The Bank of Dreams and Nightmares is a Dorset charity helping children aged 7–18 discover confidence and joy through creative writing. Through fun creative writing experiences, stories are transformed into self-belief and self-belief into possibility.

It works in and around Bridport and Weymouth, places where many young people face significant disadvantage and limited access to the arts. The Bank aims to put imagination back at the centre of childhood, build emotional well-being and development, and give teachers and schools the tools to bring more creativity into everyday learning through in-school progression programmes and free after-school clubs.

This project will support approximately one hundred Key Stage 2 pupils at Beaminster St Mary’s Primary School. Children will be encouraged to take risks with their writing, play with language and express their imagination. Each class will travel through the Bank’s full Primary Progression pathway over the school year: a sequence of four workshops covering Character Creation, move into Primary Story-Making (a communal story written to a cliff-hanger that each child then completes individually), and develop voice and confidence through Speech Writing and advanced narrative tasks in upper KS2.

At the end of each block there’s something for each child to hold in their hands or play back, a book with their names on it, or a recording they can take home. Teachers will be supported with co-planning and co-delivering by The Bank. They will gain confidence and ready-to-use tools to bring more creativity into their classrooms.