The Sandford Award is an independently judged, quality assured assessment of education programmes at heritage sites, museums, archives and collections across the British Isles.
The Heritage Education Trust is the only body in existence able to provide independent quality assurance to historic properties and collections which run education programmes. Together, these two institutions subsidise the cost of entry to the Sandford Awards five-fold in order to cover the cost of the assessment, the reporting process and the presentation ceremony.
What is the Sandford Award?
The Sandford Award is an independently judged, quality assured assessment of education programmes at heritage sites, museums, archives and collections across the British Isles.
Over 500 sites including historic houses, museums, galleries, places of worship, gardens, landscapes and collections – have received an Award since the scheme began in 1978. They include the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh; official residence of Her Majesty The Queen in Scotland, Worcester Cathedral, Holdenby House in Northamptonshire, London Transport Museum and Lismore Castle Arts in Northern Ireland.
The Sandford Awards represent a broad spectrum of heritage sector partners who recognise the importance of the continuing programme of quality assessment that they provide and we work in partnership with the Historic Houses Association and Historic Royal Palaces who are leaders in heritage learning. The National Trust, The National Trust for Scotland, Historic Scotland, English Heritage and National Museums in England, Wales and Ireland all submit their properties for assessment alongside local authorities, independent trusts and private owners.
The Awards focus on formal, curriculum-linked education opportunities offered to schools by heritage sites, although recognition is also made of informal learning such as family programmes. The Awards are made annually and are non competitive.
Testimonials from previous winners
The feedback that we receive from applicants proves how valuable they find the process:
“A thorough judging process. An award worth having."
“It was a rigorous process for assessing the quality of the educational provision within the heritage sector, which could then be flagged up as a Quality Mark to our users, potential users and colleagues."
“We gained ‘Quality Assurance’ from a well respected and widely acknowledged organisation."
The report was very useful as it highlighted the areas where we are performing to a high standard and also outlined areas where we could improve. Having a document to share with the rest of the education team and the rest of the Museum staff was really useful.
How the Sandford Cascade Project Works
An aspiring site (Scholar) will be placed with a Sandford Award winner (Fellow) and support and capacity will be added through training, volunteer involvement, a range of user-friendly e-learning and funds to meet costs as well as financial contributions for those involved. Scholars will receive good practice and learning from their Fellow(s) via short (potentially ‘virtual’) placements, and will in turn ‘cascade’ this back into their own site or collection.
Heritage experts have produced short films and follow-up support to encourage continued professional development in the historic environment. It is anticipated that this development will create a suitable platform in which heritage learning staff and volunteers can enter into professional discussions and also source relevant support and good practice.
The Sandford Cascade project is also building the foundations for an exciting informal learning award that seeks to recognise good practice and the fostering of positive relationships between visitors and venues.
The principal aim of this scheme is to build capacity and resilience within the heritage learning sector in the East Midlands. By the development of strong networks of learning, cascading and sharing good practice, we can support the shaping of a resilient heritage economy in the region. Heritage sector professionals and volunteers will be enabled to build sustainable opportunities for the benefit of their service users and sites in the historic environment.
For more information, please contact our Sandford Cascade Co-ordinator Rachel Bryant by emailing rachel.bryant@bishopg.ac.uk or calling 01522 583750.
2018 Sandford Award Winners
The Anglican Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, East Anglia
Bassetlaw Museum, Nottinghamshire
The Beaney House of Art and Knowledge, Kent
Belton House, National Trust, Lincolnshire
Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre, Leicestershire
Boughton House, Northamptonshire
The Bowes Museum, County Durham
Brading Roman Villa, Isle of Wight
The Commandery, Worcestershire
Creswell Crags Museum and Heritage Centre, Derbyshire
Cyfarthfa Castle Museum & Art Gallery, Wales
Derby Museum and Art Gallery, Derbyshire
Dinefwr, National Trust, Wales
Discovery Point and RRS Discovery, Scotland
Eastbury Manor House, Greater London
Fota Wildlife Park, Ireland
Gilbert White & The Oates Collections, Hampshire
Hampton Court Palace, London
Harewood House Trust, West Yorkshire
The Historic Dockyard Chatham, Kent
International Bomber Command Centre, Lincolnshire
The John Moore Museum, Gloucestershire
Leeds Discovery Centre, West Yorkshire
Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills, West Yorkshire
MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) – Time Truck, London
Mousetrap Theatre Projects’ Creative Learning Portfolio, London
Muckross Traditional Farms, Ireland
The Museum of Cannock Chase, Staffordshire
National Civil War Centre – Newark Museum, Nottinghamshire
National Coal Mining Museum for England, West Yorkshire
National Justice Museum, Nottinghamshire
Peterborough Museum, Cambridgeshire
The Postal Museum, London
Preston Park Museum and Grounds, County Durham
The Priest’s House Museum, Dorset
Ripon Museum Trust, North Yorkshire
River & Rowing Museum, Oxfordshire
The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, Buckinghamshire
Southwell Minster and the Archbishop’s Palace, Nottinghamshire
Staircase House, Greater Manchester
St Albans Cathedral Learning, Hertfordshire
Thwaite Mills Watermill, West Yorkshire
Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery Trust, Cumbria
Verdant Works, Scotland
Victoria Tunnel, Newcastle upon Tyne
Wilberforce House Museum, Hull and East Riding
Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum, the All England Lawn Tennis Club
Worcestershire County Museum
The Workhouse, Southwell, Nottinghamshire
Want to find out more?
Please visit www.heritageeducationtrust.org where you will find out more about the awards and how to apply.
Join our online community:
Sandford Award Twitter
Sandford Award Facebook
Tel: 01522 583695
Email: sandford@bishopg.ac.uk
You can contact us at:
The Sandford Award
Bishop Grosseteste University
Longdales Road
Lincoln
LN1 3DY