Consulting teachers

Once you have done the background research into what teachers might be teaching, your next step should be to consult with teachers about how your museum can support their work.

There are several ways in which you can consult with teachers. If you are just starting out to develop services for schools it might be best to begin with one or two local schools.

  • Phone your local school explaining what you would like to do and asking who it would be best to speak to and when.
  • You could ask to have a 5 minute slot at a staff meeting or Key stage meeting to ask how best to consult or ask if they might spare 20 minutes of a staff meeting for a short consultation.
  • Go along to the meeting prepared, with photographs, objects and ideas.

Once you are more confident about working with schools you might want to explore the following ideas.

  • Offer the museum as a venue for a staff meeting or training day.
  • Run Professional Development days on how to use the museum.
  • To make a more formal consultation with a range of schools you might want to send out a questionnaire or set up a focus group.
  • Another useful way of consulting is to enlist the support of an Advanced Skills Teacher (AST) or contact your Local Authority (LA) Advisor who specialises in the subject or age range which you wish to target.
  • Your Local Authority  or local cluster of schools might have network meetings which it could be appropriate for you to attend.

Look at the Evaluating your service page on this website for more ideas and at case studies, on the Museums, Libraries and Archives (MLA)  Council website, from those who have taken part in the Learning Links programme

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