Pupils from Winsley Primary School have learned about the role of hospices in their community by working on an art project with day patients at Dorothy House.

Year Six children visited the Winsley hospice every week last month as part of the Dragonfly Project, named after their class, and made fridge magnets, posters and painted wooden dragonflies to be displayed in the hospice’s grounds.

The project began with a ‘getting to know you’ session with the day patients, where the children asked questions and learned about why they were atthe hospice and how it helped them.

Day patient Helmy Mcdowell, who visits the hospice every Thursday, said: “This project has given me a purpose. Working with the young people has made such a difference and has helped me to realise that I still have lots to give.

“They made no fuss with my oxygen or our wheelchairs, they just got on with it and we all learned so much from each other.”

Ros Stroud, creative arts manager, said: “Seeing patients and children working together is brilliant.

“It gives our patients an opportunity to give back especially at a time when many of their roles may have been taken away from them.

“For the pupils, visiting the hospice challenges their perceptions of what a hospice does, and helps take the fear out of death and dying.

“It is fantastic to hear the children openly asking questions about a subject that society often shys away from.”