A cohort of 11 students is set to gain the UK’s first Level 3 qualification in intergenerational practice this month.

The customised Level 3 qualifications in Intergenerational Care and Education, accredited by awards body NCFE Cache, were developed by AHN Education. The nested qualifications comprise an Award, Certificate and Diploma, with students able to progress from one to the next. The Award and Certificate are aimed at anyone interested in the concept of intergenerational work, while the Diploma is open to qualified or experienced care workers and early years practitioners.

The first cohort of students will gain the Award this month (May 2023), and are expected to complete the Certificate in July and the Diploma in December. The group includes care workers and early years practitioners. The second cohort of students will begin their studies in September 2023.

AHN Education is the training arm of Apples and Honey Nightingale nursery, the daycare co-located with South London’s Nightingale House care home. The nursery and care home have delivered activities for children and residents, known as “grandfriends”, since 2017.

Apples and Honey Nightingale received funding to create AHN Education and prepare an accredited Level 3 Diploma course in intergenerational practice from two charitable trusts. “It is important for intergenerational work to be properly run by practitioners who understand its purpose, and are able to make it mutually beneficial and safe,” said Judith Ish-Horowicz, Apples and Honey Nightingale co-founder.

The new Award covers understanding the principles and processes of intergenerational work, and the Certificate also covers observation and reflection of intergenerational work. The Diploma adds units covering understanding and assessing risk, making the child and older person central to practice, working with other practitioners and volunteers, and developing, delivering and evaluating an intergenerational programme. Care workers must also complete a unit on child development and statutory guidance, and early years workers will complete a unit on dementia and other age-related conditions.

Learning is delivered by qualified lecturers in health, social care and early years, through live online sessions and in-person visits. “Currently the qualifications are only available through AHN, but we are looking to partner with other organisations to enable the course to be more widely accessible,” said Ish-Horowicz.

The first cohort of students benefited from a 50% bursary but this funding is no longer available. However, AHN Education is looking to attract scholarship funding from sponsoring organisations, said Ish-Horowicz.

AHN Education is partnering with intergenerational bodies Generations Working Together and Linking Generations Northern Ireland to develop a range of indicators as part of a quality assurance scheme. Care homes and other organisations will show they meet standards in areas such as safety, quality, inclusiveness, diversity, responsiveness and flexibility.