Low Revs – sensory friendly at Silverstone Museum, Sept 23

Silverstone Museum replicates the noise, adrenaline, and excitement of motor racing, but staff are aware that this can be an unsuitable environment for some visitors. We welcome many SEN education groups (both child and adult learners) to Silverstone Museum, and it has been a passion project to introduce sensory friendly events here, to enable everyone the opportunity to enjoy the …

Autism Access at the Cartoon Museum, April 2022

For World Autism Day we have a fantastic new blog from Amba who is the Community Outreach Officer at the Cartoon Museum. She tells us about her own reasons for wanting to improve access to the London museum and shares the work she is doing with autistic audiences: Growing up I benefitted from museum outreach programmes, and while I ended …

Interview – Marion Godwin, Visitor Engagement Team Leader, Blists Hill, April 2022

On Autism Awareness Day we are delighted to share an interview with Marion who works at Blists Hill Victorian Town, part of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust. In the interview we talk about what it means to be an autistic heritage professional and what it is like to be the ‘human version of an interpretation panel’! Marion talks about the …

Interview – Joseph McGeady, Learning Apprentice, British Library, March 2022

In this interview we talk to Joseph who has been doing an apprenticeship at the British Library. He shares his experience of working for a large cultural organisation and the types of activities he has undertaken as an apprentice. Why did you want to do an apprenticeship at the British Library? I have had a strong interest in history ever …

Sensory Friendly Backpacks at V&A Dundee

By Peter Nurick, Communities Producer, Access and Learning Earlier this year V&A Dundee introduced Sensory Friendly Days, supported by players of the People’s Postcode Lottery and designed to welcome visitors who may benefit from a more relaxed sensorial environment. As part of these events, the museum unveiled brand new, updated sensory friendly backpacks to enhance the experience for visitors. The …

Football Clubs and Sensory Rooms – a visit to Arsenal and Chelsea, Apr 2021

Getting fans back to football is about so much more than ‘Pukka Pies’ and a pint, whilst we have been able to enjoy sport on television nothing beats the match day live experience. Many football fans have realised for the first time what it feels like to be unable to experience their favourite team playing week in and week out. …

Autograph Gallery, London: On adapting our Family SEND Workshops for Lockdown, April 2021

At Autograph we focus on exhibiting and publishing photography, which explores issues related to identity, diversity and human rights. We are strong advocates for representing and including people who are marginalised and have built our organisation around supporting those who have historically been excluded from participating in the arts. In 2017, we joined a radical UK-wide project highlighting the extraordinary …

Working with SEND Learners at The Red House

A Partnership Project between Autism in Nature and Britten-Pears Arts Joe Carr, Collection and Learning Curator Background The Red House is the historic home of the composer Benjamin Britten and his partner the singer Peter Pears, located in Aldeburgh, Suffolk. It comprises the historic house, kept as Britten and Pears knew it; Britten’s composition studio, similarly in its original state; …

Engaging children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) virtually through lockdown

During the Covid 19 lockdown University of Cambridge Museums wanted to engage remotely and maintain relationships with our pre-existing audience of children with special educational needs and disabilities. According to government statistics in January 2020 12.1% of all school pupils have a special educational need, and we have two main programmes for children with special educational needs and disabilities. Arts Pioneers, for …