Primary schools in Nottingham and Leicester are being invited to partake in an exciting heritage education initiative.
The initiative known as Education Syndicates is a kinaesthetic learning programme run by the National Centre for Citizenship and the Law (NCCL) part of the charity the Egalitarian Trust that also runs the Galleries of Justice Museum and City of Caves in Nottingham. This project will extend the work of the trust and engage more schools through unutilised collections in heritage sites across the East Midlands.
Education Syndicates has been running for over 5 years and a similar project was successfully delivered in 2014 funded by Heritage Lottery Fund and working with Oakham Castle, Leicester Castle and Northampton Sessions House.
Education Syndicates is currently supported using public funding from Arts Council England and will work in partnership with three ‘host’ museums of Papplewick Pumping Station, Bassetlaw Museum and the Guildhall in Leicester as well as Nottingham Trent University (NTU) staff, Arts and Heritage practitioners’ and students. The project will focus on the host museum’s needs to develop new learning resources for new audiences. Education Syndicates came about in order to help provide an extensive education service for heritage organisations who simply do not have either the resource or the funds to do this effectively and consistently alone. The ongoing vision for Education Syndicates is for NCCL to create a new shared framework for museum learning which can be replicated across the country.
Peter Knott, Area Director, Midlands, Arts Council England, said: “One of the Arts Council’s aims is to support projects which have long term benefits for museums and the public, ensuring people can continue to enjoy our nation’s rich historical collections for years to come. Through our investment in Education Syndicates it will be great to see more young people in the East Midlands have the chance to take part in new education sessions, whilst also supporting heritage professionals of the future to gain the skills and qualifications they need.”
The overall purpose of this funded project in the East Midlands is to work with host museums and students from NTU to develop and deliver new education sessions at heritage sites to local schools. Upon successful completion of the project NTU students will receive a post graduate qualification in heritage education. They will also gain valuable practical experience of creating and delivering education resources for museums to help develop their careers in the sector.
This project will see the creation and delivery of brand new education sessions for 1000 children which will be delivered in the context of these remarkable local heritage sites. Therefore it is hoped the project will help to raise engagement with museums and educational attainment through access to heritage.
All education sessions at the museums will be delivered by Nottingham Trent University interns and will be linked to the national curriculum, offering a fun and engaging way for children to learn about and experience the different sites.
By working with student interns, the project will also help to develop the next generation of museum educators and strengthen heritage education in museums. Student interns will develop skills, gain experience and ultimately be enabled to find employment in the heritage sector.
During February and March 2016, NCCL will be offering these new heritage education sessions free of charge (including subsidised transport costs) for Key Stage 1 and 2 children within the local catchment areas of Papplewick (Nottinghamshire), Bassetlaw (Nottinghamshire) and Leicester City. If you are interested in this project and would like your school group to be involved then please get in touch with the National Centre for Citizenship and the Law education team.
Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis and priority will be given to school groups who have not visited these sites in the past 3 years.
To find out more please contact:
Natelle Morgan-Brown, ACE Education Syndicates Project Manager
Email: natelle.morganbrown@nccl.org.uk Tel: 0115 9520555 ext 228
