We are pleased to inform you that the Department of Education have announced the opening of a new round of Creative Clusters.  The deadline for receipt of applications is Friday 14^th May 2021.

Each Creative Cluster will receive grant funding of €3,000 per school over a two-year period to implement their project in the 2021–2023 school years (e.g. a cluster of 3 schools would receive €9,000 over two years while a cluster of 5 schools would receive €15,000 over two years). Clusters will receive 50% of the total grant funding in Year 1, with the second 50% being provided in Year 2.  In addition, but separate to the grant funding, all successful clusters are further supported with: A fully paid Creative Cluster Facilitator; paid Teacher Substitution to attend training and meetings; room hire, travel & subsistence.

Please see the following link for more details: Creative Clusters  or click https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/f0342-schools-excellence-fund-creative-clusters/#guidelines-2021

Schools can apply as part of a cluster which may be an existing network of schools.

A school nearing the end of year 2 of an existing Creative Cluster can reapply to be in a new cluster where the other schools in the new cluster have not participated before.

Schools nearing the end of 2 years with Creative Schools

are eligible to apply.

The local Teacher Education Support Centre will have a key role in identifying and supporting a Creative Cluster for their local area.

A total of 21 Creative Clusters will be selected nationally - One successful Creative Cluster per Education Centre.

The application form is attached as are guidelines on how to complete it.  Completed Applications should be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

Any queries, please contact me at the above email address  or email Arts in Education Administration This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Creative Clusters is an initiative of the Department of Education, led by and in partnership with the 21 full-time Teacher Education Centres (Education Support Centres Ireland - ESCI) and funded through the Schools Excellence Fund.

Attachments:

New creative cluster application form April 2021.pdf	[ ]	669 kB
New creative cluster guidelines April 2021.pdf	[ ]	956 kB

Mata sa Rang is an in-class approach to the assessment and teaching of number using Maths Recovery approaches. It has been developed by Maths Recovery Ireland. 

With the current COVID restrictions, we have been unable to deliver Mata sa Rang through the Education Centres this year. However, we are pleased to offer an online version in the last term (further info below). 

Two modules will be available in late April:

Module 1 is aimed broadly at 1st class.
Module 2 is aimed broadly at 3rd class.

Each module:

• will take place over 4 weeks (one session per week) starting in late April 2021
• will have a mix of pre-recorded content, in-school tasks, 30-40 min live online sessions and a brief reflective exercise for each session.
• will cost €90 per teacher, which covers the required book, materials, tutor costs, and delivery costs. 

Please see registration link below for this OLCS training:

Register in advance for this webinar

https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_CsVDJp58STychPbCwsrmsw

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.