Not just for schools

When you tell people you work in heritage learning, a frequent response is, "Oh, organising stuff for schools?" Many people have fond memories of school trips to museums, castles or nature reserves, so it is understandable that they immediately associate learning activities with school and children. But of course, this is only part of the story. We don’t stop learning the moment we leave the school gates, and there is a huge opportunity for heritage sites to make a difference to people by offering learning activities and resources that work for adults.

Learning as an adult can take many forms. We might learn by going along to a talk or on a tour, or by taking part in a practical workshop. We might sign up for a formal course, or prefer to discover things for ourselves through online resources or trails. Sometimes, we will learn through sharing our skills, knowledge or experience with others, and take something from them in return.

Heritage projects can have a particularly important role to play in encouraging people to enjoy learning, throughout their lives. They can provide opportunities for appealing, non-intimidating activities in places associated with fun and leisure time rather than formal learning environments. This can be attractive to those who’ve had a previous negative experience of school. Learning experiences that tap into people’s sense of curiosity and desire to explore and find out more about heritage (perhaps getting close and dirty) are enjoyable and enriching. They might also offer a first step in building the confidence to seek out further opportunities to learn.

Working in partnership

Organisations delivering HLF projects often work in partnership with other local groups, in order to connect with new people. There are usually great opportunities for partnering with community and lifelong learning providers in your area – from adult education colleges to local groups and societies. Adults learning English as an additional language, University of the Third Age (U3A) groups, parents taking part in courses at children’s centres, older adults attending day centres and many others have enjoyed taking part in life-long learning sessions as part of HLF projects. Here are a couple of inspiring examples of projects with new adult learning opportunities at their centre:

Wild Place, Your Space

Wild Place, Your Space created opportunities for people of all ages to learn and volunteer in the Lee Valley Park. The project included family learning courses where adults learnt wildlife identification skills alongside their children, as well as practical activities such as helping create a wildlife garden. Participants were involved in designing and building the garden and learnt how to manage it. Some developed their learning further through studying for a horticulture qualification. 

[quote=Project participant]"It’s an experience I will never forget.  I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the reserve. The course has unlocked a love for plants that I didn’t know I had."[/quote]

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Lee Valley Regional Park Authority realised that planning with local partners would be the key to getting more people involved in learning. Activities were developed with community leaders from groups such as the British Red Cross Refugee Group, Waltham Forest Asian Mothers Group and the Tamil Relief Centre. Most of those who took part in the programme had never visited Lee Valley Park before.  With newly acquired skills, knowledge and passion, local people gained confidence to explore and help look after the Lee Valley Park for the future.

Langley World War 1

Inspired by the First World War Centenary, many people around the UK have become interested in finding out more about how the war affected their family or community. The Langley project saw people of all ages learning together as they investigated family connections to the War and then shared these by creating a film of a poem they had written.

[quote=Sue, project participant]"I think it’s brilliant... I’m 58 now and I’m only just learning through this project about my granddad and how he started in the war when he was 19."[/quote]

People got involved in the project for a variety of reasons. Some came along initially because they wanted their children to find out more about the history, but ended up taking part themselves. Others relished the opportunity to discover hidden family stories. Watching the ‘behind the scenes’ documentary of the project, the enjoyment of learning and discovery shines through:

You can read more about the project in the full case study.

How can HLF support adult learning?

Inspirational learning experiences require imagination and expertise, but also resources – appropriate spaces, skilled staff, equipment, materials and sometimes digital tools. HLF can fund all these things, in order to help more people explore their heritage. We are also able to cover costs associated with making activities accessible to adults with a variety of needs.

At HLF, we have seen fewer adult learning focused applications in recent years, and hope Adult Learners Week will provide inspiration to the heritage sector to think about new partnerships. If you have an idea for a project that will provide opportunities for more people, and a wider range of people, to engage with heritage do take a look at our learning guidance, have a read of some case studies for inspiration, and get in touch.