E17 Higham Hill, Upper Walthamstow, Walthamstow
Running the Postcode Project pilot workshops in Waltham Forestby Marie Kerrigan and Jane Sarre |
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The project was first suggested after a chance meeting in October between Lynda Agard (Community Outreach Officer, Museum of London), Brenda Agard (North London Partnership) and Marie Kerrigan (Family Learning Coordinator, Waltham Forest). |
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This was followed up with a meeting with Lorna Lee from Vestry House Museum in Waltham Forest and Jane Sarre (Learning online project manager) from The Museum of London. A short pilot course was planned with every effort made to take into account the interests and time feasibility of local residents. |
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The City Learning Centre Manager was also contacted for the loan of resources and if necessary support with the use of facilities. |
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Some of the course was funded by LSC money from the Wider Family Learning budget. This covered tutor costs and coordinating time plus refreshments. WFL also paid for the hire of the community room at Vestry House and the fee for the guest story teller. |
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The Museum of London contributed outreach staff and the salary of a photography tutor. The museum also paid for disposable cameras for families to use freely and developing costs. |
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Vestry House provided the venue for 3 weeks and specialist support from the archivist and Lorna’s time. |
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We had free access to the City Learning Centre in the final week and the presence of the manager on the day was a real bonus. |
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Brenda Agard took the lead in designing the flyer. It was decided that participants would need to book a place because of resources and accommodation. Adults and children had to attend together because of funding criteria for Family Learning. |
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The course was designed to run for 4 weeks in Waltham Forest with a break in the middle for half term. |
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It took place on Saturday afternoons from 2 to 4 with an extra hour for those who could stay longer. In the first week we introduced the Postcodes Project, did a short photography activity, and listened to some lively African stories. The second and third sessions were used to take more photographs and develop the stories. In the fourth week the group went to the CLC to enter their stories into the website, and final optional session we visited the Museum of London and had a tour of the galleries. |
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We knew from experience, that to attract families who might not usually visit the local museum or feel comfortable using technical equipment, we had to offer a variety of activities. We wanted to appeal to as wide a range of people as possible in the local area, so we also offered a healthy eating workshop, where the group prepared food that reflected the local community using locally sourced produce – and ate the food produced by the group! |
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A number of people who took part in the workshops completed their stories, and you can see them listed on the E17 page. |
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Looking back, Lorna Lee said 'The project was a success from my perspective as it brought in new audiences to Vestry House Museum and gave families an insight into the history of their area with the support of the Museum of London. It also was a 'friendly' introduction into how they can access resources such as the archives, of which some may not have been aware. It was also a learning experience for staff as it introduced them to different approaches to enabling the whole family to get involved.' |
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Disclaimer The Postcodes Project includes material submitted by users of the website. The Museum accepts no liability in respect of any of this material, and we are not responsible for its content and accuracy. |
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