Applications are now open for the 2017 Sandford Awards, the UK’s most prestigious awards recognising high-quality heritage education.
Jointly managed by Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln and the Heritage Education Trust, the Sandford Awards are an independently judged, quality assured assessment of educational programmes across heritage sites, museums, archives and collections across the British Isles.
Almost 500 sites have received the non-competitive award since the scheme began back in 1978, including King Richard III Visitor Centre in Leicestershire, Harewood House in West Yorkshire, Durham Cathedral and Benjamin Franklin House in London.
Applications for the 2017 award open today (Monday 5th December 2016) and remain open until Friday 17th February 2017.
The award offers a ‘kite mark’ for high-quality education provided and is recognised by schools and other educational institutions across the UK.
The sites will be judged on numerous criteria and judges will visit each site. They will assess how well sites use educational programmes to engage and inform their visitors and will also consider the attention to detail in management and administration during all aspects of their visit.
For the winners, there is an opportunity to attend an awards ceremony later on in the year.
The award is valid for five years, after which all award-holding sites are required to apply for a full reappraisal of their educational programmes.
Each application costs £200 and forms are available for download from the Sandford Award website:
https://www.heritageeducationtrust.org/