TOP TIPS for creating a successful school-museum residency

1. Plan for the life of the school – when planning ensure you take into account the life of the whole school when designing extended school residencies for example, assemblies, school plays, lunch clubs etc.

2. Draw from the experience of others – there’s a wealth of best practice examples of teaching the whole or parts of the curriculum in museums and cultural organisations to a very high standard across the sector that can help inform planning – check out our blog for ideas.

3. Think creatively about spaces – museums have lots of existing spaces and it’s useful to think about their use really creatively when planning a school residency don’t just use your usual school spaces. Child protection issues are particularly important to tackle early on in planning.

4. Evaluate! – collecting robust evidence will help everyone involved learn as much as possible from the experience and show evidence of impact to advocate for future school residencies.

5. Training – provide training in how to maximise cross-curricular learning, using not only the collection but also the physical building, behind-the-scenes storage, shop and café facilities and external spaces.

6. Develop bespoke resources for literacy skills – as well as improving children’s oral communication skills, extended residencies can develop their literacy skills.

7. Co-create educational experiences – with teachers and museum staff working collaboratively, extended residencies offer opportunities for deeper engagement and for involving children in co-creating learning experiences.

8. Engage all museum staff – from front of house and security to curatorial departments, all museum staff can play an important part in an extended residency. Training and briefings should be organised so that all staff are clear about their contribution and the value of such experiences for children.

9. Understanding – extended residencies require both schools and museums to understand each other’s organisational cultures and ways of working. Regular meetings and briefings with museum and school staff are essential.

10. Explore the use of outdoor spaces – when planning a residency, staff should consider the most effective use of the museum’s external spaces in order to provide children with access to outdoor play and learning.

These top tips are also available in the ‘resources’ page of the blog. If you have any suggestions for further top tips, or comments on the tips above, please leave us a comment! You can comment on this article, using the contact form on the right-hand side, or post in the discussion forum. Do we need this now?