Minister of State with responsibility for disability, Anne Rabbitte T.D. today launched the annual Someone Like Me primary schools’ art competition, inviting Wexford primary schools to take part.
Now in its ninth year, the competition, which is organised and funded by the National Disability Authority, enables Ireland’s young people to learn about inclusivity and diversity through the medium of art.
Pupils and their teachers across the country will be provided with specially written cross-curricular learning and teaching materials to help them develop an awareness and understanding of visible and non-visible disabilities, drawing on their own personal experiences of disability in a bid to help create a more inclusive society. These materials are also available to download on the Someone Like Me website, www.someonelikemecompeition.ie.
Minister Rabbitte encouraged primary school principals, teachers and pupils alike to take part in this year’s competition as a way of ensuring acceptance and inclusion of disabled children from an early age.
The Minister stated that: “We have just launched the new Autism Innovation Strategy. The vision for this Strategy is to provide the building blocks for a more inclusive society, where autistic people are understood and have equity of opportunity to participate in cultural, social and economic life and lead meaningful and fulfilled lives as valued members of the community. In this way, the Autism Innovation Strategy is firmly rooted in the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
“In education settings there has been a steady increase in the number of autistic children availing of special classes and special school places. Based on preliminary data for the 2023-2024 school year, there are more than 14,500 students in autism classes in mainstream primary and post-primary schools. This represents approximately 1.5% of the overall primary and post-primary pupil population.
“One of the four pillars of the strategy is to develop an autism affirming society so building acceptance and understanding is crucial to achieve this. The Someone Like Me art competition is an important way of building this acceptance and understanding of all disabilities, including autism, among the primary school community.
Director of the National Disability Authority, Dr Aideen Hartney said:
“Having attended last year’s award ceremony and being in awe of the amazing art pieces on display I am very much looking forward to this year’s competition. Awareness of disability is a stepping stone in the journey to disability equality and is necessary to create a vision for a more inclusive education system and society.”
The Someone Like Me art competition is now firmly established in the primary school calendar as an annual celebration of the things that unite children of all abilities, and as a way of developing more positive attitudes towards persons with disabilities.
The competition, which offers a range of prizes up to the value of €1,250, is open to all primary school pupils from junior infants to sixth class and entries are welcome from individual pupils, a class or even a whole school as a combined effort. Entries can come in all shapes and sizes and can be anything from a poster or collage to a papier-mâché or mixed media sculpture.
There will be a junior and senior category winner in every county, along with an overall national winner. To be in with a chance to win Creative Care Packages, schools should submit their early entries by October 25th. The final deadline for entries is November 15th
More information can be found at www.someonelikemecompetition.ie
