Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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31. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the number of artists now working in collaboration with schools; the schools at primary and secondary level that have collaborations; the number of schools participating in these schemes; her plans to expand collaborations; the details of proposed collaborations; the number of schoolchildren in primary and secondary schools participating and benefitting in the collaborations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47412/18]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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Creative Youth – a Plan to Enable the Creative Potential of Every Young Person was launched on 7th December 2017. This Plan sets out a number of measures to deliver on one of the key goals of the Creative Ireland Programme: to ensure that every child in Ireland has practical access to tuition, experience and participation in music, drama, art and coding by 2022.

This Plan is being led by my Department, the Department of Education and Skills, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the Arts Council, all working in partnership.

The Creative Schools pilot will be operating across 150 Schools and approximately 50 Creative Associates, a mix of artists and teachers are working with these schools. 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. 2018/2019 is the pilot for Creative Schools and it is hoped to expand the programme in the coming years.

There are 73 schools participating in Creative Clusters and they have been grouped into 23 clusters and there are 17 facilitators working with these clusters, through the Education Centres. There are approximately 17,000 students, from a diverse range of school types, in these schools. These clusters have a budget to bring in local artists to facilitate their chosen creative projects and may choose to bring in more than one artist. It is also hoped to expand on this programme in future years.

The Teacher/Artist Partnership, for primary school teachers, has taken place over the last number of years and between the summers of 2017 and 2018, 469 teachers and 146 artists took part in this CPD course. These teachers, in collaboration with the artists took their expertise back to their respective schools, and the pupils in these schools have benefited from their partnerships. It is hoped to build on this over the coming years.

Many schools collaborate locally with artists, creative practitioners and others in various fields. Children and young people across the country benefit greatly from these collaborations. The local Arts Offices, and indeed the Creative Ireland Coordinators in each local authority, are integral to ensuring that these collaborations grow and continue and are allowed to flourish.

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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32. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the number of children that have access to tuition in music, drama, coding and art; if she is satisfied that the target of ensuring that, by 2022, each child will have such access will be met; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47400/18]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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The Creative Youth Plan, which I launched last 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.

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 Education and Skills, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the Arts Council.

Nearly one year on, we can now show some real progress towards meeting this ambitious objective.

- The Creative Schools pilot project for 150 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 their expansion and it is planned that nationwide expansion will take place during the lifetime of the Creative Ireland Programme, enabling increased access to music tuition for children and young people.

- The Department of Education and Skills are 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 Leaving Certificate Computer Science is underway 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 and the outcome of which will 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, from a diverse range of school types, participating.

- 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 23rd June 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.