Trinity Community Arts unveils groundbreaking arts-based education programme

In September 2024, Trinity Community Arts will launch the ‘Cultural Alliance’, a two-year tailored arts-based learning programme delivered in partnership with three inner-city primary schools, Easton Primary, St Nicholas of Tolentine and Hannah Moore Primary. This new programme, funded by Paul Hamlyn Foundation, is a first of its kind in the local area and has been co-designed to meet the needs of each school.  

The primary schools in the Alliance are based within a half-mile radius of the Trinity Centre with many of the children who attend facing challenges due to health, learning needs, and socioeconomic factors. 

Aligning with Trinity’s long-term commitment to combat inequality through the arts, the Alliance will utilise a tailored arts-based curriculum focused on dance and drama in partnership with locally rooted creative partners ACTA and Movema. By addressing the detrimental effects of limited arts-education, the ambition is to support children's overall development and empower them to thrive in their learning journey. Alongside the programme, teachers will be offered ongoing support in their practice, offering them the creative tools and resources to provide the best opportunities for each student to flourish within their unique situations and learning environments. 

Jenny Bodnarchuk, Youth Service Manager at Trinity Community Arts said:  “: “The Cultural Alliance will allow children across our local community to connect and learn through creativity. We are looking forward to working with our partner primary schools to inspire creative thinking and allowing each child who participates to thrive” 

The Alliance has been shaped through extensive consultation with primary school pupils, teachers, governors and community organisations, conducted by Trinity since 2021. These consultations highlighted the urgency of embracing alternative measures of academic success - considering their pupils’ diverse linguistic, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds - and reported the need for new tools and practices to build trust and foster inclusivity. 

The Alliance takes an investigative approach, incorporating tailored collaboration with each school, responsive to their unique needs. By integrating arts-based learning, teacher support, and initiatives addressing inclusion, the Alliance will create a transformative educational experience for educators and pupils, fostering a more inclusive and equitable learning environment. 

The Alliance has been developed via initial seed funding from Van Neste Foundation and Nisbet Trust secured in 2023 to test and refine the programme through free-to-access arts-based provision for primary-aged children that included Forest School activities as well as embedding a dance programme, World in a Box, in partner schools. Building on learning from these pilot activities, the launch of the Cultural Alliance in September 2024 has now been made possible through a two-year grant from Paul Hamlyn Foundation marking a significant step forward in local investment in children's access to arts and culture.