Early Years toolkit DEVELOPING PALACE EXPLORERS AT PALACE Trust. Visitor numbers were for almost 2016-17 391,000. from 704 AD until It is now 1973. run by Fulham Palace . The Palace was the property of the Bishops of situated in 13 acres of grounds, including aproduce-growing Today, the site includes Tudor, Georgian and Victorian buildings Fulham Palace is the historic home of the . End where of the 30% local community is either from ablack or mixed ethnic background. Finally we arranged apop-up palace at aSainsbury’s store in the nearby ward of Sands newsletters and reminders about upcoming sessions. colouring sheets in the café, placed flyers around the whole site and sent email We were extremely proactive in marketing the sessions. We provided Palace Explorers activities allowed opportunities for new visitors to join in on the day. and connection with the site and also ensured aguaranteed income. Whilst drop-in addition to drop-in spaces. Block bookings supported regular attendance, built familiarity We also reviewed the booking system and introduced block booking for each term in feel ownership of the space, for instance by displaying the children’s learning on the wall. quotes. The classroom environment was always arranged in order to encourage families to classroom every week. These books include examples of children’s work, photographs and such as the creation of apersonal book of learning which is added to and displayed in the Matters framework. We planned activities that we hoped would encourage repeat visits, Each week there was afocus on active learning using objectives from the Development All sessions included avisit to of parts the historic site. for them to learn, eg sharing about facts Victorian maids from the palace archives. eating. Our planning considered family adults too and ensured there were opportunities Assistant introduced more family-friendly themes for half terms, such as growing and Assistant to look after the development and delivery of the programme. The Learning To achieve our aims, we increased staffing capacity and employed apart-time Learning themes with the Palace site. session the connect consistently learning outcomes and more to provide asharper focus on the quality of provision in order 12-month period was to improve existed, the primary focus over a theseAs sessions already place every Monday and Tuesday. olds and their carers that takes long weekly session for 2-4 year Palace Explorers is aone hour SUMMARY

Early Years toolkit For our audience our For existence. its awareness of the site. Even within the immediate vicinity, people are often unaware of We aimed to raise attendance numbers and increase retention rates in order to improve organisationFor our AIMS AND GOALS Explorers. These obstacles remain and are still afocus for the palace more broadly. from local residents, however it seems to have had no discernible on effect Palace that the one-off pop-up palace in the local Sainsbury’s would encourage more visits Explorers does not reflect the ethnic make-up of the local community. We had hoped awareness of Fulham Palace among locals is still low and the attendance at Palace Careful planning resulted in all of parts the palace being visited regularly. However, outdoor activities that allow kids to think and have fun!’ welcoming and friendly everyone is. The relaxed flow of the class and both indoor and demonstrated personal progression in learning. Aparent told us that they ‘love how sense of belonging and ownership and those who attended over along period of time were not affected and increased resource costs were minimal. Children developed a numbers meant that we had to alter the room layout slightly, however staffing levels The children were inspired and actively engaged in the palace’s history. Increased audience our For family engagement numbers have increased across all activities. Palace Explorers is now acore component of our regular family programming and 2017 September Explorers, Palace attending Parent ‘This is by far the best early years session in the area, the children learn so much.’ feedback from sessions included: positively received by families and had risen The sessions to 34. were children.24 By spring 2017 this attendance at Palace Explorers was autumn the 2016 average weekly significantly. In rose numbers aresultAs of our actions, our organisationFor our OUTCOMES interested in visiting our venue. We wanted our local residents in and Fulham to feel welcome and 2017. July Comments from residents of , adiverse area mins 30 walk from Fulham Palace, palace‘The is not for me’, bishops ‘The are boring’, ‘I’m not religious’. accessible to the public as aheritage site. Many of our local residents were still not visiting, despite the palace being free and Early Years toolkit •  • Ask colleagues eg volunteers for feedback • Ask the audience what they would like to know, find out and do and take these on board •  2017 September Explorers, Palace attending Parent were in the British Museum.’ was‘I able to use the phrases learnt at Palace Explorers to help my daughter when we •  • Termly themes help with preparation and save time •  more• Do research to find out how best to encourage all sections of the public to visit •  LEARNT LESSONS • Resources -£50 •  •  below) Monthly expenditure: £830 (broken down child, rising to £5 from Sep 2017) Monthly income: (tickets £460 are per £4 for 46 weeks in ayear. -August2016 2017. Palace Explorers runs The figures below are based on September BUDGET learn. to opportunities have and ensures that both children and adults connected to the uniqueness of the site Have avery clear learning focus which is TIP TOP a session or series of sessions. Evaluate, using different techniques and at different times ie not always at the end of audience musical session or free play dressing up so that you can learn what works for your Step out of your usual framework to test out different types of activities, such as a learning. children’s their Share clear objectives that are developmentally appropriate and help adults support eyes’. ‘fresh through challenges at and work through possible resolutions to common issues. It is an opportunity to look Share best practice and visit other settings. It enables educators to discuss, compare The adult should as be much afocus for learning as the child -their buy-in is crucial delivery of one session per week Freelance staff -£180 per month for week per month, including delivery of one session Learning Assistant salary per -£600

All images © Fulham Palace 2017. 2017. Palace ©Fulham images All Jean Shipton,Faciliator at Fulham Palace. studyThis case waswritten by visits/under-5s/ fulhampalace.org/learning-school- Visit the Fulham Palace website: FURTHER INFORMATION itself. programme hire events and the Palace Explorers This is generated through school visits, income. department learning general from Palace Explorers is funded internally FUNDING