Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Creative Youth plan, which I launched in December 2017, seeks to ensure that every child in Ireland has practical access to tuition, experience and participation in music, drama, art and coding by 2022. Nearly one year on, we can now show some real progress towards meeting this ambitious objective. The Creative Schools pilot project for 149 schools is now up and running, reaching over 38,000 children and young people. The pilot will cover a wide range of creative activities for children and young people which could potentially include drama, visual arts, literature, poetry, film, coding and other activities.

Music Generation is moving into phase 2 of its expansion and it is planned that nationwide expansion will take place during the lifetime of the Creative Ireland programme. The Department of Education and Skills is continuing to progress the availability of coding at both primary and post-primary levels. At post-primary level, a short course has been developed in coding for junior cycle and is available for all schools to offer. The first phase of the leaving certificate in computer science is under way, with 40 schools offering the subject. Plans are being examined with key stakeholders for the expansion of the youth theatre provision across the country and other important initiatives are being developed and piloted, such as the pilot Creative Youth partnership initiative which was launched during the summer, with the outcome to be announced shortly.

There are 73 schools participating in creative clusters and they have been grouped into 23 clusters. There are approximately 17,000 students participating, from a diverse range of school types. We are continuing to invest in continued professional development, CPD, for teachers and for artists working in partnership with teachers, which is crucial to the long-term success and sustainability of the overall plan.

Cruinniú na nÓg, the first national day of creativity for children and young people, took place on 23 June and saw over 500 free events right across the country to involve children and young people in creative activity in their own communities. I am also pleased that a number of innovative projects covering a range of activities for children and young people have come through the national creativity fund process and I am looking forward to seeing the outcome of these projects. The Creative Youth plan is ambitious and ever-developing. I hope that, by 2022, it will have touched the lives of every child and young person in Ireland.

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