Arts Council announces 184 new schools will join its Creative Schools programme | The Arts Council
1,100 schools part of the
programme since 2018
New group includes 51 DEIS
schools and 23 Irish language schools
Working to ensure all
children can fully enjoy their right to arts and culture
The Arts Council announced today that 184 new schools and Youthreach
centres across Ireland will join its Creative Schools programme. This brings to
1,100 the number of Irish schools who have participated since the programme
began in 2018. One in four Irish schools will have now been part of the
Creative Schools programme.
This is a critical development for the arts and young people in Ireland
and helps to fulfil the Arts Council’s aim for all children to have the
opportunity to participate fully in a range of artforms within our education
system. The Arts Council works to ensure that all children can fully enjoy
their right to arts and culture.
There were 300 applications to the programmme this year, a significant
increase on 2023 numbers. This year’s Creative Schools intake includes 53 DEIS
schools and 23 Irish language schools, as well as seven youthreach centres and
eight special schools. The 184 schools chosen will each receive a €4,000 grant
and will work with a professional Creative Associate for two years who will
support them to develop and implement their own bespoke Creative School
Plan.
Participating in the Creative Schools programme empowers children and
young people to develop, implement and evaluate arts and creative activity
throughout their schools and Youthreach centres. The initiative also enables
schools to discover additional ways of working and uncover the impact of
creativity on children and young people’s learning, development and well-being.
Schools who take part explore creativity in all its forms and embrace
how it can be celebrated in so many ways. From baking to creating and designing
gardens, from photography to performance, from working with other community
groups to transforming areas of their own schools, the impact of Creative
Schools is already felt in every county.
Minister for Education, Norma Foley TD, said:
“It is
wonderful to welcome the 184 schools to the Creative Schools initiative 2024. I
would like to personally welcome these new schools into this unique programme.
I’m very excited to see how these creative and captivating projects will
develop over the coming two years.”
Also speaking today, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht,
Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD, said:
“I would like to
congratulate the 184 schools and Youthreach centres that have successfully
applied to become a Creative School. This new cohort of schools and school
communities have the opportunity to embark on a unique two-year journey of
creativity and discovery. With this additional set of schools, it now means
that, since inception in 2018, 1 in 4 schools in Ireland will have experienced
Creative Schools. Again, this year sees a continuous increase in the diversity
of settings in receipt of support. This is a testament to its impact and the
strength of the partnership between the Art Council, the Department of
Education and the all-of-government Creative Ireland Programme.”
Speaking about today’s announcement Director of the Arts Council, Maureen
Kennelly, said:
“We warmly welcome our new cohort of 184 schools to Creative
Schools. Following the wonderful success of Creative February for schools this
year, we are heartened to see a clear increase in applications for this
incredible resource. By this stage of the programme, we’re delighted to say
that 25% of all schools in Ireland have connected with us. We know that arts
experiences with, for and by children can be transformative. Working with our
partners in the Department of Education, and in the Department of Tourism,
Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and in Creative Ireland, we are
looking forward to another school year full of exploration, creative thinking,
discovery and most importantly fun.”
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