Arts in Education Portal Documentation Awards – Update
Arts in Education Portal
The Arts in Education Portal team has had an exciting few months on the road visiting the recipients of the 2025 Portal Documentation Awards. We’ve had the pleasure of meeting and collaborating with the artists, teachers and students of St Mary’s Special School in Co Meath, Scoil Mhuire Eimhín in Co Limerick and St James National School in Dublin 8 (part of Creativity in the Classroom programme) to document their projects. Each visit highlighted the power of arts and creativity in education, and we look forward to sharing their stories.
The Circus with St Mary’s Special School, Co Meath
The Arts in Education Portal team had the great pleasure of visiting St Mary’s Special School in Johnstown, Co. Meath, to experience The Circus! — a vibrant and joyful creative project delivered in their brand-new, shiny, purpose-built school building.
We joined teacher Siobhán Doughty, art teacher Ina Olohan along with artist Deirdre Shannon and the school’s senior students, for an unforgettable morning of circus-inspired fun and imaginative play. The energy in the classroom was electric as students became performers — walking the tightrope, leaping through fiery hoops (made of colourful crepe paper), and transforming into clowns, complete with dramatic expressions and lots of laughing! It was wonderful to witness the strong collaboration between artists and educators, and the confidence, expression, and pure delight that filled the room as the students brought the circus to life.
Artist Deirdre Shannon with students at St Mary’s Special School take part in the Circus project
Little Woodland Heights with Scoil Mhuire Eimhin, Co Limerick
We travelled to the lovely village of Effin in Co Limerick to join students at Scoil Mhuire Eimhin as they worked with Composer Fiona Linnane, Soprano Triona Walsh and Teacher Nuala Dooly on Little Woodlands Heights, an interactive music-making programme exploring the connections between forest ecology and music designed by Nick Roth.
On our first visit, we joined the class in Curragh Chase Park on a gorgeous summer’s day. The students broke up into different groups arranged by the day of the month that their birthday falls on. Each child picked a tree that they were drawn to and made a sound recording of the tree. This involved a lot of exploration of the park and conversations about the qualities of different trees. They also devised a short rhythm reflected by how their tree’s branches were spaced out.
Effin NS Students at Curragh Chase Park for Little Woodland Heights project.
Our next visit was to the school in Effin. We joined Fiona and Triona for a workshop in music composition based on the individual trees that the children chose. The group learned how to break down each rhythm that they had created and turn it into scripted music that can be played by the group. It was amazing to see how each child was so intrigued by the whole process and also the depth of their own knowledge about trees.
Creativity in the Classroom
We had the absolute privilege of visiting St James National School in Dublin 8, one of the five schools involved in Creativity in the Classroom. This school-based arts programme was set up 28 years ago in the belief that the arts could actively and positively support the emotional and social wellbeing of the children in the area.
From the moment you enter the school gates, art and creativity is just everywhere! On the walls, hanging from the ceilings, even the bathrooms are bright and colourful with children’s artwork.
On our first visit we dropped in to a creative workshop with artist Duffy Mooney Sheppard who was working with pupils from senior infants and their teacher Ms Doherty. The workshop started with a brilliant story about the creatures you might find on your morning walk. The children went on to create fantastic clay creatures and habitats made from natural materials – using sticks, leaves and moss. We even saw pumpkin seeds and lentils used for spines and eyes!
On our second visit, we joined fourth class where the students were working with artist Liz McMahon and their teacher to create a habitat in their community. The students were encouraged to think about place and community. Again, using natural materials, they modelled the most amazing houses, villages, parks and even an ice-cream stall from clay, dried seed heads and twigs!
Artist Liz McMahon with students from St James NS in Dublin 8 – Creativity in the Classroom
Creativity in the Classroom was the recipient of a special third Documentation Award to celebrate 10 years of the Portal.
We’re thrilled to be documenting these three wonderful projects and we look forward to sharing them with the wider community through the Portal in the autumn. Read more about the Portal Documentation Awards