BLINK Dance Theatre granted funding by Paul Hamlyn Foundation to support nationwide Participatory and Training Programme
BLINK Dance Theatre has been granted £114,000 over three years by Paul Hamlyn Foundation’s Arts-based Learning Fund
The grant will support NURTURE, a national, relentlessly inclusive, neurodiverse-led education programme in SEND settings
The grant will also fund training for a new generation of arts facilitators, prioritising those who face barriers to their training
Vicki Hawkins, BLINK Co-Director, engages an audience member during a performance of DRIVE THRU with some coloured shaving foam. Photo Credit: Jon Archdeacon
BLINK Dance Theatre is thrilled to announce the receipt of a grant totalling £114,000 from Paul Hamlyn Foundations’ Arts-based Learning Fund. This substantial funding, distributed over three years, will support the national expansion of BLINK’s ‘relentlessly inclusive’ NURTURE programme, reinforcing their commitment to neurodiverse-led education work in SEND settings. The grant will also enable the growth of their POLLINATE programme; an empowering training programme designed to equip emerging neurodiverse facilitators with the necessary tools to independently facilitate and develop their own practice.
Over the next three years, BLINK will work with five SEND primary and secondary schools across the country, delivering inclusive workshops that are aligned with the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum and the Department of Education’s Engagement Model. These inclusive workshops, centred around communication, social interaction, mental health and wellbeing, will cultivate crucial skills among students and provide the specialised support essential for their development. Recognising that those most needing this support are often the least likely to gain access to it, BLINK are driven to bring their dance and theatre-based approaches to children and young people with PMLD and autism.
In line with their aim to expand the NURTURE programme nationally; BLINK will be developing a scalable model that builds upon their innovative learning methodologies and content. This includes the enhancement of both of their participatory workshops and training of facilitators. Through their POLLINATE training programme, BLINK aims to educate emerging neurodiverse facilitators from various regions in the skills required to deliver high-quality facilitation in SEND school environments. Additionally, BLINK will collaborate with other organisations to provide Inclusive Practice training, ensuring the ongoing success of the NURTURE program. All trainees will receive regular training and ongoing support from BLINK staff to support their ongoing development.
As part of BLINK’s commitment to promoting diversity in arts leadership and breaking down barriers to the arts, BLINK will allocate a portion of the grant to fund work in memory of David Ogwe. David Ogwe was a long-term supporter of BLINK Dance Theatre, and this work will embody one of his favourite sayings; “It is better to light a candle than to complain about sitting in darkness”. BLINK will use this portion of the grant to support an emerging facilitator of colour, offering them paid training, ongoing support, and a contribution to additional costs.
“BLINK Dance Theatre are delighted to receive a grant from Paul Hamlyn Foundation’s Arts-based Learning Fund, which will support the growth of our participation and training work over the next three years. With this funding, we will be able to reach more of the hardest to reach young people both within London and further afield, as well as training a new generation of leaders that can continue our work for years to come. We are particularly excited to work with Paul Hamlyn Foundation as we feel their belief in the power of the arts as a force for change rings true to BLINK Dance Theatre’s core values”
“Paul Hamlyn Foundation is delighted to support BLINK Dance Theatre to grow this work, which aligns very strongly with the Arts-Based Learning Fund priority of supporting pupils who experience systemic disadvantage to access and make progress in their learning. BLINK brings incredible expertise and creativity, and deeply equitable ways of working to all that it does, and PHF is excited to see this work growing in partnership with more schools and facilitators.”