Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 7 November 2018
102. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of meetings he and his predecessor had with the Arts in Education Charter implementation group since the report was published; the dates of those meetings; the persons that attended those meetings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46112/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra103. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of reports received from the Arts in Education Charter implementation group since the report was published; if these reports are publicly available; if not, the reason therefore; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46113/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 102 and 103 together.
The Arts in Education Charter was launched in 2013 as a joint initiative of the Department of Education and Skills and the then Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, working with the Arts Council. The Charter recognised the value of arts in education and committed to cross-departmental co-operation in this area. A number of commitments were made as part of this process and much progress has been made across all areas of the Charter since its publication.
An High Level Implementation Group, chaired by the late Professor John Coolahan, was appointed by the Ministers of both Departments in 2013 to provide a strategic, high-level and ongoing point of contact with them to ensure the delivery of the Charter objectives. The Group was made up of senior officials from the Department of Education and Skills, the then Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and the Director of the Arts Council, members also included Mary Nunan, Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick (and Chair of the Points of Alignment Committee) and Dr Katie Sweeney, National Director for the integration of the Arts in Education. Michael Finneran, Head of Drama and Theatre Studies, Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick replaced Mary Nunan on this group in 2016.
The Group has been active since 2013 and met with my predecessors and the previous Ministers for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Six formal reports were submitted to the Minister for Education and Skills and to the then Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. These reports will be uploaded to the Arts in Education Portal and will be available to view.
As the Deputy will be aware, Creative Youth, a plan to enable the creativity of every child and young person was published in December 2017. This Plan aims to ensure that every child in Ireland has practical access to tuition, experience and participation in music, drama, arts and coding by 2022. The actions in the Creative Youth Plan extend to both the formal and non-formal education sectors and are being delivered by my Department, the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the Arts Council. This Plan is building on the Arts in Education Charter and aims to resource, fast-track and implement the objectives of the Arts in Education Charter as well as rolling out a range of other initiatives.
In addition, a new Expert Advisory group chaired by Dr. Ciaran Benson has been established by Minister Bruton, in his previous role as Minister for Education and Skills, Minister Madigan and Minister Zappone. Their role is to drive the implementation of Creative Youth and the continued roll out of the Arts in Education Charter. They will also advise on the broader long-term objective for the Creative Ireland Programme: to enhance cultural and creative education for all our children and young people.
