Bridging the generation gap at Wentworth Primary School in Maldon, Essex!

On Monday 10 November, some year six pupils at Wentworth Primary School in Maldon, Essex were joined by some guests for lunch! Residents from a Moat sheltered scheme at Washington Close in Maldon, Essex visited the school to experience what modern school dinners are like. The group enjoyed shepherd’s pie followed by apple crumble and custard for dessert.

The intergenerational lunch was organised by the pupils at the school as a trial so that the older people could experience mouth watering school dinners that are made on site using fresh local produce. Each resident received a personal invitation from the pupils at the school. The lunchtime gathering was such a success that the residents were invited to the Christmas dinner on 10 December this year.

Danny Campbell is a resident at the Moat sheltered scheme in Washington Close and says; “School dinners have changed an awful lot since my days at school! We’ve all thoroughly enjoyed today and hope to do it again soon. It’s really nice to get to spend some time with the younger people and get to know all about their lives.”

Moat’s community development officer, Caroline Kay, says; “The recent reading morning with Maldon Primary School inspired us to plan further intergenerational projects across Essex. We want to build bridges between older and younger residents across the county and encourage all age groups to challenge general perceptions about age. This school dinner allowed residents from Washington Close to get to know their younger counterparts at Wentworth Primary School and break down some age barriers.”

About Moat:
Moat is a housing association providing affordable homes in thriving communities for people in the South East. For over forty years, Moat has delivered high quality general needs homes for affordable rent, supported accommodation and tenancy support services, and has a strong affordable home ownership and key worker housing offer.

Moat is one of the Homes and Communities Agency’s development partners and is also the government’s appointed HomeBuy Agent in Essex, Kent and Sussex. Employing 450 people, Moat provides excellent customer service to residents of our 20,000 affordable rented and shared ownership homes.

In the East, Moat owns and manages over 4,000 homes across 17 local authority areas in Essex and Hertfordshire. Moat is in partnership with the Greater Haven Gateway Choice based lettings, covering Maldon, Colchester, Braintree, Barbergh, Ipswich, Mid Suffolk and Suffolk Coastal local authority areas.

Moat works as an active partner in the Stansted Area Housing Partnership, M11 corridor, Thames Gateway, London commuter belt and Haven Gateway.
www.moat.co.uk
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