The Department of Education announced the launch of the 2025 creativity and arts in education BLAST Residency programme, which will bring creativity and arts in education to 425 new Residencies in the school year 2025/26.
This initiative aims to support the objectives of the Creative Ireland Creative Youth Plan (2023-2027) which builds on the principles and skills outlined in the Arts in Education Charter (2013) and the achievements of Creative Youth (2017-2022).
BLAST aims to provide pupils in schools all over the country, time and the space to work with a professional creative practitioner on imaginative and joyful projects. BLAST is a key Department of Education initiative of the Creative Youth Plan 2023- 2027 which aims to foster creativity in schools focus and to provide young people with opportunities to learn and develop the key skills and competencies of collaboration, critical thinking, problem-solving, and innovation.
Innovative BLAST residencies are designed and developed between the creative practitioner, teacher, students and the school community under the coordination of the 21 full-time Education Support Centres Ireland (ESCI) network.
Schools and YouthReach centres apply for a BLAST Residency via a centralised online application link (see below) which will be processed by their local full-time ESC. The programme is nationally coordinated by the National Arts in Education office, Tralee Education Support Centre.
Every local ESC has a BLAST Register of Creative Practitioners who are trained to deliver BLAST Residencies. The BLAST Register is arranged by creative practitioner and discipline. It includes required training, examples of previous work and relevant experience in an educational and community context. Schools and YouthReach centres may apply for a creative practitioner to work with them in their school. In excess of 600 creative practitioners are currently trained and registered on the Register of Creative Practitioners managed by the ESCI network nationally. Local ESCs administer the payment for creative practitioners which removes the administrative burden on teachers and schools.
Garda vetting for creative practitioners for BLAST Residencies is organised by the local ESC. Some schools may separately request that creative practitioners apply for Garda vetting specifically to work in their school.
Creative Practitioners will have completed Tusla Children First Training and submitted their certificate to the local ESC. Schools must follow and make creative practitioners aware of their school’s / centre’s Child Protection Procedures, Safeguarding Statement and Designated Liaison Person.
Creative practitioners on the BLAST Register of Creative Practitioners have been trained and have engaged in school residencies under the Teacher-Artist Partnership+ (TAP+) professional development initiative which is approved and led by the Department of Education.
Creative practitioners from any creative discipline who have been trained in partnership working with schools will be registered with the 21 full-time ESCI. Creative disciplines include visual arts, crafts, music, dance, drama, literature, heritage and film. Creative disciplines will be expanded as the residency programme develops over the next number of years.
Schools and YouthReach Centres that apply for BLAST:
- Must be in the catchment of a local full-time Education Support Centre.
- Fee Paying Schools that are not in the free – education scheme cannot apply for BLAST Residencies.
- Schools in receipt of capitation grants from the Department of Education or Education and Training Boards scheme can apply for BLAST.
- Each School may submit only one application.
- Schools/Centres make their own selection of creative practices available on the BLAST Register of Creative Practitioners.
- Please note that schools may not always be partnered with their choice of creative practices - this is due to practitioner availability and demand.
Once a school / centre is approved for a BLAST Residency, the school has a commitment to the creative practitioner, who will have earmarked time for the project and could potentially turn down other work in favour of the Residency
The creative practitioners fee is €1,100 per residency. This is funded by the Department of Education via the ESCI network. Local ESCs pay the creative practitioner in accordance with agreed guidelines after the creative practitioner and teacher/school project completion processes have been submitted. The school principal must support and facilitate in-school residencies, by approving and contributing to the BLAST application, and signing the final invoice. In certain instances, the BLAST residency fee may be paid in two instalments of €550 with the prior agreement of the ESC and creative practitioner.
The creative practitioner will be funded for 20 contact hours, including 6 hours for planning/development/evaluation. Participating schools must pay for materials associated with the project and also for any fees relating to documentation of the project (photographs, film, recording etc) and any other costs involved including insurance costs. Funded residencies can be delivered throughout the academic year commencing in September in the year the residency was approved.
Schools must acknowledge the Department of Education, Creative Ireland, their local ESC and National Arts in Education office in publicity relating to the project.
Successful schools will be required to sign a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with their local ESC accepting the terms of the BLAST Residency prior to the commencement. Successful residencies can begin once written notification from the ESC has been received, Garda vetting is in place and this has been communicated to the school.
It is a specific condition of BLAST residencies that a teacher, creative practitioner and students work closely and collaborate to plan, develop and evaluate the residency.
Teachers must be present at all times with the creative practitioner while working with students in the school and to enhance further collaborative partnership.
BLAST is an initiative of the Creative Youth Plan 2023-2027 and is supported by the Creative Youth Evaluation Guidelines and the associated Post Project Forms for schools and creative practitioners (links issued by the ESCI network). BLAST Residency Guidelines will be issued to all successful applicants in September 2025. These guidelines will contain all the required information to support schools and creative practitioners to carry out their BLAST Residencies.
In instances where an ESC and creative practitioner have agreed to split the residency fee, the second instalment will be paid following the submission of required documentation outlined in the BLAST Residency Guidelines.
Images submitted by schools and/or creative practitioners on completing the project may be used to promote creativity and arts in education through print and other media including social media. It is therefore essential that schools ensure that informed consent is in place, and that NAE Consent Forms and have been submitted for any images of students returned to the local ESC.
BLAST applications will be assessed by the local ESC. Applications will be assessed and scored against the following criteria.
The extent to which the application demonstrates how participation in a BLAST Residency will support teachers and the school community in embedding creativity in learning and teaching.
The extent to which the application demonstrates the capacity and commitment for the school and school leadership to fully support the BLAST Residency, to celebrate and share its learning and outcomes.
The extent to which the principal and school leadership will support teachers in a BLAST Residency?
The extent to which the collaborating teacher will share and disseminate professional learning through the BLAST Residency?
This includes the extent to which the application demonstrates a clear plan for ensuring children and young people play a central role in planning, implementing and evaluating their BLAST Residency
Arts in Education Residency Initiative in Primary and Post-primary Schools Guidelines
2025
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Outline of the online BLAST 2025/26 Application Form
● General information
● Local Education Support Centre
● School Name
● School Roll Number: use this link to find participating schools’ Roll Number & Eircode: here
● School Address & Eircode
● School Email Address
● School Contact Number
● School Type
● School Principal’s Name
● Lead Teacher Name
● Lead Teacher's Email
● Lead Teacher's Contact Number
● Proposed Timeframe of Project
Please note the maximum word count in responses below. Each response over the allocated word count will incur a penalty.
How will a BLAST Residency support you (as a teacher) / your school in embedding Creativity in learning and teaching? (200 words maximum)
Tell us about the capacity and commitment for the school and school leadership to fully support the BLAST Residency, to celebrate and share its learning and outcomes.
Principals : How will you support teachers in a BLAST Residency? (200 words maximum)
Teachers : How will you share and disseminate professional learning through your BLAST Residency? (200 words maximum)
Children and Young people must play a central role in decision making. Please propose how you will facilitate this? See Hub na nÓg - Young Voices in Decision-making (hubnanog.ie) for guidance.
Creative Youth aims to provide young people with enhanced opportunities to engage with creativity in a way that supports greater equity of access. It prioritises children and young people who may experience low levels of participation in creativity, culture and the arts. See Creative Youth Plan p.41
Will your BLAST project aim to support any of the following cohorts of children and young people?
• DEIS
• Youth Reach Centre
• All boys school
• Special Education School
• Project will be based in Special Education Class only
• Other (please advise)
Applications will open on 18 March 2025. The closing date is 10 April 2025.
BLAST 2025/26 Application Form apply here
Please note only online applications will be accepted.