A presentation about The Mystery Tour Programme which aims to make heritage more exciting and accessible for children and young people across the West Midlands.

1. Mystery Tour
Programme

2. The Mystery Tour Programme has been running since November
2013 and was commissioned by Arts Connect and Marches
Network. It is delivered by Work in Progress.
The aim of the project is to make heritage more exciting and
accessible for children and young people. Participants are invited
to visit heritage venues, review the facilities and feedback about
how services can be improved. A report is then submitted to the
venues based on the evaluation and ideas gathered.
We have recently finished our pilot phase and are looking to
formalise our processes and recruit more young people. To date,
we have worked with 42 young people aged between 11-25 from
across Birmingham, Worcestershire and the West Midlands.

3. We aim to nurture young consultants and give them a voice in the future
of arts, heritage and cultural provision for young people.

4. We have visited a wide range of venues from across the West Midlands including
Ironbridge, Stratford-upon-Avon, Birmingham and Lichfield.

5. Participants free roam the venues and explore without restrictions. The
agenda for the day is engineered to provide both structure and freedom.

6. We use a range of techniques to allow participants the freedom to voice their
opinions and ideas. Our feedback process is tailored to suit the young people
instead of the facilitators.

7. We encourage youth led conversation and use evaluation
techniques that give all participants an opportunity to share.

8. This tool has proved very useful to gain insight into what young people value at
the venues, and to assess the quality of their experience.

9. Peer to peer interviews generate a greater depth of feedback. We encourage young
people to document the day on their phones to create a more personal experience.

10. #heritagetour
Participants are invited to upload their photos, videos and ideas to the Mystery
Tour Facebook group, and to share their views on Twitter. They also contribute to
the blog in order to give them a voice outside of the project.

11. We have developed this evaluation grid based on the Quality Principles and Family
Friendly Themes which were integral to shaping and informing our planning and activity.
It is designed to frame feedback during visits and has been used through out the project.

12. No venue staff are present during feedback sessions to prevent any pressure to
‘say the right thing’. This strategy makes sure the feedback remains authentic.

13. It has been noted that a practical element to the day provides a much higher
experience for all participants. We want to build on this in the future.

14. Interchanging between natural and organised groups allow young people to build
relationships within the group, creating a comfortable environment to share in.

15. A deeper level of feedback and a higher quality experience are achieved when
venues offer a workshop that actively engages the young people.

16. Our group includes young people with a range of disabilities including autism,
learning difficulties, physical disabilities and challenging behaviour which has
highlighted the limited provision at heritage venues for disabled visitors.

17. Creating a relaxed and friendly atmosphere allows the participants to feel
comfortable and supported enough to express their opinions. We maintain an
informal relationship between young people and facilitators.

18. •Provision is either for children or adults: there are limited facilities for young people.
•The language used through out venues is inaccessible and often relies heavily on reading.
•Disabled visitors are rarely taken into account with regards to exhibition and room layout.
•There are few alternatives for disabled visitors unable to view certain parts of venues.
•Many young people do not feel welcome at heritage venues.

19. A few quotes about the project:
“My favourite aspect of this project is meeting new people and
getting to visit these places that I wouldn’t get to visit if I wasn't
part of this project. This project has been a quality experience
for me because I got to see these venues with other young
people in a relaxed happy atmosphere.” - Beth
“[Some of] these young people are siblings of children with
disabilities so for them to have their own space to enjoy and
experience culture alongside their peers is just so important for
their development and exploring their own identity.” – Carol

20. We are constantly reviewing our practice to help improve the project for the future. We
also invite and encourage participants to evaluate their experience of the project

21. For more information about the Mystery
Tour Heritage Project please contact Work in
Progress:
info@workinprogress.uk.com
A presentation by Holly Beaumont-Wilkes