PRE-SCHOOL children are helping to bring the joy of music to the residents of a nursing home, thanks to a unique new group.

The Full Circle Music Group, run by music leader Debra Wade and which began last month, is a weekly music session at Bedford Court Nursing Home in Hove when young children sing and enact both traditional songs and modern action rhymes and play instruments, while the residents, some with dementia, join in.

It is aimed at creating social contact between old and young, particularly older people who don’t have families, while many of the children who take part are the grandchildren or great-grandchildren of residents.

Some families have four generations taking part.

Christopher, aged three, said: “The old grownups sing with me and I like it.”

One resident commented: “I’m 90 now, and I don’t have children. I haven’t sung that song since I was a little girl in the Far East.”

Debra said: “The residents join in with gusto when we sing the older songs, such as ‘Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary’ and ‘I Had a Little Nut Tree’, because they remember the words, even those with dementia.

“And the younger ones benefit from coming into contact with a different generation.

“They are so young they don’t notice that some of the residents have dementia, and as the world of young children is a female-dominated area, it’s important for children to socialise with men as well as women.”

During the sessions, which are sponsored by Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution, which runs Bedford Court, the children hand out instruments to the residents, allowing them to engage in conversation.

Debra said: “I try very hard to find songs that the older residents know and also to find songs that reflect the seasons – for example, this month it’s Christmas songs, and in November they reflected Bonfire Night and Remembrance Day.”

Debra, who also runs Drum-A-Tum Music groups at nurseries and other groups, got the idea for the group a few years ago when she realised how much her father-in-law enjoyed singings songs with her own children.

“It brought him to life,” she said. “Somehow it gave him an excuse to be silly and it changed his mindset.

“When he died, I thought how lovely it would be to bring that joy and fun to other people.”

Debra now plans to roll out The Full Circle Music Group in other homes. To find out more, phone 07778 666893 or email drumatum@icloud.com