Help learners get the most from pre-booked heritage learning experiences before they even come: Bookings

Museums, galleries and historic sites offer fantastic resources for learning outside the classroom. They and their customers want learners to have superb learning experiences so it pays to get the basics right from the start. I’m taking a look at some of the best ways to help learners gain the most from in-house led sessions before they arrive. This time, I’m considering the booking process. It may not be ‘sexy’ but it provides the basis for any new relationship once you and the customer have made contact.

Keep it simple

Some sites send paper forms and ask for them to be posted back. If you can’t avoid this, I recommend that you always post to an up-to-date named contact (this applies to any method of correspondence) and provide an SAE. It should be possible for people to make enquiries by other means, but not to leave messages on the assumption that by stating their preferred session and time, both have been secured for them. Of course, if you’re lucky enough to be able to offer an online booking system safe in the knowledge that tutors/session leaders, equipment, and space are in place, then that’s great.

A more common system is to have a booking request e-form. This doesn’t need to look fancy or use special software. In fact, institutions often use older versions so a form created in a less than recent version of Word, can most be convenient for customers. Forms with lots of coloured ink can be annoyingly wasteful if the customer likes to print copies. Save your museum’s stylish presentation for material that sells the service.

Don’t have forms which can’t be filled in digitally. Do provide plenty of space for free-type comments and requests. I suggest that you set forms up so the questions and fields can’t be edited by the user. Have enforced completion on certain fields. Often these are limited to basic booking and contact information. If you really want to find out how you can provide the best learning experience for that customer, and can’t chat it through with the person making the booking or they don’t know all the answers, then I suggest making other fields compulsory too.

Share and get the information you really need

In my experience, teachers sometimes skip sections about learners with extra support needs on the basis that the support they need (e.g. 1:1) is already in place. This ignores the very different learning experience at a heritage site. If you don’t know them all, get a glossary for the numerous SEND[i] abbreviations[ii] but don’t rely on this for prior understanding of learners. I'd argue than sometimes it’s just as useful to know more about what hinders or helps a learner, than the label of their condition or disability. Just being told that a child has ASC[iii] for example, doesn’t tell you if and how adapting the session or the teaching environment in some way, would help them.

It isn’t necessarily enough to know what Year Group is coming. Try to find out if the learners are at the start, end, or midway through learning about a given subject. Have they enjoyed particular learning activities on which this session can build? Heritage educators are adept at being adaptable and improvising as sessions progress but advance information can make the session better from the start. Teachers understand this. They’re often battling work overload, so think hard about how you phrase questions and which ones you make compulsory.

Aim for timely, accurate communication between everyone involved

Most small heritage sites have to juggle multiple uses for limited space and don’t always have teaching staff available. They may need to contact freelancers/casual workers such as myself before being able to confirm a booking. This can leave both the customer and the freelancer in limbo so it’s really important to finalise bookings quickly.[iv]

Although it involves extra admin, you could have a deposit system to secure a booking and as a deterrent against cancellations. If a provisional booking has been made, clearly state a time period or date after which the slot will be offered to others. The staff member will also know that unless the booking is confirmed by then, they can stand down. Otherwise, you may unnecessarily turn down another customer. It’s worth confirming that this has or is about to happen with the provisional customer. Otherwise, there’s a risk that they won’t read the ‘small’ print and turn-up when others are being taught -the heritage educator’s worst nightmare! It’s only happened to me once when there was miscommunication between a school administrator and the teacher bringing their class.

This anecdote is a reminder of how easy it is to liaise with one person but for the information not to reach the people who’re coming. This can easily happen when office staff have been tasked with making a booking rather than the teacher or group leader. Always find out the names and contact details for those bringing the learners and send them at least a brief “hello” in advance. Explain that this is essential for health and safety such as if they need to 
be contacted urgently while en route.

Most people who’re bringing learners do want to be the first point of contact but they may be only be available at particular times. Therefore, try to be around to take and make calls after teaching hours and find out when suits particular customers best. Use email or messenger services that can be accessed at any time. Just like them, you can’t be available all the time so state when you can’t respond but also when you’ll reply to messages. For example, by having this on your automatic email replies and signature. These may seem like obvious actions but they’re easily overlooked.

As someone who’s run a heritage learning service, regularly delivers education sessions in museums, and has brought classes to historic sites for learning experiences, I understand the importance of shared expectations. I also understand how difficult it can be to have the appropriate, high quality pre-visit communication necessary to achieve this. Shortage of staff time at the venue and within the visiting institution or group, often play a part. As do finding the best times and means to interact. There isn’t a ‘one size fits all solution’ but effective, helpful administration gives the best start to any new relationship between customer and provider.

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[i] Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

[ii] Lots of local authorities and schools provide these online. e.g. https://www.woodlane.lbhf.sch.uk/page/?title=SEN+Terminology%2FAcronyms&pid=56

[iii] Autistic Spectrum Condition. Some schools use ‘ASD’ where the ‘D’ is ‘Disorder’.

[iv] SHARE Museums East has a useful guide for museums on using freelancers: http://sharemuseumseast.org.uk/working-with-freelancers/share-museums-east-guide-to-working-with-freelancers-final/