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Opportunities for Schools: Creative Clusters 2026 – 2028


School students during a creative project for Creative Clusters

Photo: Laois ESC - Students from Roscomroe NS for Creative Clusters.

Department of Education and Youth
Closing date: 20 April 2026

The Department of Education and Youth is pleased to announce the opening of a new round of Creative Clusters for 2026 – 2028. The programme is open to primary and post-primary schools, including special education schools, as well as YouthReach organisations.

The Creative Clusters programme brings together small groups of three to five schools or YouthReach centres, lets them choose a creative theme or challenge, supports them to work together as a team on their project over two years and helps them connect with their local community. Each group gets funding of up to €15,000 to help run the project and is supported by a trained facilitator and their local Education Support Centre to bring it to fruition.

Creative Clusters 2026-2028 poster with students involved in creative activities

The Creative Clusters initiative aims to:

  • Promote new ways in which schools and the arts and cultural sector can work together
  • Improve teaching and learning
  • Provide an opportunity for clusters of schools to interact with professionals from the cultural sector, and access resources to experiment and innovate through a bespoke creative learning project
  • Develop learners’ and teachers’ creativity
  • Understand whether clustering schools at different stages of their journey in using creativity in the classroom and in developing longer term partnerships is an effective model for developing and embedding practice in schools
  • Provide schools with access to creative people, skills and resources, and support them to draw on their own skills and experiences and those within their wider communities

How Creative Clusters works
The programme is open to primary and post-primary schools, including special schools, as well as YouthReach centres. It facilitates release time for schools to meet and develop their project, as well as funding of up to €15,000 to help bring their creative plans and ideas to life. To date, Creative Clusters has brought together 591 schools in 168 clusters, supporting them in using arts and creativity as the common language to tell their unique story.

Find out more about Creative Clusters and how to apply

The application process will be open until Monday 20 April 2026.