home, to perform a Christmas Concert, singing a range of Christmas carols and popular songs to entertain the residents.

"It was wonderful to see all the smiles on the residents' faces, and hear them joining in with the songs, especially from some residents that don't often engage with the Brown Clee Buddies. The children really enjoyed it too!" said Sue Relph, the headteacher. "We have also had feedback from a relative of a fairly new resident, who contacted the school to say a big thank you, as when she went to visit her husband in the home later that day, he was full of joy and she could see how much the concert had meant to him."