Contact
Us | Press Office | 
Top Award for the Barber’s Education Team
PRESS RELEASE
Top Award for the Barber’s Education Team
The education team at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts has been presented with a prestigious national award recognizing the quality of its activities.
The University of Birmingham-based gallery has been given the Sandford Award for Heritage Education — and the award has now been presented to Education Officer Brian Scholes during a visit by Sandford Award Chief Executive Gareth Fitzpatrick in March.
The commendation places the Barber alongside top national institutions including Hampton Court Palace, the Tower of London and Dulwich Picture Gallery, as well as regional museums such as Aston Hall, Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings and the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter that also hold the award.
Inspectors Eric Steed and Wilf Weeks spent a day at the Barber in the summer. In the morning, they watched Education Officer Brian Scholes and Gallery Assistants Edwina Mileham and Corinne Harrison lead a visit by a Year One class from Little Sutton Primary School as they explored the subject of portraiture. The children enjoyed storytelling in the galleries presented by professional actors Annamation, then drew their own portraits. In the afternoon, the inspectors shadowed a life-drawing class for adults, led by Brian and his team with artist Terry Mullett.
The inspector praised every aspect of the visit, from planning, organisation and how the activities were tailored to the National Curriculum, to resources and facilities such as the paintings in the gallery, the actors’ costumes and the siting of the Education Room. He also approved of how the team interacted with and managed the children and adults, the way they helped the children and adults understand the collection, and the quality of the tuition.
In his report, Mr Steed said: ‘It would be difficult to improve the content or quality of the programme offered to the Year One class. From the moment they were greeted by the trained guide, to the individual assessment of their own portrait drawings before they left, the children were engrossed in their learning and participation in the activities presented to them.
‘The presentations — including input and movement — were seamless. There was no time for pupils to drift off because the pace and interest levels were kept so high,’ he continued.
His only suggestions for improvements were that the team should continue to explore collaborating with education teams at other galleries to help evaluate each other’s visits, and that the Barber should invest in some storage containers to hold some of the resources for the workshops.
Brian Scholes said he was delighted by the inspector’s findings. ‘Our education programme at the Barber has evolved over a number of years and we’re always looking at ways we can improve,’ said Brian. ‘The fact that we are almost completely booked up for workshops throughout the school year, as well as for our adult art classes, is evidence that we must be doing something right, but it’s great to have it recognised by the experts.’
10 March 2008
Ends
| For further information, please contact Andrew Davies, Barber Press and Marketing Officer, on 0121 414 2946 or andrewdavies@barber.org.uk |