ARU Research Report 2019

6 The Up Project Safeguarding & Consent Issues around consent and safeguarding were discussed and resolved, for both children and older adults during the development of the project. Within the care home, the project was proposed to both older adults and relatives, providing those living within the home and visiting an opportunity to air any concerns. With safeguarding as a top priority, the school made a conscious decision to ensure that adults accompanying the children were familiar and present consistently to support children and maintain their safety. Equally, a member of staff from the care home is always present during visits to offer older adults support. All residents are invited to take part each week, they may choose not to, and all activities occur within a designated area to respect the living environment of those who do not wish to take part. Although nowwidely known within the school community, prior to visiting the care home parents and guardians are made aware of the Up project and what it entails for their child. Parents have the opportunity to express any concerns they and are asked to consent to their children to take part in the visits. How do the Visits to the Care Home Work? Preparation for the Visits To prepare children for visits to the care home they initially receive a talk from a teacher about what to expect at the care home, including some of the key staff and older adults they will be interacting with. This talk also explains that some of the older adults will have dementia and how this might affect the older adults. Children are then provided with the opportunity to communicate their feelings about the upcoming visits using a Blob Tree. A Blob Tree is pictorial communication tool which allows an individual to place themselves on a tree represented by a blob. Individuals may interpret the varying shapes, placement and behaviours of the blobs as representative of their feelings and body language about a certain experience. Children are asked to complete a Blob Tree, accompanied by a sentence explaining the blob they have chosen to represent themselves. Through these and the children’s behaviour during school life, the teachers are able to provide additional support to those children that need it. This information also informs the groupings of each terms visits in which those children who express more anxiety will be mixed with those that express more confidence, to build a supportive peer network during visits. For some examples of Blob Trees completed before visiting the care home, see Figure 2. Figure 2: Exemplar Blob Trees from Children Prior to First Visit to Longfields Care Home ‘I chose my blob because I am excited but a little nervous to go.’ ‘I picked this blob because I am ready to dive in.’