Standards PLUS Module
Excelling at Being Inclusive and Age-Friendly
This tailored online programme equips your organisation with the tools and insights needed to build greater inclusion for older people.
Is your organisation considering older people in your programming, messaging and ensuring the experiences they have with you are accessible and welcoming?
With 1 in 5 people in the UK aged over 65 (and that figure only increasing), it is essential that arts and heritage organisation are considering older people as an important audience.
This online course will help you to ensure your organisation is age-friendly, whether you’d like to develop work specifically for older people or create a welcoming environment for an intergenerational audience.
The training aligns and builds on the structure set out by the nationally recognised Age Friendly Standards. The training provides additional bespoke support to help embed inclusive practice across all areas of your organisation.
Do you need support in making changes that will make a difference for older people? As part of this training, you will create an action plan, learn how to implement it in your specific context and also have the opportunity to learn from peers.
Who is it for?
Anyone working in arts or heritage organisations that care about older people accessing creative experiences.
You can be working in a venue, a non-venue based organisation, a very small one-person organisation or a large national provider. This course is tailored to those who book on and your bespoke needs, each cohort shaping the way we deliver the course.
The online workshops are designed so that one person can attend all three, or different staff members can attend each – so whether you wear all the hats in your organisation or have a programmer, marketer and operations manager to come along to each – we have got you covered.
Course Leader: Sarah Shaw
Sarah Shaw is a leading voice in the cultural sector, specialising in creating high-quality, family-friendly experiences. As Director of Museum Tales, she supports organisations of all sizes—from volunteer-led venues to national museums—to engage and inspire family audiences.
Sarah has taken many roles in the sector from National Family Interpretation Manager at English Heritage to Learning Manager at the British Library. She is also an experienced trainer, having worked with GEM, Kids in Museums and Artswork to build skills and confidence in family engagement across the sector.
As a trainer for the Family Arts Campaign, Sarah brings practical expertise, strategic insight and a strong commitment to making culture accessible, inclusive and welcoming for all families.
Course Content
The online course is made up of three training sessions and one ‘Next Steps’ guidance call. Each workshop runs for two hours including breaks.
Programming excellent age-friendly experiences
Online Workshop
Tuesday 12 May, 10am-12noon
This session includes considerations for intergenerational programming, how work can celebrate life in older age, and how programming for older people can provide opportunities to build relationships and collaborate. It also covers the importance of listening to the older people in your communities to understand their interests – as of course older people are diverse in their taste as any other age group.
Perfect for: whoever is making the big decisions about booking or designing events and workshops.
Age-Friendly Communications
Online Workshop
Tuesday 2 June, 10am–12noon
We will cover guidance on how to make sure your communications and marketing is inclusive. This session will also include key considerations you should be making – such as providing an accessible way for audiences to let you know their access needs in advance of an event.
Perfect for: whoever is leading on communications
Ensuring older people feel welcome
Online Workshop
Tuesday 16 June, 10am–12noon
This workshop will focus on the importance of providing accessible facilities and a warm welcome. This might be at your own venue, or a host venue that you need to ensure is set up to be age-friendly for your event.
Perfect for: whoever is in charge of operations and staff training OR whoever is in charge of liaising with venues.
Next Steps
Online Session
Your own bespoke session to book in
An opportunity for you to meet with the Family Arts Team to receive tailored support. Family Arts Campaign developed the Age-Friendly Standard and can support you with your plans – whether intergenerational or specifically focused on older people.
Perfect for one person or a team, we design this session with you so that you can get the most out of it. This can include your CEO or course attendees for example.
PLUS Resources
A pack for your organisation
Recordings and resources you can share with the whole team to embed inclusivity into your organisation. This also means you have resources you can refer to later or share with new employees or partners that you work with to ensure your organisation continues to be age-friendly.
Who will your dream team be? Or are you an ambitious solo-act?
We’re keeping the cohort small so we can provide a tailored experience to support your needs, so we’d recommend booking soon as spaces are limited. Note: You can book now and decide which team members are attending at a later date.
Complimentary Family-Friendly Module
In addition to this Age-Friendly Module we are also running a Family-Friendly Module; you can book just one module or both combined (psst. we are offering a discount to book both).
The Family-Friendly Module will help your organisation to confidently programme, market and deliver events that families actually attend and return to because their experience with you is inclusive, welcoming and family-friendly. You’ll receive insights into family-friendly research plus practical guidance and expert advice to help you assess changes needed for better inclusive work in your organisation.
Family-Friendly Module Dates:
- Programming Focus: Tuesday 5 May, 2-4pm
- Communications Focus: Tuesday 19 May, 10am–12noon
- Welcome and Facilities Focus: Tuesday 9 June, 10am–12noon
Book Your Organisation’s Place
You only need to book once per organisation, with a choice to pay now or by invoice. You can confirm which team member(s) will attend at a later date.
If you’ve missed sessions and are interested in this course being run again in the future get in touch at hello@familyarts.co.uk
Pricing
Age-Friendly Module:
£295 for Large Orgs (10+ Employees)
£195 for Small Orgs/Freelancers
Family AND Age-Friendly Module:
£495 for Large Orgs (10+ Employees)
£295 for Small Orgs/Freelancers
Learn with peers from across
the arts and heritage sector
Image credits:
Header: Hull Truck Theatre, photo by Tom Arran
1 – Wild Rumpus, photo by Leyla Guler