Education and Outreach at Nottingham City Museums and Art Galleries

The common factor with formal and informal education is the use of museum collections, buildings and exhibitions and the overall aim to advocate museums and galleries as centres for lifelong learning.

The Museum Schools Service was formally established at Wollaton Hall in 1956, although ad hoc services and loan collections had been supplied since the turn of the century. Originally a service operating with just one Education Officer, what is now the Access Team has grown dramatically over the years. It is co-ordinated by the Education & Access Manager, who is also responsible for Green’s Mill. The team delivers a programme of formal and informal education across all museum and gallery sites. Freelance Educators and Sessional Workers, with a variety of specialisms, deliver sessions to schools and outreach groups respectively.

Schools sessions are driven by National Curriculum requirements, and include summer schools and study support. By far the heaviest users of the service are Primary Schools, followed by Secondary Schools (approx. 90% and 10% respectively), with limited contact from Further and Higher education establishments. The outreach programme has grown rapidly since the creation of the outreach post in the early 1990s and demand is high, particularly since the introduction of the Government's social inclusion agenda. Outreach projects are targeted at 'hard to reach' groups and those in areas of high social need. They aim to develop closer relationships with local communities and to develop participants' skills, confidence and ability to become independent users of the museums.

The Education Programme

• reaches over 25,000 school children each year
• offers over 35 different sessions, all related to the National Curriculum
• uses our diverse collections of objects, e.g. archaeology, natural history, art and social history
• can take place in all and any of our museums and galleries, including a Tudor mansion, a working windmill, a 17th century Duke's palace and a Victorian country house that was once a medieval abbey
• provides mainly for Primary level, including nursery and reception children but also for Secondary Schools and 6th Form Colleges too.
• is delivered by a team of specialist experienced Freelance Educators
• is co-ordinated by the Museums Education Officer, Ann Coyne
• is managed by the Museums Access Team leader, Jo Kemp

We also work with schools on specific projects, such as Study Support programmes and Summer Literacy Schools during the Summer holidays.

For details of the Spring 2005 education programme or to be put on the mailing list to receive a copy of the Education Newsletter use our online contact form or call 0115 915 3692

Museums Outreach

We work with people of all ages and backgrounds, particularly those at risk of social exclusion, in community groups within the city of Nottingham to promote Lifelong Learning.

Outreach does not always mean working outside of the museums, although initial taster sessions are often run in a group's own space, or a venue familiar to them, to prepare them for their visit to one of the museum sites. The collections and our historic sites are the basis for projects as they are what make our museums unique and they are an excellent way of stimulating discussion, debate, and involvement.  

Some groups participate in projects over a number of weeks or months, which sometimes leads to them creating images, sculptures or words for temporary exhibitions.

Contact

Jo Kemp

Museums Learning and Access Team Manager
Tel: 0115 915 3691
Email: jok@ncmg.org.uk
Or fill in our online contact form