English Heritage

PSA3 Targets Progress Report 2006-7

May 2007

3. Support of Black Environment Network's Historic Environment Programme under EH's National Capacity Building Programme

Start Date: 2006 Completion: March 2008

Grant funding of c. £70k in 2006/07 (£65K in 07/08)has been awarded to support BEN's strategic work: engagement with key heritage committees and working groups (e.g. HEREC, National Trust Council); dialogue with key organisations and agencies to help them build capacity; the stimulation of additional projects and partnerships by historic environment organisations to address ethnic inclusion (e.g. workshops, conferences and training)

By agreement with BEN, the Historic Environment Programme for 2006-08 concentrates on strategic and qualitative as this work is about building capacity in the heritage sector around working with BME groups rather than carrying out direct grassroots access projects. This project will therefore indirectly contribute to the achievement of the PSA 3 target.

4. To deliver a minimum of 40 outreach projects each year, engaging 30,000 people from priority groups with the historic environment.

Start Date: 2005 Completion: 2008

By April 2007, 48 outreach projects will be delivered. These will have engaged approx. 18,690 people who meet the PSA3 target.

The number of projects run has exceeded the target but the number of people engaged is lower than anticipated, partly because many projects are to be completed during summer 2007, so that the numbers of people indirectly engaged will show up in next year's PSA3 report. Allowing for this, the total number of people engaged by end of summer 2007is approximately 26,000.

48 outreach projects across the country have all engaged people from priority groups, including, for example: Travellers, young offenders, women from ethnic minority communities, people with learning difficulties and the elderly people with dementia.

Each project has aimed to demonstrate good practice in terms of:

Given this latter point, we have focussed more on process rather than outcome. This has meant less emphasis on running projects with large scale public outcomes, and concentrating more on the impact on project participants, even if this means engaging fewer people.

5. To deliver a minimum of 18 projects per year to engage priority groups in Heritage Open Days.

Start Date: 2005 Completion: 2008

37 projects were run by the Outreach Department to engage new communities from priority groups with HODs 2006.

Approximate number of people meeting PSA3 target engaged by HODs diversity projects was 14,200.

The Outreach Team targets areas high on the Indices of Multiple Deprivation for new HODs programmes. We work in areas for up to 3 years to embed it locally so the community has the capacity to continue this work alone.

New areas for 2006 include:

To increase the diversity of properties participating, the Outreach team also develops multi-faith trails, promoting intercultural working by bringing together people from different faiths to work together to open up their buildings. A new trail was created in Leicester for 2006.

6. To build capacity within the heritage sector by delivering a major national conference to share and disseminate exemplars of best practice in grassroots community engagement with the historic environment.

Start Date: 2006 Completion: 2007

`Your Place or Mine? Engaging New Audiences with Heritage' (YPoM) conference delivered successfully Nov 2006. 350 participants, both policy-makers and practitioners. Very successful event to strengthen EH's role in leading and supporting sector to engage new audiences with representatives from heritage, museums, cultural and community organisations present. Delegates learnt new skills, networked and debated issues in practical workshops and plenary sessions

Blog website created for YPoM - 8,457 visits Nov 06 - Feb 07. The blog site has enabled us to put all conference proceedings online immediately with facility for people to continue debating.

YPoM conference was produced in partnership with the National Trust. The long term goal is to produce a virtual professional networking website to further this online supportive interaction.

7. National Capacity Building programme bidding round for funding of projects relating to access

Start Date: Nov 05 Completion: March 06

This process was carried out in the selection of grant recipients in 2005.

Grants awarded towards training and strategic support:

Grants towards direct delivery of improved access:

In addition, West Midlands regional grant support for the Gateway Gardens Trust connects a wide range of community groups, schoolchildren and Lifelong Learners with the fascinating social and environmental heritage of historic parks and gardens. English Heritage Outreach Depart have undertaken an associated project at the Walled Garden, Luton Hoo, Bedfordshire.

New Target for 07/08

Start Date: Late 07 Completion: March 08

7c) National Capacity Building Programme bidding round for funding of projects relating to access 2008-10.

Consider appropriate targets for priorities for funding. Review applications against priorities.

Choice of priorities will be influenced by emerging EH strategy for 3^rd party investment (i.e. grants)

8. To deliver a programme of grassroots projects relating to the 2007 Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

Start Date: 2005 Completion: 2007

Discussions between English Heritage and BEN on this theme did not lead to a grant application from BEN for the delivery of historic environment trails. Therefore English Heritage commissioned a leaflet “Sites of Memory: The Slave Trade and Abolition” identifying key sites in the historic environment across the regions of England relating to the history of the trade, plantation wealth and abolition struggles, from black experts in the history of the British slave trade, Angelina Osborne and S.I. Martin. The leaflet was launched on 23^rd March 2007. 50,000 copies are being disseminated through EH sites, community groups, museums with relevant exhibitions and sector events. A web micro-site with information from the leaflet has been launched (www.english-heritage.org.uk/abolition ) and this will be added to over coming years. English Heritage is encouraging input from local projects researching links to the history of the slave trade to this site.

The Heritage Protection team have initiated the project “Designating History: 2007 Commemoration of the Abolition of the Slave Trade”. Buildings are listed for their `special architectural or historic interest', but the latter consideration is often less easy to capture in the statutory record. Many listed buildings, such as the Grade II* Holy Trinity Church, Clapham are listed for architectural reasons and with little mention of their often extraordinary histories, such as this building's long associations with the Clapham Sect of abolitionists. The list description is valuable on two counts: as the guide for managing change to a listed building, and as the only piece of documentation conveying to a building's owner why it is so special. The Heritage Protection Reform puts improved information for owners upfront in the reformed system, so a discrete project looking at improving the historical justification of statutory descriptions is highly useful for us as an organisation.

We are looking at major sites with strong historical links, such as the Grade I Church of St. Andrew, Chesterton, Cambridge with a connection to abolitionst Olaudah Equianno's family and special architectural monuments therein. We will build on existing research, such as the Sites of Memory map, rather than breaking new ground. The designation work will result in a small batch of revised list entries that better flag the historic links to abolition within a site, and there is some scope for new designations, such as the recently listed tomb of abolitionist Granville Sharp (d.1813) in Fulham churchyard.

Beyond the immediate focus on abolition, this is a useful exercise in drawing out history in sites generally and it will help us inform designation principles with regard to sites of historical association. Explaining, commemorating and celebrating is as important a part of our work as describing, and doing so aligns us with the Heritage Protection White Paper's emphasis on public engagement and community values.

New Target for 07/08

The creation of themed “Equiano's London” walks and a published trail by the English Heritage Blue Plaques team.

8b) Development of themed events and trails at EH properties with strong links to slavery and emancipation. In addition, to include related activities as part of Festival of History 2007.

Start Date: 2007 Completion: 2007

6 outreach projects underway to be launched over 2007

A temporary exhibition, “Slavery and Justice: The legacies of Lord Mansfield and Dido Elizabeth”, will take place at Kenwood House, Hampstead from 24^th May to 2^nd September 2007. This is the only English heritage property where the links to the history of the slave trade or abolition movement are well understood at present.

English Heritage has, in 2006-7, commissioned a 6 month initial scoping research project from an expert in this subject, looking at archival evidence of any links between its other sites and this history, which has now been completed. Some initial evidence of interesting connections has been found and a plan to take forward in depth research on these sites is now being formulated. The work will take until late 2008 to complete. This information will then be available for use in education and interpretation work in the longer term.

A special performance event, “Breaking the Chains”, using costumed actors to interpret the history of the Abolition movement will be delivered at the 2007 Festival of History as well as other English Heritage sites (see below 27).

National Archaeology Week in July 2007 will feature themed events and talks around the Bicentenary for adults and children at the EH Archaeology Centre in Fort Cumberland.

9. To meet the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act and develop good practice at EH sites. To increase participation in heritage from disabled groups

Start Date: 2006 Completion: 2007

Sites access

3700 interactive CD Roms have been produced on the outreach project at Witley Court. Half have been disseminated across heritage sector so far. Access audits have been carried out at about 400 sites and physical works delivered at many. 7% of visitors to the top 40 sites consider themselves disabled. About 800 EH site staff have been trained to welcome disabled visitors.

Achievements in 2006-7 include:

Disability Discrimination Act 2005

English Heritage set up the Disability Action Group (DAG) in 2007, including managers from all relevant departments, disabled staff and advocates from external disability organisations. DAG drafted the English Heritage Disability Equality Scheme, published in December 2007 on our website, and will be monitoring the achievement of the 3 year action plan.

New Target 2007/8

Start Date: 2007 Completion: 2008

CHECK WITH EMMA CARVER - R&S COMMITMENTS FROM DES?

Disability Equality Scheme

In December 2006, English Heritage published its first DES on the website in compliance with the new Specific Duty introduced by the DDA 2005. A Disability Action Group (DAG) has been established, including staff with disabilities from across EH, which helped to identify the priorities for action within the scheme. This group will regularly monitor and evaluate our progress in carrying out the three year action plan within the scheme. English Heritage is currently building new relationships with national disability advocacy bodies, inviting representatives to sit on the DAG to improve our involvement of disabled people in the application of the scheme.

10. Help other people facilitate disabled access to historic buildings and landscapes.

Start Date: 2005 Completion: 2007

The joint EH and HLF guidance “Easy Access to Historic Landscapes” won the Landscape Institutes top award in Nov 2006. This guide was published in 2005 and promotional seminars on it were given in 2005 and 2007.

11. To obtain data on visits to historic sites by priority groups.

Start Date: 2005 Completion: 2008

English Heritage contributes £80k per annum towards Taking Part survey with other NDPBs. The survey is managed by DCMS. Taking Part survey results were analysed for Heritage Counts 2006 and a chapter on participation in the Heritage Sector has been published in the DCMS report on Taking Part first year results in Spring 2007.

27. To target priority groups through our Events programme by developing targeted activities

Start Date: 2005 Completion: Ongoing

Devise a public events programme to broaden our audiences.

In 2007/8 money will be put towards a series of events commemorating the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, “Breaking the Chains” a dramatic interpretation of attitudes to the abolition of slavery, will be performed at

Other planned events include:

Enchanted Garden at Brodsworth. Fri 19 - Sun 28 Oct

The magnificently restored Victorian Gardens are illuminated to become a place of wonder and enchantment. This garden walk will delight young and old alike as the garden features are bathed with colourful light, with a surprise around every corner. The shop will be open and refreshments available on these special evening openings.

The Festival of History (August 2007), which attracts a higher proportion of C2DE visitors than any other EH event. The Festival of History also attracts a higher than average number of disabled visitors. In 2006 13% of visitors surveyed had a disability compared to 7% on a day when no event took place.

National Archaeology Week events in July 2006 and again in July 2007 aim to engage a broad audience with community archaeology and raise awareness of the profession.

Procure statistics of visitors from priority groups attending events and Festival of History; conduct interviews with cross section during events.

English Heritage commissions a general Visitor Survey at 40 properties with the largest number of paying visitors each year, during the school summer holiday peak visiting period. An Events Survey is also carried out at selected public events, including Heritage Open Days and open events associated with English Heritage Outreach projects, to assess the take-up for work aimed to attract new audiences. The sample for the surveys, especially for Outreach events, is limited in size, however, together, they provide some indications of the profile of community participation at sites and events.

In 2005, the majority of English Heritage events visitors were from social classes ABC1, from white ethnic groups and in work. This was confirmed in the general Visitor Survey, which found that 77% of visitors in the sample were from socio-economic groups ABC1 and 96% from white ethnic groups. There is a marked difference between the socio-economic profile of visitors to English Heritage sites depending on whether an event is offered. People in groups C2DE are much more likely to attend on an event day, and there is a small rise in attendance by people from BME groups . Events generally attract more groups with children and more new heritage visitors.

The profile of visitors changed depending on the type of event offered at properties. Heritage Opens Days attracted the broadest range of social groups with 26% C2DE attendance, but general English Heritage public events attracted only slightly less in these groups.

The Events Survey found that participation by visitors with disabilities had increased significantly from the previous year. For general events this was 15% of the sample. However, it may be that this is a general trend to increased mobility, as the Visitor Survey found no variation in the percentage of disabled people visiting English Heritage sites, (19%), which could be related to events.

The majority of general visitors and events participants were in the age group 25-54, but with a significant minority of older people and a very small presence of 16-24 year olds. Family groups including children are most attracted to lively events such as the Festival of History, which also offer good value through English Heritage membership discounts. Parties of 2, often older people without children, are more common at other events.

Outreach events, which are specifically targeted to involve new audiences as the outcome of specific projects with intensive staff support, have been increasingly successful in engaging people from groups under-represented in the general English Heritage visitor profile. Percentage of participants from visible minorities, people with disabilities and older people rose significantly. At the same time, numbers of participants from lower social-economic groups fell in 2005. This may relate to the changing focus of outreach projects driven by the needs of different local communities.

Heritage Open Days, which are accessible in many locations and not linked to membership discounts, attract the largest number of non-members and new heritage visitors if targeted Outreach projects are excluded.

Events play a big part in attracting people to English Heritage sites generally, even when these are accessible at other times. The majority of participants in the Events Survey sample came on a day trip from home, with a minority on weekend or short break holidays. Not surprisingly, local publicity plays a strong role in attracting visitors to events with a strong local focus such as Outreach projects, Heritage Open Days and National Archaeology Days. For these, audiences are often locally based, with a general interest in the history of their community and area. However, across the board, events are generally likely to attract a more local audience, and local publicity is an important way of learning about them.

The English Heritage members' magazine Heritage Today played a bigger role in attracting visitors to events at EH properties and the Festival of History, where transport and membership discounts may be considerations. Choices to visit these events may be based more on the specific interest of the event than on community interests, but the day out may still be a family occasion. Television programmes play a stronger role in attracting visitors to English Heritage sites on days when there are no events. These visitors are more likely to be on their main annual holiday, often in smaller groups without children, travelling, and staying, further away from home.

Additional work to meet the target

The English Heritage HEEP grants programme has supported a range of work to engage a wider audience with archaeology, including:

• Additional funding to the Young Archaeologists' Club magazine to produce a special edition for the Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade in autumn 2007.

• Work by Wessex Archaeology to research the wreck of the SS Mende, a troop carrier from WWI which is highly significant to the history of the African contribution to the war, sunk carrying a large contingent of Zulu Labour Corps recruits to the western front.

• Support to the “Inclusive, Accessible Archaeology” project run by Reading and Bournemouth Universities to improve access to fieldwork and professional training by disabled people.

An edition of the “Conservation Bulletin” is being prepared for July 2007 on broadening access to the historic environment. This covers all three priority groups and goes out to 20,000 professionals in the heritage and planning sector.

A presentation by EH at the Institute of Field Archaeologists conference in April 2007 promoted social inclusion and highlighted the opportunity for EH HEEP funding and Aggregates Levy funding to support activities aimed at increasing access for PSA3 priority groups.

MORI, November 2005, English Heritage PSA3 2005 report

MORI, October 2005, English Heritage Visitor Survey, 2005.

25/05/2007

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