Eden Boys’ School pupils create action plan to bridge gap between young and old
A group of young pupils have reached out to older people living in their local community in a bid to tackle loneliness and social isolation.
Working together with the Changing Our Lives project, Eden Boys’ School has begun to establish links with the over 50s who are members of the Ageing Well Forum in the Aston area of Birmingham.
The project has seen the pupils in Years 7, 8, and 9 take part in a five-week programme with Changing Our Lives Project Officer Sophia Parinchy aimed at developing their social conscience as well as their self-esteem.
Eden Boys’ School and Changing Our Lives collaborated on an action plan for community development the boys could lead to make a difference to the lives of older residents of the Perry Barr area.
Our pupils delivered speeches on their vision at a recent Ageing Well Forum event, and were praised for their passion and confident delivery.
Last week pupils and staff hosted a coffee morning at Eden Boys’ School for Ageing Well Forum members as a celebration of the project.
Mohammad Shabir Miah, our Head of Year 8, led on the project. He said:
“It’s so important to break down barriers between the younger and older generations and demonstrate how we can all learn from one another. Our pupils have been very engaged in this project, which has been instrumental in developing their social conscience and encouraging them to look for opportunities to take positive action within our local community – qualities our school is keen to develop in all our pupils.
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed seeing these 15 young men grow in confidence throughout the project. We look forward to continuing to work together with Changing Our Lives to give our pupils the opportunity to better themselves while making a positive difference to the lives of others.”
Sophia Parinchy, a Project Officer at Changing Our Lives, said:
“What a success the event was! The boys were all fantastic, really took themselves out of their comfort zone and built some great relationships with the older group. I think going forward this will be the start of a long, wonderful partnership.”
Year 9 pupil Zain Hussain commented:
“It was so interesting to meet these elderly people from the local community and hear about their life experiences. I hope this is the first step on our path to help bridge the gap between the local youth and elderly.”
Year 8 pupil Ahad Maaz added:
“I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with our senior guests. I’m so pleased with the relationships we managed to create during the coffee morning and I hope this is the first of many events.”
Ram Parkash was a guest at our coffee morning. He said:
“Our visit to the school for a coffee morning was brilliant and we all enjoyed the event. It was great to see students meeting older people of different cultures and religions. We all gelled together as one and talked about the past, present and future, and understood each other’s views.”
Added By: Star Academies | Date Added: 26th Jul 2018 | Posted In: Latest News