
‘I AM BABA’ by Anna Newell with David Goodall. Photo: Neil Harrison
Call for
Applications
The
Arts Council is inviting applications from experienced artists and arts
organisations to participate in the pilot scheme. Selected artists and arts
organisations will receive funding to work with a minimum of two relevant
settings, and to form part of a research group that will inform the development
of policy and resources in this area. Artists and arts
organisations must have a track record of delivering high quality arts in early
learning and care.
The
Call for Applications is available here.
The Projected Income and Expenditure form can be downloaded here.
The
deadline for applications is Thursday 2 March at 5:30pm.
In order to make an application, you
must be registered for an Arts Council Online
Services (OLS) account. If you do not have one, you can sign up for one here.
Please note that it can take up to five working days for a new user to be registered on OLS, so give yourself plenty of time to do this ahead of the deadline
.
For
further information, please contact ypce@artscouncil.ie.
The Arts Council is partnering with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability and Youth (DCEDIY) to pilot an Arts in Early learning & Care (ELC) and School Age Childcare (SAC) scheme. The pilot will be overseen by a steering group made up of representatives from the DCEDIY Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare Division, the Department of Education Early Years Inspectorate, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media (DTCAGSM), and the Arts Council.
The pilot aims to support professional artists and arts organisations to work with Early Learning & Care (ELC)/ School Age Childcare (SAC) settings, and will incorporate the exploration and development of Draft Principles for Engaging with the Arts in Early Learning and Care recently published by the DCEDIY. It aims to include children aged 0-3, 4-6 and 7+ across a variety of settings in different parts of the country. It is anticipated that a total of eight settings, and up to four artists/arts organisations will participate in the pilot.
More on early childhood arts
The Arts Council has been supporting artists and practitioners
working in early years arts for more than a decade. In 2012, the Arts Council
commissioned its first research report in this area, Early
Childhood Arts: Three Perspectives, which included an overview of Early
Childhood Education and Care policy and provision in Ireland, a background
paper on the role of the arts in early childhood learning and development, and
an international perspective on best practice in Early Childhood Arts. The
paper documented eight early childhood arts projects as part of the research
and provides useful insights on what was then an emerging area of practice.
Practitioners in Ireland have since continued to develop their practice in this
area through a wide variety of projects and initiatives.
Research regarding arts
and cultural participation among children confirms the
benefits to children when they engage in the arts in their early years, and
also indicates that patterns of participation in the arts are set from a very
young age. The research points to the important role early years settings can
play in ensuring children from diverse backgrounds and different genders have
opportunities to participate freely in the arts. The Arts Council is delighted
to continue to partner with others to support and promote the arts in early
years. Please see information about our Residencies, as a related
initiative in this area.