We have been shortlisted for Learning Programme of the Year

Attenborough Arts Centre is pleased to announce that we have been shortlisted for Learning Programme of the Year for the Museums + Heritage Awards 2025.

The global awards celebrate the very best in the world of museums, galleries, and cultural and heritage visitor attractions and the ceremony to reveal the winners will take place on the evening of Thursday, May 15, 2025, at Hilton Park Lane, London.

This year’s shortlist, which includes entrants from all over the United Kingdom as well as museums and other cultural organisations in 14 other countries ranging from Norway to Egypt and Australia, have been chosen by an independent panel of nine judges, who are all well-known in the museum’s world. The shortlist reflects the diversity of the Museum and Heritage sector featuring organisations such as Chatsworth House and the Migration Museum as well as national museums such as the British Museum and includes the new Visitor Accessibility Award among the 18 categories.

Attenborough Arts Centre’s SENsory Atelier programme has been nominated for bringing arts and culture to the classrooms of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The programme responds directly to the centre’s mission of ‘Art For All’, as SENsory Atelier is an innovative model for SEN education which enables children to lead their own learning journeys inspired by the Reggio Emilia open pedagogy.

In 2024 the programme delivered:

• 2,916 engagements with SEND children and young people – comprising 2,653 individuals from 9 SEN schools over 290 sessions.
• Two major exhibitions: ‘Traces’ from 23 February-19 May 2024, co-produced by Attenborough Arts Centre and Pasha Kincaid and Morgan Stockton of Seeds & Dreams company, and Unlocking The World from 8 March-26 May 2024 about the making of SENsory Atelier.
• The SENsory Atelier Group Observation Framework in May 2024, developed to allow an observer to capture narrative information about a small group of young people and to score their engagements against a set of indicators from one of five outcome areas.
• Publication of Attenborough Arts Centre’s SENsory Atelier SEND Code of Practice, for Arts Organisations, Artists and Educators in May 2024, a guide on how creativity can transform SEND education nationally and internationally.
• A national Symposium in May 2024, bringing together educators, artists and policymakers to shape the future of inclusive arts education, addressing key topics and what can mainstream education learn from arts in SEND education approaches.

Anna Preedy, Director of Museums + Heritage Awards commented: “This year’s shortlist truly reflects the breadth and depth of the cultural sector and its determination to deliver first-class visitor experiences for all. We have organisations of all shapes and sizes represented from all corners of the globe and I am particularly thrilled that our new Visitor Accessibility Award has been so well received. It reflects the growing momentum to break down barriers and make cultural experiences accessible to everyone. It’s heartening to see so much excellent, inclusive work being celebrated. Bravo to everyone driving change and creating welcoming spaces for all.”

For more information, please visit www.awards.museumsandheritage.com

To learn more about the SENsory Atelier Programme, please visit www.attenborougharts.com/learning/sensory-atelier