Nicky McIntosh, Museum Consultant
I have enjoyed participating in the museum sector since 1998 as both a history curator and learning manager in the UK. I am now a freelance museum consultant specialising in project management and learning engagement. My experience has encompassed school, family and adult learning at local authority and independent museums, heritage and arts organisations. I am currently exploring museum provision for children who can’t access school, inspired by lived experience with my own family. A love of historic collections and the belief that everyone should benefit from them is at the heart of my professional practice.
Did You Know?
➤65% of museums involved in my research already cater for home educating families and 27% would like to start exploring this. 94% of these museum offers include on-site, staff-led workshops. Virtual offers are less common with fewer than a quarter of these museums offering activities or resources online.
➤ Less than a quarter of museums involved in my research have an existing offer for non-school attending children who are not electively home educated e.g. Pupil Referral Unit, Hospital Education, Virtual Schools, Alternative Education Service, waiting for a suitable school place, unmet needs at school, mental health challenges. Over half of these museums would like to explore this.
➤85% of the home educating families involved in my research usually visit museums with their families rather than with home education groups or friends. Their main motivator for visiting was to have fun. 82% selected this in their top three reasons to visit, with learning a very close second at 81%.
➤ 76% of home educating families involved in my research thought that having more activities or resources available specifically for home educators would enable them to use museums and galleries more often.
What was the research was looking at?
I recently completed an Arts Council Funded 'Developing Your Creative Practice' project which explores how museums and galleries can support children who can’t access school. This includes Electively Home Educating families (EHE) and those who face barriers to attendance.
Undiagnosed SEND, mental health challenges and unmet needs are impacting more and more children.
How can we welcome them to museums and ensure equitable access to collections, culture and heritage?
How did you conduct your research?
➤Survey to scope what activity is already happening in the museum and gallery sector and what support might be needed to develop this.
➤Survey for families to find out what they value and need from museums and galleries.
➤Pilot activities and consultation days with home educators
What are your key findings?
➤ There are examples of excellent, established and emerging, museum and gallery provision for home educated audiences. Offers range from adapted school workshops, repurposed family activities and special event days to tailored projects including accreditation. Many museums would like to offer more for this audience, but staff capacity along with understanding needs, working with varying group dynamics and effectively communicating offers are barriers.
➤ Many home educating families already visit museums independently and value museums for learning activities and resources, access to collections and specialist knowledge. Significantly, not all children learning outside of a school setting are EHE and not all home educators are part of support networks. We therefore can’t assume that they will be reached through home educator networks. There is appetite for further programming, especially workshops, loaned resources and online resources and a need to communicate offers more effectively. Timings, spaces, booking mechanisms, pricing and accommodating a broad age range are all important factors.
➤ A lot can be offered with resources that are already available in museums and small changes could raise awareness and accessibility. A notable consideration is the need to change expectations within museum teams about learning outcomes and what ‘success’ looks like. For some children, arriving and experiencing the museum with their family is a big step even if they don’t attend a workshop.
Any recommendations?
➤ Museums should make offers for home educators visible on their websites and distinct from information for schools.
➤ There is often programming already on offer in museums that would be suitable for home educating families – extend and highlight areas of family learning and self-led resources as well as schools offers. Don’t forget any digital resources.
➤ Build contacts between local home educating communities and museums and work together to shape and promote activities, programmes and resources.
Your final word…
Home educating audiences have a good appetite for museum provision, but they often don't know what is available to them. There needs to be more awareness of resources and programming that considers accessibility, affordability, acceptance and agency.
The diversity of children learning outside of school should be embraced, including those with barriers to school attendance. Tiny steps can be very significant for some families who are dealing with school trauma and burnout. Museums are full of potential glimmers and sparks to encourage recovery and engagement with learning.
If you are a home educator, what offering from museums or galleries have you found most useful?
Tell us in the comments
Nicky has published on this subject at: Museum Learning Works – supporting education outside of school.
Also, coming soon... Supporting Museums to Engage Children Educated Outside of School – A toolkit for working with home educators and those with barriers to school attendance – with Group for Education in Museums Resources Archive - GEM
Nicky's Recommended reading
‘Can't Not Won't: A Story About A Child Who Couldn't Go To School’ by Eliza Fricker
‘A Different Way to Learn: Neurodiversity and Self-Directed Education’ by Dr Naomi Fisher
‘Square Pegs: Inclusivity, compassion and fitting in – a guide for schools’ by Ellie Costello & Fran Morgan
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