Keren’s Nursery signs up to Barnet’s Dementia Friendly scheme

Keren’s Nursery Hampstead Garden Suburb has become the first nursery in Barnet to sign up to the council’s Dementia Friendly scheme.

Nursery manager Marlene Costa used to work with dementia sufferers and understands how isolated they can feel normally, let alone during a pandemic which limits social contact.

Staff will plan Zoom sessions, allowing participants to join in with nursery circle time and listen to stories as if they were sitting with the children. There are even ideas for the children to ‘adopt’ a grandparent, send cards, food or care packs, and even visit care homes to wave from the windows.

Costa said: “People aren’t communicating or interacting as much as they were before the pandemic, and at the nursery, we’ve even noticed that some children are now scared of approaching others. 

“We wanted to find a way to help isolated people, whilst making sure we teach children to care about others, even in this new way of being.”

The nursery would like to hear from local care homes interested in partnering with it.