A new cultural education scheme led by Arts Council England (ACE) that teams regional museums with national museums was launched last month but has been criticised for its top-down approach.
Children from more than 100 schools in underprivileged areas will be encouraged to visit a range of regional museums and cultural organisations under ACE’s Museums and Schools programme.
More than 10 regional museums will team up with national museums and ACE bridge organisations, such as Sadler’s Wells in London and the Sage Gateshead, to deliver the project.
The £3.6m scheme, which is funded by the Department for Education, runs until 2015.
The National Museum Directors’ Council (formerly the National Museum Directors’ Conference) invited national museums to submit proposals for partnerships.
“Once these proposals were received, the Arts Council considered the possible matches, taking into account collection specialisms and previous experience of partnerships, with a view to encouraging new pairings,” said an ACE spokesman.
But Tim Desmond, chief executive of the Galleriesof Justice Museum in Nottingham, said: “It will be important for ACE to recognise that because the nationals receive core funding doesn’t mean that they necessarily lead the field in areas such as education. Museums should not be defined by their status and whether they have a designated collection.”
The ACE spokesman added: “ACE identified regional museums that are well placed to improve their capacity for additional schools visits. These museums are located in areas of potentially low cultural engagement by schools... and high levels of deprivation, as indicated by uptake of free school meals.”
He added that there was no direct link to the former Strategic Commissioning programme, which aimed to widen access for schools to museum and archive education initiatives.
The tie-ups include Maidstone Museum and the British Museum; Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery, and Lancashire museums, with the Sir John Soane’s and Victoria and Albert museums; and the Aviation Heritage Partnership in Lincolnshire and the Royal Air Force Museum.
Children from more than 100 schools in underprivileged areas will be encouraged to visit a range of regional museums and cultural organisations under ACE’s Museums and Schools programme.
More than 10 regional museums will team up with national museums and ACE bridge organisations, such as Sadler’s Wells in London and the Sage Gateshead, to deliver the project.
The £3.6m scheme, which is funded by the Department for Education, runs until 2015.
The National Museum Directors’ Council (formerly the National Museum Directors’ Conference) invited national museums to submit proposals for partnerships.
“Once these proposals were received, the Arts Council considered the possible matches, taking into account collection specialisms and previous experience of partnerships, with a view to encouraging new pairings,” said an ACE spokesman.
But Tim Desmond, chief executive of the Galleriesof Justice Museum in Nottingham, said: “It will be important for ACE to recognise that because the nationals receive core funding doesn’t mean that they necessarily lead the field in areas such as education. Museums should not be defined by their status and whether they have a designated collection.”
The ACE spokesman added: “ACE identified regional museums that are well placed to improve their capacity for additional schools visits. These museums are located in areas of potentially low cultural engagement by schools... and high levels of deprivation, as indicated by uptake of free school meals.”
He added that there was no direct link to the former Strategic Commissioning programme, which aimed to widen access for schools to museum and archive education initiatives.
The tie-ups include Maidstone Museum and the British Museum; Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery, and Lancashire museums, with the Sir John Soane’s and Victoria and Albert museums; and the Aviation Heritage Partnership in Lincolnshire and the Royal Air Force Museum.