Education Minister Paul Givan and the Minister for Education and Youth, Hildegarde Naughton, have launched the second phase of the Creative Connections pilot programme. The initiative, which enhances arts-based learning in schools, will be extended across Northern Ireland and Ireland for the 2026/27 academic year to include an additional 12 schools.

Part of the Shared Island Initiative, Creative Connections is designed to tackle educational disadvantage by integrating art, music, drama, and literature into the curriculum. Since its inception in February 2025, the programme has already paired 20 schools in Northern Ireland with 20 in Ireland, alongside 40 creative practitioners, to foster innovation and collaborative learning. Minister Paul Givan highlighted the benefits of the programme during the launch: "Creative Connections offers schools a valuable opportunity to explore learning in ways that are imaginative, inclusive and engaging, supporting wellbeing for children and young people. It offers opportunities that support schools to work with professional creative practitioners and with one another across countries. The programme helps foster innovation, shared learning and stronger connections between educational communities and offers opportunities that young people may not otherwise experience.

"It is encouraging to hear the positive impact that the programme has had to date and I am pleased to support this next phase of the programme. I have no doubt it will create further opportunities for children and young people across Northern Ireland and Ireland and I would encourage schools to express an interest in participating."

Minister Hildegarde Naughton added: "Creative Connections is a powerful example of how creativity can enrich teaching and learning and open new opportunities for children and young people.

"I am pleased to see the continued expansion of the Creative Connections programme now expanding on an all-island basis, through the Shared Island Initiative, bringing schools together from across Northern Ireland and Ireland through creativity, collaboration and the arts. This next phase will help strengthen connections between school communities, support children and young people to express themselves, and ensure Being Creative, a key competency in curriculum from Primary school through to Senior cycle continues to play an important role in education."

Schools interested in participating in the upcoming phase can submit expressions of interest starting today. The application window is scheduled to close on 6 May 2026.