It's not an isolated problem; not a day goes by without hearing someone else quoting education figures down. It's easy to blame budget cuts and increased red tape as barriers that stop schools from going to museums, but is that really the root cause? I suspect that there is more at work here than teachers avoiding admission fees and parental consent letters, and I think it is dangerous to the sector if we just continue blaming factors beyond our own reach and hoping the problem will go away.
Last spring and summer are, I believe classic examples. The country enjoyed a banner year, with once-in-a-lifetime events like the Golden Jubilee and the London Olympics filling our minds and television screens. They also filled our nation's schools; many taking on these interesting topics as the focus of their learning for the term.
Which brings me to why I believe that education visit figures were down in many places last year.
With the move to new ways of teaching the primary curriculum, from 'mantle of the expert' to creative curriculums and topic based learning, the emphasis across the board seems to be on giving learning context and placing the traditional subjects within a framework of a theme that the children can relate to. Gone are the disparate lessons for maths, science and history. Instead, children are encouraged to draw together skills and facts they learn about the rainforests, or the Second World War... or the Olympics, or the jubilee.
Now stop and think about your own education programmes for a minute. Do you offer taught sessions or guided visits themed around the Olympics? Did the Golden Jubilee fit into your set of worksheets or outreach sessions or loan boxes?
I'm guessing not.
But if this is the problem, if primary schools are not visiting because we're not relevant to their topics and themes, then what is the solution? To sit and wait for them to get back around to studying the Tudors and the Egyptians again?
I propose a better solution. It's not that hard to start to think about what may be driving primary school topics in the next few years; your events department think at least a year ahead all the time. What significant events, anniversarys and so on will be interesting schools in your area next year, or the year after? Here's an easy one to start; 2014 is the centenary of the start of World War One. Start thinking now about how you can offer something to schools that will enhance their learning of that topic; what is in your collection? What can you adapt from sessions you already know are popular? Can you start building partnerships now that will result in interesting offers?
And therein, really, lies my point. The way children learn is changing; we need to change the way we offer learning too, if we want to stay an important part of supporting school based learners. Don't be complacent, don't think in the past. Be innovative, be fresh, think ahead. Try something new. Because if we don't, the tide is unlikely to turn back in our favour.sc
