Older People's Day 2009
Older People's Day takes place on 1 October 2009 and will be a celebration of older people in all their diversity and richness. It is a great opportunity for you to start thinking about how you could involve your school and pupils more with the older generations in the local communities, for everyone's benefit.
Both your pupils and the older people they interact with can benefit through:
- encouraging children to become active and involved citizens — working across generations can address the negativity felt by adults towards younger generations and produce better motivated and more successful young people;
- encouraging older people to remain active as they get older, learn new skills and remain engaged with society and feel valued — this can help tackle increasing isolation and loneliness experienced by many older people.
If you are new to intergenerational practice there are a number of ways you can involve your school and pupils in small, one-off events to mark Older People's Day. For example, you could hold a school assembly including a short introduction about older people and the important role they play in society and the local community. This could be supported by inviting an older person in to speak at the assembly. You could invite a group of older people in for tea/coffee and to talk to your pupils about their own school days, or your pupils could share tips on using modern technology with those who would like help.
There are a number of ways you can contact older people for your event:
- Speak to people you know. Your own family or those of your pupils can be a good starting point.
- Contact local older people's organisations or sheltered housing schemes.
- Contact your local authority.
- Contact your local Age Concern or Help the Aged office.
Visit the Older People's Day website for more information.
For tips on intergenerational practice visit the Beth Johnson Foundation's website.
Last updated: 15 June 2009
