Summary

Summary

The richness and variety of historic buildings and sites in the United Kingdom offer enormous potential for formal and informal learning and enjoyment.

Popular interest in the historic environment, in history and in archaeology, is extremely high, as demonstrated by visitor figures, publications and television programmes.

The historic environment has the potential to stimulate people of all ages, from all socio-cultural groups, to develop their creative, rational and imaginative powers, to participate more fully in society as citizens and as equal partners, and to deepen their understanding of their local, natural, regional, national and global environments.

Our historic buildings and sites already make a major contribution to the National Curricula, with new developments extending into cross curricular studies, sustainable development and citizenship.

Volunteering delivers learning ranging from technical training to life skills, while making a vast practical contribution to the care and protection of the historic environment Leisure and recreation play a significant role in enhancing our quality of life and opening the door to new interests and activities which deliver learning, especially for new audiences.

The issues of diverse representation and interpretation, which are beginning to be addressed, can contribute to equality and social cohesion.

There have been many positive recent developments:

The provision of formal and informal learning within the historic environment has increased greatly in the past twenty years in statutory organisations such as English Heritage and Historic Scotland.
The voluntary sector plays an invaluable role. The work of dedicated heritage organisations is outstandingly important in the United Kingdom. The National Trusts, for example, place heritage education at the heart of their agenda.
The private sector owns a very high proportion of the historic buildings in the United Kingdom and organisations such as the Historic Houses Association are increasingly addressing these issues.
Religious bodies, and notably the Church of England, own at least a third of listed buildings and in the case of Anglican cathedrals, for example, have greatly expanded their educational work since 1990. Buildings representing diverse faiths have a huge potential role. Governments across the United Kingdom have expressed their moral support for heritage education, in line with the considerable financial support they have given to museum and gallery education following the publication of the Renaissance in the Regions report in 2001.

Much of the basis for the creative expansion of heritage learning already exists - the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment and the Architecture Centre Network, the Council for British Archaeology, Lottery funding, specialist subject advisers, local record offices and the National Monument Record. The British Government has shown its commitment to extending the understanding of architecture by setting up the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment.

Issues

While public, voluntary and private bodies spend many millions each year on conserving the historic environment, proportionately small sums are dedicated to helping people enjoy and understand these buildings and sites.

There are a number of problems:

• The number of sites is extremely large and their ownership is dispersed
• There is severely limited collaboration between sites, at both national and local level
• The impressive work of the private and voluntary sectors is very seldom integrated with that of statutory bodies
• Budgets and salaries are frequently very low
• Funding is often short-term and projectbased
• Provision for learning is directed primarily at younger school children, with further and higher education, and lifelong learning, relatively neglected
• Guiding and interpretation are often of poor quality
• While the National Curricula are well disposed in theory towards engagement with the historic environment, they are frequently interpreted by schools as excluding visits to historic sites.
• There is a lack of knowledge and skills needed to engage with new audiences, at a time when priority groups make up nearly a third of the population
• The potential offered by Information and Communication Technology has not been fully realised and the sites available are hard to access.

The great weakness in this field is fragmentation.