A clinical trial in Terrey Hills has brought together preschoolers and seniors with positive results, Tamara Spray reports
Decades exist between a preschooler and a senior, yet bringing them together in a kindergarten environment to participate in fun activities has been shown to melt the years away, providing positive mental, physical and social benefits for all involved.
Just ask Phillip Pratt, who recently spent 20 weeks at a Terrey Hills Community Kindergarten participating in activities with preschoolers as part of an intergenerational study. “It’s amazing (with) four year olds, the things they can do, the things they come up with. The things they say and think are just mind boggling,” he says. “It takes a long while to get to 77. We’ve moved a long way from their age and very slowly.”
Phillip, 77, and his wife, Pauline, 76, were two of 10 seniors to recently complete a clinical trial at Terrey Hills Community Kindergarten. They were joined by 10 four-year-olds from the preschool and met weekly for two hours to play games, sing and join in craft activities together. Both say the experience was ‘wonderful’.
The Integrity trial was run by researchers from The George Institute for Global Health, in association with the University of NSW (UNSW). Its purpose was to gather evidence to show that intergenerational programs can have social and health benefits for older Australians, helping senior participants to maintain physical and cognitive health, preventing frailty.
Both former teachers, Phillip and Pauline were motivated to join the trial having seen the ABC television program, Old People’s Home for 4-year-olds, which featured a similar social experiment in 2019. “We’d seen the television program and thought they’d had great outcomes,” explains Pauline.
Kindergarten director Emma Collins says the trial aligned with her preschool’s values. “Bringing the local community into our service was something that I’d wanted to do for years. So it was a great opportunity to jump in and be involved,” Emma says. “It started in October 2023 and for us, it was really seamless.
“Our ‘grandfriends’ that came in were really excited to be a part of it. From the first day we all started making strong connections and friendships and it just flourished from there.”
Grandfriends and former school teachers Pauline and Phillip Pratt said doing the trial brought them ‘joy’
Phillip and Pauline, from Cottage Point, along with fellow participant Therese McGee, 66, answered an advertisement seeking senior participants aged over 65 to join the trial. Each had their own reasons for signing up.
A retired nurse, Belrose resident Therese was motivated to join the trial as she was familiar with the work of The George Institute and was interested in preschool education. “I’ve always thought it must be good to have regular contact with young children,” Therese says.
Phillip and Pauline were keen to help the children. “Looking after little kids, as they say, takes a village and if they’re exposed to older folk – maybe they don’t have older relatives they see that often – it could help that way,” Phillip says.
“We’re interested to see how the kids develop (over) the time,” Pauline adds.
Mae Lim is the trial manager and research fellow of the Integrity study. She explains: “We wanted to use this big trial to really show that intergenerational programs planned in a structured way could bring benefits to children and the older adults.
Kindy educator Marnie Green supported the children during the trial
“We want to provide that quantitative, numerical evidence that is still lacking.”
Mae explains that socially isolated older people tend to move less, and limited physical activity can lead to a higher risk of frailty. “And that will increase their (likelihood) of getting into nursing homes,” she says.
Each Friday, the senior participants completed activities with preschoolers at the kindergarten. “There are elements of physical activity, social activities and thinking skills that really challenge the adults during the games they played with the children,” Mae says.
“For the children, we are interested in looking at improving their developmental skills,” she says. “It’s really to target things such as their language, helping to improve their social connection skills and empathy skills.”
The program aligns with the national preschool Early Years Learning Framework. Kindergarten director Emma says she noticed both parties developing over the course of the trial. “I thought it would be a way for the local community to come in and have some fun,” Emma explains. “I never thought I would see the results I saw. I could see each week a difference in the children, their excitement and their love of joining in. I could see adults coming in and the smiles on their faces.”
“I thought it would be a way for the local community to come in and have some fun,” says Emma Collins
Kindergarten educator Marnie Green supervised the children while the Integrity research team delivered the activities like songs, games, craft and discussions around weekly themes including Australian animals and transport. “To see the kids take the grandfriends outside, holding hands and having a play experience with them was fantastic,” Marnie says.
She says the camaraderie of the group grew quickly. “One of our grandfriends was a bit cheeky and the children realised in a lot of the games he might have been cheating,” Marnie explains. “So it became a very funny thing as this grandfriend was well watched. We had eagle-eyed children to make sure he was kept in line!”
A research team of 14 with expertise in ageing, dementia, cognition and exercise physiology were also involved. A childhood psychologist and preschool educators kept track behind the scenes.
Before and after the trial, adults were tested on their thinking skills and underwent physical assessments for balance, strength and walking speed. They also answered questions about their mood, social connection and quality of life. The children’s vocabulary skills were tested, and their parents surveyed to note behavioural changes.
Therese sharing in a craft activity during the trial
The trial finished in April and has opened a new avenue for Therese, who now volunteers weekly at the kindergarten. She and the other grandfriends also meet socially on a regular basis.
“I’m certainly very much part of the Terrey Hills community now,” says Therese, noting that she enjoys volunteering at the kindy. “I just love to see them learn and grow.”
She also says that she’s physically moving a bit faster these days, adding, ‘I was playing handball with the young ones last week!’
Pauline equally enjoyed the experience. “We have hope for the future because these were really bright little kids who interacted really nicely with everyone,” she says.
Phillip says he took ‘joy and positivity’ away from the trial and recommends the experience to everyone.
The kindergarten hopes to start a second trial later this year, and is looking for volunteers, as are a number of other daycare and preschools in the local area. For more information, visit linktr.ee/integritytrial