How the Museum of London plans to manage post-lockdown school visits
The Museum of London’s Sandford Award-winning schools programme is an important component of the Museum’s operational model. In 2018-2019, the Museum of London engaged 153,609 children in onsite and offsite activity; in the 2019-2020 financial year (April-March; the museums closed to the public in March 2020), an estimated 141,300 school children were engaged.
The schools programme – a blend of onsite, offsite and online sessions that meet a number of core curriculum themes for primary, secondary and SEND schools – is designed to stimulate pupils’ curiosity and help them to make connections between London’s history and their lives today.
As lockdowns and restrictions have ebbed and flowed since March 2020, the Museum’s Learning team has constantly assessed its schools programme. Its Teachers Network, an e-newsletter that goes out to approximately 2,500 teachers, has proved vital, allowing them to consult with teaching professionals about what’s most needed, how the Museum can improve and better cater for schools, gather honest feedback on the schools programme – all while deepening its relationships with local communities and schools; a priority for the Museum.
The Museum’s Learning team has responded dynamically to varying needs as the pandemic has progressed, including running an online work experience programme, running a Facebook-hosted live stream on the Great Fire of London aimed at carers who were homeschooling, and using the Teachers Network to identify which areas teachers most needed support with.
The Learning team’s decisions on future programming were based on the sessions they knew they could make Covid-compliant, the needs of teachers and the sessions that covered their most popular topics.
And that assessment process will continue as restrictions ease from 12 April. “We’ll be in regular contact with the schools that are interested in visiting as we develop our plans,” says Laura Turnage, the Museum’s Senior Learning Manager. “Plus, we’ll be talking to teachers and evaluating our offer regularly to make sure it continues to meet their needs.”
We asked the Museum of London’s Learning team about their plans for the return of school visits as restrictions ease.
What concerns do you think teachers and students might have about the return of school visits to the Museum of London, and how are you planning to allay those concerns?
We imagine schools will either be risk-averse for the whole 2020-2021 academic year or they will want to take their pupils offsite in later summer term two. Travelling by public transport to reach the museum might be a barrier for the foreseeable future as schools might not want to risk non-essential travel. Schools can apply to the Culture Mile Schools Visit Fund to alleviate costs pressures associated with transport to visits to the City of London.
We’re looking at new ways of planning on-site school visits including, once reopened, our sites will be closed to the public on Mondays and Tuesdays giving us the opportunity to have schools-only days without other visitors.
How is your online school's programme changing now that students are back in school, rather than homeschooling or having virtual lessons?
The online schools offer for both live streams and online sessions was developed so that students could participate either in the classroom or whilst home schooling. We did not need to change this offer when schools reopened. We are considering expanding the number of topics that are offered online.
How are you working to maintain and strengthen your relationship with schools during this challenging time?
The museum’s schools programme is evidence-based so we have continually consulted with teachers on what they are looking for from a museum schools programme during this time, both around content and practicalities.
We have overhauled our ‘at your school’ booking and risk assessment procedures to ensure schools are confident when they book a Museum of London session to come to their school that it is Covid compliant and we are able to follow their school guidelines. We will continue to consult with teachers to maintain and strengthen our relationships with schools.
How do you think school visits might be different post-pandemic?
The biggest difference is likely to be the amount of time it takes school groups to move around the museum and participate in different activities given the increased amount of time the groups will need to spend washing their hands. Considering this for the foreseeable future we are likely to reduce the number of schools that can book to visit the museum in one day so there is more capacity and space for the groups to travel around the site at a pace that suits them most.
