BDCEP Projects: Bringing together schools and cultural providers to deliver high quality learning opportunities for all in the Braintree District.
We will work to build strong and active partnerships which improve the provision of cultural opportunities for children and young people in Braintree District ensuring all are afforded equal access to diverse, inspiring and high quality creative and cultural opportunities.
We will develop cultural leaders in each organisation by providing training, facilitating professional learning and coordinating the wide range of expertise within our networks of schools and the cultural organisations.
School Projects
A series of after school projects operating throughout the year…
Care Home Project 4 - A 10 week after-school project
This project has been running for four years and runs each year with up to 10 schools. It enables schools to link with their local Care Home when the schools share artwork with their local Care Home.
The art is created by a group of pupils in a 10 week after-school club.
In the school year 2024/5 we had 9 schools participating in the project. Great Bradford Infants had a great time creating and sharing their artwork.
We are currently signing up schools for the 2025/6 project so please email us if you would like to know more.
Current participating schools:
- Bocking Primary, Church Street, Bocking
- St Andrew’s Primary, Great Yeldham
- Holy Trinity Primary, Halstead
- Great Bradford Infants School, Braintree
- De Vere Primary School, Castle Hedingham
- Lyons Hall Primary, Braintree
- John Bunyan Primary School, Braintree
Learner to Learner Project
Learner to Learner Project
Alec Hunter Academy students worked with Year 6 students from Beckers Green, Lyons Hall and Great Bradfords Primary schools to create some fantastic artwork at Weavers Park Skatepark!
Working with local street artist Kerry Judson, students came up with their own designs celebrating the local area and their sense of community. The project ran from January to July 2025 with visits to Alec Hunter, a ‘Painting Day’ on site and finally a grand opening!
Students not only had the opportunity to work with other schools but also get to know their new secondary school with support of existing year 8 pupils.
We hope to run this project in other areas – please sign up to our newsletter to find out more.
Indian Dance after school Project
Indian dance is a colourful, creative and fun activity for any child. Children learn about Indian rhythms, steps as well as hand & eye movements. They get to choreograph their own moves, build their confidence and increase their flexibility.
The classes is led by Susanna who is an experienced dance teacher and has performed in over a hundred schools in Essex and Suffolk. The 4 week course will run for 1 hour at the end of the school day. www.indian-dance.co.uk
Spring Term 2025 (dates arranged to suit schools and Susanna).
We have funded after school Indian Dance workshops in the following schools:
Richard de Clare Primary
Great Bradford Infants School and Nursery
Great Bradford Junior School
Witham Oak Academy
Beckers Green Primary School
John Bunyan Primary School
Partner Projects
Projects run directly by cultural partners for the benefit of schools in Braintree District.
Magic Lantern
Magic Lantern is an award winning educational charity that has been turning classrooms into pop-up art galleries since 1994.
We were pleased to offer their workshops to one of our schools.
iRock School of Music
irock School of Music deliver after school workshops in many of our schools. They charge for the clubs but they generously supported our Creative Careers Event.
Matipo Arts CIC
A multi-arts Community Interest Company based in Harlow.
In 2024 Matipo delivered theatre workshops in 4 of our schools:
Chipping Hill Primary School
Hatfield Peverel Infant School
Edith Borthwick School
St Francis Catholic Primary School
Community Rail Partnership
We have worked with Community Rail Network to provide art work from several of our schools, to be displayed at Railway Stations within Braintree District.
Art Work from a student at New Rickstones Academy, celebrating 200 years of rail passenger travel.
John Ray Trust
John Ray Trust kindly donated a grant to the 10 schools who attended our 2025 Eco Event. This will enable each school to enhance their planned projects that will support the environment.
ootiboo - A Creative Learning Company
A Creative Learning Company that offers a range of projects that are free for schools.
Our projects are designed to be fun, inclusive and encourage out of the box thinking. We have projects for schools, activities for families at home and craft competitions for any age.
We were pleased to learn that ootiboo have delivered Little Experts: Why Money Matters workshops to the following schools;
- de Vere Primary School
- Templars Academy
- Hatfield Peverel, St Andrew’s Junior School
- Great Bradfords Infant & Nursery School
- Lyons Hall Primary School
- Great Bardfield Primary School
- St Francis Catholic Primary School
- John Bunyan Primary School
- Wethersfield Primary School
Photo’s courtesy of ootiboo
Action Art Play
Creative Health and Well Being
We commissioned 2day art and activity workshops in The Edith Borthwick School, Braintree and Southview School, Witham.
https://www.emotionallywellcommunities.com
Engineering for Kids
Engineering for Kids organises after school clubs for children and is involved in many of our schools. They charge pupils for sessions but are very generous in their provision so we were pleased to subsidise one of the sessions.
Essex Beekeepers' Association
We were delighted to have a presentation from Essex Beekeepers Association at our 2025 Eco Event. We learned all about bees and were able to watch the bees at work.
https://ebka.org/learn-to-keep-bees/local-groups/
Wild Arts Opera
We are delighted that for the third year running Wild Arts will be working with 4 of our schools.
St Francis, Braintree
John Bunyan Primary
Bocking Street Primary
Lyons Hall
‘Wild Arts are working with between 28 and 90 children from each school- the teachers have decided which children and which year group. We are inviting them to a special schools’ performance which will be a condensed, interactive version of Donizetti’s ‘The Elixir of Love’. To fit everyone in, we’ll have 2 performances at Layer Marney Tower on 15th July, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Should be lots of fun!’
