During our recent annual Noosa MP Community Survey, some residents raised the need for greater access and affordability for arts and creative skills classes for our youth. Following our enquiries, the Queensland Minister for Education and Arts provided the below information in italics on the current programs in place.
The Department of Education recognises the importance of arts education for all Queensland students and promotes participation in quality arts experiences and practices that enrich students’ social and emotional wellbeing. In Queensland state schools, teaching and learning in The Arts occurs from Prep through to Year 12 through the Australian Curriculum.
For Prep to Year 10, The Arts provides opportunities for students to study Dance, Drama, Media Arts, Music and Visual Arts. The distinctive knowledges and practices of each of The Arts subjects in the Australian Curriculum enables the exploration of cultures and histories, strengthens understandings of Australia’s cultural diversity and develops critical intercultural understandings.
The department’s Instrumental Music Curriculum is a Recognised Study within the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority’s Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) system, allowing Years 11 and 12 students to obtain credit towards their QCE.
Furthermore, the department’s Regional School Industry Partnership program, which is a commitment under the Good people. Good jobs: Queensland Workforce Strategy 2022-2032, focuses on local school-industry partnerships and supporting students’ school-to-work transitions, including careers in the arts.
Schools also form partnerships with arts organisations, creative industries and arts professionals to complement provision of The Arts curriculum. Principals, in consultation with their school community, make decisions about the educational programs to offer and partnerships that best suit the context and needs of their students.
In addition, Arts Queensland delivers a variety of funding programs that directly support the delivery of creative experiences that engage young people. The Regional and Remote Schools Touring Service provides high-quality, curriculum aligned arts experiences to young people in classrooms across Queensland. This service will expand in 2025 to support schools in regions such as Noosa Shire Council, with the launch of Queensland Artbook, an online platform that connects all Queensland schools and educators with high-quality touring product and local artists and arts organisations.
Arts and cultural organisations funded by Arts Queensland currently produce more than 50 programs targeting youth, education or creative training for young people. Further, the State’s leading arts companies also support regional communities through touring productions and provide creative training opportunities including the Queensland Symphony Orchestra Academy, the Queensland Ballet Academy, the Circa Contemporary Circus Academy and La Boite Theatre’s Youth Development program.
Creative community programs for youth are also co-funded by Arts Queensland in partnership with local councils, including Noosa Shire Council through the Regional Arts Development Fund.
Examples of recent projects delivered through Arts Queensland funding in 2024 include:
- The Young Mannheim Symphonist Program, delivered by the Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra to support emerging and accomplished music students aged 13 to 23, as well as curriculum-aligned concerts in Noosa schools and a Noosaville concert; and
- The Dhakkan/Mundagudda and Maroochy Project, a cultural arts project empowering First Nations youth through workshops, mentoring and training, enabling youth to showcase talents through dance, song, music and visual arts at community events including in Cooroy and Boreen Point.
We would appreciate any feedback on the above information to further inform our advocacy in this space. Please email our office via noosa@parliament.qld.gov.au.
Further information
For further information on the Regional and Remote Schools Touring Service, please visit www.arts.qld.gov.au/projects-and-initiatives/schools-touring-services.
For a list of the arts and cultural organisations currently funded by Arts Queensland visit www.arts.qld.gov.au/aq-funding/organisations-fund-2022-2025.
For further information on The Arts in the Queensland Curriculum, please visit www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/p-10/aciq/version-8/learning-areas/the-arts, and to view the Instrumental Music Curriculum visit https://education.qld.gov.au/curriculums/Documents/instrumental-music-curriculum.pdf.
For direct advocacy regarding matters related to the Education and Arts contact the Queensland Minister for Education and Arts via education@ministerial.qld.gov.au. Please cc’ our office in via noosa@parliament.qld.gov.au and forward any response you receive to us.
For the full results of the recent Noosa MP Community Survey, please visit www.sandybolton.com/noosa-mp-community-survey-results-2024-2025/.
Updates on many local matters are available on Noosa 360 at www.sandybolton.com/noosa360. To receive information straight to your email inbox, please subscribe to our monthly newsletter via www.sandybolton.com/newsletters. This also ensures you receive any future Noosa related surveys or polls.