Creatives in Schools (CiS) was an arts programme that ran from 2019 to 2024. It funded schools and kura to partner with professional artists and creative practitioners to share specialist artistic knowledge and creative practice with ākonga and students. The programme enabled tamariki and rangatahi throughout Aotearoa to participate in high-quality, arts-rich experiences in their schools, in collaboration with professional artists. It was a win for often stretched teachers, who could partner with professional creatives to deliver these experiences. As well as empowering students and assisting and providing professional development to teachers, Creatives in Schools provided vital employment to hundreds of New Zealand artists.

The programme was unexpectedly axed by the government in June 2024, despite consistently positive evaluations, including a 2023 report that stated: "Creatives in Schools provides a powerful example of how to deliver to the school arts curriculum in the 21st century… Creatives in Schools continues to deliver important benefits to ākonga and students, schools, creatives and communities."(https://www.pragmatica.nz/creatives-in-schools/

Young people need access to the arts more than ever in this ever-changing world. CiS was a fantastic programme that worked on many levels. We call on the current government to reinstate the Creative in Schools Programme.

"Playfulness and imagination aren't just essential for children's development, but for our world. Empathy is a basic, and that's why the imagination is so important. To be able to imagine someone other than yourself and what their life is, is so vitally important in our times now." – Professor Peter O’Connor.