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Introduction
Working with schools
Learning experiences for all
Finding a space
Designing and organising your activities
Administration
Fundraising
Information and support services
Education policy
Health and safety issues
Child protection
Working with volunteers
Dealing with problems
Skills and training
Resources and equipment
Handling collections and conservation
Step-by-step guide
Weblink index
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Education policy
| Why do you need an education policy? |
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While you do not have to have an education policy, the formalising of your ideas and intentions into a document can help to clarify what you need to put in place before you start developing your projects in detail. Every site will have a policy that suits its needs and which the collection and site can support. The document does not need to be too long or detailed, it should merely set out to describe what you intend to do and how you intend to do it in general terms.
A formal policy can be useful when applying for funding for educational projects since you can use it as evidence that the project proposed fits with your long-term strategy and that you are ready and capable to start work.
Included below is a specimen Education Policy which is adapted from one which was developed for a medium-sized independent museum with a specialist, scientific collection and its historical context. This policy is fairly comprehensive without having too much detail about individual activities. It can be used as a template for you to develop your own site-specific policy.
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| SPECIMEN EDUCATION POLICY |
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A specimen education policy can be downloaded from the pdf file link below.
pdf file link
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| Evaluation and review of education activities |
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Image: Keeping copies of pupils work is useful for evaluation and
evidence of your service for fundraining purposes.
It can also be used as a museum display.
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Any formal system of evaluation and review can be defined within the Education policy which then becomes a useful source to refer to, especially if there is a change in staff over time. In this way there can be a consistent approach and statistical analysis of visitors and their satisfaction levels.
An evaluation sheet given out at the end of every workshop is a useful immediate response. These can be formal with tickable boxes which gives an easy way to assess the results statistically. The other method of review is to ask questions in a way that allows free responses by teachers. This gives a richer response and it is easy to pick up on suggestions and inferences which might suggest that the session could be improved with modification. You could design an evaluation sheet that is a mixture of the two.
Another benefit of these sheets is that you then have a permanent record of visits which can be referred back to. Positive comments can be copied when applying for funding. In most cases, evaluation is a standard expectation of funding bodies to be produced at the end of any project. If you have a system in place that you are happy using it is much easier and saves time.
Below is a specimen evaluation sheet of the more informal type. Ask other providers in the area what they use and design one that suits your way of working and needs.
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