The children understood that for the care home residents, who were unable to see their own family members, receiving drawings would brighten their day.
Pupils at a South Devon primary school have been spreading some lockdown joy to residents at a local care home.
The children at Dartington Church of England Primary School, part of the Learning Academy Partnership Trust, have been showing the school Christian values of compassion, love and peace by writing to residents at Willow House Residential Care Home in South Brent.
The aim, says the school, is to spread some joy and help the residents to not feel so isolated during lockdown.
Looking at pictures and videos of Willow House on its website, the pupils were able to discuss what the day-to-day life of residents might be like, while thinking about how they might be feeling during this period.
Thrilled by the clear purpose for their writing, the children understood that for the care home residents, who were unable to see their own family members at the moment, receiving some drawings and written sentiments from pupils in the local community would brighten their day.
Katie, a pupil at the school, said “I really wanted to spread some joy to the care home residents. I loved writing to them and I was so excited when I got a reply from my letter too.
“I liked how us showing compassion brought joy to the residents as well as us.”
Some of the letters ended up being put on the care home walls, while the husband of one resident said they had been moved by their letter, particularly as his wife used to work as a primary school headteacher.
Lynn Atkinson, chief executive of the Learning Academy Partnership, said: “This is a really lovely initiative, and I’m so proud of the staff and pupils for putting it into action.
“At the Learning Academy Partnership, we want to teach our pupils to consider themselves as part of a wider community, and wonderful experiences like this are pivotal in helping them to do so.”