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  • Culture Recovery Fund – announcement of awards begins

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    The Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Arts Council England (ACE) have this week announced details of organisations who have received support from the Culture Recovery Fund after making successful applications to Round 1 of the funding package.

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    Round 1 of the CRF pertains to organisations who have applied for grant funding from ACE of amounts under £1 million. Awards have thus far been made to 1,385 cultural organisations and totalling £257 million of support from a fund worth £1.57 billion.

    A number of our peers from the independent museum sector have successfully obtained funding having applied for Round 1 grants, including Beamish Museum (£970k) and the Charles Dickens Museum (£222k).

    Announcements of the funding round for which BCLM applied (ACE grants of more than £1 million) have yet to be made, but we expect to receive news about our application from Fri 23 Oct onwards.  As soon as we have news, we will inform colleagues – so please keep a look out for an intranet update.

    Andrew, as Chair of the Association of Independent Museums (AIM), has recorded a statement supporting news of the Round 1 awards and highlighting the positive impact this funding will have in helping independent museums to remain viable and able to serve their communities. 

    You can view the video here.

  • 2020 Christmas Programme

    The challenges presented by Covid-19 means we’ve had to think differently about our visitor offer for Christmas 2020.

    Learning from how we implemented the ‘Unlocking the Black Country’ programme and insights from visitor feedback have helped us to design a new Christmas programme that can operate in a Covid-safe way and which will appeal to our audience.

    Therefore, we wanted to share news of the Christmas programme with you – one that we hope will both excite visitors and be rewarding for staff to deliver.

    The Rule of Six and protocols around social distancing means that we won’t be running Santa Hunts this year. We know how enjoyable Santa Hunts can be for both staff and visitors, and that this will be disappointing news for some people. We’ve also decided not to hold our Christmas Nights event. This latter decision was made based on visitor feedback which showed a greater demand and level of comfort in visiting the Museum during the daytime and when people feel they can spend quality time together as a family.

    An Enchanted Christmas

    Therefore, we’ve developed a completely new pre-ticketed event aimed at families and those visitors who consider themselves young at heart.

    On Sat 12, Sun 13, Sat 19 and Sun 20 December between 10.00am-8.00pm, the Museum will be the backdrop to ‘An Enchanted Christmas’.

    With a storyline based on ‘The Nutcracker’ BCLM will be transformed into a festive land where visitors will be asked to join the Nutcracker Army to thwart the plans of the Rat King and his band of rogues and, thus, save Christmas!

    This is a new type of event for us, but it’s also one that we think will stand out versus events at other venues who may be taking a more ‘traditional’ approach this year. By differentiating our offer we intend to attract new audiences to the Museum.

    Unwrapping Christmas

    Visitor response to the Enchanted Christmas concept was extremely positive in market research, but we also want to make sure we’re serving the full spectrum of our audiences – particularly those for whom a visit to the Museum is about stepping back in time. Therefore, on December weekdays, and then on Sat 5/Sun 6 December, and from Mon 21 – Thu 24 December the visitor programme will be ‘Unwrapping Christmas’. This programme will adapt the zoned approach that was developed for Unlocking the Black Country and tell the story of Black Country Christmases through time, from the 1800s to the 1960s.

    We’ll share further details about the specific elements of the visitor offer in due course, but we hope this update gives you a flavour of the Christmas programme in the meantime.

  • New password for ‘offsite’ intranet access

    As part of a routine security update, the password to access the intranet outside of Museum computer network has been updated.

    If you wish to access the intranet when you’re outside of the Museum, or outside of the Museum IT network (e.g. via mobile device), you will need to enter a new password to log on.

    This new password is: sweetshop (one word, all lower case).

    The new password will also be shared with colleagues via a PlanDay update.

  • Face coverings

    In light of the latest changes to COVID-19 guidance all staff and volunteers will need to wear a face covering when passing through Admissions, the Museum Shop and any food and drink outlets when we are open to the public . As well as meeting our legal obligations this will hopefully save any confusion and also encourage our visitors to comply. Anyone working in these areas will need to wear a face covering when they are not behind a screen.

    All managers  are asked to make sure that this information is passed on to their team.

    Further updates will be given as and when information is received from the Government.

  • A reminder about COVID-safe behaviours

    A reminder about COVID-safe behaviours

    In light of the latest government update on COVID-19 controls, we thought it useful to make clear how the “Rule of 6” and Track and Trace changes impact the Museum and to take the opportunity to remind everyone of our COVID-safe measures and related behaviour.

    • All colleagues must maintain a social distance of at least 2 metres from each other and all visitors in the Museum.  Distancing on-site also applies to colleagues or visitors who are in the same household or ‘bubble’ as you. Other visitors to the Museum will not know your personal circumstances and might assume that you are not observing social distancing.
    • Regular hand washing (or sanitisation where washing is not possible) should always take place after arrival at work, before and after a break, before and after handling a face covering or shield, and before you leave to go home.
    • Separate break areas and toilets have been allocated depending on which zone/area you work in for each day. This has been done to ensure that social distancing can be maintained and to assist Track and Trace if we need to inform them of a positive case.  You MUST stick to your allocated area for the day – if you aren’t sure where you should be going please ask the Duty Manager at morning briefing.
    • All colleagues are now required to clock in to ensure we can track who has been to the Museum each day, should we need to report a positive case for Track and Trace purposes.
    • We must all lead by example and observe the distancing measures introduced, when open to the public.  Keep left, follow all one-way routes, enter and exit buildings or areas as directed by the signage or symbols and help ensure that building capacities are observed.
    • Where you have a concern that visitors might be gathering outside of the “rule of 6”, i.e. a larger group has formed and appears to know each other or be moving around site together, please make the Duty Manager aware for them to approach the group appropriately.
    • Where visitors are naturally getting a little close, please feel free to politely remind visitors to keep their distance from others not in their household.  Please present this as a general reminder.
    • Please dispose of paper towels in a bin.  Sanitary bins are only for used anti-bacterial wipes and sanitary products, rather than general waste.
    • All cutlery and crockery must be washed, dried and put away after use. All rubbish must be placed in the bins provided.  We would like to make microwaves available for use again, but this will only be possible if we can maintain a high standard of cleanliness in our kitchen areas.

    We thank everyone who is making an effort to keep the Museum a safe place to work and visit and we hope that everyone can continue to make this the case in such challenging times. Checks will continue to be made throughout each day and further action will be taken where breaches in safe behaviours are identified.

  • All Around Britain – ITV1 Sun 13 Sep

    We’re excited to share the news that the Museum will feature in a brand new series to be broadcast on ITV1 this Sunday (13 Sep).

    ‘All Around Britain’ is a new show hosted by Ranvir Singh and Alex Beresford (of Good Morning Britain). Each week, they will take viewers on a tour around Britain to some of the nation’s most famous attractions and landmarks.

    BCLM is the host location for episode 2 of ‘All Around Britain’. The programme will feature the presenters taking on a number of different challenges helped by BCLM staff – including canal art painting and chain making.

    We’re delighted that ITV have chosen us as one of the key locations as it’s an opportunity to show a national audience what BCLM is all about and to celebrate the history and culture of the Black Country.

    The episode is scheduled for broadcast at 11.20am-12.20pm on Sun 13 Sep on ITV1. If you can’t tune in then, the show will be available on catch up on the ITV Hub.

    A huge thank you to everyone who helped to make the filming possible and especially to those who contributed on-camera. ITV are apparently delighted with the results, so we can’t wait to see the show when it’s broadcast.

  • New Phone System

    We’ve now gone live with a new phone system. The new handsets have been installed on most desks. Not all phones have been installed where there is still office move waiting to happen.

    The phones have been setup to be as straightforward to use as possible to use and be largely self explanatory.

    Key info

    • All internal extension numbers have changed. The telephone directory has been updated with new numbers.
    • Existing DDI/direct lines will continue to work, but no new ones will be created. Instead they have been replaced with a single number that can be dialed and the extension dialed (see telephone directory).
    • No need to dial ‘9’ for an outside line (but it doesn’t matter if you do).
    • One extension number per person, independent of the physical phone. This makes the system more flexible with the ability to call multiple locations and mobiles.
    • Voicemail has been enabled on all personal extensions. Messages will be emailed to you.

    Buttons:

  • Change to Museum opening hours, effective week commencing 7th September 2020

    Dear Colleagues

    Thank you all for your hard work and support in advance of our re-opening at the beginning of August and your enthusiasm for the programme and our COVID safety measures now we have visitors back onsite.

    The feedback from our visitors has been overwhelmingly positive and many have commented that they have experienced parts of the Museum that they haven’t before, found our offer to be more engaging, our food and drink offer to be more plentiful and that the Museum has felt safe and well controlled. 

    Despite this wonderful feedback, we do need to recognise that closure due to COVID-19 meant we lost 150,000 visitors and C.£3m in revenue.  BCLM is 94% funded by our visitors so with a continued reduction in attendance due to social distancing measures, the uncertainty around future visitors, especially schools and groups this Autumn and Winter, or our ability to hold events will continue to have a financial impact on the Museum

    Our award from the Arts Council Emergency Response Fund was gratefully received in June and this week we have submit a bid for further support from the Government Cultural Recovery fund.  We will receive the outcome of our bid at the end of October. 

    With these factors in mind, we have taken the difficult decision to reduce the Museum’s opening hours, effective from 7th September 2020 as follows:

    • W/C 7th September: Open Thursday 10th – Sunday 13th, 10am – 4pm.  (Wednesday 9th closed for a private booking)
    • W/C 14th September –25th October: Open Wednesday – Sunday, 10am – 4pm.
    • W/C 26th October – 1st November – October Half Term: Open Monday – Sunday, 10am – 4pm.

    You will see that we are effectively bringing forward our winter opening hours to reflect our lower visitor numbers.

    Those colleagues whose contracted days or hours will reduce as a result of the above, will have the difference “topped” up to 80% of their usual pay using the Government’s Job Retention flexible furlough scheme until the end of October when the scheme comes to an end and when we would usually expect to move to our low season hours.

    If you have any queries about your personal situation or work patterns then please speak to you line managers who will work through these with you with support from People & Culture if required.

    I appreciate this will be disappointing but not unexpected news and we mustn’t let it dampen our spirits.  Let’s continue to deliver a fantastic visitor experience and maintain momentum and energy as we move into Autumn.

    Thank you again for your continued support.

    All the best

    Andrew

  • Forging Ahead Update – 14 Aug

    Forging Ahead Update – 14 Aug

    We’re delighted to announce that work on Forging Ahead will re-commence from w/c 17 August.  Work on the project was put on hold in March due to the Covid pandemic, but we are now in the fortunate position where the work associated with the Pre-Contract Services Agreement can now begin again.

    The most visible sign of work at the early stage of the project will be the construction of hoarding around Cast-Iron Houses as part of their re-location to make way for the new Visitor Centre.

    We will publish a further update on the new schedule for the development in due course, but in the meantime we wanted to let you know that plans to bring the Museum’s story up to the 1960s now have renewed momentum.

  • An update from Andrew – 7 Aug

    As we head into the second weekend following reopening, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the fabulous feedback we’ve received from visitors since we’ve been able to welcome them back, and to share my personal thanks with you all for your efforts to bring the Museum to life following a long period of lockdown.

    Throughout our 136 days of closure, I was heartened to see so many messages of affection and support for the Museum.  Many of the people wishing us well told us what they missed most about BCLM – its stories, its people, being able to spend time reminiscing with their loved ones, and, dare I say it, the fish and chips.

    This notwithstanding, I’ve been both surprised and delighted by the degree of positivity and enthusiasm visitors have displayed towards us since reopening.  This reaction is a testament to working together successfully as one Museum team.  Visitors have embraced the new programme and how it takes them to parts of the site that they may never have visited before; they love hearing new stories delivered passionately by historic characters; they love the variety of the food and drink offer; and they feel safe with the distancing measures in place and a highly visible cleaning team working hard to maintain hygiene standards. 

    All of these things and more have been mentioned by visitors – many in long and heartfelt social media reviews and emails to the Museum.  I would encourage you to visit our social channels to see for yourself what people are saying about the work many of you have been doing to ensure the Museum succeeds. 

    The Museum has also hosted some notable visitors in its early stages of opening.  In what may sound like the beginning of an old joke, an MP, a Minister, and a Bishop walked into the Museum… But, in all seriousness, over the past seven days we’ve seen Dudley North MP Marco Longhi – impressed from his visit on Saturday – returning on Wednesday having invited the Minister of State for Digital and Culture, Caroline Dinenage MP, to visit the Museum in order to show her first-hand what a remarkable community asset it is.  The Rt Revd Martin Gorick, Bishop of Dudley, has also visited to show his support for the Museum.  These visits are not just important for the media coverage they can generate, but they’re also an opportunity to put the Museum front-and-centre with decision-makers who have a real influence over the future of the cultural sector. 

    Despite the success of our reopening, these are still very uncertain times for many businesses and charities and, not least, the Museum.  Our recent award from the Arts Council Emergency Response Fund and the strong demand for tickets means we’ve been able to begin trading again and generate much needed cashflow.  However, visitor numbers for this August will likely be around fifty per cent of the level achieved in 2019 and, as an organisation which is more than 90% dependent upon visitor income, reopening does not yet mean recovery.  The challenge of operating in a financially-sustainable way in the era of social distancing remains.  Therefore, it would be wrong of me if I did not mention here there are likely to be some difficult decisions ahead.

    The £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund – currently the only sector-specific government fund – is evidence of the Government’s recognition of the importance of the cultural sector to people’s lives and the need to support organisations during this moment of crisis.  The Museum’s Leadership Team is currently looking at the best ways to apply for financial support from the Fund to enable us to operate effectively in the short term and give the organisation the best chance of survival in the long term.   It is still too early to tell what the long-term impact of Covid will be on consumer confidence and its influence on how people will choose to visit the Museum in the future.  Consequently, the future is uncertain.  Nevertheless, the Leadership Team and I are working hard to protect the Museum, its people, and livelihoods as we navigate this ‘new normal’.

    In this last of weekly comms updates, I wanted thank you all for your hard work and the way you have supported each other through these most difficult of times.  A living museum is no such thing without its people – both colleagues and visitors.  Our reopening has proved how vital the Museum is to the cultural life of the area, and as an agent of community cohesion.  Therefore, I’m incredibly proud of the experience we’ve put together and the positive impact it’s made for our visitors and for the reputation of the Black Country more widely.

    Thank you all,

    Andrew