About the Museum Learning and Engagement Grants
The Museum Learning and Engagement Grant is a one-off, rapid-response grant programme supporting museums to develop and test new approaches to engaging children and young people in learning. It prioritises areas of low cultural engagement and high deprivation, while generating evidence to inform future investment and programme development from 2027 onwards.
This is a time-limited, rapid-response investment designed to support museums during the transition period between the current and future museum education programmes.
The Grant will:
Enable museums to pilot new models of engagement with schools and other learning settings, reaching a diverse range of children and young people, including those in primary, secondary and SEND education and learners outside mainstream school provision.
Support activity in areas of low engagement and high deprivation, particularly DCMS Culture Priority Places
Strengthen the role of museums in supporting curriculum learning, enrichment and teacher development
Build evidence and insight to inform future investment, programme design and policy alignment
Encourage flexible, locally responsive approaches tailored to the needs of schools and communities
Support museums to develop a more sustainable and effective schools offer, including partnerships and delivery models
Contribute to improved access, participation and learning outcomes for children and young people
The programme will run during 2026–27, with learning feeding directly into future programme development.
Funded projects are expected to address one or more of the following:
a) Developing learning and engagement
• Testing new learning activities, resources or approaches for children and young people.
b) Improving access, participation and enrichment
• Helping more children and young people, particularly those who face barriers, to access and engage with cultural learning opportunities.
• Developing creative, cultural or place-based enrichment opportunities that enhance learning and engagement.
c) New ways of working
• Exploring or testing new partnerships, delivery methods, digital approaches or ways of working with schools, communities and other partners.
d) Building evidence for the future
• Gathering evidence, learning and insights through research, pilots and evaluation to inform future practice, investment and development.
e) Building organisational capacity
• Strengthening your organisation's ability to deliver high-quality learning and engagement activity for children and young people in the future.
We welcome innovative proposals that meet these aims, even if they are not reflected in the examples elsewhere in this guidance.