Freelance Heritage Educator

Vivacity Heritage Education Service is looking to recruit one or more experienced educators to deliver its education programme at Flag Fen Archaeological Park, Peterborough Museum and Longthorpe Tower.

Working on a freelance basis, applicants need to have experience of teaching and learning, preferably within a classroom and a heritage environment, and have a good understanding of what makes a good educational visit.

The successful applicant will be organised, flexible, adaptable and , above all, enthusiastic about showcasing the collections of each of our three heritage sites.

Freelance Heritage Educators will take responsibility for the delivery of existing sessions as set out by the Education Officer at each heritage site. There is potential Museum Outreach (delivery in schools) as well.

You will either be leading sessions by yourself or will be working alongside another member of the Education Team to deliver a high quality, memorable experience for each education group.

You will generally work with primary age children, but may be asked to deliver sessions for other groups on occasions.

Sessions will be pre-arranged between the Education Officer and the Freelance Heritage Educator. These will generally be between 9:45am - 2:30 pm, during term-time.

Each session lasts between 45 minutes - 1 hour and there can be from one to four sessions in a day.

Freelance educators are expected to allow 15 minutes for setting up and 15 minutes for clearing up.

The position is suitable for someone who is self-employed and wishes to work on a freelance basis.

This is a freelance contract and the person will need to invoice Vivacity and be responsible for their own tax and NI.

We cannot guarantee regular work.

Freelance educators are also expected to arrange and show proof of Public Liability Insurance of up to 2 million pounds.

Joining us on a casual, zero hour contract, may be an option that can be discussed.

We request 2 references for the successful candidate (s) and will ask them to complete a DBS check.

The contract will be subject to review after 6 months.

The school learning programme can be viewed at www.vivacity-peterborough/learning.

Interested applicants are asked to view the sessions available to school children and to state their preferences at interview.

After interviews, the successful applicant/s will discuss and agree on the range of sessions they will be called upon and an agreed timetable for training will be finalised with the Education Officer.

Purpose of role:

Context:

The running of the 3 heritage sites is managed by Vivacity Culture and Leisure. Vivacity is a charitable trust. The Vivacity Heritage Education Service delivers a variety of sessions for schools, both in-house and as outreach to local schools. Demand outstrips staff capacity to deliver some of the sessions. The solution is to use some of the Education budget to employ a freelance to deliver some of these sessions.

The 3 heritage sites:

Peterborough Museum is based in the centre of the city, close to the Queensgate shopping centre. The museum is located in one of the city's most historic buildings and the collection comprises over 200,000 items of great national and international importance. The permanent galleries display objects which tell the story of the local area from 150 million years ago to the present day.

Flag Fen is a Bronze Age archaeological site, 3 miles out of the city centre, with reconstructed roundhouses, preserved wooden causeway in situ, conserved log boats and a display of ancient objects which have been found on the site. There are also mock excavation pits where students can have a chance of being an archaeologist.

Longthorpe Tower is a medieval tower, part of a manor house and is located just 2 miles out from the city centre. Inside are wall paintings from the 14th century that are regarded as being the finest set of domestic medieval wall paintings anywhere in Western Europe.

The role

The Freelance Heritage Educator will:

- Familiarise themselves with the objects and elements of each agreed school session

- Familiarise themselves with the current agreed lesson plan for each agreed school session

- Undergo training - Observe approx. 5 sessions before leading a session (unpaid)

- When leading a session, prepare for the session, ensuring objects, materials and spaces are ready

- Deliver the session, at all times managing the group and ensuring the safety of all group members and the safety of any museum objects

- Conclude the session on time with a plenary

- Put away objects and materials after the session and ensure the space is left tidy

Payment

The Education Officer raises a purchase order before the session/s take place and then the Freelance Educator submits an invoice, stating the purchase order number.

Agreed dates

The Education Officer will agree dates and times in writing (via email) with the Freelance Educator. A firm agreement to cover the session will only exist once both parties have agreed and when the school have confirmed their visit.

Sickness/cancellation

If the Freelance Heritage Educator cannot deliver a session they have previously committed to, then they must give as much notice as possible - contacting the Education Officer out of hours if necessary.

If a school session is cancelled by the Museum/School and the Museum contacts the Freelance Heritage Officer at least 48 hours beforehand then no fee is payable. If the cancellation occurs less than 48 hours before the session was due, then the Freelance Heritage Educator can opt to come in as agreed and carry out some admin/preparation work for which payment will be made as agreed.

Expenses

For outreach delivery, an additional £10 is paid towards travel expenses.

Apart from that, no additional expenses are covered.

Free parking is available at all 3 sites.

A freelancer working over for a full day (4 hours) is expected to take 30 mins unpaid for a lunch break according to the needs of the service.

To Apply

Please send a CV and covering letter, with details of two relevant referees to:
Carol Law
Peterborough Museum,
Priestgate.
Peterborough, PE1 1LF

Carol.law@vivacity-peterborough.com

If you have any questions regarding this position, please contact Carol Law

Carol Law
Education Officer
museum.education@vivacity-peterborough.com