Residents from a Halstead care home took a trip to the magical land of Oz with school pupils.

Children from Richard de Clare Primary School joined residents from Colne View at the Empire Theatre in a generation-spanning outing.

They watched a special screening of The Wizard of Oz, as part of the Archie Project and Colne View’s Dementia-Friendly Cinema initiative.

The Archie Project was first introduced at Colne View last year, with the aim of dispelling the myths and stigma associated with dementia.

Home manager Razvan Stanbeca said: “We believe it is important to learn about dementia from a young age and hope this project will raise awareness of the condition for pupils, as well as their parents, teachers and the community.

“Since launching our dementia-friendly screenings, we’ve had such wonderful feedback from the community with more and more people attending each month.

“A trip to the cinema may feel like an odd way to learn, but we wanted to take the children out of the classroom environment so they could see how small changes can improve the experience for people living with dementia – not to mention the social aspect the initiative offers, helping to reduce isolation.”

This year’s project with the children launched last month with an introductory session at the school, followed by a Dementia Friends session at Colne View, but the cinema visit was the first time the children were able to put their new knowledge into practice.

The Dementia-Friendly Cinema launched in Halstead earlier this year and features special screenings designed for older people to not only experience a film at the cinema, but also give carers and loved ones the chance to spend time together.

The project is funded for six months but the care home hopes to extend it..

Mr Stanbeca added: “We had a great day, and the pupils and residents have had a wonderful time getting to know each other even better.

“We’re really looking forward to continuing to work with pupils at Richard de Clare Primary as the project progresses, and continue to build on the friendships which have been forged.”