How the programme works
Schools, kura, and creative(s) work together to plan a project and then submit a joint proposal (application). If your application is successful, schools and kura will work with the creative to deliver the creative experience for students and ākonga. The project must run for between 8 and 20 weeks. Up to three creatives can work on a Creatives in Schools project.
While the application is a joint one, the school or kura will be the ‘lead applicant’. This means the school will submit the application and have overall responsibility for delivering the project.
How creatives will be involved
To participate in a Creatives in Schools project, you must be a practising professional artist or creative practitioner with a track record of experience and success. Alternatively, you can undertake a project in partnership with another creative with a strong track record.
A track record of experience and success means you have:
- achieved recognition from peers or experts, OR
- achieved a degree of critical success, OR
- previously delivered a successful project with a school or kura, OR
- undergone specialist training or have significant practical experience.
As a creative or group of creatives, there are two ways you can get involved in the Creatives in Schools programme:
- If you already have a relationship with a school or kura, get in touch with them to see if they would like to develop a joint project and proposal with you. They can also help you with the expression of interest . (This is not mandatory to submit.)
- If you don’t have a relationship with a school or kura, or if you would like to make yourself available to a range of schools, then you can submit this expression of interest (EoI). The information you provide will be made available to kura and schools as a brief, anonymous profile on the Arts Online website . A school or kura can then request your contact details from the Ministry of Education and get in touch with you to plan a joint proposal.
Please note:
- Submitting this EoI doesn’t guarantee that you will be successful in obtaining a project/funding. You are just making yourself available to kura and schools who may be interested in working with you. The best way moving forward is to submit this EoI and contact kura and schools in your region to see if they are interested in partnering on a creative project.
- It is not mandatory to submit this EoI; you can still apply for Creatives in Schools funding with a school and kura if you already have a relationship with them.
- Art organisations, companies, and/or individuals can also apply for Creatives in Schools funding and submit this EoI. Creative organisations or companies will have to identify the individual creative(s) that will work with the school and kura and agree in advance how the creative fee of $10,000 will be given to the creative(s) if they are funded.
Application selection criteria
Your joint application will be reviewed by an assessment panel with representatives from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Culture and Heritage, Creative New Zealand, and independent creative practitioners.
To be accepted as a Creatives in Schools project, your application must deliver on the programme’s strategic outcomes and demonstrate:
- a clear focus on improving the wellbeing of your students and ākonga
- a strong focus on the key competencies of The New Zealand Curriculum or Ngā Uara me Ngā Waiaro of Te Marautanga o Aotearoa
- how the project supports local curriculum/marau ā-kura planning and your programme for the arts/ngā toi learning area
- your capability and capacity to ensure strong support for the project
- how the project connects with and is valued by whānau and the community.
Four strategic outcomes
Projects supported through Creatives in Schools must deliver outcomes for students/ākonga, teachers/kaiako, family/whānau and creative practitioners. A strong project will deliver on all four.
1: Outcomes for ākonga
As a result of participating in the project, ākonga will:
- have their mental wellbeing supported through
- the opportunity to express themselves creatively
- a sense of personal achievement and fulfilment from their creative experience
- develop key competencies:
- thinking
- using language, symbols, and texts
- managing self
- relating to others
- participating and contributing
- be better informed and engaged with career opportunities and pathways in the arts and creative industries.
2: Outcomes for kaiako, kura and schools
As a result of participating in the project, kaiako, schools, and kura will:
- be more confident in designing teaching and learning projects that engage student and ākonga creativity, across the learning areas of the curriculum
- build or strengthen productive partnerships with parents, whānau, and communities.
3: Outcomes for parents and whānau
As a result of the project, parents and whānau will:
- have opportunities for active participation and planning in student and ākonga creative learning experiences
- become more supportive of creative pathways for ākonga.
4: Outcomes for artists and creative practitioners
As a result of participating in the project, artists and creative practitioners will:
- develop personally and professionally as creative practitioners by engaging with ākonga, kaiako, parents, families, and whānau
- have a more sustainable career and a portfolio that reflects their specialist creative expertise.
Breakdown of funding
Schools and creatives can jointly apply for up to $17,000 per project. The table below shows the funding allocation.
| Allowance per project | Description |
| $10,000 | Total remuneration for creative practitioner/s is $10,000. This covers 100 contact hours, including contact time with ākonga and planning time with kaiako. We expect a minimum of 85 contact hours with ākonga. It also covers any additional time that the creative professional or professionals may spend:
Where more than one creative practitioner is involved in the project this fee can be split between the creatives, however the number of creative/student contact hours should still total a minimum of 85. For example, two creatives delivering 50 contact hours each will total 100 creative/student hours with each creative receiving $5,000. |
| Up to $4,000 | Reimbursement for the school(s) or kura, covering planning and liaison with the creative, teacher and kaiako release time, and monitoring and reporting on the project. |
| Up to $3,000 | Reimbursement for the school(s) or kura for project materials and (if applicable) travel costs. |
Note:
If your project exceeds $17,000 funding, it is assumed your school or kura will cover any additional amount.
Creatives in Schools schedule
Funding allowed 568 projects to take place in New Zealand schools and kura from 2020 to 2023. The table below shows the number of projects funded from 2020-2023.
| Calendar year Terms 1–4 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| Expected number of projects | 34 Funded | 143 Funded | 175 Funded | 216 Selected | 153 |
| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Police vetting
Note that all professional artists and creative practitioners who participate in Creatives in Schools, must undergo a Police Vetting Check . The school or kura you are working with will organise the check as part of their standard protocols under the Children’s Act 2014. If you do not ‘pass’ the vetting, your profile will be removed from Arts Online (if you are selected from our website), and you won’t be able to participate in that project. In case a creative is unsuccessful in police vetting, kura and schools will have the option to change their creative practitioner by following the approval process with the Creatives in Schools admin team.
For further information, contact [email protected]
Page last updated: 28 June 2023
Watch this space for future updates.