The Arts Council warmly welcomes the publication of a landmark report which shows the impact, reach and influence of the Creative Schools Programme. Creative Schools is led by the Arts Council in partnership with the Department of Education, the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and Creative Ireland. 

The full report including an accompanying Technical Report on the methodologies used in this landmark research is available here on DCU Online Research Access Service (DORAS).

Creative Schools was introduced in a selection of Irish primary and post-primary schools in 2018. The report by Dr. Regina Murphy and Dr. Eemer Eivers (Dublin City University) presents an evaluation of the first four years (2018-2022) of the initiative and provides information on the experiences of children and young people, teachers, educators, arts practitioners and artists. To date 971 schools have participated in the programme, nearly a quarter of all schools in the country.

Participants in schools and centres, including children, students, teachers, principals, Creative Schools Coordinators and their supporting Creative Associates have all been overwhelmingly positive in their overall attitudes towards the programme and in their reports of experience. 99% of participating schools said they would recommend the programme to other schools.

Schools from every county in Ireland have participated in the programme and all school types including 26 Youthreach Centres, have been well represented. The Creative Schools programme has successfully prioritised participation by DEIS Schools, small rural schools, special schools, Irish Language medium schools and Youthreach centres in response to interim findings from this report. Notably, over 38% of all Special Schools across the country and 251 DEIS schools have participated in the programme to date.

In many instances, changes to how students perceive their place in the school as well as improvements to the physical face of the school (e.g., an art installation, a student co-designed garden), can be directly attributed to the programme.

The report shows that the Creative Schools initiative has been successful in promoting and infusing creativity in schools and drawing attention to the increasing importance of creativity in education. Within each school children and young people have engaged in dialogue about creativity, have been listened to, have been taken seriously and have had their ideas acted upon. 

Creative Schools has opened up very many experiences for students and pupils and each participating school has had a unique journey. The activities undertaken by schools during their participation in Creative Schools has been very varied and has included circus, architecture, heritage, music, comedy, literature, coding, traditional arts, science, horticulture, film, design, craft, drama, visual arts and dance.

The researchers, Dr Murphy and Dr Eivers, conclude:

“The overall Creative Schools initiative has transformed a very broad range of Irish schools in the Irish educational landscape more than any other initiative heretofore in placing learners in every county at the heart of the process, valuing and validating their perspectives and experiences, collaborating meaningfully with them while shifting the focus of arts education in particular from child-centred to child-led participatory practice.”

Commenting on her role in the study, Dr Regina Murphy noted that:

“As researchers, having a focus on creativity and the arts in a wide range of schools over a long period of time was a rare opportunity to develop a deep understanding of the richness of creative practices in schools.”

Fellow researcher, Dr Eemer Eivers also observed that:

“For many, the Creative Schools experience began during lockdowns and school closures. The manner in which schools and creative practitioners adapted to these major restrictions was in itself a showcase of creativity and of the art of the possible.”

Maureen Kennelly, Director of the Arts Council said:

“We are delighted to welcome this report by Dr Murphy and Dr Eivers. Since its establishment in 2018, the Arts Council has led out on Creative Schools and this report captures the impacts we have seen in so many schools during that time. By placing young people at the heart of decision making, we have been able to support schools to fully embrace the creative possibilities within their community and their locality. One of the great joys of the programme is watching the Creative Schools journey of each school or Youthreach centre unfold in a unique way. The transformations that the report highlights demonstrates how we in the Arts Council are delivering on our commitment to plan and provide for children and young people in Ireland.”

Catherine Martin TD, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media said:

“Creative Schools, a key programme under the Creative Youth Plan, has gone from strength to strength since 2018, particularly in its reach to schools and those under the DEIS programme, in alternative settings and special schools. This report highlights positive impacts that Creative Schools has had on students and their school communities. I will continue to support embedding creativity into children and young people’s lives, including their education.” 

Norma Foley TD, Minister for Education said:

"I welcome DCU's Creative Schools report which highlights the success of the programme in putting the arts and creativity at the centre of education. It has given students the opportunity to develop creative projects on their own school grounds, to take part in workshops and performances and to visit galleries, theatres, heritage sites, cinemas, museums, libraries and local arts centres. The recommendations of this report will greatly contribute to the further development of the current plan for the programme, Creative Schools and Creative Youth 2023-2027.”

Two students from Mungret Community College Limerick who participated in the Creative Schools programme said about their experience:

“I think Creative Schools had a profound impact on me, because it was a chance to exercise autonomy in our school and a platform to see if we could bring our own ideas to life.”

Mungret Community College student Aaroh Jain

“Creative Schools is a great way to explore interests you may have thought you never had.”

Mungret Community College student Eve Adediran

Examples of how the programme has impacted individual schools are available in the Creative Schools case studies. A selection is available here and a video selection is available here.

For more on the role of Creativity in Education see here

For more on Creative Schools including lists of participating schools for each year see https://www.artscouncil.ie/creative-schools/