AgeUK Virtual Games and Lunch Club
Every Friday afternoon from 3:00pm to 4:00pm, an army of our Sixth Form volunteers work together to
prepare, host and lead a games session for The Kensington and Chelsea AgeUK members with the principal aim of fostering intergenerational contact and combating loneliness and isolation.
The school also hosts a weekly lunch club for the elderly in our local community.
Aims
The principal aim is to foster intergenerational contact, to be of benefit both to the elderly who join us, and to our pupils.
The virtual games project started when the first lockdown began in April 2020 and it is completely student led. Our elderly friends enjoy an afternoon of fun and exciting games such as hangman, Pictionary and charades, to name just a few.
When the pandemic began, we felt a sense of urgency as a school community to support the elderly in our local borough, so we worked together with the AgeUK charity to set up the weekly virtual games session.
We initially wanted to alleviate some of the stresses that the elderly residents in our local community were facing when many were forced to stay indoors, and contact between the generations were sporadic due to the strict lockdown rules. Therefore, our students devised this project as a way to mitigate these difficulties a little and recognised the best way to keep the elderly active was to play challenging games that test their brain and get them thinking.
Background
The weekly virtual games session makes a positive difference to the quality of older people’s lives, including the most vulnerable and isolated.
The session is interesting and entertaining, helping to improve memory, daily life skills, and overall mental health of the AgeUK members. In addition, it provides mental stimulation for elderly residents.
While the elderly residents in the local community thoroughly enjoy being entertained, we feel that our pupils also benefit a great deal. The weekly sessions provides an opportunity for them to practise their communication, teamwork and ICT skills, develop their empathy for elderly members of the community and become more responsible, self-aware and compassionate.
Resources
Time, each Friday afternoon is dedicated to the virtual games session and pupils plan the weekly session in their own time.
Lunch is provided for the weekly lunch club by our school caterers in a classroom for a regular group of 12-15 elderly people, plus workers from Age UK, plus approximately six pupils and a teacher.
The room is set up and cleared by a member of the school housekeeping staff family-style so that everyone eats together. The school cooks ensure that Thursdays are traditional lunch days likely to appeal to our guests. The girls serve lunch and help with clearing up afterwards.
The elderly people make a minimal contribution - the cost is principally borne by the School's fundraising activity. School funds are also required for the mini hampers the elderly receive at Christmas and Easter.
Impact
We get feedback from the AgeUK members themselves - always positive; one regular member has said, 'You
don't know how happy you have made us!'.
Pupil Involvement
Sixth Form pupils are responsible for running the virtual games.
Pupils from Y7-13 have attended the lunch club, but it is principally Sixth Formers who eat lunch every week, with larger numbers and other year groups attending the special events.
Frequency
The lunch club is is a weekly event which has been running for seven years.
In addition to the regular lunches, we also host a Christmas dinner, Easter tea and summer tea dance, a real highlight.
