We’re now an Accredited Museum

Obtaining Museum Accreditation is the museum equivalent of completing an approved programme regulated by the NMC. It is the agreed UK industry standard for museums and galleries. It’s overseen by Arts Council England and covers the way in which museums are run, how we manage our collections and how we engage with visitors. Accredited museums are eligible for more funding, prioritised for free training, and the award increases the trust of the public and other institutions in our organisation.

Starting with a project proposal back in 2020, it’s taken a long time, many brains, and a lot of hard work to get to this stage. Without the vital help of colleagues from across the RCN we would not have been able to do all the work required to get where we are now. The timeline below is an abridged, yet still lengthy, version of events giving you a glimpse of all the work that actually went into getting accredited:

A few years ago, our object collection was packed away in boxes in Edinburgh, uncatalogued. That's when the team hired a Museum Documentation Assistant to we move all the objects to London, number and catalogue them (check out our online catalogue), and store them in a space specially fitted with bespoke shelving and boxes. We’ve drafted over 10 new procedures, plans and policies including risk and access assessments, documentation procedures, collections care plan, audience development plan, and many more.

And all this while delivering our ongoing exhibition and events programmes and Arts Council funded writer in residence scheme! The final events for this scheme are Wednesday 8 July:

• The Art of Nursing and Migration - with Michael Rosen (hybrid, with live BSL and speech to text)
  • Reading and panel with Michael Rosen and RCN writers in residence Romalyn Ante, Jennifer Wong and Christie Watson and artist Haleema Aziz
• Writing Lived Experience with Christie Watson (in-person)
  • Workshop for younger writers where you will be guided through some creative exercises to find your own voice as a writer

If you’d like to find out more about what we’ve got coming up, check out our exhibitions and events programme. You can also book a group tour, book onto one of our monthly tours, or simply drop in to see ‘The Art of Nursing’ and ‘Moved to Care’ exhibitions.