Creative Clusters

Creative Clusters– Schools Excellence Fund

Creative Clusters is an initiative of the Department of Education, led by and in partnership with the Education Support Centres Ireland (ESCI). Creative Clusters provide schools with access to creative people, skills and resources that will support them to draw on their own skills and experiences and those within their wider communities. Creative Clusters is an initiative under Creative Youth – A Plan to Enable the Creative Potential of Every Child and Young Person, which was published in December 2017 as part of the Creative Ireland Programme.

The Creative Ireland Programme is a five-year programme which connects people, creativity and wellbeing. It is an all-of-government culture and wellbeing programme that inspires and transforms people, places and communities through creativity. It is an all-of-government, culture-based initiative that emphasises the importance of human creativity for individual, community and national wellbeing. It is led by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media. The programme is grounded in the belief that every person has creative capacities, the development of which contributes to their personal wellbeing as well as to the general wellbeing of our communities.

The programme consists of five pillars:

1. Our Young People

2. Our Communities

3. Our Cultural and Creative Infrastructure

4. Our Creative Industries

5. Our Global Reputation

Creative Youth – the plan for Pillar 1

In December 2017, Creative Youth – a Plan to Enable the Creativity of Every Child and Young Person was launched. The ultimate aim is to deliver the Government’s commitment to ensuring that every child in Ireland has practical access to tuition, experience and participation in music, drama, arts and coding. The Creative Youth plan sets out a range of initiatives which will be piloted and implemented in the coming years, including Local Creative Youth Partnerships. The Department of Education, the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, the Department of Equality, Children, Disability, Integration and Youth and the Arts Council are key partners in delivering Creative Youth.

Schools Excellence Fund

The School Excellence Fund is an initiative in the Programme for Government to encourage and recognise excellence and innovation in our schools. The Schools Excellence Fund is operating in a range of areas. These are:

• SEF – Creative

• SEF – DEIS

• SEF – Digital

• SEF – Gaeltacht

• SEF – STEM

• SEF – Step Up