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Exceeding Visitor Expectations

This one day training course is aimed at staff undertaking visitor-facing roles in West Midlands museums who want to increase confidence and skills, in order to deliver excellent customer service.

11 February 2020 – Exceeding Visitor Expectations
9.15am-4.15pm, Museum of Carpet, Stour Vale Mill, Green Street, Kidderminster, DY10 1AZ

Exceeding Visitor Expectations will help participants to:

Tourism South East will combine the expertise of VisitEngland’s Visitor Attraction Quality Scheme and the experience of the renowned Welcome to Excellence training programmes to deliver ‘Exceeding Visitor Expectations’.

Lunch and refreshments will be provided.

Click here to book

Priority will be given to staff/volunteers from non-NPO West Midlands museums which are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation.  Maximum of two delegates per museum.

 

Welcoming All Customers

Welcoming All Customers is a brand new one day course, delivered by Tourism South East, packed with practical advice to allow your organisation to attract and delight all customers.

5 December – Welcoming All Customers
9.15am-4.15pm, Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery, The Square SY1 1LH

Designed to boost the confidence of staff/volunteers in anticipating and meeting the needs of disabled customers and looks at how small changes and a positive attitude can make all the difference.  The content is designed to be delivered in a participative way with a variety of activities, exercises and discussion sessions.

This course will help you to:

Lunch and refreshments will be provided.

Click here to book

Priority will be given to staff/volunteers from non-NPO West Midlands museums which are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation.  Maximum of two delegates per museum.

Volunteers ‘Exceeding Visitor Expectations’

This one day training course is aimed at volunteers undertaking visitor-facing roles in West Midlands museums who want to increase confidence and skills, in order to deliver excellent customer service.

29 January 2020 – Volunteers: ‘Exceeding Visitor Expectations’
9.15am-5pm, The Cut Conference Centre, Shropshire Wildlife Trust, Shrewsbury SY2 6AH

All participants will have the opportunity to gain a City and Guilds Level 2 Award through taking a multiple choice assessment paper at the end of the training day.

Exceeding Visitor Expectations will help participants to:

Tourism South East will combine the expertise of VisitEngland’s Visitor Attraction Quality Scheme and the experience of the renowned Welcome to Excellence training programmes to deliver ‘Exceeding Visitor Expectations’.

Lunch and refreshments will be provided.

Click here to book.

Priority will be given to volunteers from non-NPO West Midlands museums which are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation.  Maximum of two delegates per museum.

Further opportunities to undertake ‘Exceeding Visitor Expectations’ and ‘Welcome All’ training will be promoted through the WMMD mailing list in the coming weeks.

 

Media Masterclass

Getting the media to work for your museum.

4 December – Media Masterclass
10am-4pm, Winterbourne House and Garden, 58 Edgbaston Park Road, Edgbaston B15 2RT

Do you know what journalists are looking for?  Can you promote your museum?

Award-winning former BBC journalist Sarah Bishop takes you on a journey of discovery:

Sarah will share the secrets of 25 years’ experience in newspapers, radio and television – so you’ll never need to ask a journalist “What are you going to ask me?” ever again!

This session is a condensed version of the ‘In the Spotlight’ series.

Quotes from previous participants:

‘Useful tips about presenting yourself and organisation to the media, and how to navigate questions and responses effectively with greater confidence’

‘The session had a very fun atmosphere and I learned a lot of great tips’

‘Informative, explains everything step by step.  Good fun.  Didn’t feel under pressure to get it right first time’

Click here to book.

Lunch and refreshments will be provided.

Priority will be given to delegates from non-NPO museums which are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation.  

 

WMMD Conference – Call for Proposals

West Midlands Museum Development (WMMD) is seeking proposals for its annual conference.  Our free conference will be held on Thursday 19 March 2020 at Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust.

The  annual conference brings together an exciting mix of plenaries, workshops and exhibitors to create a space to network, share news and best practice from within and outside the heritage sector.

Since 2016 we have welcomed over 550 delegates from local, regional and national organisations to four jam-packed conferences. The day will be filled with inspirational speakers and thought provoking workshops.

We’d love to share your interesting, inspiring and useful experiences with conference delegates from across the wider West Midlands and beyond.

Please send us proposals for presentations, workshops/interactive sessions and lightning talks based on recent activity at your museum or gallery.  Simply send us your ideas by completing and returning this ‘Call for Proposals’ form before 5 pm, Friday 29 November.

Conference forms part of Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust’s National Portfolio Organisation and Museum Development programmes and is now a key date for our network.

Winners of the West Midlands Volunteers Awards 2019

Yesterday evening at Birmingham Hippodrome 150 guests were treated to an evening of fun, food and frivolity as the winners were announced.

Matt Windle, host for the evening and Birmingham Poet Laureate 16/18, created poems for the evening about the finalists’ achievements:

Individuals and Young People Finalists

A committed volunteer that shares knowledge and facts
Barry Bull helps to keep Chasewater on the railway tracks
Sharing history with the public on her engaging tours
We say thank you to Gayle Bevan from Aston Hall

A generous sharer of time and a vital member of the Selly Manor team
To wear Gill Salisbury’s costumes, the kids are bursting at her seams
Jan Barnes has been volunteering for almost 25 years
Shropshire museums know her value and worth

Thrown in the deep end on the first day and ever since then
There’s been no holding back Jovan Jules at Pen
Mike Hermolle is meticulous with all of his work
Everyone at “Grandad’s museum” knows your Lap-worth

The gallery couldn’t manage the collection and archives day to day
If it wasn’t for Nigel Priddey’s help at the RBSA
Inside the Museum of Uttoxeter, Pam McNamee gives her best
And works tirelessly to ensure the project’s success

At Compton Verney, what could be greater?
Than having Roger Salmons to lend a hand and analyse their data
Have fun at the Coventry Transport Museum, simply have a go and play
‘Cause Terry Rahilly enables learning to develop in a new way

With young people, Steven Harris shares his expertise
At RAF Cosford so they’re experience is increased
A blacksmithing student with a can-do frame of mind
Alex Rowe made an impact at Waterworks in a short space of time

We need more people at Claymills Victorian Pumping Station
Like Jacob Fowkes who is a huge inspiration
At the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
Phoebe Kelly has enthusiasm and passion that is clear to see

You’re all an integral piece to the puzzle
That helps our museums in their moments of trouble
You may be unsung, but you don’t go unnoticed
So thank you for your drive, your hunger and focus

Group and Project Finalists

Collections volunteer team have become like a family
Their good humour, kindness and support has a limitless capacity
Erasmus Darwin House Education delivers bespoke activities
To cater for a school’s specific wants and needs

A meticulous mindset where creativity is never rushed
The Fossils in Shropshire have edited over 11,000 records which would have remained untouched
From being Father Christmas to the Easter Bunny, they’ll always be there
Gallery Support delivers high standards of visitor care

The volunteers at Gladstone pottery can achieve anything that they put their mind to
Their connection with the museum holds unprecedented value
The Natural Science Team at the PMAG
Cannot be overlooked for their contributions and loyalty

The Oak House Gardeners have transformed the grounds
They are undoubtedly one reason why the visitors come around
The Research Team will listen to all of your thoughts
There’s never a request that they will not support

Thanks to the Thinktank Conservation Team Members, their work will ensure
That the collection on display is better cared for
The Thursday Collection duo do not expect prizes even though they are stars
But George Marshall Medical wanted to show how appreciated they are

Broadway Museum’s volunteers go above and beyond
When a task is at hand they’re there to respond
Hugely instrumental in the ongoing success
Are the Volunteer Demonstrators of the Winterbourne Press

With little more than a strong determination and a working kettle
Worcester Heritage and Amenity showed that they have the mettle
Coffin Works’ Collections are a power house of a team
And today simply marks all that they have achieved

The Jake Whitehouse project shares so much knowledge and time
And now they deserve their moment to shine
Lace Guild are anything but ordinary
They brought the attention of the museum to many

The Reminiscence Team has heart and warmth at their centre
They’ve made a real difference for people with dementia
From art work to embroidery they’re continuously grafting
Amazing the visitors are the Croft Cloth Crafting

Works On Paper are bringing unseen collections to life
Giving them a platform for the very first time
So no matter what, your museum may face
They know they have you to back-up their case

You’re the connective tissue that supports and binds
And look at what you can accomplish, when your skills are combined

Our winners

Group Winner

Worcester Heritage & Amenity Trust Board, Tudor House Museum

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Award presented by Cadi Price, Severn Gorge Countryside Trust (left)

Individual Winner

Barry Bull, Chasewater Railway Museum

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Award presented by Rhea Alton, J&PR Ltd (left)

Project Winner

Reminiscence Volunteer Team, Birmingham Back to Backs

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Young Person Winner

Alex Rowe, Waterworks Museum

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Award presented by Jodie Lloyd, Telford and Wrekin Council (left)

The judges also Highly Commended Young Person

Jacob Fowkes, Claymills Victorian Pumping Station

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Award presented by Jodie Lloyd, Telford and Wrekin Council (left)

The Judges Award for Excellence

Reminiscence Volunteer Team, Birmingham Back to Backs

Congratulations to all our winners!

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The winners celebrating with host Matt Windle (right)

The Winners, poem by Matt Windle Birmingham Poet Laureate 16/18

Today has been filled with hard working women and men
But here are the four winners and some words about them

Showing fantastic support and a knowledge that’s shared
It’s Barry Bull from Chasewater who has proved that he cares
With his level of commitment over the past 50 years (yeers)
His work ethic is an inspiration to all of his peers

With an ambitious talent for getting the community on board
It’s Worcester Heritage & Amenity Trust that takes home the group award
The Tudor House Museum wouldn’t be open without them
So your score for this is a ten out of ten

Understanding their audience and improving access to collections in store
It’s a challenging project for the Reminiscence Volunteer team to go for
But they develop good practice which really spreads throughout
So the Birmingham Back to Backs deserves a shout-out

The I.T savvy, young person in the know
Is the Waterworks museums – Alex Rowe
He’s the whole package who makes blogs interesting
A young mind of ideas that keeps manifesting

So thank you to the museums, the nominees, and of course, the winners too
Keep on pushing the boundaries and keep on being you!

Photo credits: Ed Bagnall Photography

Open to All: Welcoming Neurodivergent Visitors

Neurodiversity is a term that describes a variety of neurological differences including ADHD, autism, dyslexia and dyspraxia.  It is estimated that one in seven people in the UK are neurodivergent (ACAS Neurodiversity in the Workplace 2019).  Neurodivergent people can experience challenges, barriers, discrimination and lack of awareness when visiting museums and in their daily lives.

Becki Morris, Director of Disability Collaborative Network C.I.C. (DCN), will support participating organisations to gain a greater understanding of how to create a more welcoming and accessible experience for neurodivergent visitors by providing effective previsit information, inclusive interpretation techniques, a welcoming environment and improved workforce awareness.

Participants will attend a training session, led by Becki Morris on 24 October at Museum of Royal Worcester.  Following the training session Becki will visit each museum and undertake an audit of current provision, considering the environment, facilities, communications and workforce development. Each museum will receive a bespoke audit report identifying current good practice, potential barriers to participation and tailored, prioritised recommendations to increase access and engagement.

Museums will also receive a bespoke Easy Read Welcome Guide (also known as a Visual Story) that provides visitors to their website with information to prepare them for their visit.

Benefits of taking part in the programme;

Places are limited to eight museums, galleries or heritage sites and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.  Priority will be given to non NPO museums that are Accredited or Working Towards Accreditation in the West Midlands.

For the application form please click here.

Please return completed application forms by email to wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk no later than
5pm, Monday 30 September.

Open to All: Accessibility Audit programme 2019/20

West Midlands Museum Development is providing five museums in 2019/20 with the opportunity to receive a professional audit of the physical environment. Participating museums will be audited by Direct Access. Each venue will receive an access audit report identifying a comprehensive list of tailored, prioritised recommendations based on current standards and legislation, aimed at improving access for visitors.

Direct Access will also create Easy Read Welcome Guides (also known as Visual Stories) for each organisation, designed to provide visitors with essential pre-visit information.

The Access Audit programme will conclude with ‘Creating an Effective Access Plan’ Accreditation training event on 23 January 2020 at Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery. Direct Access will draw on examples from the audit visits to provide practical examples to support museums to develop and improve their own Access Plans.

Since 2004 Direct Access and its team of NRAC certified Access Consultants have provided access consultancy for thousands of buildings and services across multiple sectors. Millions of people daily use a service or premises audited by Direct Access. Direct Access’ clients range from small community museums such as Nantwich Museum to large sites including Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Scotland, Bodelwyddan Castle in Wales or UNESCO World Heritage sites such as the City of Bath and its Roman Baths.

Participation in the Access Audit programme directly supports Arts Council England’s Accreditation Standard 2018, Users and their experiences, 7. Be accessible to the public.

Priority will be given to museums who are Accredited or Working Towards Accreditation in the West Midlands that are due to submit a Return prior to December 2020. Places are limited to five museums, galleries or heritage sites.

Please click here to download the application form.

Please return completed application forms by email to wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk no later than
5pm, Monday 30 September 2019.

Meet our Finalists – Young People

Meet the finalists in our final category Young People…

Alex Rowe, Waterworks Museum – Hereford

Alex, an 18-year old blacksmithing student, walked into the Museum in April 2018 to offer his services as a volunteer.  Nobody could have anticipated the impact he would make in a short space of time. In his first week he distributed posters around Hereford and then volunteered additional weekend time to support their Steampunk festival. He has diligently supported their open days in steam during term time, and some during college holidays. He is the youngest of their volunteers in training to operate the 1895 triple expansion steam engine. In September-October 2018, he boosted awareness of the Museum by producing two ‘behind the scenes’ video-blogs.

Given this contribution, it was no surprise when in March 2019 Alex was appointed the Waterworks Museum’s first Youth Trustee.

It would have been quite daunting for an 18-year-old to step into this environment, but Alex’s enthusiasm and can-do attitude quickly saw him accepted as a valuable and valued member of the team.

Jacob Fowkes, Claymills Victorian Pumping Station

Jacob now 17 first came to the museums junior engineers club aged 12. He’d been told there was no room, and arrived with his membership fee, form filled in, and both parents as back-up. They couldn’t turn down such keenness, and immediately made room.

For the first few years he worked under guidance, proving to be very intelligent and a very quick learner, and he was soon trusted to undertake projects without supervision. Since then he has personally restored or overhauled several of their smaller steam engines, and worked well in a team on the large ones. He has also become a knowledgeable and very popular tour guide. He strategises their social media and runs them with one other young volunteer, and now works as an adult leader with the junior engineers. He will soon be asked to join the board of trustees at the museum.

“Claymills, and the world, need more young people like Jacob.” [Nominator]

Phoebe Kelly, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Birmingham Museum Trust

Phoebe’s role was to support the organisation of the annual Heritage Week in Birmingham which takes place in September. In this role Phoebe gathered information about events happening across the city and got it ready for the website, she supported social media activity, played a huge part in the launch event and assisted with the co-ordination of the evaluation. She is also an Archive Project Assistant working alongside the Heritage Sites Teams to collate a business archive for Birmingham Museums. This role involves visiting our sites and physically sorting information as well as pulling it all together digitally. She manages to balance both projects brilliantly, whilst also studying full time at university, and it is through her hard work that these projects are as successful as they are.

“Phoebe is a true advocate of Birmingham Museums and her hard work, passion and enthusiasm are clear whenever she is volunteering with us. We really believe that Phoebe deserves to be publicly recognised for the work and passion she has bought to our organisation.” [Nominator]

Meet our Finalists – The Projects

Next up we would like you to meet the finalists in the Project category…

Coffin Works’ Collections Volunteers, The Coffin Works’ Collections Audit project, The Coffin Works

“Although an audit is pretty standard in terms of museum work, the effort, timescale and commitment (not to mention working in a draughty Victorian manufactory in the depths of winter!), as well as the speed at which this was achieved was anything but standard. The vast and varied nature of our collection meant a significant amount of volunteer help was needed and by the time we submitted our application they had racked up an impressive 950+ hours between a team of 12 volunteers. The bulk of those hours being completed in an extremely short time frame, beginning in January 2018 in order to meet our Accreditation return deadline by September 2018.

We could not have done this without the powerhouse that is the Coffin Works’ Collection’s Team. This award is to recognise them, but also to mark the achievement of where we’ve got to in just five years. It seeks to highlight the personal efforts of the Team who can often be overlooked, as they do not have the main stage, but without whose dedication and impact we wouldn’t be where we are today.” [Nominator]

Jake Whitehouse Project Volunteers, Jake Whitehouse Collection Website project, Staffordshire Archives & Heritage

In early 2018, Staffordshire County Museum Service had a short term opportunity to digitise an important collection of 1,695 images collected over a lifetime by Jake Whitehouse (1926-2017), local and military historian. Without volunteer help, the project would have been impossible to achieve. A team of volunteers researched caption information, dates and locations for all 1,695 images and entered them into the database between June and November 2018, a phenomenal amount of work in such a short period of time.

To complete the project, the project volunteers also undertook to lead a guided walk of World War 1 remains on Cannock Chase for 90 Etching Hill Primary school pupils; and ran celebration events hosted at Walton Village Hall and the Museum of Cannock Chase. In total, the 24 volunteers involved in the project contributed 763 hours of their time to make it the success it has turned out to be.

“We are fortunate that this group of people are so willing to share their knowledge and committed so much time and energy.”[Nominator]

Lace Guild Volunteers, Hidden in Stores project, The Lace Guild Museum

“The Lace Guild’s Museum is entirely staffed by Volunteers. As an Accredited Museum we have aspired to display lace from the V & A museum. It certainly was the catalyst, the inspiration to transform a very tired, not very public-friendly building into a clean and bright space that we were proud to invite the public into. We applied for grants to improve physical access to our building, and improved accessible toilet facilities.

We have all worked together to realise a long-awaited dream of our Museum Curators. We have supported and inspired each other along the way to move the Lace Guild forward into the 21st Century.

This project is noteworthy in that not only did we achieve a long held aspiration, to bring lace out of the V&A stores to display in the Midlands, to enable visitors to have the opportunity to view a few examples of lace of outstanding interest and beauty, but in so doing we brought the attention of our little Museum to many, who had no idea we existed.  It has galvanized the whole of the Lace Guild into action.” [Nominator]

Reminiscence Volunteer Team, Reminiscence project, Birmingham Back to Backs

A team of dedicated volunteers based at the Birmingham Back to Backs have been working with the Birmingham & Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust (SMHFT) to make a real meaningful difference for people with Dementia. Sessions were created based on feedback received from visitors with Dementia and their families that the current guided tours of the Back to Backs was simply not suitable for visitors with Dementia.

The Reminiscence Team of volunteers used the 1840’s Levy family house as the setting. Visitors, their families and volunteers along with SMHFT simply sat around like the families would have at the times our houses were lived in. The Reminiscence Team used the coal fires, candles and a cuppa along with introducing artefacts from the Back to Back’s collection to stimulate discussion.

The reminiscence team’s intervention has demonstrated that despite many logistical challenges with careful planning and determination, the Birmingham Back to Backs can and has introduced more flexible tours which are more aligned with the needs of our visitors. Artefacts from their collections that were once overlooked are now carefully the centre of attention during their reminiscence tours.

The Croft Cloth Crafting Team, The Croft Cloth project, Croft Castle

“As part of an exhibition celebrating the 100 anniversary of the representation of the people act we decided to make an art work to celebrate craft and community. It took the form of a signature cloth which were very popular in the early 20th century as a way of fundraising, commemorating an event or just as a statement of friendship. The idea was that anyone could sign their name on a scrap of recycled fabric in the shape of an oak leaf. Then the leaf would be attached to the cloth and initially exhibited at Christmas, but then to be given a space in the castle for posterity.

Visitors could sit at a table and sign and embroider their own leaf or the team would do it for them.

Our fantastic volunteer team sewed over 2000 leaves and formed a crafting group that is already working on new ways to create community projects to engage and amaze our visitors.” [Nominator]

Works on Paper Volunteers, Works on Paper project, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Birmingham Museum Trust

“Our Works on Paper volunteer team of six, alongside our Collections Digitisation Assistant, are working through this collection of 36,000 objects, one at a time measuring and condition checking all items and then photographing them. They are also updating all of the objects digital records to ensure we have the correct information about this significantly important collection. As the majority of this collection have not been displayed or digitised previously, the public will be able to enjoy some of these works for the very first time. We think this is pretty special!

The Works on Paper project has exceeded all expectations with regards to our volunteer team. Bryce, Helen, Isobel, Leanne, Mariel and Monica are such champions of Birmingham Museums and the collection and their hard work is ensuring that a significant number of objects are correctly recorded, inventoried and photographed whilst also helping to make them more publically accessible. We really believe that they deserve to be acknowledged for the dedication and enthusiasm they have bought to our organisation.” [Nominator]