How to develop your policy

Developing an education policy from scratch takes time because research and consultation – both of which are time-consuming – are central to the process.You will need to allow several months for the process.

Researching your audiences and their learning needs is vital if you are going to be able to make decisions about aims and objectives with any confidence.You may also need to research the potential offered by the museum’s collections, the skills and expertise of staff and volunteers, the financial and other resources available to you, the education work of other museums and so on.

Consulting a wide range of colleagues throughout the process is also essential if you are to get support for the policy and achieve a sense of shared ownership.You may also wish to consult priority target audiences at appropriate stages in the process.

Developing an education policy involves the following stages:

1 Make sure that your manager and governing body support the idea of producing an education policy.
2 Carry out your research.
3 Involve as many colleagues as possible in developing an education mission statement and in brainstorming ideas.
4 Bring together a number of key colleagues to assess the current position and to identify areas for development. It is often useful to carry out a SWOT analysis.This involves identifying Strengths and Weaknesses relating to internal factors (eg collections, space, budgets, expertise of staff and volunteers, quality of existing provision) and Opportunities and Threats relating to external factors (eg educational developments, economic trends, technological developments, funding opportunities, potential partnerships).
5 Draft the policy statements and strategy, bearing in mind the museum’s overall mission, forward plan and other strategic documents.
6 Circulate the draft for comment to colleagues and key stakeholders, or hold consultation meetings, and amend as necessary.
7 Draft the action plan, checking that it is achievable.
8 Consult colleagues on the resource implications of the action plan.
9 Write your final education policy document.
10 Get the policy approved by your manager and governing body.
11 Make sure that everyone involved in developing the policy has access to a copy
of the document.
12 Hold briefing meetings for key staff and volunteers to ensure that they understand their role in implementing the policy.
13 Implement the policy, ensuring that everyone involved is regularly informed of progress.
14 Monitor the appropriateness and success of the policy on an ongoing basis and adapt it as required – inform everyone involved of any changes. An education policy is a working document and needs to be able to respond to unforeseen changes in circumstances.
15 Review the policy annually.

Tips on writing your policy

• It is usually better for one person to write the policy, but to consult widely throughout the process.
• Keep it reasonably short, say no more than six pages plus an action plan – longer documents are less likely to be read or used.
• If necessary, use appendices for detailed information.
• Include a contents list and keep the structure simple and easy to follow.
• Try presenting your action plan in a table – this can save space and often makes it easier to understand.
• Avoid using jargon or academic language – remember that the policy might be read by a wide variety of people.
• If you envisage the policy being used as an advocacy document or as part of funding applications etc, spend time on presentation – a document that looks professional and reads well will inspire confidence.