!!!! Creative Ireland Release Review of Creative Youth Plan 2018-2022

Creative Youth

Creative Ireland have released the review of the Creative Youth Plan 2018-2022.

Trinity College Dublin have undertaken a systematic review of the first Creative Youth Plan. Since 2017, Creative Youth has had a significant impact nationally which has included support for over 2,000 schools and Youthreach centres to enrich their students experience through a range of creative programmes, and provided access to programmes such as creative writing, youth drama, music, and creative technology, as well as supporting educators in embedding creativity into their programmes

The report is a systematic review of outcomes and trends across the Creative Youth Plan 2017 – 2022.

Read the report in full here: https://www.creativeireland.gov.ie/app/uploads/2025/03/20240327-Creative-Youth-2017-2022-Systematic-Review.pdf

!!!! Have Your Say: NCCA Consults on Five Draft Primary Curriculum Specifications in Arts Education

NCCA

Date: March to June 2024

As part of the redevelopment of the Primary School Curriculum, NCCA is now consulting on five Draft Primary Curriculum Specifications in Arts Education; Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) in the Primary Language Curriculum; Social and Environmental Education (SEE); Science, Technology and Engineering (STE) Education; and Wellbeing from March to June 2024.

The consultation includes gathering feedback from children, working with schools networks, online and in-person focus groups, online questionnaires, written submissions, bilateral meetings and a consultation conference.

Here are some of the ways you can get involved and have your say:

• Focus Group Events: Online and in-person focus groups will take place for teachers, school leaders and parents. The in-person focus groups will take place across the country.
• Questionnaires: There are two online questionnaires, one for education professionals and one for parents. Each should take no more than ten minutes to complete.
• Written submissions: Individuals, groups and organisations are invited to make an online written submission on one or more of the Draft Primary Curriculum Specifications.

 For more information on the consultation and how you can get involved, please visit their dedicated consultation page.

!!!! I-TAP-PD: Research Reports

International Teacher-Artist Partnership (I-TAP-PD) PD

Research reports from the International Teacher-Artist Partnership (I-TAP-PD) PD project were published in June 2023. The project focus was on enabling teachers and artists to jointly develop their understanding, expertise and creativity in ‘arts in education’ work with children and young people in education, community and arts settings. It is funded under the Erasmus+ KA2 Strategic Partnership for School Education initiative.

Consisting of a 5-day pre-service training course to prepare participants for their partnered engagement and a 20 hour in-situ residency in a primary school, the programme was piloted in four countries: Ireland, Serbia, Greece and the Netherlands.

I-TAP-PD focuses specifically on the partnership between a teacher and an artist, aiming to facilitate a strong foundation of relationship and inspiration before working together in the classroom. In co-creating this methodology a research group was organised to collect data about the impact of the programme and the residencies, and to monitor the development and finetuning of the training programme. The research team consists of representatives of each country.

Four residencies took place in Ireland during 2022, data from these, confirmed findings published internationally on TAP initiatives. In this case, sufficient allocation of time for residencies, whole school buy-in and political will and support were confirmed as the main enablers of TAP practices, whereas two residencies were hindered by a lack of support by school management. Key findings for the Irish research indicated that learning fell broadly into three categories: personal development, professional development and effective collaboration. The greatest areas of learning for teachers were in the collaborative sphere while artists reported significant personal development.

The research from each partner country is available to read on the I-TAP-PD website, including a short introduction and download link to each research reports from Ireland along with Greece, Serbia and the Netherlands. Read them all and explore how the programme and residencies were experienced and analysed within the different contexts.

!!!! Evaluation of Creative Schools – full report

The Arts Council of Ireland

The Arts Council has warmly welcomed the publication of a landmark report which shows the impact, reach and influence of the Creative Schools Programme. Creative Schools is led by the Arts Council in partnership with the Department of Education, the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and Creative Ireland.

The report by Dr Regina Murphy and Dr Eemer Eivers (Dublin City University) presents an evaluation of the first four years (2018-2022) of the initiative and provides information on the experiences of children and young people, teachers, educators, arts practitioners and artists. To date 971 schools, nearly a quarter of all schools in the country [~24%], have participated in the programme.

Participants in schools and centres, including children, students, teachers, principals, Creative Schools Coordinators and their supporting Creative Associates have been overwhelmingly positive in their overall attitudes towards the programme and in their reports of experience. 99% of participating schools said they would recommend the programme to other schools.

Schools from every county in Ireland have participated in the programme and all school types including 27 Youthreach Centres, have been well represented. The Creative Schools programme has successfully prioritised participation by DEIS Schools, small rural schools, Special Schools, Irish Language medium schools and Youthreach centres in response to interim findings from this report.

In many instances, changes to how students perceive their place in the school as well as improvements to the physical face of the school (e.g. an art installation or a student co-designed garden), can be directly attributed to the programme. The report also highlights that the Creative Schools initiative has been successful in promoting and infusing creativity in schools and drawing attention to the increasing importance of creativity in education.

Creative Schools has opened up a very broad range of experiences for students and pupils and each participating school has had a unique journey. The wide variety of activities undertaken by schools during their engagement in Creative Schools have included circus, architecture, heritage, music, comedy, literature, coding, traditional arts, science, horticulture, film, design, craft, drama, visual arts and dance.

The researchers Dr. Murphy and Dr. Eivers conclude:

“The overall Creative Schools initiative has transformed a very broad range of Irish schools in the Irish educational landscape more than any other initiative heretofore in placing learners in every county at the heart of the process, valuing and validating their perspectives and experiences, collaborating meaningfully with them while shifting the focus of arts education in particular from child-centred to child-led participatory practice.”

Maureen Kennelly, Arts Council Director said of the report: 

“…By placing young people at the heart of decision making, we have been able to support schools to fully embrace the creative possibilities within their community and their locality…”

Catherine Martin TD, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media said:

“Creative Schools, a key programme under the Creative Youth Plan, has gone from strength to strength since 2018, particularly in its reach to schools and those under the DEIS programme, in alternative settings and special schools. This report highlights positive impacts that Creative Schools has had on students and their school communities…”

Minister for Education, Norma Foley TD added: 

“I welcome DCU’s Creative Schools report which highlights the success of the programme in putting the arts and creativity at the centre of education. It has given students the opportunity to develop creative projects on their own school grounds, to take part in workshops and performances and to visit galleries, theatres, heritage sites, cinemas, museums, libraries and local arts centres…”

Two Sixth Year students from Mungret Community College, Limerick who participated in the Creative Schools programme also gave their views about their experience.

Aaroh Jain: “I think Creative Schools had a profound impact on me, because it was a chance to exercise autonomy in our school, a platform to see if we could bring our own ideas to life.”

Eve Adedirann: “Creative Schools is a great way to explore interests you may have thought you never had.”

The full report is available to read online from the DCU DORAS website: https://doras.dcu.ie/29450/

!!!! Creative Schools initiative: Arts Council announces 141 new schools

The Arts Council recently announced that offers have been made to 141 schools and centres across Ireland who applied to be part of the Creative Schools initiative.

The Creative Schools initiative gives opportunities for children and young people to build their artistic and creative skills. Each of the 141 schools taking part will receive a grant and work with a professional Creative Associate who will support them to develop and implement their own bespoke Creative School Plan over a two-year period.

The 141 new Creative Schools comprise 97 primary schools, 25 post-primary schools, 4 special schools and 10 Youthreach centres. Joining the programme this year are five schools in Alternative Settings who cater for young people with severe emotional and behavioural challenges. St Paul’s YEP, Dublin; St Laurence O’Toole’s Special School, Dublin; Henrietta Street School, Dublin; St Kevin’s School, Cork; and St Augustine’s Special School, Limerick will join the programme and receive enhanced supports.

Catherine Martin TD, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media said:

“I am thrilled to see the continued success of the Creative Schools initiative and warmly welcome the 141 new schools and centres. Since 2018, Creative Schools has been a testament to the pivotal role creativity plays for children and young people across Ireland; in their education and for their school communities. I hope that the Creative School initiative continues to flourish and empower our young people as these new schools and centres embark on the programme.”

Norma Foley TD, Minister for Education said:

“I am pleased to see that 141 new schools and centres are now joining the Creative Schools Programme. Creative Schools puts the arts and creativity at the heart of children’s and young people’s lives. Over 970 schools and Youthreach centres have been invited to participate since it was set up in 2018. We are increasingly embedding the arts into the education system, which includes the development of a new subject – Drama, Film and Theatre Studies – which will commence in schools in 2025.”

Maureen Kennelly, Director of the Arts Council, said:

“We extend a warm welcome to the 141 new schools joining Creative Schools. The demand nationwide is a testament to the programme’s impact, and we’re excited even more schools in Ireland are now part of this creative journey. Collaborating with our partners in the Department of Education, the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport, and Media, as well as Creative Ireland, we anticipate another school year filled with creativity, consultation, and exploration.”

Participation empowers children and young people to develop, implement and evaluate arts and creative activity throughout their schools and centres. Creativity stimulates additional ways of working and has a positive impact on children and young people’s learning, development and well-being.

!!!! Promoting diversity and inclusion in schools in Europe: Eurydice Report

European Education and Culture Executive Agency

The diversity of the educational landscape is increasing; however, learners from disadvantaged backgrounds and those who experience discrimination or unequal treatment disproportionately underachieve in schools. Equality, equity and inclusion are fundamental principles of the European Union. They have also become key topics of the educational science discourse and a policy priority across Europe.

Promoting diversity and inclusion in schools in Europe report investigates existing national/top-level policies and measures that promote diversity and inclusion in school education in 39 European education systems including Ireland.

It focuses especially on learners who are most likely to experience disadvantage and/or discrimination in schools, including  students from different migrant, ethnic and religious backgrounds, LGBTIQ+ students, girls/boys and students with special educational needs or disabilities. The report highlights existing targeted policy initiatives promoting the learners’ access to quality, inclusive, mainstream education.

It provides a comparative overview of policies and measures across 39 European education systems and presents many country examples, which showcase some of the most recent initiatives taken across Europe.

To view and download a copy of the full report, please visit the report page on the Eurydice website

Eurydice is a network whose task is to explain how education systems are organised in Europe and how they work. They publish descriptions of national education systems, comparative studies devoted to specific topics, indicators and statistics in the field of education.

The European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) manages funding for education, culture, audiovisual, sport, citizenship and volunteering.

In Ireland, Léargas manage international and national exchange programmes in education, youth and community work, and vocational education and training. To find out more about iniatives and programme offered through Léargas, visit their School Education page here for more information: https://www.leargas.ie/explore-school-education-opportunities/

!!!! Baboró Publish LEAP Report and Findings

Baboró International Arts Festival For Children

Baboró have published their report and findings from their pilot LEAP programme. LEAP is a community-building project and artist development programme for creative individuals from underrepresented, ethnically diverse communities and/or migrant backgrounds curious about creating work for young audiences.

This report is an account of the development and implementation of Baboró’s LEAP as a pilot programme between December 2020-April 2022. The report examines the context of LEAP’s creation, what worked about this pilot programme, what could be improved for the future, and what learnings LEAP offers that are relevant to wider Irish and international theatre for young audiences’ communities.

This report also situates Baboró’s LEAP within post-2000s Irish arts policy focused on interculturalism and/or diversity and the wider international landscape of politics, policy and social change in the theatre for young audiences sector and beyond that immediately influenced the creation and implementation of this programme.

For a short executive summary of this report, and their learnings from the pilot LEAP programme, download the document below.

Download the LEAP Learnings here

Read The Full Report

Download the complete LEAP Report here

!!!! Barboró Arts Festival launch their Five Year Strategic Plan

Baboró International Arts Festival for Children

!!!! Sign up for Arts In Junior Cycle Elective Courses!

Arts in Junior Cycle

Dates: Various

Arts in Junior Cycle have an extensive range of elective courses available to book for post-primary School teachers. Please see a selection of the course available below.

Lights, Camera, Action! A film production workshop

Date: Wednesday 7th, Thursday 8th and Friday 9th June

Times:  10.30am – 4pm 

Location: Kilkenny Education Centre

This Arts in Junior Cycle workshop with Young Irish Film Makers (YIFM) in Kilkenny Education Centre will provide participants with an opportunity to:

• understand how camera tells a story and consider film as visual language
• engage in the three phases of production from concept to realisation, including: story-boarding, scripting, devising shot lists, filming, editing and creating a final rough cut
• learn techniques to support classroom engagement with film-making across a range of contexts, including free software and using smart phones to film

This in-person workshop is open to junior cycle teachers of all subjects and disciplines.  

Figurative Oil Painting workshop

Dates: Monday 19th and Tuesday 20th June

Times: 10.30am – 3.30pm

Location: Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts (RHA), Dublin

This Arts in Junior Cycle workshop with visual artist Blaise Smith in the RHA will provide participants with an opportunity to:

• explore basic technical and material skills to underpin a professional painting practice
• examine how compositional tools such as the Golden Mean and the Rule of Thirds are utilsed in traditional and contemporary oil painting
• use a limited palette to create layers and flesh tones
• explore basic anatomical structure of the human figure

Open to junior cycle teachers of all subject disciplines.

Do Your Own Thing! A workshop to explore the creative process

Dates: Thursday 22nd and Friday 23rd June

Time: 10.30am – 4.00pm

Location: Irish Museum of Modern Art

Arts in Junior Cycle in partnership with visual artist threadstories and writer and poet Colm Keegan offer a two-day workshop in The Irish Museum of Modern Art.

In this hands-on and practical workshop, participants will:

• engage in an open-ended exploration of word and image, using a variety of art-making materials and writing prompts
• consider their own relationship to education, art and self-expression
• gain insights into the creative processes of a visual artist and a writer
• explore IMMA and use it as a source of inspiration
• discuss possible approaches to a range of stimuli
• collaborate in a safe, supportive and experiential environment

 

Visit the link below for full details and to register  www.artsinjuniorcycle.ie

 

 

 

 

 

!!!! 2023 Creative Schools Initiative open for applications

Arts Council of Ireland

Application Deadline: Thursday 15 June 2023 at 5.30pm

Maximum Award: with €4,000

Applications are now open for the Creative Schools Initiative! All Department of Education-recognised primary and post-primary schools and Youthreach centres that have not already participated in a previous round of Creative Schools are eligible to apply.

Creative Schools supports primary and post-primary schools and Youthreach centres across Ireland to put arts and creativity at the heart of children’s and young people’s lives.

It supports schools/centres to provide opportunities for children and young people to build their artistic and creative skills, and to develop additional ways of working that reinforce the impact of creativity on their learning and wellbeing.

Schools and Youthreach centres that join the programme take part in a two-year guided journey to develop a Creative Schools Plan unique to their own school, and to put it into action.  Children and young people’s involvement in planning, decision-making and reflection is central to the journey.

Participating schools/centres will be provided with a package of supports that includes working with a Creative Associate, training and networking to support them to create their Creative School Plan, as well as seed funding to begin to implement their Plan. Successful schools will receive €4,000 to implement their plans over the school years 2023–24 and 2024–25.

Application guidelines 2023

The application guidelines are available  here.  All applications to the Arts Council are made through the Arts Council’s online services system. To access the application form and make an application, please set up an organisation account for your school or Youthreach centre on the Arts Council’s online services system  here.

Information clinics

Please join one of our online information clinics to find out more.

• Monday 15 May 2023 at 16.00-17.00. Book tickets here.
• Tuesday 16 May 2023 at 16.00-17.00. Book tickets here.

!!!! Join The Erasmus+ Online eTwinning Schools Conference

Erasmus+

The Online eTwinning Schools Conference

Date: 24th-26th May 2023.

The Online eTwinning Schools Conference will take place from 24 to 26 May 2023. The first day of the conference (Wednesday 24 May) will be live streamed and open for anyone to join and engage with. No registration is needed.

The overall goal of the conference is to identify, highlight, share, promote, disseminate and further establish the practices of eTwinning Schools that focus on creativity and well-being.

During that first day, Arianna Sala of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) will present the keynote presentation “LifeComp: A European competence framework for better lives in our uncertain world”.  LifeComp is the European framework for the personal, social and learning to learn key competence.

Days 2 and 3 will be closed only to eTwinning registered participants.

For more information and to join the public livestream, visit here: https://school-education.ec.europa.eu/en/insights/news/get-ready-european-online-conference-etwinning-schools-igniting-creativity-nurturing 

!!!! 2023 Portal Spring Regional Day – Programme Announced

Arts in Education Portal 

Date: Saturday, 6th May 2023

The Portal Team is delighted to announce the full programme for the Arts in Education Portal Spring Regional Day which takes place on Saturday 6th May in Cork City at MTU Crawford College of Art & Design in partnership with the Department of Arts in Health & Education and Department of Fine Art & Applied Art. We are also delighted to present, in collaboration with Sample-Studios in Cork, an exhibition of work from artists in the field of arts in education based in the South-West region. An exhibition viewing will be held at the Lord Mayor’s Pavilion to wrap up the day’s programme from 3:30pm; delegates are welcome to attend then or to visit the exhibition which will run until 27th May.

We invite teachers, artists, arts managers and anyone with an interest in arts in education in Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary to join us for these free events.

The programme for the day includes a series of presentations in the morning; artist Jane Hayes will discuss the challenges and opportunities that go with balancing a studio practice with collaborative arts projects, and her mission to make both child-centred. Following this discussion, composer Fiona Linnane will explore the activities which she has found to be the most effective in engaging students during her residencies through presentation, discussion and creative exercises.  

In the afternoon join West Cork based visual artist artist Julie O’Hea for a creative workshop in ink making and hapa-zome pigment printing, this session promises to be messy, fun and informative.

How to Book

Tickets for the 2023 Portal Spring Regional Day are free but pre booking is essential as capacity is limited.

Book your place at https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/arts-in-education-portal-regional-day-south-west-tickets-600696769207

Online Viewing:

For those who can’t join us in person on the day, the morning talks and presentations will be available to watch back online following the conference. Registration for viewing is available through the link here: https://forms.gle/MF4NLWcRWq8t15nk8.

Please note: ISL Interpretation will be available at the venue and on the video recordings.

Schedule

10:00am — Registration & coffee at MTU CCAD, Sharman Crawford Street

10.15am — Welcome Address

10:30am — The Portal: a brief introduction by Edel Doherty, Kids’ Own Publishing Partnership (Portal Content Managers) 

10:45am — Presentation ‘The Voice of the Child in Creative Decision-Making – The Early Years Context’ with Jane Hayes. Join early years artist Jane Hayes for an informal discussion about her socially engaged visual arts practice and her work with and for very young children.

11:30am — Presentation ‘Tutti – Exploring pathways to inclusivity for music composition in the classroom’ with Fiona Linnane. Composer Fiona Linnane will share her learnings, as an artist delivering schools residencies exploring music and sound, around what she has found to be the most inclusive approaches to music composition in the classroom.

12:15pm — Lunch & networking

1:15pm — Walk to MTU CCAD, Grand Parade

1:30pm – 3:00pm — Creative Workshop ‘Pigments from Nature’ with artist Julie O’Hea at MTU CCAD, Grand Parade. Visual artist Julie O’Hea will give a demonstration in ink making and hapa-zome pigment printing in a messy, fun and informative creative session.

– – – – – – – – – 

3:30pm — Exhibition viewing and reception at Lord Mayor’s Pavilion

5:00pm — wrap up

 

Collaborative Arts in Education exhibition with Sample-Studios at the Lord Mayor’s Pavilion

27th April – 27th May

Exhibition opening hours:

Tuesday – Saturday, 11am – 4pm

For further information on the Regional Day email events@artsineducation.ie.

!!!! New Creative Youth Plan 2023-2027 launched for children and young people

Creative Ireland

A new Creative Youth Plan for the period 2023-2027 was approved and launched by Government on Tuesday 28th March to further embed creativity into the centre of the lives of Ireland’s young people.

Building on the success of the first Creative Youth Plan 2017-2022, this new plan aims to provide everyone from birth to 24 years with more opportunities for creative engagement in every aspect of their lives. Across seven strategic objectives, the Creative Youth Plan will ensure children and young people retain a key voice in decision-making on its implementation and will prioritise those that are seldom heard and most at risk of disadvantage. Parents and caregivers, educators, artists, and creative practitioners will be supported to recognise the centrality and value of creativity to their lives.

• The Creative Youth Plan 2023-2027 aims to enable the creative potential of children and young people, from birth to 24 years, prioritising those seldom heard and at risk of disadvantage
• Under the new Creative Youth Plan, opportunities for creative engagement will reach tens of thousands of children and young people.
• Children and young people to retain a key voice in decision-making on its implementation.
• Impactful programmes such as the Local Creative Youth Partnerships, Cruinniú na nÓg, Creative Schools, Creative Clusters and BLAST to continue.
• New €500,000 Creative Youth Nurture Fund to support pilot youth-led projects that prioritise seldom heard children and young people.

Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin TD, Minister for Education Norma Foley TD and Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth Roderic O’Gorman TD announced the launch of the new Creative Youth Plan 2023-2027 at a youth-led event that took place in the National Gallery of Ireland on 28th March 2023.

The launch was supported by a panel discussion between the Ministers and four young creatives with a music performance from Music Generation and a spoken word performance organised through Creative Schools.

Read more about the upcoming 5 years of Creative Youth here: https://artsineducation.ie/en/resource/creative-youth-plan-2023-2027/

!!!! Creative Ireland – A Creative Future Progress Report

Creative Ireland

Creative Ireland have released their 2022 progress report A Creative Future, highlighting their initiatives throughout the year, including progress made under the Creative Youth Plan. Published in December 2017, the aims of the Creative Youth Plan are to give every child practical access to tuition, experience and participation in art, music, drama and coding by 2022.

Catherine Martin TD, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, was delighted to announce the project will be extended until 2027.

Under the project 185 new schools and Youthreach facilities joined the Creative Schools programme. This includes the addition of four schools in alternative settings which will receive enhanced supports: Oberstown Children Detention Campus School; Ballydowd High Support Special School; Crannog Nua Special School, Portrane; and St Canice’s Special School, Limerick.

Other highlights include :

• 153 new schools joined 42 Creative Clusters around the country.
• 629 new school artist residencies were awarded under BLAST (Bringing Live Arts to Students and Teachers) for the 2022/2023 school year

To read the progress report in full see : https://report2022.creativeireland.gov.ie/

To read more about the first 5 years of Creative Youth, see https://www.creativeireland.gov.ie/app/uploads/2022/08/Creative-Youth-Plan-2017-2022.pdf

!!!! Minister Foley launches new Primary Curriculum Framework

Department of Education

!!!! The FÍS Film Project Awards 2023 – Winners Announced

FÍS Film Awards 2023

Cappawhite National School in Tipperary have been crowned winners of ‘FÍS Film of the Year’ at the FÍS Film Awards 2023, which have taken place at The Helix, DCU, Dublin.

The movie, entitled ‘The Christmas Truce of 1914’ recounts the fabled ceasefire between British and German soldiers on the Western Front during World War I. It also scooped the Outstanding Cinematography prize. The FÍS Film Awards 2023 recognises the creative talents of primary school children across Ireland.

The Awards, hosted by RTE’s Sinead Kennedy, is a collaboration between the Institute of Art, Design and Technology and the Professional Development Service for Teachers It was devised as a grassroots initiative to nurture Ireland’s future moviemaking talent by encouraging them to devise, develop, produce, and submit their short films for consideration in a range of categories. The event was co-produced by students of IADT’s National Film School and streamed live on the official FÍS website.

Some other 2023 winners include :

• Lackamore NS, Tipperary – Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking – Adaptation – Na Trí Mhuc
• Carrig N.S, Offaly – Award for Best Comedy – The Villains
• Strawberry Hill NS, Cork – Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking – Production Design – The Normans
• Gaelscoil Riabhach, Galway – An Scannán Is Fearr as Gaeilge – Fáilte go dtí An Córas Díleá

 A montage of all finalists can also be viewed by clicking https://youtu.be/tSNFo0SqLI8

Commenting on this year’s awards, FÍS Manager from The Institute of Art, Design & Technology, Bernadette Meagher said:  “The judges had a tough task at this year’s event, the standard and ambition of the entries was so high, not to mention the creativity. We congratulate every one of the children involved, along with their teachers, on their well-deserved awards……”

 

!!!! Early Insights Review of the Junior Cycle Visual Art

National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA)

Deadline: 31st March, 5pm

NCCA is seeking the views of a range of parties, including education stakeholders, practising teachers and students who are interested in contributing to this Early Insights Review. There are several ways to participate in the consultation: 

• Via an Online Survey 
• Make a written submission, using our template, Visual Art Written Submission” in the subject line.
• Register to attend a regional focus group:
  Dublin: Ashling Hotel – 21st March
  Limerick: Strand Hotel – 14th March
  Galway city: Harbour Hotel – 28th March

These focus groups will take place during the day from 10:30am – 1:00pm. Places are limited and registration remains open until one week in advance of each focus group. 

This review process will close on Friday, 31st March at 5pm. 

For more information see : https://ncca.ie/en/junior-cycle/curriculum-developments/visual-art/

!!!! Draft Principles for Engaging with the Arts in Early Learning and Care

!!!! Minister Martin confirms additional funding for Minding Creative Minds as part of the Safe to Create Programme

Minister Martin confirms funding of €300,000

Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin, has today announced funding of €300,000 for Minding Creative Minds as part of the Safe to Create Programme.  This brings the Department’s overall allocation for the Safe to Create Programme to €782,000. Minding Creative Minds is Ireland’s (32 county and Irish overseas) first 24/7 mental health and wellbeing support programme for the Irish Creative community delivered in association with Spectrum Life.

With the launch of the Safe to Create Programme last October, Minding Creative Minds announced an enhancement of its service to include specialist trauma and abuse counselling care.  This service enables crucial support for anyone who has experienced trauma or sexual abuse and ensures that they can access immediate support and up to 12 free counselling sessions from a trauma counsellor immediately.

Minding Creative Minds offers a range of other in-house services to the Irish Creative Sector which includes a comprehensive Career and Mentoring service incorporating all creative art forms and a monthly peer support meeting which offers support, advice and resources to the Irish Creative Community.

The Minding Creative Minds programme includes access to a number of additional services to help users overcome various practical issues they may face including:

• Advice on practical, day-to-day issues that cause anxiety and stress.
• Legal Assistance
• Financial Assistance & Consumer Assistance
• Career Guidance & Life Coaching
• Support for non-Irish nationals & their families
• Mediation Services

Announcing the funding, Minister Martin commented:

“The Safe to Create Programme which I launched in October of last year, is built on the stark findings of The Speak Up:  A Call for Change Report.  The Speak Up report included key findings that the majority of those surveyed had experienced (70%) or witnessed (53%) harmful behavior.  Minding Creative Minds is working closely with the Irish Theatre Institute, is an integral part of the Safe to Create Programme and is helping to lead the way to improving the damaging norms in the arts sector for the benefit of all arts workers.”

Further details on the Minding Creative Minds programme are available at www.mindingcreativeminds.ie.

!!!! Minister Foley welcomes hundreds of additional schools to Creative Clusters and BLAST arts programme

The Minister for Education Norma Foley recently announced the awarding of BLAST residencies to 629 schools in 2022-2023, the second year of the BLAST (Bringing Live Arts to Students and Teachers) programme. Minister Foley also welcomed the creation of an additional 21 Creative Clusters for 2022-2024, comprising a further 77 primary and post-primary schools. This doubles the number of participating schools and clusters this year, up from 21 clusters announced already in September 2022, in response to the demand from schools.

The BLAST programme has seen a significant increase in residencies from the 489 primary and post-primary schools that took part in the programme in its first year and demonstrates the strong interest and engagement from schools in working with creative professionals through this programme.

!!!! Cork ETB: Arts in Education Strategy 2022-2026

Cork ETB

Cork ETB recently launched their Arts in Education Strategy 2022-2026. The Strategy outlines the importance of the arts and provides a framework for arts education and the promotion of the arts and supporting their implementation throughout Cork ETB.

Minister for Education, Norma Foley attended Nano Nagle Place in Cork City on Friday 2nd December where she launched Cork ETB’s Arts in Education Strategy 2022-2026.

The Arts in Education Strategy outlines the importance of the arts and provides a framework for arts education and the promotion of the arts and supporting their implementation throughout all of Cork ETB’s primary, post primary and further education and training facilities.

The implementation plan includes the following five key points and their respective objectives:

1. Awareness: develop and create a space for the Arts in all its forms
2. Inclusivity: to promote and deploy Arts Education as a valuable tool for promoting social inclusion, community engagement, well-being and fostering lifelong learning
3. Partnership: develop existing relationships while nurturing the development of new partnerships and joint ventures
4. Value: to foster and promote creativity by encouraging schools and centre’s to give parity of esteem to creative subjects
5. Quality: provision of appropriate supports and resources to provide for quality teaching and learning in the Arts

Speaking at the launch, Minister Foley praised Cork ETB for their efforts to enable better integration and promotion of the arts in their education entities.

She said: “It was a joy for me to be invited to launch the Cork Education and Training Board’s Arts in Education Strategy 2022 – 2026.   I strongly believe that inclusive access to the arts can nurture, inspire and innovate all our students and young learners. The Arts in Education Strategy today clearly identifies Cork ETB’s commitment to the arts and provides a framework for the way forward for all stakeholders. It was a pleasure to officially launch this milestone strategy in the presence of such vibrant performers and talented musicians.”

A copy of Cork ETB’s Arts in Education Strategy 2022-2026 can be viewed online here: https://www.corketb.ie/cork-etb-arts-provision/

!!!! Podcasts from Baboró’s 2022 Festival

Baboró International Arts Festival for Children

Baboró recorded three talks during the 2022 festival discussing early years arts education, sectoral sustainability and artist development, which they have now made available for streaming.

The Baboró podcast is available to listen on Spotify or Apple.

Opening Doors

In this discussion, a roundtable of makers, educators and thinkers explored models of practice to aid artists in the creation of work for very young audiences in early years education and crèche settings.

The panel featured Gaëtane Reginster (Théâtre de la Guimbarde, Belgium), Marc Mac Lochlainn (Branar, Ireland) and Dr. Rita Melia (Atlantic Technological University, Ireland). Chaired by Marianne Kennedy (University of Galway, Ireland).

Towards Sustainability

In partnership with Branar’s Meitheal Initiative, this panel discussion explored models of practice which support the sustainable development of career paths for independent artists making work for young audiences.

The panel featured Tony Reekie (Catherine Wheels, Scotland), Kate Cross (The Egg, England), Dan Colley and Matt Smyth (Creators of ‘The Man with Enormous Wings’ and formerly Collapsing Horse, Ireland), Emer McGowan (Draíocht, Ireland). Chaired by Linda Geraghty (Branar/Meitheal, Ireland).

Meitheal is a pilot creative support initiative committed to the development and presentation of performing arts for young audiences across Ireland. Devised by Branar, funded by the Arts Council.

Reflecting on LEAP

The participants and stakeholders of Baboró’s LEAP artist support programme discussed the pilot project’s development and execution.

The panel featured Rachel Baltz (Baboró, Ireland), Alexandra Craciun (LEAP Participant, Romania and Ireland), Fernanda Ferrari (LEAP Participant, Brazil and Ireland), Justyna Cwojdzińska (LEAP Participant, Poland and Ireland), Ionia Ní Chróinín (Moonfish, Ireland) Jo Cummins (Moonfish, Ireland) and Maeve Stone (Cracking Light Productions, Ireland). Chaired by Dr. Charlotte McIvor (Drama and Theatre Studies, University of Galway, Ireland).

Read more about Baboró’s Podcast Programme here: https://www.baboro.ie/news-events/podcasts-from-babor%C3%B3s-2022-delegate-programme.

!!!! I-TAP-PD: Tapping into Creativity podcast

The International Teacher-Artist Partnership (I-TAP-PD)

The International Teacher-Artist Partnership (I-TAP-PD) podcast series ‘Tapping into Creativity’ shares stories about the magic that happens when creativity, art, and education meet. Stories about creative learning from diverse European projects in schools and beyond. Stories about what happens when artists work with young people. Hosted by Linda Rosink and Manja Eland of Stichting Kopa, they talk to teachers, artists, scientists, policy makers and children about the importance of creative education. Listen to the show if you’re looking for inspiration for your own practice.

Season 2 launched on 5th November featuring guest speaker Tania Banotti, Director of Creative Ireland. It will run for eight episodes with the final episode airing on 20th December. The programme focuses on enabling teachers and artists to jointly develop their understanding, expertise and creativity in ‘arts in education’ work with children and young people in education, community and arts settings.

The guest speakers this season include:
Tania Banotti – 5th November
Georgina Kakoudaki – 8th November
Sanja Krsmanović Tasić – 11th November
Jolanda Schouten⁠ – 22nd November
Klaas Dijkstra⁠ – 29th November
Jane O’Hanlon – 6th December
Miranda Siemelink – 13th December
Paul Collard – 20th December

You can listen and subscribe to the full series via Captivate: https://tappingintocreativity.captivate.fm/ or your favourite podcasts platform including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music.

International Teacher-Artist Partnership (I-TAP-PD) PD is funded under the Erasmus+ KA2 Initiative 2020 – 2023 and is a partnership between Tralee Education Centre (Ireland), Centre for drama in education and art (CEDEUM) (Serbia), Hellenic Theatre/Drama & Education Network (TENet-GR) (Greece) and Stichting Kopa (Netherlands)

!!!! Ireland’s National School Photography Awards: National Winners Announced

Ireland’s National School Photography Awards (INSPA)

National Winners Announced
Theme: Me, Myself, and I

INSPA has extended their congratulations to every school who participated in the 2021/22 National School Photography Awards. The national winner is Matthew Asiedu-Appiah from Lucan CNS, who submitted the photo entitled ‘Instruments’ into the Senior Category of the awards. The winner of the Junior Category is Sophie Mai Woulfe from Kilcummin N.S. with her entry ‘The Pizzeria’.

INSPA is the national children’s photography competition and Positive Primaries Programme which is open to all primary schools in the Republic of Ireland. Throughout the 2021/22 school year, young creatives from around the country were encouraged to embed Creative Wellbeing into their school community while exploring the theme: Me, Myself, and I.

The awards are having a massive impact in classrooms and homes across Ireland as they provide an inclusive model for children of all backgrounds and abilities to get involved. Through photography, INSPA introduces creative well-being into the lives of primary school communities while building a future generation of people who are confident, resilient, connected, kind and ready.

The awards are free and offer a range of fantastic prizes alongside the schools Positive Primaries Flag. These include getaways to the Amber Springs Resort for principals, teachers, pupils and families, Instax cameras for winners and schools, framed photographs, certificates, and school photo fundraising days at your school. All entries are judged by a national panel of experts and over 500 primary schools have already registered their accounts and taken their first Step of their Positive Primaries Journey.

The awards will open again for entries in September 2023.

For further information on INSPA and their Positive Primaries programme, visit www.inspa.ie.

!!!! Creative Clusters Initiative: Minister Foley Announces creation of 21 new Creative Clusters

!!!! ‘A-Z Alphabet of Actions’ Publication – Findings from a Pilot Early Years Initiative

Kids’ Own Publishing Partnership are delighted to announce the publication of ‘A-Z: Alphabet of Actions’ which outlines the findings from a pilot project that explored literacy with young children. This project investigated how children of different ages and stages of literacy interacted with the materials.

This project was developed as a pilot early-years intervention, putting arts and creativity at the centre of early childhood learning and development. Funded by ESB Energy for Generations, the project evolved in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020 and 2021, the early stages of the project took place during strict lockdowns and were designed to facilitate parent-child interactions. The project modelled a way of working that supported young children to manipulate and play openly with materials and connected them with their parents and other children through verbal and non-verbal communication.

Artist, Naomi Draper, designed a material environment that allowed for different ‘layers’ of entry to accommodate children at a very early stage of literacy, as well as those in primary education with more developed literacy. This project investigated how children of different ages and stages of literacy interacted with the materials.

The Sligo Country Childcare Committee and Children & Young People’s Service Committee (CYPSC) were delighted to be involved with the A-Z programme. The results highlighted by the parent and child’s voices have demonstrated the importance of that parent/carer interaction.

If you would like to receive a copy of “A-Z Alphabet of Actions: Findings from a pilot early years initiative”, please send your name and address to info@kidsown.ie

!!!! ‘Songs of Ourselves’ Live Performance at The Dock

The Dock

‘Songs of Ourselves’ was one of the recipient projects of the 2021 Arts in Education Portal Documentation Award, the aim of which is to support the development of documented outcomes from arts in education initiatives in Ireland. The award is part of the Arts in Education Portal Editorial Committee’s commitment to supporting and recognising the value of documentation and reflection as a key component within arts in education initiatives.

From November 2020 to June 2021, George Higgs was The Dock Composer in Residence at Scoil Mhuire, Carrick on Shannon for the project ‘Songs of Ourselves’, exploring communal song forms – e.g., work songs, anthems, canons, and call and response – with the ultimate aim of creating a new composition. Based on his earlier investigations into multisensory composition (The Sense Ensemble, 2017), George asked the students to think of a song not only as sound, but as a participatory activity for all the senses. Students were encouraged to invent gestures to accompany the performance of each song and draw pictures to reflect on the various themes. A Song Scrapbook was amassed from all the sessions, featuring the finished multisensory lyric ‘The Dream of the Knockabock’.

‘The Dream of the Knockabock’ was performed at The Dock in early June, 2022 by the Scoil Mhuire Choir and the Millennium Choir. The song was a twelve-minute ‘mobile composition for multisensory voices’ created was a rich pageant of sound, movement and was a spatial performance to remember.

It was a special event for all involved and a great achievement.

View the performance below

View here the Documentation Award Series Discussion ‘Songs of Ourselves’ with composer George Higgs, teacher Noelle Igoe and The Dock’s Visual Arts and Education Manager, Laura Mahon as part of the 2021 National Arts in Education Portal Virtual Conference.

 

!!!! Resource: Teacher – Artist Partnership (TAP) Special Initiative videos

Teacher-Artist Partnership (TAP) & Kids’ Own Publishing Partnership
Video resource

The Teacher-Artist Partnership (TAP) Programme in partnership with Kids’ Own Publishing Partnership are delighted to launch a video series developed as part of a special initiative aiming to support teacher-artist pairs in documenting and engaging collaboratively online.

This video resource explores 4 different questions: Why is the Teacher-Artist relationship important, why is it important to document your projects, what is the value of the arts in the classroom and lastly, what does a child-led process look like? The four videos feature the Teacher – Artist pairs who participated in the TAP Special Initiative Project which took place over 2021.

These videos form part of a wider programme facilitated by Kids’ Own Publishing Partnership. Participants took part in a 5-session online documentation training programme. These in-depth workshops covered topics such as what is creative documentation, digital tools for creative collaboration and documentation, documenting as part of your process, presenting your creative self and work and lastly, editing and curating your work.

Watch the videos here:

1. What does a child-led process look like: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/706103042
2. What is the value of the arts in the classroom: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/706105556
3. Why it is important to document your projects: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/706107812
4. Why is the Teacher – Artist relationship important: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/706110192

The Teacher-Artist pairs also took part in 6 mentoring sessions, choosing a mentor that best suited their project from a curated panel. During these mentoring sessions, the pairs got the chance to delve deep into their practice together, offering a space for reflection. The final element of the Special Initiative will consist of a digital publication sharing the learnings of this documentation training programme.

The Teacher-Artist Partnership (TAP) CPD and Residency Programme is a unique Department of Education led initiative for supporting and enhancing arts and creativity in education in primary schools. It is funded and supported under the Creative Ireland Programme – Creative Youth. The initiative includes CPD Summer Courses and subsequent funded Artist in Residency opportunities in which TAP trained teachers and artists and the children work together in partnership during the following academic year. For more on TAP see: edcentretralee.ie/27-teacher-artist-partnership.html

TAP Face-to-Face 2022 runs from Monday 4th July – Friday 8th July. The Teacher Artist Partnership Residency programme 2022 – 2023 will be available to eight participating schools in all 21 full-time Education Support Centres. Only schools whose teachers participated in the summer course 2022 will be eligible for a residency.

Register on your local full-time Education Support Centre’s website. See link to find your local Education Support Centre https://esci.ie/

!!!! Creative Ireland Programme extended to 2027

Minister Martin announces government decision to extend Creative Ireland, the culture and wellbeing programme that transforms people, places and communities through creativity. Committed to the vision that everyone should have the chance to realise their creative potential to the full, the innovative all-of-government culture and wellbeing programme will be extended, in principle, for five more years until 2027.

In 2017, Creative Ireland was launched as an all-of-government culture and wellbeing programme committed to the vision that every person should have the opportunity to realise their full creative potential. Established as a legacy initiative of the Ireland 2016 Centenary Programme, it is the only programme of its kind in the world.

The founding vision of the programme is that creativity must be at the heart of public policy and that participation in cultural and creative activity promotes the wellbeing of the individual, the community and the nation at large. Creative Ireland collaborates across government and with arts, community and voluntary organisations to deploy creativity as a strategy for wellbeing, social cohesion and economic success.

Alongside its very successful Creative Youth initiative, the programme’s Creative Communities partnership with the 31 local authorities, and their delivery of over 5,700 creative projects to date, has been key to enabling community-led nationwide engagement.

Minister Martin said:

“I warmly welcome the Government’s decision to implement the all-of-government Creative Ireland Programme for another five years, and to work with me in the coming months to develop its framework. This programme has been innovative and effective in delivering the opportunity for people to explore their creative potential. Key initiatives such as Cruinniú na nÓg and Creative Schools have become embedded in the country’s cultural infrastructure. New projects that respond to contemporary social issues such as climate action and loneliness have emerged. With the support of my Cabinet colleagues, I look forward to developing a Creative Ireland Programme that will continue to enhance people’s lives in the coming years.”

The Government’s decision in principle will be for the Creative Ireland Programme to continue for a further five years, encompassing the period 2023-2027, and to focus on the following areas:
I. Creative Youth;
II. Creative Communities;
III. Creative Industries;
IV. Creative Health and Wellbeing; and
V. Creative Climate Action and Sustainability.

It is anticipated that a final framework of Clár Éire Ildánach/Creative Ireland Programme 2023-2027 will be brought to Government for its final agreement in Autumn 2022 prior to its publication, launch and implementation on an all-of-government basis.

For more see www.creativeireland.gov.ie/en/news/creative-ireland-programme-extended-to-2027/

!!!! The 16th Annual Fís Film Project Awards – Winners Announced 

Fís Film Project

Best COVID Movie, most powerful Irish language production and more announced at 16th annual FÍS Film Awards. 

IRELAND: Lockdown, Irish language movies, outstanding contributions and achievements in filmmaking have been recognised at this year’s FÍS Film Awards. The renowned event which celebrates the moviemaking abilities of primary school students took place virtually earlier this month (19th November). Pupils from across the country tuned in to the online ceremony which was hosted by RTE’s Sinead Kennedy.

Guest of Honour, Minister for Education, Norma Foley, TD spoke at the awards filmed at the Institute of Art, Design & Technology’s (IADT) National Film School, Dún Laoghaire. Hosted jointly by IADT’s FÍS Office in collaboration with the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST TiE). This year’s event was hosted virtually due to COVID, with the ceremony broadcast via www.fisfilmproject.ie. The Aileen MacKeogh Film of the Year Award 2021 went to film titled ‘Son of the Grabber’ made by pupils from St. Hugh’s National School. The County Leitrim 54 pupil, 3 teacher school also received the award for Best Direction for their Irish folklore film. A story, from their parish of Ballinaglera, is about a journey taken in the dead of night and the events surrounding it. It was a unanimous decision by the judging panel to award film of the year to Son of the Grabber.

Some other 2021 winners included:

• Gardiner Street Primary School, Dublin – Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking – Storytelling (Letters from Manresa)
• St. Gerard’s Junior School, Co.Wicklow – Award for Best Junior Film (The Party Crasher)
• Gaelscoil Shlí, Laois – An Scannán Is Fearr as (Simon & An Sneachta)
• Scoil Padraig Naofa Cregmore National School, Co.Galway – Award for Best Covid-19 Film (Covid 19 – 2020 A year of change)
• Scoil Riabhach – Award for Curriculum Relevant Films – Science (An Croí)

Shortlisted films throughout Ireland battled it out for the contest with the judging panel shortlisting just 18 films. Counties represented across the award-winning films include Limerick, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Laois, Leitrim, Waterford, Cork, Sligo, Wicklow, Kildare and Tipperary. This year saw a variety of awards up for grabs with accolades for Outstanding Achievement in Film Making for: Costume Design, Sound Track, Adaptation, Special Effects, Best Newcomer, Best Junior, as well as awards for curriculum relevant films that included subject areas such as History, Science and COVID-19. A unique montage of all the award-winning films can be viewed HERE.  Each film can be viewed in full at the website fisfilmproject.ie.

The awards ceremony showcased the successes of the FÍS Film Awards project which exposed primary school students and teachers to all aspects of the film-making process. The concept behind FÍS is to help children not only develop essential communication and team working skills, but technological skills to assist them in a digitally driven world. It also aids teachers in developing children’s problem solving and investigative minds and is aligned with the Government’s digital strategy for schools.

This year marked 21 years since the inception of the highly successful FÍS project. To commemorate the occasion, the judging panel introduced a special merit award, to be presented to a school that demonstrated deep learning, imagination, creativity, tenacity and commitment in light of the challenges faced by all schools, pupils and teachers due to the pandemic. The FÍS Film Project 21st Anniversary Special Merit Award went to county Galway school, Scoil Eanna, Ballaun. The school also received the award for Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking Award for Cinematography for their film ‘Hidden’.

Vie the full winners list here.

For further information please go to fisfilmproject.ie/awards-event.

!!!! Ministers Martin and Foley announce new and enhanced supports for creativity in schools

The Arts Council’s Creative Schools Initiative

188 new schools join Scoileanna Ildánacha/Creative Schools

81 additional schools will join the Schools Excellence Fund – Creative Clusters initiative

Catherine Martin TD, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and Norma Foley TD, Minister for Education today (6 October, 2021) announced the 269 new schools that will participate in the Creative Ireland Programme initiatives – Creative Schools and Creative Clusters.
Announcing the schools selected to participate in Creative Schools, Minister Martin said:

“I am delighted to welcome a further 188 schools as our latest Creative Schools – the largest intake of schools in a single year since the establishment of the programme in 2018. This increased intake of schools, in line with the commitment made in the Programme for Government to expand the initiative, will enable even greater numbers of our youngest citizens to discover and develop new skills and talents that enhance their development and growth, and add to the richness of their overall learning experience through increased engagement with cultural creativity.”

Announcing the creation of 21 new Creative Clusters, Minister Foley said:

“Now more than ever, it is important that our students are supported to develop their creativity and given flexibility to express themselves in a variety of exciting new ways. Today I am delighted to announce the 81 schools that are coming together to form 21 new Creative Clusters. I would like to welcome these new schools into this Schools Excellence Fund initiative, and I look forward to seeing how these exciting projects develop over the coming two years. This year has seen a very significant level of interest from schools applying to participate in the 2021 Creative Clusters initiative across the country. I am hoping to increase the number of Creative Clusters in the 2022 intake.

“In addition, the new BLAST initiative I announced earlier this year will also provide opportunities for schools to collaborate with established artists, supporting our children and young people to collaborate and engage in creative and critical thinking – all crucial skills for their futures. Applications for BLAST closed recently and I look forward to finalising the details of this exciting programme in the coming weeks.”

Maureen Kennelly, Director of the Arts Council of Ireland said:

“The Arts Council is thrilled to welcome the wide range of schools and Youthreach centres across the country that are joining the Creative Schools programme for the period 2021-2023. These schools will participate in a guided journey to establish a Creative Schools Plan bespoke to each and every one of them. This creative and democratic process gives primacy to children and young people’s voices in creativity planning in their schools. It supports teachers in their work to embed creativity in the curriculum, and facilitates schools and centres to develop vibrant relationships with the arts and cultural sectors. This will help sustain artistic and creative practice for schools beyond their participation in the programme, and will help ensure that artistic expression is in abundance for years to come throughout the country.”

In addition to Creative Schools and Creative Clusters, the Creative Ireland Programme continues to support a wide range of both school- and community-based initiatives to enable greater participation by children and young people in all forms of creative activities.

Minister Martin added:

“Our ongoing commitment to Creative Schools and Creative Clusters has meant that in just three years almost 1,000 schools have been given the opportunity to engage with arts, culture and creativity in new ways, helping to enrich the learning experience of thousands of children and young people. Together with our continued investment in an array of community-based initiatives and projects, made possible by the Creative Ireland Programme, young people are being provided with evermore opportunities to engage in creative activities – not only as a support to their learning and development, but also for the sheer enjoyment and hopefully to develop a lifelong love of arts, culture and creativity.”

For further information go to www.gov.ie/en/press-release/368ac-ministers-martin-and-foley-announce-new-and-enhanced-supports-for-creativity-in-schools/. 

For more information about the Creative Schools programme go to artsineducation.ie/en/organisations/creative-schools/

!!!! I-Stem Project Teacher Resource – The Gaiety School of Acting

The Gaiety School of Acting

Despite the fact that scientific developments permeate and enrich the lives of young people on a daily, or even hourly basis, studies across Europe are identifying pockets of this demographic that are struggling to relate to and engage with the science curriculum in the classroom. According to Science Foundation Ireland’s 2015 Science Barometer report, young women from less affluent backgrounds are less inclined to identify with science education at second level. This has a direct impact on the number of students from this demographic advancing to third level and ultimately working within the field.

Drilling down further into the statistics, researchers have found that young women from a cultural minority background or who identify as LGBTQIAP+ are even less likely to develop a positive scientific identity, meaning a far reduced number of people from these societal groups tend to aspire to careers in science.

With the aim to address these gaps in science engagement, The Gaiety School of Acting has teamed up with partners from Ireland, Finland, Poland and Holland to investigate ways in which performance, and specifically comedy improvisation, can be utilised by science educators to impact on their students in a new and dynamic way. The three year I-Stem  project, supported by the Erasmus Plus fund, began on September 1st 2020.

In its first publication ‘Creative Methods in Science Teaching – Ways Forward!’ an e-book resource for teachers, STEM subjects are related to arts. Use of arts in education tell us something about society: our educational systems and its angles of entry are creating the scientists of tomorrow. The combination of arts and science gives us a better starting point to develop our full potential which is needed when creating something new.

The publication has a preface video from Dr. Niamh Shaw, to view go to istem-project.eu/e-book/

This publication presents research and best practices of using arts as a means of improving pedagogy and classroom practice in STEM education. In these pages “STEAM” represents STEM plus the arts–humanities, language arts, dance, drama, music, visual arts, design and new media. It draws on theoretical understandings of arts in STEM disciplines to illustrate how researchers and practitioners are using creative initiatives to promote inclusive teaching approaches.

The e-book is aimed at post-primary school teachers who are currently using arts within their teaching practice or have an interest in doing so in the future. Examples of STEAM teaching in Poland, the Netherlands, Ireland and Finland are given. It is not intended to provide a fully comprehensive exploration of all aspects of arts in STEM disciplines. The I-Stem Project acknowledges the necessary limitations of this resource, but trusts that it will serve its purpose of guiding you through the main relevant concepts, and that it will give you insights and inspiration for your teaching.

To download the resource go to istem-project.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/I-STEM_e-book.pdf

!!!! Survey: VAI’s Artists Payments and Workplace

Visual Artists’ Ireland
Dates: Ongoing

VAI is updating their research into the real impact and experience of the Artists’ Payments Guidelines. They have created a carefully edited questionnaire to capture the information that they need to continue their advocacy work in that area. They want to know about artists working at all levels of experience, and especially to know about artists who may not have generated an income from their practice during 2019 or 2020.

They are also asking organisations questions about their experience of the Guidelines and looking at their realities. They believe that it is important to get both sides of the story, and to understand those who have effectively implemented payment policies as well as those who have yet to do so, as well as the barriers that they may experience in their efforts to support artists.

Visual Artists Ireland is the Representative body for professional visual artists in Ireland.

To fill in the 5 minute survey, see here: https://visualartists.ie/vai-survey-on-artists-payments-and-workplace/

!!!! Baboró’s RISE Project: Children Co-Create Events with Irish & International Artists

Baboró International Arts Festival for Children
Event Date: 23 April 2021

Baboró are delighted to present their Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture project, RISE.

Children in Galway are dancing, leaping and learning with local and international artists this spring, thanks to the RISE programme from Baboró International Arts Festival for Children in partnership with Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture. This March children aged 8 to 13 years are taking on starring roles in two “RISE” projects, combining parkour, circus skills, performance art, sport and more. Making the most of digital opportunities to connect across the globe, the young people are participating at school and at home.

Projects include:

St. Pats Lockdown Olympics: A whacky series of four weekly videos, accompanied by props delivered to students’ homes, to guide them through the creation of their own spectacularly zany sports.

The Streets Are Ours: A collaborative project to create a promenade performance by Galway children combining parkour, contemporary dance and circus skills. The dance performance will be recorded in April and shared with the public as soon as safely possible.

The Veiled Ones: The final element of the RISE programme will be The Veiled Ones, a new dance theatre production highlighting the powerful relationship between grandparents and grandchildren, created by renowned Irish company Junk Ensemble.

This immersive work, currently in development.

In Conversation with Junk Ensemble & kabinet k

On April 23, Baboró will host the digital event, ‘In Conversation with Junk Ensemble & kabinet k’, exploring both companies’ development processes in making work with and for children, and the challenges to creating dance in a global pandemic.

For more information, www.baboro.ie/galway-2020.

!!!! The Creative Youth Conference 2021: Creativity – the Connection to our Future, Now

Creative Ireland Programme

Dates: 13, 15 April & 13 May 2021

The Creative Ireland Programme has announced details of the Creative Youth Conference 2021.  The conference – Creativity: the connection to our future, now – will be hosted online and will comprise three separate events in April and May discussing questions surrounding provision of opportunities for creative engagement by young people both within the school and their community.

As part of a wider deliberation on the Creative Youth Plan – which was published in December 2017 – the Conference is an opportunity for stakeholders to reflect on progress to date and input their views concerning the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

The conference will commence with Creative Youth in the Education System, which will take place on Tuesday 13 April, from 12:30 to 2pm. This will be followed by on Thursday 15 April (also from 12:30 to 2pm) by Creative Youth in the Community.

These two events will feature contributions from a range of people involved in Creatives Youth initiatives – such as the Creative Schools programme and the Local Creative Youth Partnerships – and provide an insight into the roll-out of the Creative Youth Plan to date.

These events will also feed into a high-level conference to be held on Thursday 13 May from 12 noon to 2pm.

This event, which will be opened by the Taoiseach, and will also include contributions from the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, the Minister for Education, Norma Foley and the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’ Gorman.

The main conference will also feature two panel discussions with contributions from a national and international guests including Andreas Schleicher (OECD), Michelle Cullen (Accenture), Arlene Forster (National Council for Curriculum and Assessment), Bo Stjerne Thomsen (The LEGO Foundation), author Roddy Doyle, Helene Hugel (Helium Arts) and Prof Linda Doyle (TCD).

Registration for the event is now open at

• Creativity – the connection to our future, now – Thursday 13 May
• Creative Youth in the Education System – Tuesday 13 April
• Creative Youth in the Community – Thursday 15 April.

Further details are also available here – www.creativeireland.gov.ie/en/news/the-creative-youth-conference-2021/

 

!!!! Embracing Cultural Diversity in the Classroom: Report on Building an Intercultural Museum Programme for Schools

!!!! New Publication Launched: Curriculum: Contemporary Art Goes to School

Art School 

Thursday October 29th saw the launch of a new publication ‘Curriculum: Contemporary Art Goes to School’ edited by Dublin-based curator and writer Jennie Guy and published by Intellect Books.

Curriculum explores the intersection of contemporary artistic practice and school education in the 21st century.

At the heart of Curriculum is Art School, an independent curatorial framework founded by Jennie Guy in 2014. Operating throughout Ireland, Art School establishes interfaces between contemporary art and schools as sites of education, inviting students and artists to work collaboratively to question how the conventions of learning – as typically encountered in schools – might be extended or reimagined.

It takes place as a series of workshops, residencies, exhibitions and new writing that explore how contemporary artists can intervene within systems of education in order to inspire and expand might also help to fracture and revise.

Curriculum features contributions by: Clare Butcher, Gerard Byrne (Foreword), Juan Canela, Helen Carey, Daniela Cascella, Fiona Gannon, Jennie Guy, Andrew Hunt, Hannah Jickling & Helen Reed, Alissa Kleist, Rowan Lear, Peter Maybury, Annemarie Ní Churreáin, Nathan O’Donnell, Sofia Olascoaga & Priscila Fernandes, Matt Packer and Sjoerd Westbroek.

The book explores Art School projects by artists: Sven Anderson, John Beattie, Sarah Browne, Karl Burke, Rhona Byrne, Ella de Búrca, Vanessa Donoso Lopez, Priscila Fernandes, Hannah Fitz, Jane Fogarty, Kevin Gaffney, Adam Gibney, Fiona Hallinan, Elaine Leader, Maria McKinney, Mark O’Kelly, Sarah Pierce and Naomi Sex.

Curriculum will be available to purchase online at www.intellectbooks.com/curriculum

This publication was funded by the Arts Council of Ireland and the Arts Office of Wicklow County Council.

 

!!!! The Irish Museums Association Teacher Survey

The Irish Museums Association (IMA)

Deadline: midnight, 6 October 2020

The Irish Museums Association (IMA) invites teachers to assist them in supporting your work by completing a short survey and enter their raffle to win an Echo Dot (3rd Gen.) smart speaker with Alexa.

As we all adapt to new ways of working, learning and socialising, the museum sector across Ireland is increasing efforts to not only continue to support schools in the delivery of learning but also develop and pilot new resources and services.

Your participation in this survey is extremely important. It will inform and guide the association and its members, allowing them to deliver programmes that complement your work and are both educational and enjoyable.

From your responses, an anonymised report with recommendations will be produced and circulated to museums and stakeholders.

Link to online survey: www.surveymonkey.com/ r/IMA-teachersurvey

Closing date of survey: midnight, 6 October 2020.

!!!! Curious Minds – Resources for Teachers created by Visual Artists

“Curious Minds” is a series of booklets with lessons for primary school teachers created by professional Visual Artists.

This free digital resource offers more than 16 projects, with 43 lessons in total, divided into five books: one with the foundation; and four with projects for every season (most projects or lessons can be used any time of the year). It also includes various “warm-up” and awareness exercises (including “gymnastics for the brain”).

The content focuses on four main themes: belonging, identity, consumerism, and the environment. It is organised in such a way that allows for flexibility. Most lessons are suitable for a diverse range of ages, from 1st to 6th classes. There are projects of short, medium and long duration (from 1 to 8 lessons). The design of the books will allow anyone to print each project by lesson or in its entirety.

“Curious Minds” is the brainchild of Karla Sánchez and Els Dietvorst, who met through the “Living Arts Project”, an innovative art education program run by Wexford Arts Centre and the Art Department of Wexford County Council.

Karla and Els share an interest in multi-disciplinary and holistic education, and invited a group of creatives to collaborate in this endeavor: Clare Breen (who also did the illustrations), Laura Ní Fhlaibhín, Orla Bates, David Begley and Colm O’Neill (graphic designer).

For further details please see: livingartsproject.ie/book-1-introduction-and-fundamentals/

“Curious Minds” is supported by the Creative Ireland Programme.

!!!! Ireland’s National School Photography Awards – Winners Announced

Ireland’s National School Photography Awards

The INSPA team would like to congratulate every school who participated in the 2019/20 National School Photography Awards. The national winner is Dominika Ilecko from Stepaside ETNS who submitted the photo entitled Two Chairs into the Senior Category of the awards. The winner of the Junior Category is Jack Kelly Sharkey from Courtnacuddy NS with his entry Old Phone Box Library.

INSPA is the national children’s photography competition and online academy which is open to all primary schools in the Republic of Ireland. This year, young creatives from around the country were encouraged to engage with digital technologies and the creative process to explore the theme; Second Life.

The awards are having a massive impact in classrooms and homes across Ireland as they provide an inclusive model for children of all backgrounds and abilities to get involved. Through photography, INSPA introduces creative well-being into the lives of primary school students while building a future generation of people who are confident, resilient, connected, kind and ready.

The awards are free and offer a range of fantastic prizes including trips and stays at the Amber Springs Resort for principals, teachers, pupils and families, cameras for winners and schools, framed photographs, certificates and national recognition as a Positive Primary School. All entries are judged by a national panel of experts and over 300 primary schools have already registered their accounts.

We would like to take this opportunity, once again, to congratulate Dominika from Stepaside ETNS and Jack from Courtnacuddy NS on their recent successes and we look forward to working with all finalist schools when they re-open in September.

If your school would like to begin its Positive Primary Journey and participate in the 2020/21 awards, you can register your school at the INSPA website – www.inspa.ie

!!!! Creative Schools Documentary Airs on RTÉ

Creative Schools 

Date: 6.30pm, 3 May 2020

The Creative Ireland Programme are delighted to announce that their documentary ‘Creative Kids’ which follows the journey of a number schools through the Creative Schools process airs this Sunday 3 May on RTÉ 1 at 6.30pm.

Creative Schools is a flagship initiative of the Government’s Creative Ireland Programme, puts the arts and creativity at the heart of children and young people’s lives. The initiative is led by the Arts Council in partnership with the Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

Creative Kids followed five schools over the course of the academic year as they implemented the Creative Schools project and encouraged their pupils to think about the Arts and creativity in a whole new way.

The schools involved are:

• Presentation Convent Primary School, Tralee, Co. Kerry
• De La Salle Boys Primary School, Castlebar, Co. Mayo
• Stepaside Educate Together Secondary School, Co. Dublin
• Presentation Primary School Warrenmount, Blackpitts, Dublin 8
• Scoil Athphoirt, Arranmore Island, Co. Donegal

 

Maureen Kennelly, Director of the Arts Council said: “As everyone will see from this wonderful documentary, the Creative Schools programme is already a great success, and has changed the lives of hundreds of young people from a broad range of schools across the whole country.

“The Arts Council is very proud to be delivering this programme, and I would strongly encourage principals and teachers to consider applying so that their schools can participate in Creative Schools. The closing date has been extended to June 25 2020.”

Join the conversation online using the hashtag #Creativekids.

All Department of Education and Skills primary and post-primary schools, special schools and Youthreach centres are eligible to apply. Deadline to Apply: 25 June 2020

Further information go to to www.artscouncil.ie/creative-schools/schools/

To apply go to www.artscouncil.ie/available-funding/

 

!!!! Kids’ Own ‘Open Space’ Action Research Report Available Online

Kids’ Own Publishing Partnership

Kids’ Own Publishing Partnership are delighted to announce that Open Space, the action research report on the Virtually There arts in education project, researched and written by Dr Bryonie Reid, is now available to read online!

Open Space was launched last month by Dr Ali FitzGibbon, Lecturer in Creative and Cultural Industries Management, Queen’s University Belfast, at the opening of our Virtually There exhibition at Ulster University, Belfast.

This publication is the result of two years of independent action research conducted by Dr Bryonie Reid, commissioned by Kids’ Own, and made possible by funding from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. The aim of the research was to explore the impact of the Virtually There on all its participants: artists, teachers, and children. One of the wonderful things about this research is that it tells the story of the project, of those involved in the project, and in the relationships and collaborations that were so central to the project’s success. As Bryonie notes in her introduction: “These stories give a much fuller, more comprehensive picture of how the project worked and what the project has meant than could statistics”. Jo Holmwood, Creative Director of Kids’ Own, commended Bryonie’s approach to the project, saying “Kids’ Own’s work is about recognising all children as individuals with their own uniqueness of experience, and as such, a homogenised statistical analysis of the project would make no sense. This offered space for real richness of detail and allows the reader to come — in my view — to a closer understanding of how the project was experienced by those involved.

To read the full publication click here.

For further information go to kidsown.ie/read-new-kids-own-publication-open-space-online/

!!!! Have Your Say! A Survey on Music Education Opportunities in Fingal

Calling Young People, Musicians and Educators!

Have Your Say! A Survey on Music Education Opportunities for Children and Young People in Fingal.

Fingal County Council, in partnership with the Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board, invite you to complete a survey that will help us understand your views regarding access to performance music education for children and young people in the county.

This research will support a submission to Music Generation, the national performance music education programme, to extend and enrich the partners’ commitment to children & young people in Fingal.

This step taken by the partners emphasises the importance of retaining support for arts and education initiatives now and in the times ahead as we build connections with one another and ignite hope and inspiration.

Your views are important to this process and will enable the partners to develop and deliver music education programmes that suit the needs of those aged 0 – 18 years, now and into the future.

There are three surveys to choose from:

We invite Children & Young People to complete this survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FingalMusicYoungPeople

We invite Schools, Music Education Providers & Musicians to complete this survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FingalMusicProivders

We invite the General Public to complete this survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FingalMusicGeneralPublic

Should you require assistance or alternative mechanisms to complete a survey please email Fingal County Council’s Youth & Education Officer julie.clarke@fingal.ie

Be in with a chance to win!

Children and Young People are invited to enter a draw to win a gift voucher for one of Fingal’s Arts Centres – Draíocht and the Séamus Ennis Arts Centre, upon survey completion. See information within Children &Young People survey link.

 

 

Deadline for survey submission: Thursday 30th of April 2020.

!!!! Minister McHugh announces launch of Arts and Culture in Education Research Repository

Launch of archive to preserve Arts in Education content and showcase the work of creative organisations in Ireland

The Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh T.D. on Monday September 23rd announced the opening of a new free-to-access online archive to showcase creative activity of teachers, artists, researchers and others.

The Arts and Culture in Education Research Repository (ACERR) will be open to people working in education and the public, allowing them an insight into the inspirational ideas being developed for schools.

Some of the work available in the archive includes an essay from the UCC School of Digital Humanities on using Minecraft as a tool for creative engagement in the classroom and a project on using rap music as a creative method in research with children and young people.

The repository also details the experiences of Lisa Cahill, a dance artist in residence at Maynooth University in 2016. The repository has allowed for videos of Lisa’s work to be recorded and uploaded for the public to view.

It is hoped the archive will be expanded as teachers, schools, arts and cultural researchers, academics, colleges and universities and artists offer resources including video, music, dance, drama and art.

The repository will also help to overcome traditional barriers to publication for arts and creative practitioners.

Making the announcement, Minister McHugh said: “This Government is doing huge work to put creativity to the fore of a child’s education and development, not least with the 300 schools in the Creative Ireland programme or the growth of Music Generation.

“The new archive will grow over time and help to cement the great work already being done every day in our classrooms as well as giving researchers and parents and others an insight into how we can inspire the next generation.”

The ACERR has been developed as part of the Creative Ireland Programme and has been supported by the Dormant Accounts Funds.

To access the ACERR click on the link here.

!!!! Music Generation appoints Paula Phelan as Head of Quality, Support and Development

Music Generation 

Music Generation is delighted to announce that Paula Phelan has been appointed as Head of Quality, Support and Development within the National Development Office. In this new senior role, Paula will drive the implementation of a new national Music Generation Quality Framework,  support the planned growth of the national network of Local Music Education Partnerships (LMEPs), and lead on professional development and learning programmes and initiatives for Music Generation over the coming years.

Paula brings a breadth of experience to the role, spanning the worlds of arts and corporate management, music education leadership and practice. Most recently she held the position of LMEP Support Manager at the Music Generation National Development Office. From 2013-2018 she was Programme Director for Music Generation Carlow. In addition to her extensive work with Music Generation, she was previously General Manager of the Irish Baroque Orchestra, a Post-Primary Teacher, Freelance Musician Educator and General Manager of Belvedere Youth Service.

A native of Kildare, Paula completed her undergraduate BAmus degree in NUI Maynooth. She holds an MA Baroque Performance Practice from Queens University Belfast, an MA in Arts Administration and Cultural Policy from University College Dublin, a Postgraduate Diploma in Education from NUI Maynooth and a Postgraduate Diploma in Early Childhood Music from Birmingham City University.

For further information about Music Generation go to www.musicgeneration.ie

!!!! Music Generation announces expansion into five new areas of Ireland

Music Generation

Kerry, Kildare, Longford, Meath and Tipperary have been announced as the next five counties to join the Music Generation programme.

As part of Music Generation, each of the five new areas will receive funding to create access to affordable performance music education for children and young people in their communities. Minister for Education and Skills Joe Mc Hugh T.D. welcomed this next big step on Music Generation’s road to nationwide expansion by 2022:

‘Giving our young people access to high quality musical education is a key element of Creative Youth, part of the Government’s Creative Ireland plan.

‘Music and the arts inspire us all and Music Generation is having enormous impacts in communities, with young people having instrument, ensemble, voice and choral experiences that simply wouldn’t be possible without this programme…’

Music Generation projects are benefitting from €3.485 million funding from the Department of Education and Skills in 2019.

Responding to the news, U2’s The Edge said: ‘Every milestone reached on this journey is a source of great pride for the band as well as everyone who has worked so hard to make it happen. With this latest announcement, the finish line is firmly in sight and our dream of an accessible music education for every young person in Ireland is getting ever closer. We are beyond excited.’

Music Generation was originally co-funded with philanthropic donations from U2 and The Ireland Funds, supported by the Bank of America Charitable Foundation and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, along with funding from local partners.

For further information go to www.musicgeneration.ie/news/article/music-generation-announces-expansion-into-five-new-areas-of-ireland/

!!!! New Music Generation Development Officers appointed in Cavan/Monaghan, Galway City and Mayo

Music Generation

Music Generation is delighted to share news of the appointment of three new Music Development Officers in Cavan/Monaghan, Galway City and Mayo.

Mairéad Duffy has taken up the position at Music Generation Cavan/Monaghan, one of the most recent Local Music Education Partnerships (LMEPs) to commence participation in Ireland’s national music education programme, led by Cavan and Monaghan Education and Training Board with support from Cavan and Monaghan County Councils.

Karen Dervan has commenced the role at Music Generation Galway City, another new LMEP under the leadership of Galway and Roscommon Education and Training Board together with Galway City Council.

One of the first LMEPs established as part of Music Generation, Mayo now welcomes Laurie Barrett as new Music Development Officer. Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim Education and Training Board is the lead partner on this programme.

In their new posts, Mairéad, Karen and Laurie will have responsibility for developing and managing affordable and accessible local performance music education programmes for children and young people ages 0 to 18.

This will include the coordination of music tuition services within the counties, working in partnership with schools, community music groups and centres in the formation of choirs, ensembles, multi-genre performance initiatives, and more.

Initiated by Music Network, Music Generation is co-funded by U2, The Ireland Funds, the Department of Education and Skills and Local Music Education Partnerships.

For further information go to https://www.musicgeneration.ie

 

 

 

!!!! Eva International announce ‘Better Words’ a new arts in educational initiative

Eva International

EVA International is delighted to announce ‘Better Words’, a new educational initiative which seeks to empower children’s access and understanding of contemporary art through creative language.

Over the course of a five week programme of workshops between March and May 2019, school groups aged 8 to 12 will develop new word-forms that articulate their experience and encounter of contemporary art. Led by workshop coordinator Maeve Mulrennan and developed in consultation with Patrick Burke (Dept. of Language and Literacy Education, MIC, Limerick) the workshops will involve visits to galleries and meetings with practicing artists, in addition to classroom-based activity.

The selected schools are:

• Corpus Christi Primary School (Limerick City),
• Knockainey National School (Hospital),
• Limerick School Project (Limerick City),
• Our Lady Queen of Peace (Limerick City),
• St. Senan’s National School (Foynes).

A publication of new art terms developed through the workshop process will be published by EVA International in Autumn 2019, featuring a foreword by author Kevin Barry. Better Words is developed with support from Creative Ireland’s National Creativity Fund.

For more information go to www.eva.ie/project/better-words/

!!!! Kids’ Own publishes new book by children experiencing homelessness, aged 8–12

Kids’ Own has published a brand new book by children experiencing homelessness. The book was launched in partnership with Focus Ireland on Friday 9th November, and offers a rich resource for teachers and schools to explore themes of social justice, children’s rights and SPHE topics. The book was developed by 15 children, aged 8–12, during the summer – through a creative process with writer Mary Branley and artist Maree Hensey –and includes a beautiful mixture of artwork, photography, poetry and personal stories.

To buy a copy, visit Kids’ Own’s website.

!!!! Creative Schools Update – Training

The Arts Council’s Creative Schools Initiative

Autumn has been a busy time for Creative Schools with lots of focus on training and development.  The team have been meeting with and training 47 Creative Associates and over 350 representatives from the 150 pilot schools. The commitment shown by schools in the training to putting the arts and creativity at the heart of school life was very obvious and they are excited about the possibilities that learning in and through the arts will bring to their respective school communities.  A key aim of the initiative is to give children and young people a central role in the process, to support this Creative Associates were given a day of training from the amazing team at Hub na nÓg – Young Voices in Decision-making, Department of Children and Youth Affairs.   Over the coming weeks Creative Associates will meet with their schools and begin the first stages of their work together.

For more information go to www.artscouncil.ie/creative-schools/

To view the full list of the 150 schools selected to participate in the pilot phase of Creative Schools go to www.artscouncil.ie/pilotschoolslist

!!!! New Children’s Publication available for Schools – ‘A Strong Heart’

Kids’ Own Publishing Partnership 

Kids’ Own Publishing Partnership are delighted to announce the publication of “A Strong Heart – A book of stories and dreams for the future by Syrian and Palestinian children living in County Mayo”.

Over five weeks, in April and May 2018, the group of children, who live in communities in County Mayo, came together with artist Vanya Lambrecht Ward and writer Mary Branley at the Linenhall Arts Centre, Castlebar, to develop the body of work that was to be brought together in their book.

Initiated and developed by Kids’ Own – and supported by the St Stephen’s Green Trust, Mayo County Council and South West Mayo Development Company – the project was part of a vision to offer a space for migrant children to develop their creativity and self-expression through an artistic process, and to publish a book that would foreground and give credence to their voices, lives and experiences.

In relation to the project, Kids’ Owns Acting Director, Jo Holmwood, says:

“Kids’ Own is deeply committed to publishing and developing children’s work in Ireland. We believe that children’s contribution to our culture and our society, as artists and writers, needs to be more widely valued and recognised. Kids’ Own is delighted to publish this brand new book, which is such a rich celebration of children’s resilience, ambition and cultural identity.

In July, Kids’ Own were thrilled when the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Katherine Zappone shared the stories from ‘A Strong Heart’ at her UN Security Council address on ‘Children in Armed Conflict’.

“As Minister I am particularly proud that half of the 1,883 persons accepted into Ireland under resettlement and relocation programmes are children fleeing war and conflict.

In addition Ireland is providing care for 79 children who arrived alone at our ports and airports.

All of these children, from countries experiencing conflict such as Syria, Afghanistan and Eritrea, are making Ireland their home.

They speak for themselves in a collection of stories and art created by Syrian and Palestinian children now living in Mayo in the West of Ireland.

Through the book ‘A Strong Heart’ they tell of the beauty of their new home-towns, the local rivers, mountains and even the world famous salmon.

They express their passion for Irish sport, their sense of fun and their hopes and dreams.

12-year old Khaled in Claremorris writes, “My Dream for the future is to be a footballer first and play for Ireland. When I’m thirty-three I will be a teacher and go back to Syria to teach English.” 

Khaled and his classmates, Irish, Syrian and Palestinian, are flourishing. They are our future”.

Minister Zappone also presented the publication to Louise Arbour, UN Special Representative for International Migration, following a discussion on child migrants.

For more information and to purchase the publication go to kidsown.ie/shop/theme/by-kids/a-strong-heart/

 

 

!!!! Scoileanna Ildánacha / Creative Schools Pilot Begins

The Arts Council’s Creative Schools Initiative

Chosen from over 400 applicants, 150 schools across Ireland will participate in the new Creative Schools pilot which aims to put the arts and creativity at the heart of children and young people’s lives. The schools chosen include primary schools, secondary schools, Youthreach centres, special schools, DEIS schools, co-educational schools, rural, urban, single-sex and Irish-language medium schools. Their work will begin in the new school year and run through to the summer of 2019.

The enthusiastic response to the call for applications suggests just how vital the arts and creativity are within schools across the country. In their application, schools had to explain how their participation would support learning and development in the arts and creativity, their capacity to engage as a school and their plans for ensuring that children and young people play an active role in developing, implementing and evaluating their work as a Creative School. Through the programme, the Arts Council is engaging with children and young people across the country to develop their creativity and linking them to  the arts and creative infrastructure in their locality and nationally.

Schools selected for the pilot will benefit from a package of support which includes funding and expertise from a Creative Associate to help them to understand, develop and celebrate the impact of the arts and creativity on school life. With the support of their Creative Associate, schools will develop a Creative School Plan and design a unique programme that responds to the needs and priorities of their school. This process will support children and young people to challenge themselves in new ways, to gain in confidence and to take a more active role in learning.

The Creative Schools team within the Arts Council will be travelling the country in September and October training and inducting Creative Associates, School Co-ordinators and other teachers from each of the 150 schools.

This innovative pilot is a cornerstone of the Creative Youth Plan, an initiative of the Creative Ireland Programme, led by the Arts Council and in collaboration with the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and the Department of Education and Skills.

Future opportunities for Creative Schools will be included in the Arts Council’s newsletter which you can subscribe to at the following link: www.artscouncil.ie/about-us/newsletter/. They will also be posted on their website where a full list of the 150 schools participating in the pilot can also be found: www.artscouncil.ie/creative-schools/pilot-schools/

!!!! Creative Schools pilot opportunity for Schools

The Arts Council’s Creative Schools Initiative

Scoileanna Ildánacha/Creative Schools is a flagship initiative of the Creative Ireland Programme to enable the creative potential of every child. It is being led by the Arts Council in partnership the Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

Opportunities for schools to apply to participate in the Creative Schools pilot open on Tuesday 20th February, 2018. Selected schools will have the opportunity to deepen the impact the arts and creativity can make on school life and on the lives of children and young people. Schools selected for the pilot will be partnered with a Creative Associate, who will support them in planning and implementing a creative programme that can be sustained in their school. Creative Associates will be artists, creative practitioners and educators who will help schools to draw on the range of opportunities within their school and wider community. Each school will also receive €2,000 to help them implement their programme.

Following an application and selection process 150 schools will participate for the 2018/19 school year across Ireland. All Department of Education and Skills recognised primary and post-primary schools and Youthreach Centres will be eligible to apply. A diversity of school settings will be selected, with a strong focus on inclusion. The long-term objective is that all schools will have the opportunity to participate. Schools are encouraged to get on line and register today. Demand for places is expected to be high and this is an opportunity schools are not going to want to miss.

What schools should do now:

• Step 1 – Get online to find out more www.artscouncil.ie/creative-schools/schools/
• Step 2 – Register your school as an organisation/group today
• Step 3 – Apply online between 20th February and 22nd March 2018

Applications for Creative Associate opportunities are also now open – go to artsineducation.ie/en/2018/02/12/creative-associate-opportunities-with-creative-schools/

For more information please contact the Creative Schools Team at www.artscouncil.ie/creative-schools/team/

!!!! Creative Ireland launches the ‘Creative Youth Plan’

Creative Ireland

On the 7th December Creative Ireland delivered on one of it’s key promises by publishing Creative Youth: a Plan to enable the Creative Potential of Every Child and Young Person.  This now represents the core work programme for Pillar 1 of the Creative Ireland Programme. Michael O’Reilly from Creative Ireland discusses the plan development and implementation.

Michael O’Reilly – Creative Ireland 

Developing the plan was an interesting and not entirely pain-free process: it is no secret that the 2018 budget didn’t allow as much scope for new investment as had been hoped.  But in the end, a creative engagement between the Department of Culture Heritage and the Gaeltacht, the Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs produced a plan with a long-term vision – cultural and creative education for all – a strategic approach to the further development of pillar 1, and 18 implementation actions.

The two headline actions are implementation of Scoileanna Ildánacha / Creative Schools – an Arts Council led project, which is a development of the Arts in Education Charter initiative, Arts Rich Schools – ARIS, and the extension of Music Generation countrywide during the lifetime of the Programme.

There are several entirely new ideas in the plan but in the main it builds on existing initiatives.  For example there will be a significant research project, and a culture and creativity-mapping project, but both will build on existing work.

From our point of view the most encouraging aspect of the plan is the acceptance of the long term vision of cultural and creative education for all: Cultural education that enables young people to explore and understand their own and other people’s cultural assumptions, viewpoints, beliefs and values, and Creative education that uses the innate creative skills of children and young people as a powerful instrument of learning.

The plan is not static.  A Pillar 1 expert advisory group will be appointed shortly which will guide the further development of pillar 1 and also monitor the implementation of Creative Youth.  A cross-departmental working group and a senior officials group will ensure that implementation stays on track.

We now have a clear agenda and cross-government support for its implemenation.  The next few years will be both testing and exciting.

Click here to download the full report

!!!! Music Generation announces 9 new areas to receive funding

Music Generation

Music Generation has announced the 9 new areas of Ireland that will receive philanthropic funding from U2 and The Ireland Funds to create increased access to non-mainstream music tuition for children and young people in their local area.

Following an open national call for applications earlier this year, the 9 new areas selected for participation are: Cavan/Monaghan; Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown; Galway City; Galway County; Kilkenny; Leitrim; Roscommon; Waterford and Wexford. The programmes will be managed and delivered by local Music Education Partnerships in each area. Operating on a 50/50 matched funding basis, these new Music Education Partnerships will receive an investment of €5m raised by U2 and The Ireland Funds, and will also generate a further combined €5m in local investment over the next five years.

Ireland’s national music education programme, Music Generation was initiated by Music Network in 2010, and is co-funded by U2, The Ireland Funds, the Department of Education and Skills and Local Music Education Partnerships.

For more information go to www.musicgeneration.ie/news/article/music-generation-announces-9-new-areas-of-ireland-selected-for-partici/

!!!! Music Generation to complete its 2nd phase of expansion thanks to investment by U2 & The Ireland Funds

Music Generation has announced that it will expand into nine new areas of Ireland within five years, thanks to the ongoing support of U2 and The Ireland Funds who together will have raised a total of €6.3m for the programme’s second phase. This combined investment in ‘Phase 2’ of Music Generation will include donations from the proceeds of U2’s The Joshua Tree Tour 2017, as well as donations previously raised for Music Generation through the band’s iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE Tour in 2015, alongside further philanthropic investment by The Ireland Funds. A grant from Bank of America, through the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, forms part of The Ireland Funds’ investment in this second phase of Music Generation.

Phase 2 of Music Generation has been assured of long-term sustainability through a commitment by the Department of Education and Skills to co-fund the new areas into the future, together with Local Music Education Partnerships.

Read the full story here

!!!! Launch of CREATIVE DANCE TALES – A Digital Resource for Teachers and Dance Artists

CREATIVE DANCE TALES is storytelling through dance. It began as a pilot workshop project in 2015 which ran in parallel with CoisCéim Dance Theatre’s THE WOLF AND PETER by David Bolger and its three year-long residency at DCU (formerly St. Patrick’s College).

Supported by The Ireland Funds, CoisCéim BROADREACH conducted 26 workshops in 8 primary schools at 6 locations around Ireland with over 300 children taking part. Two specialist seminars for educators were held in Dublin and Galway. CREATIVE DANCE TALES gave children an imaginative, kinaesthetic learning experience in dance and highlighted the power of storytelling through performance.

Emerging in part from requests made by teachers, the CREATIVE DANCE TALES DIGITAL RESOURCE was developed together by BROADREACH and the Physical Education Unit, The School of Arts Education and Movement, Institute of Education, DCU, and funded through the residency by the Arts Council of Ireland.

It is a celebration of the work of children, students, teachers, teacher educators and dance professionals. Distributed free of charge through the Arts in Education Portal in Ireland and www.dcu.ie, the lesson plans are designed to act as a starting point to stimulate creative thinking for teachers and children alike.

To download the resource pack, click here.

For individual teacher lesson plan

https://artsineducation.ie/wp-content/uploads/CDTLesson_1.pdf

 

https://artsineducation.ie/wp-content/uploads/CDTLesson_2.pdf

 

https://artsineducation.ie/wp-content/uploads/CDTLesson_3.pdf

 

https://artsineducation.ie/wp-content/uploads/CDTLesson_4.pdf

 

!!!! “Exploring Teacher-Artist Partnership as a Model of CPD for Supporting and Enhancing Arts Education in Ireland: A Research Report” is Launched

Minister for Education and Skills Mr Richard Bruton T.D. officially launched “Exploring Teacher-Artist Partnership as a Model of CPD for Supporting and Enhancing Arts Education in Ireland: A Research Report” on 8th March 2017 in the Clock Tower at the Department of Education and Skills.

Officially launching the Research Report, Minister Bruton said: “I am very pleased to officially launch Exploring Teacher-Artist Partnership as a Model of CPD for Supporting and Enhancing Arts Education in Ireland: A Research Report at such an exciting time for the integration of the arts in education, when there is now a national ‘Creative Ireland’ programme to enable the creative potential of every child.

“The research report we are launching today provides evidence-based recommendations to foster and develop teacher-artist partnerships in innovative ways. I believe this model of teacher professional development has enormous potential to transform approaches to arts education in schools. In particular, it highlights the importance of supporting arts and education partnerships through professional development so as to create high quality arts experiences for children. In the research report, Dr Kenny and Dr Morrissey continually point to the complementary knowledge and skills that both teachers and artists bring to arts education in schools”.

Commenting on the launch, Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Heather Humphreys T.D. said “Creative Ireland is an invitation to the entire country to get involved in something truly inspirational. This hugely ambitious all-of-Government initiative puts culture and creativity at the centre of public policy. Creative Ireland will ensure that children can participate in the arts from an early age, and it will drive cultural engagement in every county nationwide. This is a bold and ambitious initiative, and it is particularly appropriate and significant that our priority in this first year of Creative Ireland is children and young people.

“We already know that children who engage in the arts are happier and they perform better at school. I welcome the findings of this Research Report on the Teacher-Artist Partnership model and look forward to working with our colleagues in the Department of Education and Skills and the Arts Council of Ireland, both of whom have been instrumental in bringing this piece of work to fruition, on developing the Creative Children plan. This report provides very valuable insights into the importance of this approach to creative learning and contributes to the strong foundations upon which the Creative Ireland Programme is built.”

Minister Bruton finished by saying, “I congratulate Dr Kenny and Dr Morrissey on the quality of this excellent evidence-informed research report. I am delighted that the initiative has continued and is now at a stage where it will be delivered as a Summer Course in each of the 21 Education Centres in summer 2017. I wish the overall initiative continued success and I am now delighted to formally launch the research report”.

The report can be viewed and downloaded at this link.
For more information about the Creative Ireland programme, click here.

!!!! The Creative Ireland Programme – Placing creativity at the heart of public policy

Creative Ireland

Last week the government announced a new five year initiative which places creativity at the centre of public policy,  ‘The Creative Ireland Programme’. Creative Ireland is a culture-based programme designed to promote individual, community and national wellbeing. The core proposition is that participation in cultural activity drives personal and collective creativity, with significant implications for individual and societal wellbeing and achievement.

Creative Ireland is the main implementation vehicle for the priorities identified in Culture 2025/Éire Ildánach, the draft cultural policy published by the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs in July 2016, which sees a vibrant cultural ecosystem as essential to society. Culture 2025/Éire Ildánach states that arts and culture are intrinsic to the Irish State, acknowledges the need to increase access to, and participation in, the arts, boost our creative industries, and preserve our heritage with a particular focus on language, landscape and the environment.

Creative Ireland as a 2016 legacy project is inspired by the extraordinary public response to the Centenary: the thousands of events, largely culture-based, and unprecedented public participation that brought us together in shared reflections on identity, culture and citizenship that combined history with arts, heritage and language.

Creative Ireland will bring coordination and focus to existing culture-based policies and initiatives – and lead to ambitious new actions.

Creative Ireland is a wellbeing strategy for people, but it will also enable a representation of Ireland to the outside world that is well grounded, widely understood and meaningful. Creative Ireland will coordinate and enable the construction of that representation, seeking coherence among all stakeholders and placing a clear focus on our rich cultural heritage and our creativity.

Creative Ireland is underpinned by the key values should be identified in Culture 2025/Éire Ildánach. They are:

• The intrinsic value of culture
• The value of culture to our lives and our communities
• The right of everyone to participate in the cultural life of the nation
• The importance of the Irish language, our cultural heritage, folklore, games, music and the uniqueness of our Gaeltacht areas
• The value of cultural diversity, informed by the many traditions and social backgrounds now in Ireland
• The value of culture as a means of fostering a more sustainable future for Ireland, including through economic and social policy
• The value of culture in presenting Ireland to the world.

For more information go to www.creative.ireland.ie

!!!! Arts in Education Updated Newsletter – Work in Progress

Professor John Coolahan chair of the Implementation Group of the Arts in Education Charter has given an update on current initiatives from the Charter and their progress. This includes information about Arts Rich Schools, the Local Arts Education Partnership (LAEPs), Nationwide Mapping and the Artist Continuing Staff Development Sessions.

Click on links below to download: 

AIE Newsletter September 2016 – English

AIE Newsletter September 2016 – Gaeilge

 

 

!!!! Artists~Schools Guidelines Video

As part of a review of the Artists~Schools Guidelines conducted by the Arts Council on behalf of the High Level Implementation Group of the Arts in Education Charter, this video has been developed to capture stakeholders’ observations regarding the key principles and information of most relevance to artists and/or schools interested in developing best practice in this area.

Watch the video here.

!!!! Landmark research document reveals a pioneering new model for performance music education

Music Generation

A ground-breaking research document, which was launched on Friday 4 November at the 6th Annual Conference of the Society for Music Education in Ireland, has revealed a new model for the provision of music education that can achieve powerful and positive outcomes for children and young people. ‘Possible Selves in Music’ challenges traditional thinking about music education, uncovers an entirely new approach and opens up a wealth of knowledge to all who are interested in bringing music into children’s and young people’s lives.

As Ireland’s national music education programme, Music Generation seeks to transform the lives of children and young people through access to high-quality vocal and instrumental tuition (also known as performance music education). Working through local Music Education Partnerships, the programme provides children and young people with a multitude of different ways to engage with music.

National Director of Music Generation, Rosaleen Molloy said that: “‘Possible Selves in Music’ reveals rich and valuable information about how children and young people flourish when they connect with music. We now know that children and young people engage with music learning to enrich their lives in a range of different ways. ‘Possible Selves’ is a useful concept to capture the various ways that they imagine music will be part of their lives in the future.”

‘Possible Selves in Music’ is the outcome of a two-year research partnership between Music Generation and St Patrick’s College Drumcondra (now DCU). The research, which will be of significant interest to musicians, educators, policy-makers, youth workers, and national and local government agencies at home and overseas, was commissioned by the Board of Music Generation in 2013 and carried out by Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr Thomas Johnston, who worked with Principal Investigator to the project Dr Patricia Flynn (DCU/St Patrick’s College).

The Research Board comprised Dr Patricia Flynn (DCU/St Patrick’s College); Rosaleen Molloy (National Director, Music Generation); Prof Stephanie Pitts (University of Sheffield); and Prof Emer Smyth (ESRI).

For further information about the research and to download the document visit www.musicgeneration.ie.