Boosting creativity in Irish classrooms: what schools are doing differently

Mags Walsh

Programme Director Creative Schools, the Arts Council

Learn about the Creative Schools programme, bringing access to creativity and arts participation to school communities.

Each year, in Ireland, about 350 schools from every county are active in the Creative Schools programme. Led by the Arts Council and working with our partners in the Department of Education and Creative Ireland, the programme inspires schools to explore creativity and experience all its benefits.

Although each school participating in Creative Schools receives similar supports — a grant to support activity, a Creative Associate to support them and training for a school coordinator — each school will end up with a different creative school’s plan and will have experienced all sorts of different events, workshops and visits along the journey. It must be unique as every school is different in size, scale, location, priorities and strengths.

Creativity embraced through encouragement

Recently, Craughwell National School in County Galway told us how being part of Creative Schools had impacted them; principal Clare Urquhart said the programme gave them a new interest in creativity.

“Creative Schools opened the door to creativity for us. You can get caught up in the pressure of the myriad subjects that we have to cover. But every child, regardless of academic ability, will engage with creativity at their own level. That’s the beauty of it, and that’s why we’ve embedded it. It is really thanks to Creative Schools; it gave us that first little push in the right direction,” says principal Urquhart.

Creative Schools opened
the door to creativity for us.

Staff rediscovered creative confidence

Craughwell National School has around 320 pupils, drawn from 19 different nationalities. The school is busy year-round with sports and other activities, but Creative Schools gave not just the pupils but the staff an opportunity to benefit from creative experiences.   

“The highlight from my Creative Schools journey was seeing the effect it had on staff. Seeing them come out of their shells and out of their comfort zone and shaking off cobwebs in relation to creativity and embracing the skills that they already had,” shares Liam Mitchell, Director, Galway Education Support Centre. Creative Schools is open to all primary, post-primary and special schools as well as Youth Reach centres.