Join us for a free online forum discussion, in partnership with The Linking Network. The Intergenerational Forum is an informal space for arts & wellbeing providers to meet and share ideas around developing intergenerational practice in their services.
What happens when you bring 307 energetic primary school students and 270 care home residents together through the universal language of play? Join us for an inside look at The Linking Network’s Intergenerational Play project, a year-long programme that paired 20 schools with 20 nearby care homes.
Alongside a variety of creative practitioners, the two generations began exploring the idea of ‘play’ in their respective environments, before joining up to play together. These interactions were designed to promote social inclusion and foster strong relationships between young and old, encouraging new connections that bridge the multi-generation gap – with benefits for the wellbeing of everyone involved. This project was part of Bradford 2025: City of Culture.
In this session we will share an honest reflection on the successes and challenges faced along the way, covering:
- Securing funding and strategic planning.
- Managing complex partnerships between education and care sectors.
- Creative ideas for intergenerational play.
- The tangible wellbeing benefits for both the young and the young-at-heart.
About The Linking Network
The Linking Network inspires and equips schools to support children and young people to build meaningful connections across all forms of difference.
Our work offers teachers and school leaders training and high-quality resources that can be used to support explorations of identity and belonging in ways that are embedded in the curriculum.
Our approach has evolved since the inception of Schools Linking 20 years ago in Bradford to now have national reach supporting schools across the country through our network of committed local facilitators. Our range of locally-embedded programmes offer a unique opportunity to build social cohesion, countering the conditions fueling misperception and fear and creating a considered approach to challenges facing local communities.
About the Intergenerational Forum:
This forum is an informal space for peer sharing and learning. We meet three times a year and anyone who is interested in developing their intergenerational practice is very welcome to join!
This forum is for arts and wellbeing providers who want to:
- reflect on learnings from intergenerational projects
- celebrate the successes
- discuss the challenges
- meet other people interested in sharing & developing intergenerational practice in their work
- and discuss ideas for how we can create more opportunities for intergenerational connections going forward.
Join us to share ideas, refine your intergenerational practices and meet other progressive people who are striving to innovate and excel in services for older and younger people.
Date:
Wednesday 11th March 2026, 11am – 12.30pm GMT
