Heritage Sector Partnership
Increased participation by young people in cultural activity is a major aim of the recently launched Children's Plan and contributes to the Every Child Matters outcomes. The DCSF and DCMS are now looking to 'work towards a position where, no matter where they live, or what their background is, all children and young people can get involved in high quality cultural activities in and out of school'. Furthermore, research reports from within the sector, such as Heritage Counts 2007 and Why History Matters, are also stressing the value of learning through our heritage and culture.
Therefore, organisations in the cultural and heritage sector are working hard to enhance their ability to deliver high quality LOtC. One focus of Renaissance in the Regions (the DCMS-funded modernising programme managed by MLA) is developing the capacity of regional museums to support LOtC. In addition, much is being done to develop partnerships between learning providers and teachers. A recent evaluation of the DCMS/DfES Strategic Commissioning Programme identified the benefits of such partnerships between museums, archives and initial teacher training providers citing in particular, their ability to help embed creative learning approaches that support personalised learning.
The range and quality of LOtC provision within the sector goes from strength to strength. England's Past for Everyone is working with schools and learning providers to deliver interactive and cross-curricular projects for Key Stages 1 to 3 based on local-history research. The National Trust's London Voices family learning project enters its second year developing partnerships between four London sites and their local schools, colleges and councils. The Real World Science programme, led by a partnership of four national museums, is now in its third year and has reached over 17,000 secondary students, showing them how science works in the real world. In 2007, the Sandford Awards recognised 35 heritage organisations in the UK for excellence in education provision.
Against this background the Heritage Sector Partnership (HSP) works to support, inform and promote the LOtC Manifesto. The first heritage sector LOtC conference was held in London on 9 July 2007. Attended by nearly 100 heritage learning providers, specialist advisors and end-users, it provided an opportunity to find out more about the implementation of the Manifesto and to debate and influence its development. Building on this success, the HSP has planned a second LOtC Heritage Sector Conference for 14 March 2008, also in Central London. If you are interested in finding out more about the work of the HSP, joining the LOtC Heritage Sector network or the conference, email lotc.gemoffice@btinternet.com
The HSP represents a sector that is 100 per cent committed to LOtC. Working in partnership with government, strategic agencies and schools, we aim to develop creative learning approaches that build on LOtC activities to provide all young people with access to a creative curriculum that supports the development of: successful learners, confident individuals and active citizens.
