Built Environment Sector Partnership
The built environment sector includes a wide range of organisations covering contemporary architecture and the historic built environment. Many of the latter are charities or voluntary organisations, and are members of Heritage Link. Heritage Link was set up in 2002 to give the many and diverse independent heritage organisations in England a collective voice. It aims to influence policy, underpin advocacy and build capacity in the non-government sector. It now has 85 members and acts also as an information hub for the whole sector.
Heritage Link is fully supportive of Engaging Places and the LOtC Manifesto. Don Henson, Education Coordinator for Heritage Link, is involved in both initiatives, and is both representing independent and smaller heritage organisations within LOtC and highlighting the importance of LOtC back to the wider Heritage Link membership. This enables LOtC to reach organisations as diverse as heritage railway associations, industrial archaeology groups, gardens trusts, historic theatres, inland waterways and civic trusts.
If you have an example of best practice or any other examples of interesting LOtC using the historic or contemporary built environment you can email details to donhenson@britarch.ac.uk.
Engaging Places
Engaging Places, the Government-backed initiative to help schools use
the built environment to engage and inspire young people, has now completed its
first phase of activity and ministers are considering next steps.
Led by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) (in partnership with the DCSF, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment and English Heritage), the Engaging Places project worked with a wide range of heritage and built environment education providers to find an effective way for schools to use buildings and local places to teach a wide range of curriculum subjects. Over 2007 the project:
- commissioned a major new research project (undertaken by the National Foundation for Education Research) with schools and the sector investigating issues regarding the supply and demand of learning opportunities in the built environment;
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piloted a national and regional network of educators in London, the South East and Yorkshire and the Humber that brought together the sector, with LA subject advisers, education bodies and skills organisations; and
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developed a plan for a new built environment education website to provide curriculum-linked educational content and a source of local learning opportunities.
Ministers are currently considering the findings from the pilot phase. It is expected that the evidence and analysis from Engaging Places will be published in the spring. We hope to bring you more news about this exciting project soon.
More information on learning using heritage and the built environment can be found on the English Heritage and CABE websites.
Copies of Laying the foundations: Using the built environment to teach are still available from the DCMS.
For more information contact engaging.places@culture.gsi.gov.uk.
