Moving on Up is a five day educational and theme-based arts programme for young people.

It is designed for young people who are at risk of leaving early school and are making the transition from sixth class in primary school to first year in secondary school. It normally takes place every August.

Through visual art and drama, the programme seeks to enable young participants to explore and examine themes and issues of relevance and concern to them prior to beginning their journey into the second level educational system.

The programme covers the following themes:

• Hopes and Fears: Participants explore the hopes and fears they might experience moving from primary school to secondary school.
• Exploding Myths: Those on the programme explore the misconceptions young people have about secondary school - this supports a smoother transition process from primary school.
• Creating Empathy: A child's feeling of isolation can result in them believing that they are the only ones who might experience loneliness or fear in relation to the new experiences that lie ahead. To address this, the programme lets children explore the context of secondary school from a broad range of perspectives including teachers, fellow students and parents.
• Roles and Responsibilities: The consequences of actions and what is expected of a child in secondary are also covered.

Moving on Up came about in January 2006, when Common Ground was asked by the Fatima Homework Club to work with a group of young people who were currently attending their service and would be making the transition from primary to secondary school in September 2006.

A working group comprising three of the homework clubs in the area and the Canal Communities Regional Youth Service was established by Common Ground and the Fatima Homework Club. It explored the themes and issues that the co-ordinators of the homework clubs felt that the Moving on Up arts programme could address.

Phase One of this programme was piloted in August 2006 with seven young people (six boys and one girl) who attended the Fatima Homework Club in Rialto, Dublin 8. The programme ran over four consecutive days.

Phase Two of the programme was piloted in August 2007 and was expanded to run in both Fatima and Dolphin House Homework Clubs. The programme was attended by five young people (two boys and three girls) in Fatima and by five young people (three boys and two girls) in Dolphin House. It was also extended to run over five consecutive days.

Phase Three of the programme was piloted in August 2008. Once again, the Dolphin House and Fatima Homework Clubs participated in the programme as well as the Youth Project at St Michael's Estate. The programme and timeframe was specifically honed to meet the needs of each individual club.

Follow-up sessions for young people who took part in the 2008 programme were held in October 2008.