The National Museum Accreditation Scheme (run by the Arts Council) sets nationally agreed standards for museums in the UK. There are currently just under 1,800 museums participating in the scheme, demonstrating their commitment to managing collections effectively for the enjoyment and benefit of users. The scheme is designed to show how a Museum manages and develops its collection for the enjoyment and benefit of the community. The scheme, which is renewable on a three-year basis, was established in 1988 has supported museums across the UK to focus on standards and identify areas for development. The scheme is regarded as one of the most innovative and effective developments in the museum sector. It has led the way in raising museum standards in the UK, and has been used as a model and source of inspiration for similar schemes overseas.
The scheme is administered by Arts Council England in partnership with CyMAL: Museum, Archives, Libraries Wales; Museums Galleries Scotland and the Northern Ireland Museum Council.
Accredited museums have a responsibility to keep their assessing organisation informed of any changes likely to impact on the museum's Accreditation status.
Updated Accreditation standard
People's expectations of museums have increased. Museums' reliance on volunteer support has also increased. Environmental and operational challenges continue to grow.
Accreditation has recently been developed to keep pace with the times, to help museums develop their resilience through effective forward planning, to balance aspects of collection management and to encourage all museums to be responsive to user needs and expectations.
The benefits of taking part in the Accreditation Scheme
Accreditation enables museums and governing bodies to assess their current performance, and it supports them in planning and developing their services. It helps with:
Performance
It is quality standard that serves as an authoritative benchmark for assessing performance, rewarding achievement and driving improvement.
Profile
It raises awareness and understanding of museums, building confidence and credibility both within the governing body and among the public.
People
It helps museums to improve their focus on meeting users' needs and interests and developing their workforce.
Partnerships
It helps museums to examine their services and to encourage joint working within and between organisations.
Planning
It helps with forward planning by formalising procedures and policies.
Patronage
It demonstrates that a museum has met a national standard, which strengthens applications for public and private funding and gives investors confidence in the organisation.
To contact the Accreditation Service email accreditation@artscouncil.org.uk.
You can use the accreditation to filter a search by selecting it in the Accreditations section of the Search List Filters.
This beautiful medieval manor sits in peaceful countryside. Cross the upper moat, passing barns, gatehouse and delightful parish church to enjoy fine oriel windows and the soldiers, griffons and monkey adorning the rooftops.
Romantic gardens offer terraces, topiary houses, gazebo, lily pond, roses and views across the spring-fed fishpond.
The Grant Museum of Zoology is the only remaining university zoological museum in London. It houses around 67,000 specimens, covering the whole Animal Kingdom.
A grand place for a truly entertaining day out.
The Yorkshire Air Museum is the largest independent air museum in Britain and is also the location of The Allied Air Forces Memorial. It is a Registered Charity and nationally accredited museum (No.66).
Expect the unexpected including a space toiler, a seven-toed cat and a pregnant man.
Delve into the archives of scientific geniuses such as James Lovelock or peer into the future of the latest psychological advances.
The National Waterfront Museum (Amgueddfa Genedlaethol y Glannau) tells the story of industry and innovation in Wales, now and over the last 300 years.
The Leighton Buzzard Railway is one of the last survivors of the hundreds of 2 foot (610mm) gauge light railways built in Britain for industrial use. It is believed to be the only remaining line which owed its existence to the ready availability of surplus materials and equipment from the First World War battlefield supply lines.
Nestled in a medieval deer-park, Knole is vast, complex and full of hidden treasures. Originally an Archbishop’s palace, the house passed through royal hands to the Sackville family – Knole’s inhabitants from 1603 to today.
A passion for tradition and impressing guests inspired one man to transform a run-down country house and desolate landscape.
Nestled in the heart of rural Sussex, Monk’s House is a tranquil 17th-century weatherboarded cottage inhabited by Leonard and the novelist Virginia Woolf from 1919 until Leonards death in 1969.
Get to know Leonard and Virginia Woolf and the wider Bloomsbury Group by visiting Monk's House. Full of their favourite things, the house appears as if they just stepped out for a walk.
Leighton House Museum is the former home of the Victorian artist Frederic, Lord Leighton (1830-1896). The only purpose-built studio-house open to the public in the United Kingdom, it is one of the most remarkable buildings of the nineteenth century, containing a fascinatingcollection of paintings and sculpture by Leighton and his contemporaries.
The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is the oldest medical college in England. Its collections relate to the history of the College, and to the physician's profession.
The Anaesthesia Heritage Centre at the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland was founded from a donation by A Charles King but has since embraced numerous contributions. The collection encompasses the entire history of anaesthesia, from Morton's demonstration of ether inhalation in 1846 to modern anaesthetic machines and appliances still in use today.
The Museum of the Order of St John tells a unique and fascinating story — the story of the Order of St John.
From a former fort to the holiday home of a wealthy Edwardian bachelor seeking a quiet retreat from London, the idyllic location of Lindisfarne Castle on Holy Island has intrigued and inspired for centuries.
Bethlem Royal Hospital was founded in 1247 and was the first institution in the UK to specialise in the care of the mentally ill. The hospital continues to provide in-patient care as part of the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and has been based since 1930 in the outer London suburbs.
The British Red Cross runs a museum containing a variety of materials from its beginnings in 1870 to its modern activities. The collections include posters, photographs, badges worn by Society members, medals awarded to Society members, medical equipment and fundraising materials and contain a fascinating portrait of our humanitarian work.
Inside one of Wrexham's landmark buildings, Wrexham County Borough Museum is the starting point for discovering the eventful history of this region on the English-Welsh border.
The museum's displays and collections tell the stories of Wrexham County Borough and its people from prehistory up to the present day.
‘Logically it should not still be standing up!’
Seeing the tumbling architecture of Little Moreton Hall for the first time, engineers in 1990 could not believe their eyes. Fortunately this timber-framed building, curled around with a scenic moat, has defied logic for over 500 years.
Discover something new
There is something for all the family at this warm and welcoming 18th-century property, the former home of the Earls of Enniskillen. The house enjoys a peaceful setting in west Fermanagh, with a dramatic backdrop of mountains and forests. There are glorious walks to enjoy, as well as fine vistas and play areas. There is even a charming walled garden.
The Wallace Collection is a national museum in an historic London town house, which displays the wonderful works of art collected in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by the first four Marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace, the son of the 4th Marquess. It was bequeathed to the British nation by Sir Richard's widow, Lady Wallace, in 1897.
Begun in 1869, and a rare survival of the work of the eccentric designer William Burges, Knightshayes is an extraordinary gothic delight, with rich Victorian interiors, with far reaching views of the Exe Valley and Tiverton.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain has had a museum collection since 1842, which continues to be managed by the RPS today at its offices in Lambeth. The exhibits cover all aspects of British pharmacy history, and include:
Really welcoming to children: indoors they can play with vintage toys and tinkle on the grand piano, plus explore the cellars and attics; outside there are several play areas and an orienteering course, plus bee hives, Iron Age Hill Fort and other structures to find and explore.
Croft Castle boasts over 1,500 acres of surrounding farm, park and woodland to explore.
The Bushcraft Company offer residential school trips with a difference, taking students into the wild and giving them real back-to-nature experiences they will never forget.
A viral video shows a black girl being assaulted by a white woman in a corridor.
Police in Iceland are investigating after a British schoolgirl was slapped and chased by a tour guide in a hotel corridor.
The schoolgirl, 13, who attended Harris Girls’ Academy, was assaulted whilst on a school trip to Iceland to see the Northern Lights. The incident occurred at Hotel Örk, Hveragerdi on 13th October.