New DfE-funded museums and schools programme 7 Sep 2012
New museums and schools programme
Ten NMDC members are taking part in a new museums and schools programme. The programme, funded by the Department for Education and administered by Arts Council England, was developed in response to recommendations from the review of cultural education undertaken by Darren Henley last year. It aims to increase the increase the quantity and quality of the education offer to schools in areas around the country that currently have lower than average cultural engagement.
The programme involves ten regional museums each working with a national museum partner, together with Arts Council bridge organisations and clusters of local schools. It will include a wide range of specialisms and collections, linking to curriculum subjects including history, science, design and technology, art and citizenship. The ten partnerships are:
- Barnsley: Barnsley Museums supported by the Wallace Collection
- Blackburn and Lancashire: Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery and Lancashire museums supported by Sir John Soane's Museum and the V&A Museum
- Bristol: Great Britain supported by the Science Museum
- Coventry: Coventry Transport Museum with the Herbert Museum and Art Gallery supported by the V&A Museum
- Great Yarmouth: Great Yarmouth Museums supported by the Royal Museums Greenwich
- Kent: Maidstone Museum supported by the British Museum
- Lincolnshire: the Aviation Heritage Partnership supported by the Royal Air Force Museum
- London: Jewish Museum and Valence House supported by the Imperial War Museum
- Peterborough: Peterborough Museum supported by the Natural History Museum
- Tees Valley: Redcar Museums with Middlesborough, Hartlepool, Stockton and Darlington Museums supported by the National Portrait Gallery.
NMDC Chair Michael Dixon said: “The new museums and schools programme is a great opportunity for national and regional museums to work together to reach out to young audiences right across the country. National museums already work closely with their regional counterparts and this new funding will enable us to share and build on this experience, ensuring access to the collections and expertise of national museums for schoolchildren around the country. Museums are one of the nation’s great learning resources and we welcome this recognition by the Department for Education of the unique value of museums’ educational offer.” Arts Council