Minister McEntee announces details of Creative Youth programmes including new data mapping tool
- Published on: 4 July 2025
- Last updated on: 4 July 2025
Minister for Education and Youth Helen McEntee has today (Friday 4 July) announced details of initiatives which will support pupils and students to have more opportunities to be creative, including announcing schools who will take part in two Creative Youth Programmes and launching a new data mapping tool to empower greater engagement with creativity.
Minister McEntee announced the names of the 429 schools who will take part in the 2025 BLAST Arts in Education Residencies, as well as details of 43 Creative Clusters which will involve 151 schools nationwide. Both programmes are part of the Creative Youth Plan 2023 – 2027.
In addition, Minister McEntee launched a new interactive data mapping tool which will chart the engagement of schools and Youthreach centres across the country with Creative Youth initiatives and highlight areas where additional support may be beneficial.
Minister McEntee said:
“It is so important that students and young people have an opportunity to be creative, to have fun, all while working and learning together. By creating an environment which encourages creative learning, teachers can help their students to express themselves, develop teamwork skills and further their sense of social responsibility, resilience and empathy.
“This is why I am delighted to announce that 429 schools which will take part in the 2025 BLAST Arts in Education Residencies Programme, as well as that 151 schools will take part in 43 new Creative Clusters.
“It is a significant milestone too that we are in a position today to launch the innovative new Data Mapping Tool. The tool utilises our schools’ data and maps it against Creative Youth programmes in an interactive map to allow us to see which schools have engaged in which programmes. Having this information will be key to bringing more schools, and crucially more students, on board. The inclusion of data on disadvantage will allow us to access the data we need to help strengthen schools’ participation.
“Creativity and the arts are for everyone, no matter where you live or what school you attend. I look forward to continuing to work with all stakeholders on the full potential of the Creative Youth Plan for the benefit of all our children and young people, for schools, for teachers, for families, for communities and for artists and creative practitioners right across the country.”
Notes
About BLAST residency projects
BLAST residency projects are creative collaborations between the artist/creative practitioner, teacher, children and young people in and with the school under the coordination of the 21 full-time Education Support Centres of Ireland (ESCI). Each residency is worth €1,100 and is fully funded by the Department of Education with the local ESC managing the administration of the Artist/Creative Practitioner’s 20-hour residency. BLAST residencies can be delivered throughout the academic year 2025/26.
About Creative Clusters
The 43 new Creative Clusters announced today will see schools come together over two years to work on a project of their choice. A Cluster may receive up to €15,000 in funding to help them bring their plans and ideas around a project of their choice to fruition, with support from a local facilitator and their local ESC, between 2025 and 2027. The programme is designed to help schools build a project of learning and activities which is tailor-made for their students.
To find out more about Creative Clusters, see: https://youtu.be/Adyc6p3myKc