Belong Chester is the first care village in the UK to incorporate a fully integrated research nursery, where children and residents come together on a daily basis to have fun learning and playing together. Susan Goldsmith, chief operating officer at Belong, looks back at some of the highlights since opening and discusses the many benefits of an intergenerational approach
Fifteen years since opening its first village — in Macclesfield — Belong now operates eight locations across Greater Manchester, Cheshire, and Staffordshire. Each subsequent village has taken the model a step further with additional facilities, such as specialised gyms to promote active lifestyles and a heritage gallery documenting local history that is open to the public.
When it opened in July 2022, Belong Chester became the first care village in the UK to incorporate a fully integrated research nursery, where children and residents come together on a daily basis to have fun learning and playing together.
While intergenerational interactions are promoted at all villages, The Nursery in Belong was the outcome of five years of collaborative planning with award-winning national intergenerational charity Ready Generations, which operates the nursery. Having previously partnered together to investigate the benefits of intergenerational experiences, they built on this partnership to embed intergenerational practice into village life.
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