COMMUNITY PROJECT OFFICER SOUGHT FOR CONISBROUGH CASTLE - FREELANCE OPPORTUNITY
23rd August 2010
COMMUNITY PROJECT OFFICER
CONISBROUGH CASTLE,
SOUTH YORKSHIRE
FREELANCE BRIEF
1.0 What is the role available?
1.1 The project vision
Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council (DMBC) and English Heritage (EH) are working in partnership on a project to make Conisbrough Castle a focal point for the local community and to revitalise the visiting experience, creating a sustainable future for the site as a tourism attraction for the region.
The site includes the remains of the 12th century castle including the impressive keep, parkland, a Visitor Centre built in the 1980s containing admission facilities and retail area, and a Lodge constructed in 1885 containing offices and two toilets for visitors.
A recent Conservation and Development Strategy, commissioned by English Heritage, identified that the current visitor facilities and interpretation materials are dated and are not conducive to an engaging and inclusive visiting experience.
The aims of this project include upgrading the facilities and interpretation, developing a programme of community engagement, undertaking research into the history of the site and its related collections, and building on the education provision for formal and informal learners. These developments are designed to make Conisbrough Castle a first class visitor attraction and a community resource, providing opportunities for people to learn about, have access to, enjoy and be involved in the heritage of Conisbrough.
To ensure that local community views on the future re-development work at the property are at the core of the plans and activities, a creative, outgoing and enthusiastic Community Project Officer is sought to undertake a programme of community consultation across Conisbrough and Denaby Main.
1.2 Project funding requirements
The project has recently received a first round pass and development funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). Integral to the Second Round bid is a programme of community consultation that will inform the activity plan. The HLF state that the activity plan should set out everything the applicant wishes to carry out to meet the HLF objectives of participation and learning. Therefore the community engagement activities during the development stage will need to include a scoping exercise to identify potential project partners (e.g. Sure Start, schools, Community Groups) and those groups that would like to engage with the project, and consultation regarding the plans for the site to ensure that the community is at the core of the activity plan and the proposals for the creation of the new Visitor Centre and interpretation materials.
It is expected that the Second Round application will be submitted in June 2011. Therefore the community consultation will be undertaken between the successful appointment of the Community Project Officer and April 2011.
Should the Second Round application be approved by the HLF, the project will continue for a further three years from October 2011 [1] The role of Community Project Officer will be advertised again for this three year period, with the main responsibility being to carry out the programme of activities as outlined in the activity plan.
1.3 The Community Project Officer role
The freelance role of Community Project Officer has been created to undertake a programme of creative community consultation; keeping the local community informed of the planned developments and ensuring that their voices are heard with regard to the emerging project. The Community Project Officer will build relationships between local communities, including formal and informal learners, and the site.
The results of the consultation will be used to inform the activity plan for the Second Round HLF bid. The activity plan will encompass:-
Audience (at present and plans for the future)
Activities (at present and plans for future, to include interpretation, learning and training)
Action plan for future activities (to include resources required)
How success will be measured.
Further information on HLF activity plans can be found here:
2.0 Background to Conisbrough Castle and the project
Conisbrough Castle is located to the north-east of the historic core of the town of Conisbrough, approximately 8 km south-west of Doncaster. The site is managed by English Heritage as a visitor attraction and is a major tourist destination for South Yorkshire attracting 25,000 visitors per annum, predominantly local day visitors and education groups.
The castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and consists of the ruins of a 12th century castle and earthworks. The keep is the highlight of the site and is of an unusual design, which contributes to the castle being of international significance. The castle is currently protected by a number of statutory designations. The Inner Ward with surrounding ditch and northern half of the Outer Ward including all the standing remains are a Scheduled Ancient Monument (SM13245). The
Keep Tower is a Grade I Listed Building (334795) and the castle and the historic core of the town is within a Conservation Area. The site is also designated a District Wildlife Site which supports legally protected species.
Conisbrough Castle is not only important due to its archaeological and architectural significance. Its rich history and associated collections tell the story of medieval castle life and ownership, and the changing fortunes of some of the most important families of the time. The castle is a source of local pride and it has been a significant public amenity since the early 19th century.
All these elements come together to make Conisbrough Castle important. Its history helps understanding of the development of medieval baronial life and its impact on wider medieval society. Its architecture and archaeology gives an understanding of the construction, operation and development of medieval castles and its continued existence gives a sense of place and enjoyment for local people and visitors alike. The castle is a well-known and iconic landmark of South Yorkshire, important to the local community, wider region and beyond. As such, it is vital that the local community are consulted about future developments at the site and feel involved in the plans.
Unfortunately the current visitor facilities and interpretation do not reflect the site’s significance and the project aims to address this.
3.0 Current outreach and education provision
3.1 Outreach/community
Currently there is not an established programme of outreach/ community work. Small-scale consultation projects have been undertaken, including during the Heritage Open Day at the site in 2009, when visitors were encouraged leave their feedback regarding what they liked and did not like about the site and what improvements they would like to see.
3.2 Formal and Informal learning
The current level of school/ education groups visiting is high. By the end of the 2009/10 season the site had received 7,811 education group visitors, the second highest number of education group visitors to an EH site in the region (North of England).
At present the education programme and family learning activities, on site are managed by the English Heritage Education Manager (North of England), based at Tanner Row, York. The Education Manager also manages an ongoing programme of training and development which is offered to staff who are involved in the provision of educational activities on site. The offer for formal and informal education groups is run by site staff.
Under the nationally available free entry scheme, formal and informal education groups are granted free access to EH sites, including Conisbrough Castle, as long as they are undertaking pre-planned activities linked to curriculum or lifelong learning courses. Groups must also book in advance of their visit. As well as offering free entry to the site at present there are four workshops available to visiting education groups and these are led by trained site staff. These workshops are a part of English Heritage’s Discovery Visit (DV) programme which currently costs £90 per group of up to 30 students (adults free). The DVs have been specially developed to support the national curriculum across a range of different subjects and key stages.
There is a space available in the current Visitor Centre for education groups to use, which is separated from the shop/ exhibition area by a curtain. This space is kept clear but tables and chairs are stacked in one corner, items from a late 12th- early 13th century replica object handling collection are on display and a rack of replica costumes, developed for use by education groups participating in a DV, is also stored in this room.
3.3 Family learning
The offer for family learners on site consists of a book box containing children’s books aimed at a range of reading abilities and interests, and focussed on the topics of castles, Tudor life, knights etc. The book box is located inside the exhibition area in the Visitor Centre.
Site staff are responsible for supervising the family learning resources.
4.0 Future target audiences
Through the community consultation work, the Community Project Officer will work with the Community Engagement and Education Task Group (CEET) [2] to identify new and existing target audiences for future activities. These findings will be used to inform the activity plan for the Second Round bid.
5.0 The role of the Community Project Officer
This HLF-funded role will report directly to the English Heritage regional Outreach Manager who will also be working on the Conisbrough project.
They will when working with schools, have direction from the English Heritage Education Team and will at different times work closely with colleagues in other English Heritage departments, notably site staff, events, research and conservation and marketing.
The Community Project Officer will be based in the DMBC Neighbourhood Team offices in Denaby Main but will be expected to work in local community locations, Conisbrough Castle and local schools as appropriate.
They will work closely with the DMBC Neighbourhood Team and all projects planned for the Second Round will hopefully be embedded in the future work of the Neighbourhood Team.
The Community Project Officer will form part of CEET and will be asked to minute the group’s meetings and also attend other local relevant meetings as required.
The community engagement aspect of the project aims to:
Develop and increase new audiences for Conisbrough Castle through the management and delivery of a programme of education, outreach and on-site activities.
Encourage and empower local people to enjoy, learn from and value their local heritage.
Consult with local people to ensure the re-development plans for Conisbrough Castle take account of their needs and aspirations and maximise the opportunities for their involvement.
To meet these project aims the Community Project Officer appointed will be responsible for the following deliverables prior to the Second Round bid submission:
5.1 Consultation with user groups
The results of consulting with the community will feed directly into the activity plan for our Second Round HLF bid and the Community Project Officer will therefore play a significant role in providing the necessary information for this plan.
5.1.1 Use creative and varied consultation methods (which may range from surveys, focus groups and one-to-one discussions to workshops, open days and projects designed to attract people to engage with the site and project) to undertake consultation with the following:-
· The communities of Conisbrough and Denaby Main to ensure that their views are fed in to the future re-development work at the castle and to encourage new audiences.
· Visiting/ non-visiting local formal and informal education groups to ensure that the education provision being developed on-site meets the expectation and needs of these groups, and to encourage new groups to visit.
5.1.2 Help EH and DMBC to build knowledge of local organisations, groups and individuals who express a desire to engage with the project through activities, visits or volunteering.
5.1.3 It is expected that the results of the community consultation will provide answers to the following:
· Description of the current relationship between the castle and local community
· Examples of good practice from elsewhere
· What do local people value about the site?
· How do they currently use and engage with the site? What would they change about the site?
· What stops the local community from visiting the site? What are the barriers to them getting involved? What other activities would they like to see?
The findings will be used to make recommendations about the following:
· To inform the development of the Visitor Centre and interpretation
· To inform the development of activities for local community events, training, volunteering opportunities etc.
· Identify any potential elements of the local community that should be targeted and how this should influence the development of the project
· Ensure that the needs of different groups within the local community are considered
· Identify any difficulties associated with undertaking the proposed activities and how these will be overcome.
5.2 Projects during consultation period (year 1)
Develop and run (in conjunction with other staff and partners identified through the on-going consultation process), two community projects that actively engage the local community and schools with heritage. These projects will be cross-community and will be based in community venues, schools or on-site. These projects will result in outputs which, for example, can be displayed in the castle during the re-development phase and will contribute to the consultation work being carried out for the Second Round.
5.3 Outreach Community Engagement and Education programme
In conjunction with EH staff, DMBC and partners, the Community Project Officer will research and develop a programme of outreach community engagement and education to be carried out in years two to four (e.g. beginning approximately September 2011 - Summer 2014). The programme of engagement will be developed in consultation with the community and will be detailed in the Second Round bid submission. The programme (subject to further HLF funding) will be designed to be innovative, exciting, enjoyable and engaging. Projects will be planned to attract a wide range of people of all ages and backgrounds and contribute to creating a cohesive community in Conisbrough and Denaby that values and cares for its local heritage. In particular, the project aims to target those who do not traditionally engage with heritage.
5.4 Open Days
Either as part of the projects mentioned above, or as separate events, the Community Project Officer will co-ordinate a minimum of two castle open day events working in conjunction with EH staff and partners.
5.5 Reporting outcomes from the consultation
The freelancer will be expected to keep a log of all activity undertaken throughout the project, to maintain comprehensive records to meet DMBC, EH and HLF audit requirements and to evaluate all project work undertaken in accordance with organisational procedures.
The role will require the outputs and outcomes from projects to be disseminated internally and externally in written format.
The freelancer will, when planning Second Round activities, plan how these activities will be evaluated.
5.6 Volunteers/ Freelancer staff
The Community Project Officer will occasionally be expected to manage additional freelance staff engaged to work on projects or open day events. This will involve negotiating with freelancers, writing briefs and contracts, dealing with payments, and co-ordinating their work. The Community Project Officer will be responsible for the allocation and management of the Conisbrough Castle outreach budget, in conjunction with the Outreach Manager and with agreement from the Community Engagement and Education Task Group set up to direct these aspects of the Second Round bid.
The Community Project Officer will also be responsible for following organisational procedures to recruit volunteers and manage their involvement with the project.
5.7 Risk Assessments
All appropriate risk assessments will have to be undertaken by the freelancer for their work and they will be responsible for ensuring all other freelancers contracted to work with them have done their own assessments and have appropriate clearances and insurances.
6.0 Time scale
This is a fixed term contract expected to start no later than October 2010 and anticipated to finish at the beginning of May 2011, depending on the submission date of the Second Round application.
The successful applicant will need to be available for at least 75 days work on the project between October and May 2011. The activity plan required for the HLF Second Round bid will need to be completed between October 2010 and 01 June 2011 (estimated dates); therefore this will be when most of the consultation will be conducted. Flexibility as to the most convenient times for working with the community groups and learning groups will need to be considered, for example evening and weekend work.
The amount of time spent on the project throughout this period will vary depending on the activities taking place and the successful appointee will need to be flexible, working more days at some times and less at others.
Subject to a successful HLF Second Round bid the Community Project Officer role will be advertised again for a further 3 year period.
We are therefore seeking to appoint someone who could potentially offer long term commitment to the project.
7.0 Budget
Appointment will be made on a fixed fee basis.
The fee for this project is £11,500 (ex VAT).
This fee will cover all days worked on the project and includes travel to and from Conisbrough and daily personal expenses.
This fee is for a minimum of 75 days work.
The amount of time spent each week will vary through the year depending on project requirements but on average the appointee should expect to be able to commit 10 days a month to the project.
The fee will be released incrementally on completion of agreed milestones.
There is a community engagement project budget of £7,500 (year 1) which will cover, for example, all materials, room bookings, volunteer expenses, additional project/events freelance staff and the production of project outputs, dissemination and evaluation.
Allocating this project budget will be done in agreement with other project staff.
8.0 Experience and skills required
The freelancer must:
· Be able to undertake some evening and weekend work
· Live within a reasonable travelling distance of Conisbrough
· Be registered as self-employed
· Have suitable public liability insurance in place before starting work on this project
· Be subject to an Enhanced Criminal Records Bureau check.
8.1 Experience
Essential
· Be educated to degree level or have equivalent experience
· Ideally hold a qualification in youth work, community work, teaching or similar
· Have a minimum of two years experience in leading community outreach projects working with a diverse range of people, which should include young people and schools
· Have a minimum of two years of project managing medium to large-scale projects, which should include co-ordinating additional freelance staff, responsibility for a budget and project evaluation
· Have experience of undertaking creative community consultation and of successful working with external partners and contractors
· Have an understanding of audience development and marketing to new audiences
· Have a sound knowledge of the heritage sector and an awareness of, and empathy with, the issues affecting non-traditional visitors to heritage sites
· Have a good knowledge of the National Curriculum and recent relevant educational initiatives.
Desirable
Have experience of recruiting and working with volunteers
Have experience of developing similar HLF-funded activities and projects
A clean driving licence and access to transport would be useful.
8.2 Skills
Essential
· Have excellent organisational, communication and interpersonal skills
· Have the ability to deal competently with senior internal and external contacts
· Have effective negotiation skills and the ability to manage the needs and expectations of different groups
· Be computer literate and have experience of report-writing.
9.0 Expressions of interest
9.1 Please send the following documents by email:
A covering letter explaining your interest in the position
A CV
Ideas on how you may approach the project and a timetable/action plan
Examples of how you would engage members of the community including those who are often described as 'hard to reach'
Supporting information about relevant projects you have led and a full and concise description of the nature, extent and level of your relevant skills and experiences.
Please do not send any original examples of work with your expression of interest.
9.2 Closing date for applications:
Closing date for applications: 9.30am Monday 13th September 2010
Interviews in Conisbrough: Wednesday 15 September 2010
Please note we will only accept electronic applications.
Please email your application to:
Helen Keighley, Outreach Manger (Yorkshire and the Humber) at helen.keighley@english-heritage.org.uk
You will be informed by telephone on Monday 13th should you be invited for interview.
Please ensure you state clearly the telephone number you would like to be contacted on.
Please do not apply if you cannot attend an interview on the 15th September.
9.3 Selection Procedure
The freelancer who appears from the information available to have qualifications, experience and abilities which best match those we are seeking will be invited to an interview.
Please note that we are unable to reimburse any travel expenses incurred when attending the interview.
You will be asked to bring evidence of your previous work to the interview.
If you have any questions or would like an informal discussion about the project please call
Helen on 01302 858701 on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, or email helen.keighley@english-heritage.org.uk
Metropolitan Borough Council Safer Neighbourhood Team
English Heritage
English Heritage is the Government's statutory adviser on the historic environment. Officially known as the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England, English Heritage is an Executive Non-departmental Public Body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). Its powers and responsibilities are set out in the National Heritage Act (1983) and today it reports to Parliament through the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.
English Heritage is funded in part by the Government and in part from revenue earned from its historic properties and other services. In 2008/09 its public funding was worth £132.7 million, and our income from other sources was £48.1 million.
English Heritage works in partnership with the central government departments, local authorities, voluntary bodies and the private sector to:
Conserve and enhance the historic environment
Broaden public access to the heritage
Increase people's understanding of the past
It meets those responsibilities by:
acting as a national and international champion for the heritage giving grants for the conservation of historic buildings, monuments and landscapes maintaining registers of England's most significant historic buildings, monuments and landscapes advising on the preservation of the historic environment encouraging broader public involvement with the heritage promoting education and research caring for Stonehenge and over 400 other historic properties on behalf of the nation maintaining the National Monuments Record as the public archive of the heritage generating income for the benefit of the historic environment www.english-heritage.org.uk
Overview of English Heritage
Education
The overarching aim of English Heritage Educationis to engage new and existing education audiences in caring for, enjoying, understanding and valuing their heritage through dedicated public programmes. These include: guidance, learning resources and facilitated sessions for schools; managing the booking and administration of a free visit scheme which caters for formal and informal education groups; Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunities for teachers; site based family learning resources and activities; education volunteering for adults and young people in our local communities; partnership projects; education publishing for children and group leaders, and learning opportunities for adult and lifelong learners.
www.english-heritage.org.uk/education
Conisbrough Castle project aims for Education
Our aim is to ensure that Conisbrough Castle offers an exciting, engaging and relevant education programme for both formal and informal learners, with facilities that meet their requirements. As well as building on the existing offer for learners the project will look to improve links with local education groups. This will be achieved through consultation and partnership projects, increasing their sense of ownership of the site and encouraging them to engage with their local historic environment. We want to continue to develop the role of Conisbrough Castle as not only a local resource for nearby education groups but also as a destination rich in learning opportunities for all visitors.
Overview of English Heritage Outreach
The Outreach team’s remit is to widen participation in the historic environment, putting hard to reach groups at the heart of our practice.
We aim to
1. increase and diversify audiences to EH sites by embedding our properties into their local communities and promoting equitable access and engagement.
2. increase public engagement with the historic environment and build a sense of belonging by bringing communities together to develop shared stories of place
3. build the capacity of heritage , voluntary and community sectors to use the historic environment to engage hard to reach communities.
Our strategic priorities for the coming years are to focus our work around audience development, place-making and Heritage Open Days.
www.english-ritage.org.uk/community
Conisbrough Castle project aims for Outreach
Our aim is to ensure that the communities that live around Conisbrough Castle value it, care for it and also have opportunities to learn from it and enjoy it.
We want to ensure that the whole community, but especially those from hard to reach groups (people from low income families, disabled people, young people and ethnic minorities), have the opportunity to get involved with our research, project implementation and on-going management of the Castle.
With a shared sense of ownership we’d like the community around the castle to feel proud of the historic building on their doorstep and with the Castle more embedded in the community we’d like it also to be a useful community asset.
Our vision is also wider than just the Castle – we’d like to use our work there as a catalyst for engaging people in the history and heritage all around them too.
Bringing Education and Outreach Together
Although some of the work on this project will see Education and Outreach activities being separate we believe that in order to support a cohesive community in Conisbrough and Denaby we will take a holistic approach to our work there and develop projects that engage schools and communities together.
Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council Safer Neighbourhood Team
Doncaster Council has its own Safer Neighbourhood Teams, consisting of one sergeant, neighbourhood manager, team leader, police officers, community safety wardens and police community support officers.
The Safer Neighbourhood Team work to reduce crime and disorder by target hardening properties, targeting prolific and priority offenders, gathering crime and community intelligence and by providing
Education packages covering areas of Denaby, Conisbrough and Clifton.
The Safer Neighbourhood Team work with the community and partner agencies to help tackle locally identified issues such as quality of life problems like graffiti, noisy neighbours, anti social behaviour and vandalism. Their aim is to listen and talk to local people and to work with them to help reduce crime and improve neighbourhoods and communities to become, safer, cleaner and greener.
Local Area Statistics
Community profile and economic information about the ward of Conisbrough and Denaby based on the Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) 2007 and other data can be found at www.lasos.org.uk
[1] Gap reflects 3 month decision-making process by HLF from submission to approval
[2] Representatives from both DMBC and EH are part of the Community Engagement and
Education
Task Group (CEET) – one of a number internal working groups across both organisations who contribute to the project.
