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What was planned?

The Ragged School Museum (a small independent museum in Tower Hamlets) aimed to develop its partnership with local schools to provide high quality cultural, educational and leisure experiences for local children by establishing with them The Museum Club. The project was a partnership between the museum and Halley and Ben Jonson primary schools in Tower Hamlets, London. Both schools serve areas of significant economic and social disadvantage and have high numbers of pupils from families whose first language is not English. In both schools over 90% of pupils are of Bangladeshi origin whose families’ first language is Bengali/Sylveti. A high proportion of pupils begin school with a very early stage of competence in English. The project was co-ordinated by the Community and Access Worker employed by The Ragged School Museum. Her principal partner during Phase One of the project was the Year 4 class teacher of Halley Primary School. In Phase Two both Year 4 class teachers from each partner school were involved, with the valuable additions of a trainee teacher who spoke Bengali/Sylveti, a learning support assistant and a parent liaison worker.

What was done and when?

There were two phases to the project. In Phase One the museum club took place every Tuesday of the summer holidays of 2000. The meetings included visits to five museums including the Ragged School. The programme also included a behind the scenes and safety tour of Mile End tube station. This was designed to allay any fear that parents and children might have had. Examples of museum visits were the Geffrye Museum, Hackney where children did a tour of the museum followed by a furniture making workshop with the artist in residence. Participants kept folders to record evidence of their visits. After the summer programme there were follow-up activities in the Autumn term. The children created an exhibition and presented this at a school assembly attended by the local press. To celebrate the end of the project, the club members were taken on a trip to the Science Museum.

Phase Two was a repetition of the activities in Phase One in 2001.  In Phase One there were ten children from Year 4 of Halley Primary School with follow up activities when they had progressed to Year 5. Out of the 24 pupils who asked to be considered for the club, the ten pupils for Phase One were selected in accordance to the following criteria:

• Parental commitment to all trips
• Creating a group with a mixture of friendshippartnerships
• Creating a mixture of confident characters with some shyer children who would benefit from the extra stimulus and have access to positive role models
• An even split of boys and girls
• Children who were keen and sensible.

In Phase Two similar criteria were used but for this programme there was deliberate inclusion of more children of lower attainment or with special educational needs.  In Phase Two the group consisted of twenty children, ten from Year 4 in each of Halley Primary and Ben Jonson schools.

What has the impact been?

• Improved attitudes to learning in museums: Before the summer programme in Phase One it was clear from their comments that the children knew that museums were places for learning but that they had very low expectations of any associated fun and enjoyment. Their responses after the visits indicated that they had had great fun but they recognised that nevertheless these were learning experiences and importantly, learning experiences that they thought other children would enjoy.
• Increased confidence: The formal structured interviews conducted in both schools in the external evaluation confirmed that the things the children rated as most important in terms of personal development were growth in self-confidence and self-esteem. Children made comments such as ‘At the Maritime Museum, I realised that everyone was looking at me but I did answer and I felt I achieved something’, and "I really feel I can be more brave in class." Levels of nervousness about travelling by underground fell throughout the summer in Phase One.
• Literacy and language development: The visits supported speaking, listening and enquiry skills and gave opportunities to speak to adult English speakers other than in the school context. Creating the exhibition and preparing their parts for the school assemblies were rich in opportunities for language development. Writing for purpose and for a variety of audiences was developed in these activities and augmented by the pupils who also wrote letters for the local papers.
• Teamwork and learning from others: The following comments were recorded: "I learned that I was getting more kind – I was learning how to share more and how to work in groups better’; "I liked it when I got to work and sit with a partner; it was good meeting the children from Halley school because we got to make friends with them.’

What was learnt and what were the next steps?

The thoroughness of the Phase One evaluation was of considerable benefit to Phase Two. Proven successes of Phase One were repeated but lessons were learned.  Planning was started even earlier in the academic year and a preliminary visit to the Science Museum was arranged as a taster visit for all pupils in the Year 4 classes of both schools.  In the museum’s internal evaluation family support and interest was listed as one of the key factors in the learning that took place. Many of the participating families were not accustomed to using museums as a resource and were initially anxious about allowing their children to go on trips with adults from outside the immediate family unit. The linguistic needs of the parents were accommodated, frequent meetings were held with parents and the initial visit to Mile End Tube Station was planned to take account of the overriding concern of both the children and the parents about safety in moving around London.  The schools and the museum have developed a practical understanding of how to work together in future projects and the new museum manager has been elected to the Board of School Governors at one of the schools, thus strengthening links.