Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 July 2018
2809. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the cost per school of the artists in schools pilot project under the Creative Ireland programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33170/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra2810. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the estimated cost of rolling out the creative schools programme to all primary and post-primary schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33233/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 2809 and 2810 together.
The “Artists in Schools” pilot project referred to by the Deputy is the "Creative Schools pilot" and is one of the key initiatives of the Creative Youth Plan, an initiative of the Creative Ireland Programme, led by the Arts Council in collaboration with and funded by my Department and the Department of Education and Skills.
Following an open application process, 150 schools were selected for the pilot in the school year 2018/19. These schools have approximately 38,000 pupils. There are a diverse range of school types involved, in different parts of the country, rural and urban, primary and post primary, DEIS schools, special schools, and Youthreach centres.
Schools who participate in the pilot will work with artists, creative practitioners and educators to develop their own unique programme of arts and creative work, connecting them to the full range of local and regional cultural resources and opportunities. In addition, all schools will also receive a further range of supports including a once-off grant of €2,000.
The grant and the cost of the Creative Associate expertise per school for the coming academic year ranges from €4,100 to €5,211, dependent on the school size. The total cost of the programme is €1m. This cost covers the costs of Creative Associates, grants to schools, management, training and recruitment costs.
Through this pilot programme the creativity of children and young people across the country will be enabled. Students will be directly connected to artists and to the arts within their own communities and nationally. A direct, long term connection will be created between these students and the creative, cultural and artistic resources of the state, now and into their future.
This is a pilot initiative and therefore both impact and costs of this model will be reviewed before we can estimate the costs for the roll-out to all schools.
