Deadline: 15-Jun-23
The Arts Council is pleased to announce the applications for the Creative Schools Initiative to support schools and Youth reach centres to put the arts and creativity at the heart of children’s and young people’s lives.
Creative Schools is a flagship initiative of the Creative Ireland Programme to enable the creative potential of every child. Creative Schools is led by the Arts Council in partnership with the Department of Education and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
It provides opportunities for children and young people to build their artistic and creative skills, including; communication, collaboration, imagination, curiosity and invention. Creative Schools supports school communities to empower children and young people to develop, implement and evaluate arts and creative activity throughout their schools/centres.It stimulates additional ways of working that reinforce the impact of creativity on children and young people’s learning, development and well-being.
Creative Associates will respond to theschool’s/centre’s development priorities and needs in order to support them indeepeningthe arts and creative opportunities for children and young people. They will use their practical experience to develop partnerships and mechanisms that enable sustained relationships between schools/centres and the arts and cultural sectors.
Each participating school/centre will be supported in the design and implementationof a Creative Schools Plan unique to their school/centre, and to report on elements of it. They willalso be asked to cooperate with independent evaluation of the initiative.
Funding Information
- Maximum awarded: €4,000.
Benefits
- Schools/centres will be assigned a Creative Associate, who will advise and supportthem for a maximum of nine days over the school year.
- Creative Schools Coordinators (members of participating schools’/centres’ staff) will attend training, which will provide the opportunity to meet other participating schools/centres and the Creative Schools team. Creative Schools Coordinators should be available to attend this training, and one-daysubstitution cover per year per school will be paid to facilitate their attendance.
- Other training and networking opportunities may be available to schools/centres, such as training about involving children and young people in decision-making.
- Schools/centres will be invited to take part in CreativeSchools Week, a national celebration of the arts and creativity.
Note: the delivery method for training, networking and other events will be decided in line with government health guidelines.
What activity can you use the funding for?
- In consultation with the Creative Associate, the school will decide how they wish to use the funding. The funding must be used to support the implementation of the Creative Schools Plan developed by each school and to achieve the ideas that will be generated from discussions with staff, children and young people, families and the wider community. This may include but is not limited to:
- Creative methods to develop arts and creativity policies and plans
- Working with artists and/or creative practitioners
- Exploring creative ways to teach and learn
- Arts and creative professional development for teachers
- Engaging with local arts and creative organisations
- Providing workshop, exhibition or performance opportunities for the children/young people
- Visits to galleries, theatres, heritage sites, cinemas, museums, libraries and local arts centres.
Eligibility Criteria
- All Department of Education recognised primary and post-primary schools and Youth reach centres that have not already participated in a previous round of Creative Schools are eligible to apply.
Ineligible
- Schools/centres not in receipt of capitation grants from the Department of Education/ Education and Training Boards and are not in the free-education scheme are not eligible to apply.
- Schools/centres that have already participated in a previous round of Creative Schools are not eligible to apply.
For more information, visit Creative Schools Initiative.
