Written answers

Tuesday, 23 May 2017

Department of Education and Skills

Arts in Education Charter

Photo of Niamh SmythNiamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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224. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department has carried out a qualitative analysis of the distinctive contribution arts in education has made to school based arts education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24414/17]

Photo of Niamh SmythNiamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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225. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the actions he has taken to develop arts in education practices by professional artists in schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24415/17]

Photo of Niamh SmythNiamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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226. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps he has taken to increase interventions by the arts world into formal education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24416/17]

Photo of Niamh SmythNiamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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228. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to implement arts rich schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24418/17]

Photo of Niamh SmythNiamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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229. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the level of engagement his Department has had with the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs to implement the recommendations of the Arts in Education Charter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24419/17]

Photo of Niamh SmythNiamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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230. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the actions his Department has taken to co-operate with the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs to fast track and resource the Arts in Education Charter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24420/17]

Photo of Niamh SmythNiamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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232. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the funding commitments his Department has made to implement Pillar 1 of Creative Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24422/17]

Photo of Niamh SmythNiamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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233. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the intervention his Department has had with the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs regarding the development of local arts in education partnerships in education and training boards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24423/17]

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 224 to 226, inclusive, 228 to 230, inclusive, 232 and 233 together.

The deputy has tabled a number of interlinked questions which I will respond to collectively.

The 2012 Arts in Education Charter was a landmark development in arts education. The Charter is an initiative of the Department of Education and Skills, the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, working in association with the Arts Council. Good progress has been made on collaboration and implementation of the Charter objectives to date by my Department and the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.

The Creative Ireland programme provides a new platform and new opportunities to continue and build on the work done to date with the Charter objectives. Over the course of the programme the Charter and its objectives will be embraced, fast-tracked, and resourced as a core element of the Creative Irelandagenda.

Creative Ireland Programme/Clár Éire Ildánach 2017 - 2022

'Creative Ireland' is the Government’s legacy programme following on from the successful 'Ireland 2016' initiative. It is a five-year programme, from 2017 to 2022, which places creativity at the centre of public policy. Devising an integrated implementation plan for Arts-in-Education is a priority under Pillar 1 of the programme, whose aim is to enable the creative potential of every child to be realised. This includes the objective that by 2022 every child in Ireland will have access to tuition and participation in art, music, drama and coding. The plan – ‘Creative Children’ – is proposed to be launched this Autumn.

Work on the ‘Creative Children’ plan is currently being progressed by my Department in close collaboration with the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and the Arts Council. While detailed planning is continuing it is currently envisaged that the Creative Children plan will comprise three key strands. These connected strands will have overlapping concepts and themes, and it will be important to ensure there is co-operation and synergy across activities. This will ensure that the overarching goal of Pillar 1 can be achieved, providing successful experiences relating to arts, creativity and innovation, for our children and young people, and for our society as a whole.

It is proposed that these 3 strands will be:

1. Creative Schools/Scoileanna Ildánacha - which will see special teams of teachers and artists working together in schools to help make the arts a key part of school life.

2. Professional Development Strategies, for teachers and artists.

3. Further Arts Education Initiatives - under a plan that will encourage, highlight and recognise the non-formal and non-mainstream initiatives in arts education and creativity.

My Department is working closely with the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and the Arts Council in developing the plan for Pillar 1 of the programme. The overall Creative Ireland programme will shortly be considered by Government, following which the issue of programme funding will be progressed through the estimates and budgetary process.

School Policies

The Charter envisaged that schools, in their school policies and plans, should incorporate arts in education opportunities as an important aspect of enriching the curriculum and the wider life of the school. The Charter Implementation Group has the agreement of my Department's Inspectorate to assist schools in this aspect of their school planning and self-evaluation.

Capital Provision

The Department of Education & Skills has agreed that provision for arts-in-education practice and for the wider education agenda will be reflected in the design and equipping of school buildings and the parallel need for the design of new schools and other education buildings to take account of the particular needs – both directly educational and more widely community-based – of the arts, in the context of available resources.

The Artists-Schools Guidelines were first published in 2006. A number of changes have occurred in the arts in education landscape in Ireland since the Guidelines were first published. A significant change arising from the Charter was the launch of the national Arts in Education Portal for the arts in education: www.artsineducation.ie. Given this changing landscape, the Arts Council, on behalf of the Implementation Group of the Arts in Education Charter, has reviewed the Artists-Schools Guidelines to update the guidelines to act as a useful resource for all schools. They are presented as a dynamic resource, integrated with the Arts in Education Portal website www.artsineducation.ie.

Ireland’s first Arts in Education Portal (www.artsineducation.ie), the key national digital recourse for arts in education in Ireland, was launched in May 2015. Already, it is proving to be a great success. The Arts in Education Portal was developed in partnership with the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and is a major resource for schools in the integration of the arts in education.

Professional Artists in Schools

'Exploring Teacher-Artist Partnership as a Model of CPD for Supporting & Enhancing Arts Education in Ireland' is an initiative led by my Department which was first piloted in 2014/2015. Teacher-artist partnerships offer the potential to create exciting opportunities for teachers, artists and children. In the partnership, teachers are afforded the chance to challenge, develop, and potentially transform their practices for the benefit of the children they teach and the school communities in which they work. The initiative is an arts-in-education initiative in which artists, from a range of disciplines, have the opportunity to have input into the domain of formal education through residency opportunities in schools. This initiative will be delivered in Teacher Education Centres commencing 3rd July 2017 as an element of the Creative Ireland programme.

Further to this, a number of artist residencies in primary school teacher education colleges have recently concluded, with further residencies now being advertised. In allowing professional artist participation in initial teacher education, teachers are better equipped to deliver arts education in classrooms. These residencies are funded by the Arts Council.

Local Arts Education Partnership (LAEPs)

An objective of the Arts in Education Charter which, as it evolves, will make a major contribution to rooting arts in education at local and regional level as normative provision, is the Local Arts Education Partnerships (LAEPs). Cavan – Monaghan LAEP has been a very successful pioneer in this arena, but other Education and Training Boards and Local Authorities are also planning initiatives along these lines. The impact of co-operative efforts by the statutory agencies, the local authorities and the ETBs, in conjunction with the regional Teacher Education Centres and other agencies, have the potential to re-shape the landscape of arts in education provision in Ireland to the great benefit of young people throughout the country.

ARÍS – Arts Rich Schools/Creative Schools

The Charter outlined that a national scheme, which would give expression to the Charter's commitment in respect of school policies and plans for 'enriching the curriculum and the wider life of the school', will be led by the Arts Council in co-operation with my Department and the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. This scheme is planned to be adopted under Pillar 1 of ‘Creative Ireland’.

The scheme sets out to understand, develop and celebrate arts in early years settings, primary and post-primary schools and further education and Youthreach centres. By fully affirming the enriching power of the arts and by supporting early years settings and both school and further education communities to develop and celebrate the arts, Creative Schools will raise the profile and importance of the arts in educational settings in the medium to long term.

It is proposed that the initiative will begin with a pilot programme targeting a representative cohort of 150 schools, further education centres and early years settings throughout the 2017/18 and 2018/19 school years.

It will incentivise and recognise those schools (primary and post-primary) which in a range of ways make the arts a key part of school life and place the arts centrally within the life of the school community affecting pupils primarily but also teachers, parents, other staff and school community.

Photo of Niamh SmythNiamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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227. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps he has taken to increase out-of-hours use of school facilities to give children and young persons access to arts activities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24417/17]

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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As the use of school buildings is included in my Departments Action Plan for Education, I can confirm that meetings have been held between officials from my Department and the relevant stakeholder groups. These meeting sought the views of these groups regarding the use of school buildings outside of school hours.

The process of developing guidelines for the use of school buildings is currently in progress and it is due to be completed in the near future.

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