News release
2nd December 2014
£406,500 Grant to Improve Heritage Education
A £406,500 grant will help Bishop Grosseteste University to improve the educational
impact of museums and heritage sites across the East Midlands.
The grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund will contribute to the The Sandford Learning Cascade
Project, a four-year scheme which will encourage up to 14 Sandford Award winning sites in the
region to support staff training at less developed heritage sites.
The Sandford Award, established in 1978 by Lord Sandford and the Heritage Education Trust is
administered by BGU. The award aims to reward excellence in heritage education. Recent
award winners include Gainsborough Old Hall, Belton House, the Newark and Sherwood
Museum Service and Normanby Hall.
Sandford Learning Cascade has three innovative strands:
‘Sandford Scholarships’ will see staff from less developed heritage sites visit Sandford
Award-winning sites and collect a digital record of best practice there. What the scholars learn
during their time at the award-winning sites will help to develop new education programmes and
enhance existing ones.
‘Sandford Cloud’ gives heritage professionals and volunteers in the region access to the
expertise of Sandford Award judges around the UK, through the development of an on-line
learning resource known as ‘Sandford Cloud’.
Finally, Sandford Our Take is an exciting new award scheme to recognise high quality informal
and family learning in the region. Museums and historic sites will be encouraged to develop new
opportunities in partnership with the communities they serve.
The project has been five years in the making and Jean MacIntyre, Head of Innovation at BGU,
is delighted to receive the £406,500 grant, 76% of total project funding.
“The HLF gave us a grant for the development phase which went extremely well and involved a
number of local museums and heritage centres,” said Jean.
“The sites told us the project had changed their whole way of thinking about heritage education
and we expect the next phase to be even more influential.
“The HLF has been very generous and imaginative in recognising the needs of people working
in the heritage sector as opportunities for training have diminished, so this is an ideal
opportunity to increase the knowledge, skills and understanding of people working at a range of
heritage sites.
“The Sandford Learning Cascade project will be a significant contribution to meeting BGU’s
knowledge transfer and public engagement aims across the region as well as establishing the
Sandford Awards as a dynamic, positive force for education training in the UK.”
Project Co-ordinator Adam Clarke, who was responsible for writing the bid as well as project
piloting, research and development, said: “HLF should be congratulated for backing this cuttingedge learning project.
“BGU and the Sandford Award will be working with museums, heritage sites and a range of
other partners across the East Midlands to develop high-quality educational resources for the
benefit of children, schools and families throughout our region.”
Notes to editors:

Using money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF)
sustains and transforms a wide range of heritage for present and future generations
to take part in, learn from and enjoy. From museums, parks and historic places to
archaeology, natural environment and cultural traditions, it invests in every part of
our diverse heritage. HLF has supported 37,000 projects, allocating £6 billion across
the UK, including over £268 million to the East Midlands alone. For more
information visit www.hlf.org.uk/.

The Sandford Awards were originally administered by The Council for Environmental
Education. To develop the awards more fully, the Heritage Education Trust was
established in 1983 and now runs the scheme in collaboration with Bishop
Grosseteste University.

More than 250 sites have received an award since the scheme began, including
Hampton Court Palace, Brunel’s ss Great Britain in Bristol, Edinburgh Castle and Big
Pit - the National Mining Museum of Wales.

Bishop Grosseteste Universitywas established in January 1862 and celebrated its
150th anniversary in 2012.

It is an independent higher education institution based in Lincoln which awards its
own undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.

It changed its name from Bishop Grosseteste University College to Bishop
Grosseteste University in November 2012.
For media information please contact:
Jez Ashberry
Shooting Star PR
01522 528540
07780 735071
jez@shootingstar-pr.co.uk
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