THE children of Busy Bees Nursery, Durham have been building relationships with residents in a nearby care home.

The nursery has teamed up with Newton Hall care home and the children visit once a week, taking part in activities including arts and crafts, singing, dancing and story time with the residents.

Emma Mickle, senior practitioner and Joanne Wilkinson, head of the three and four-year-olds, said: "The children look forward to the visits and are always pleased to see the residents and often talk about the people in the home to their parents and friends when they get back.

The aim of the visits is to support the children’s further development of personal, social and emotional skills, communication skills and understanding of the world to gain knowledge about the older generation and learning about different people who make up our community.”

Carey-Anne Bonser, nursery manager, added: “This has been an amazing opportunity for the children and we know from the feedback received from the nursing home that it has been for the residents too.

"They have built relationships and look forward to the visit, they enjoy similar things and are learning together.

"We are looking forward to the warmer weather arriving, so the residents can come and visit us at nursery.”

A spokesperson for the home said: “The residents love to see the children when they visit. Seeing the children seems to bring the residents out of themselves and are generally happier.”