We are delighted to have been selected to take part in the Creative Clusters and Creative Schools Programme, starting in the school year 2020/2021. These are two year programmes, which puts the arts and creativity at the heart of children and young people’s lives, something which we value highly here in St. Angela’s.

 

Creative Schools is a flagship initiative of the Creative Ireland Programme to enable the creative potential of every child. Creative Schools is led by the Arts Council in partnership with the Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. The aim of this initiative is to understand, develop and celebrate the arts and creativity in our school. Creative Clusters is a pilot initiative of the Department of Education and Skills, led by and in partnership with the Association of Teacher Education Centres Ireland (ATECI). As part of the Creative Clusters, we have come together with two other schools in Mayo to collaborate on the design, implementation and evaluation of a creative learning project. 

 

For both the Creative Clusters and Creative Schools Programme, we are working with two artists to develop and implement a child-centred plan which supports the development of pupils’ imagination and creativity. We have formed our own Creative Schools Student Committee, ensuring that the voices of children are at the centre of our work as a Creative School. The artists working with us assist in implementing the project by connecting the school to other artists, makers, cultural institutions and creative opportunities.

 

 We are really looking forward to working on both programmes over the next two years and the new insights and perspectives that such projects will bring to our school.