Press release
Minister Foley approves the establishment of three new Local Creative Youth Partnerships
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Published on
Last updated on
Minister for Education Norma Foley TD today approved the establishment of the next three Local Creative Youth Partnerships (LCYP) in Cork ETB, Mayo Sligo Leitrim ETB and Galway Roscommon ETB regions. These new partnerships, which will commence in mid-2021 brings the total number of LCYPs to six.
The LCYPs combine a wide range of human and infrastructural resources to develop and provide out-of-school creative activities for children and young people that complement and work with the formal school settings.
The partnerships will bring together the ETBs (including youth officers and other relevant personnel), local authorities (arts officers, Creative Ireland coordinators, heritage officers, librarians etc.), education centres, representatives of the local early years’ sector (County Childcare Committee), representatives of the non-formal education sector, relevant Government Department representatives and local cultural and creativity resources.
Minister Foley said:
“I have been very impressed by the work of the three existing pilot LCYPs since they were established in 2019. The target audience for all LCYP programmes and initiatives is children and young people in local communities (in ‘out of school’ settings with a particular focus on those who are marginalised or experience disadvantage.
“I am pleased to now be able to double the number of LCYPs, providing the opportunity to access arts and creativity outside the classroom to more children and young people.
While the LCYPs are a Department of Education-led initiative, this year Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport, Media, Catherine Martin TD has also made funding available to support the initiative.
Minister Martin said:
“LCYPs are considered to be one of the main initiatives in the “out of school” strand of the Creative Youth programme. LCYPs are expected to focus primarily on collaborating with the youth sector, Youthreach Centres, the Early Years’ sector and other sectors/organisations that engage in creative and cultural activities and programmes or other out of school programmes with children and young people”.
Each LCYP is afforded support by Hub na nÓg, which is a service of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) and a centre of excellence on children and young people’s participation in decision-making. One of the criteria for funding for the LCYPs is that children and young people are involved in decision-making on all aspects of the development, implementation and evaluation of the annual programme.
LCYPs are required to involve children and young people in decision-making from the outset. This should include decision-making in the determining of a LCYP’s objectives, actions and intended outcomes. The views of children and young people on existing local provision, access to creative opportunities, gaps in provision and the new creative opportunities they would like, for inclusion in the annual programme of each LCYP. The planning tool for LCYP development will be based on the revised Lundy model and National Implementation Framework for Child Participation Planning Checklist.
Both Ministers wished the three new LCYPs every success in their work going forward.
Local Creative Youth Partnerships
Local Creative Youth Partnerships are a pilot initiative of the Department of Education (DoE) and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) through Hub na nÓg, led by and in partnership with the three existing education and training boards (ETBs). LCYPs are an important initiative of the Creative Youth Plan to enable the creative potential of every child and young person. LCYPs are intended to combine a wide range of human and infrastructural resources to develop and provide out-of-school creative activities for children and young people that complement and work with the formal school settings in a non-mainstream manner.
Local Creative Youth Partnerships
The Creative Youth Plan committed to establishing “Local Creative Youth Partnerships” (LCYPs) on a pilot basis in ETB areas. These partnerships have formed networks which enable information sharing and collaboration between local creative youth service providers to bring about better use of existing resources, practices and initiatives in an ETB area. They are providing an opportunity for the ETB to forge new partnerships and collaborations with their local cultural and creativity communities.
Three LCYPs have been piloted since 2019 in following an application process:
• Kerry Education and Training Board
• Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board
• Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board
The Creative Ireland Programme
The Creative Ireland Programme is a five-year 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, Culutre, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport 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.