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Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service (NMAS) covers a number
of local authority museums across the county. The 'Getting your
hands on the past' project developed a 10-week, museum-based
course for those with basic skills needs but with a real interest
and enthusiasm for history.
The project was initiated and managed by the NMAS education
manager, who was also museum learning manager at Norwich Castle
Museum and Art Gallery, and had previous experience as an
adult basic skills tutor. She had undertaken basic skills
development work prior to this project, as part of her usual
duties, including visits to museums for tutors and learners;
outreach sessions using the museum's 'handling collection'
(of objects that the public can touch) at basic skills venues;
basic skills awareness-raising training for museums staff;
and looking at the language used in promotional material and
exhibit information. As a result she already had a number
of contacts in the basic skills field. NMAS also recruited
a project coordinator with experience of working with 'hard-to-reach'
adults.
Recruitment of learners
Course participants were 'new' learners (ie not already enrolled
on a course of any kind) who were unemployed, and were recruited
via an intensive outreach programme targeted at the top 10%
of the most-deprived wards in the county. The coordinator
worked through local venues and networks, such as job centres,
mother and toddler groups and community centres, to recruit
adults with basic skills needs. It was an extremely labour-intensive
and time-consuming process, requiring a lot of development
activities such as meeting local representatives, attending
meetings and talking informally to local people. A total of
30 participants were recruited across four locations: Norwich,
King's Lynn, Thetford and Great Yarmouth. Most were aged between
30 and late-60s.
 The
course was based around the handling collection of Norwich
Castle Museum and Art Gallery, with basic skills elements
embedded within and mapped to the Skills for Life curriculum.
Content was drawn up jointly by a group that included basic
skills, museum and project staff. The aim was to use local
history and artefacts to stimulate literacy learning and interest
in further learning opportunities.
Each session was delivered jointly by the Norwich Castle
museum educator and a basic skills tutor. Students worked
with the museum educator to investigate objects relating to
different historical periods. For instance, when they were
at Norwich Castle, they were given a selection of medieval
objects. With each object, they looked at aspects such what
it was made from; what its function was; who might have made
it and who might have owned it. In this way, students were
able to build up a picture of what life was like in Norwich
Castle in medieval times. Such sessions were complemented
by literacy work, led by the basic skills tutor. These activities
focused on the literacy skills within the core curriculum,
including speaking and listening, reading and writing.
The course was run consecutively in the four participating
museums and some activities were adapted to draw on the specific
context and content of the host museum. The project also hoped
to increase the use of local museums by the target audience.
Organised trips to other venues were made as a group and each
participant was given a free pass to access venues independently.
Visits were also made to the local library.
The project received just over £50,000 of Objective
3 funding from the European Social Fund, through the Learning
and Skills Council. Alongside NMAS as the lead organisation
in the bid were other local partners: YMCA Training (a local
basic skills provider); Norfolk Library Service; and Norfolk
Information, Advice and Guidance (a service providing advice
on learning and employment opportunities for adults).
One of the key success factors was the familiarity of the
museum education officer with the artefacts that formed the
basis of the course content. This created a sense of ease
in handling and talking about the objects, and this was commented
on by the learners. The experience of the project manager
in both the basic skills and museum education fields was also
a great advantage. A further success factor was running the
course four consecutive times in different locations; this
allowed the team delivering it to hone the sessions, respond
to any feedback from learners, and become more comfortable
with the method of working.
Outcomes for learners
Evaluation showed that the course had a significant impact
on both the literacy skills and the appreciation of museums
among the participants. Participants were generally working
at entry level and, while gaining the national qualification
in adult literacy was not a requirement, and their primary
motivation for taking part was their interest in history,
all participants either achieved the qualification or went
on to enrol on a college course leading to it. NMAS was able
to track how widely the free museum passes were used outside
of the formal sessions. The data showed that many learners
made use of this pass and visited venues by themselves; some
even upgraded to a family pass to allow them to take family
members along with them.
Progression for learners
At the end of the course, the Information, Advice and Guidance
Service was on hand to provide learners with information on
what their next steps could be. The majority of the participants
signed up for further courses, including those linked with
other interests, such as arts and crafts.
Regional strategy
Prior to this project, NMAS was already part of the Norfolk
Basic Skills Strategy Group, representing the museums, libraries
and archives sector. The group was established to develop
a cross-departmental basic skills strategy for the county,
and included representatives from the local Learning and Skills
Council, Norfolk Learning Partnership, basic skills providers
and the adult education department. Involvement at this level
has enabled NMAS to ensure that the input of museums, archives
and libraries is included in the drafting of the county-wide
strategy. NMAS is now represented on the subsequent operational
group, which is delivering the strategy and providing a forum
for sharing ideas across organisations and agencies.
NMAS has also been made the lead partner in the Norfolk Renaissance
in the Regions scheme, a national programme to rejuvenate
regional museums, which puts it in an even stronger position
to lead activity on museum-based literacy learning across
the county. NMAS is continuing to develop its work with Skills
for Life and ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages)
groups through activities such as the delivery of awareness-raising
training for museum staff and support for local basic skills
groups.
A learner looks at museum displays to research the
past
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