Evaluating the impact of Historic England’s Heritage Schools programme 

Learning about local heritage is vital to help teachers foster a sense of community amongst their pupils and connect them with their shared history. Historic England’s Heritage Schools programme, funded by the Department for Education, offers free CPD training to teachers, enabling them to integrate local heritage into the curriculum. The programme also provides free resources and connects schools with local heritage partners. Historic England wanted to evaluate the programme to understand the impact it had on teachers and pupils.

Approach

Qa used a mixed methods approach to comprehensively evaluate the programme’s impact. Quantitative surveys were conducted with teachers attending CPD courses, and with heritage partners involved in the programme. Qa also visited schools and heritage organisations involved in the programme across the UK. Through interviews with teachers and pupils, as well as a review of their work, eight case studies were developed that vividly demonstrated its effect.

Outcome

Our research provided Historic England with detailed evidence of the impact the programme had, enabling them to review their processes, work out what was effective and identifying any changes which could enhance their work further. The report also allowed Historic England to demonstrate that funding is well-used, showcasing the value of the Heritage Schools programme.

For more information please contact:

Nick How  Research Director
nick.how@qaresearch.co.uk
01904 632039

Photography: CDC on Unsplash