DAD managed a partnership project with 8 Dover schools under the cultural strand of INSPIRE Phase III, the Kent Schools’ Olympic Legacy Programme ‘Ways to Rio’.

The schools were:

• Astor College for the Arts (Cultural Leader School)
• St Mary’s CEP (Cultural Leader School)
• Hornbeam Primary School
• St Martin’s School
• Priory Fields School
• Barton Junior School
• Selsted CEP School
• Vale View Community Primary School

The project inspired a group of young leaders to showcase a body of work by the Inspire schools developed through workshops during February to April and culminating in a carnival procession, Rio style, around the Astor College campus in July 2016, in celebration of this year’s Olympics. This included animations inspired by the Olympics and the Carnival theme.

By participating in the project, all the schools are able to demonstrate how their pupils develop in SMSC (social, moral, spiritual and cultural development). The pupils taking part are mostly from mixed year groups, and all have an opportunity to use their imagination and creativity, work together and help each other, participate in culture and appreciate different cultural influences.

Creativity is known to play a positive role in health and wellbeing and the project workshops are one of the ways in which DAD is able to deliver on Kent’s Six Ways to Wellbeing campaign, which promotes better wellbeing and mental health for all of the residents in Kent and Medway:

• Be Active: carnival procession and dance sequences
• Keep Learning: learning to make masks/wigs/costumes
• Give: Sharing the learning, giving time, helping someone
• Connect: Meeting the practitioners (new people), telling family and friends about what you have been doing
• Take Notice: Drawing from observation or research, taking a photo of the workshop for the school website
• Care for the Planet: using recycled/upcycled materials

We are very grateful for the additional financial support for the project through the Kent Members Grants scheme from Pam Brivio and Mike Eddy.