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ENGLISH HERITAGE VOLUNTEER SURVEY 2009
A report on the performance
of the English Heritage education
volunteering programme

Kate Davies
Education Volunteers Manager
November 2009
Foreword
Since launching the education volunteering programme the Education
department has strived to create a scheme that represents the needs of its
volunteers – listening to opinions, understanding needs and recognising skills
and experience. Following on from the evaluation of the pilot education
volunteering programme (conducted in 2007, published in May 2008) the
2009 Volunteer Survey demonstrates our commitment to continually listen to
volunteers and adapt and improve the educational volunteering programme.
The findings of this report demonstrate that everyone involved in the
programme is working hard to ensure education volunteers are well supported
and managed and have a worthwhile and enjoyable experience with English
Heritage. I would like to thank everyone involved in the programme for
ensuring its continued success.
I would also like to make a special thank you to our education volunteers
across the country who are bringing our historic properties alive to visiting
school children, passing on their enthusiasm to the next generation. It is their
dedication, skills and experience that makes our education programme such
an enriching and enjoyable experience for those participating.
Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to a number of people for their help in the production of this document.
Firstly to Rebecca Brough, Education Liaison Officer for the South West who produced the
online survey questionnaire completed by the volunteers and collated the results. Also to Tina
Corri, Head of Education and Hilary Jones, Education Publishing Co-ordinator who both
edited this report. And finally to the volunteers who took the time to complete the
questionnaire and share their thoughts and experiences.
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Executive Summary
Overall the 2009 survey revealed extremely positive attitudes towards being an education volunteer:
THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS
The interview, recruitment and induction processes were all seen very favourably.
REASONS FOR VOLUNTEERING
Many of the volunteers had joined the programme due to a strong interest in education or history.
VOLUNTEER ROLES AND EXPERIENCES
Volunteers felt they had largely been made to feel welcome and that their ideas were listened to.
Many volunteers also found the social aspects of the role very enjoyable.
Volunteers mainly felt well-prepared for their role and were very satisfied with the support that they
received from the English Heritage Education team and Volunteers Manager.
If anything, volunteers would like to spend more time than they currently did volunteering and many
expressed the desire for their volunteer role to expand to encompass additional responsibilities beyond
those associated with Discovery Visits for school groups (interactive, curriculum-linked sessions).
The few areas for development of the programme that were expressed in the survey were mainly caused
by the long gaps between volunteering sessions and practical issues (for example storage of resources)
which will need to be investigated and addressed on a site by site basis.
COMMUNICATION
There was a marked difference between the popularity of the different methods of communicating to
volunteers. The education volunteers newsletter was very popular whereas an online forum (Google
group) was largely un-used.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Look at methods of advertising volunteer opportunities and think about how best to use them
in recruitment.
Maintain current levels of overall volunteer satisfaction.
Diversification of volunteer roles.
Diversification of volunteer profile.
Resolve practical and site-specific issues, for example storage.
Build on the successes of communicating with and connecting volunteers for example through
the education volunteers newsletter.
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Highlights
8
7
1
PHASE 1 (2006–07)
1 Bolsover Castle
2 Kenwood House
3 Pendennis Castle
4 Great Yarmouth Row Houses*
5 Goodrich Castle
6 Fort Brockhurst
7 Brodsworth Hall & Gardens
PHASE 2 (2008–09)
8 Warkworth Castle
9 Audley End House
10 Battle Abbey
11 Portchester Castle
PHASE 3 (2010–11)
12 Stonehenge & Old Sarum
13 Wrest Park
3
12
5
11
13 9
2
6
10
4
Since its launch in 2006 the education volunteers programme has continued to grow from strength to
strength. Currently running at ten English Heritage sites across the country, we have a team of over 80
committed volunteers who either assist or lead Discovery Visits, working on an ‘on-call’ basis. Volunteers
lead 16 Discovery Visits (of which 12 were developed in partnership with volunteers) and support a
further five staff-led Discovery Visits. We are currently planning to expand the programme to include
Stonehenge and Old Sarum in 2010 and Wrest Park in 2011.
Since the last volunteer survey was conducted in
2007 there have been a number of highlights for the
education volunteering programme including:
ENGAGEMENT & IMPACT
The development, piloting and launch of 12
volunteer-led Discovery Visits.
Over 2700 hours of voluntary work reported by
education volunteers from 2007-08 and 3000
hours from 2008-09. (Note: this is likely to be
conservative figure).
An education volunteer from Kenwood House
won the Marsh Volunteers for Museum Learning
Award (London Region) which recognises best
practice and innovative ways volunteers work in
museums in June 2009.
Volunteers contributed to the quality and
excellence of our educational services recognised
through Sandford Awards at seven properties
where education volunteers are based.
The Education Volunteers Manager shared
the findings of the evaluation at the Group for
Education in Museums Conference Volunteering
for Learning.
A new one-day training workshop on “Managing
Volunteers” has been developed as part of the
English Heritage management development
programme for staff.
CONNECTING VOLUNTEERS
The development of an education volunteer
newsletter published twice yearly.
The production of new ‘yellow’ volunteer pass to
be issued to volunteers after completing 60 hours
of volunteering giving them access to all
English Heritage properties.
Volunteering has led to employment for three
education volunteers at English Heritage and has
also encouraged a number of others to seek
careers in the heritage sector.
PRACTICE-SHARING
The publication of the evaluation of the pilot
education volunteering programme in May 2008
found that English Heritage had successfully
implemented the programme across seven sites in
its pilot year and volunteers had made a tangible
difference to its education provision.
* Programme at Great Yarmouth Row Houses ended in 2009
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Methodology & Findings
The survey took the form of an online questionnaire carried out during September 2009. All volunteers
were either sent a link to the survey in an email or a hard-copy of the questionnaire. The survey was
made up of six sections covering: the recruitment process, reasons for volunteering, views about their
volunteer role, experiences as education volunteers, communication and personal information. A total
of 55 respondents, all of whom were current or had recently left their role as education volunteers,
took part in the survey. Volunteers working on all sites where the programme exists were among the
respondents, except for Battle Abbey where volunteers were recruited shortly before the survey took
place. All other sites had levels of respondents that were in proportion to the numbers of volunteers
currently involved at the site. For consistency, many questions used in the pilot evaluation were repeated
to allow year-on-year comparison of the programme.
SECTION 1
THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS
Promoting volunteering
Most volunteers had heard about available education
volunteer roles in the local press (32%). This was
followed by the English Heritage website (15%) and
Heritage Today (11%).
Other less popular recruitment methods included:
Writing to local English Heritage members in the
area when trying to attract new volunteers 7.5%
Advertising vacancies using posters at an English
Heritage property 9%
Displaying posters in the local community 6%.
When respondents were asked for their ideas about
how to advertise opportunities to potential
volunteers, several of them thought approaching
nearby universities may be a good idea and it was
felt that doing this may help to engage some
younger volunteers.
Respondents felt the most important factor which
could positively influence a potential volunteer’s
decision to apply for a vacancy was if they were able
to meet existing volunteers face to face (62%). 42%
also mentioned that they would like to hear a talk or
meet with an existing volunteer. No volunteers had
heard about volunteering opportunities on the radio
(despite several radio interviews having been done in
previous recruitment campaigns). 39% mentioned that
they would like to read case studies of volunteers. The
least popular option was glossy publicity brochures.
Interviews & information
When asked about their opinion of the interview
and recruitment process for education volunteers,
responses were very positive, with 83% saying that ‘It
was all just right’ and 33% that the process was
efficient. The only significant negative was that 12%
felt that the process was too slow. Volunteers were
similarly content with the information that they had
obtained before they applied to become an
education volunteer. 84% of respondents agreed or
strongly agreed that the information had been easy
to find, 85% that it was in the right amount of detail,
87% that it was fully accessible and 76% that it had
the right balance of written and visual content.
SECTION 2
REASONS FOR VOLUNTEERING
The majority of education volunteers were not new
to volunteering when they joined the programme.
72% had already volunteered for another
organisation or had been volunteers for English
Heritage before. In terms of the motivating factors in
their decision to become an education volunteer,
‘interest in the history of the site’ was the top
answer, followed by the opportunity to use ‘existing
skills and experience’ and then ‘developing new skills’.
While personal development was therefore a very
important factor for many volunteers, this was not to
do with making themselves ‘more employable’, which
ranked markedly lower than any of the other ten
factors in the question. It seems that it was more to
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do with lifelong learning and personal enrichment.
This may be representative of the fact that some of
the volunteers have retired from paid employment.
SECTIONS 3 & 4 (see tables 1–3, pages 8 & 9)
VOLUNTEER ROLES AND EXPERIENCES
Length of service
The majority (55%) of volunteers had been involved
with the Education Volunteer programme for more
than one year and 29% had been volunteering for
more than two years. Newer volunteers were still
represented, however, with 18% having joined within
the last 6 months.
Regularity of volunteering
When asked how often they volunteered, many
respondents found it difficult to provide a
straightforward answer and 42% chose ‘other’ as their
answer. Of those who specified a reason for this,
many said that it varied greatly ‘as and when’ school
bookings arose. There was evidence, however, that
many volunteers were involved on a regular basis.
48% of respondents said that they worked once a
month or more often and 21% were involved at
least once a week.
Travel
On each occasion that they volunteered, the vast
majority (78%) spent less than 1 hour in total
travelling to and from the site. When asked about
the time they usually spent working on site, 50%
stated that this was usually 2-3 hours. 17% said that
they spent more than 4 hours on site each time.
Time commitment
Volunteers’ opinions about the amount of time that
they currently spent on education volunteering were
generally very positive. 57% stated that the amount of
time they currently spent was about right. No
volunteers said that they would like to do fewer hours
but 26% said that they would like more hours. Of
those respondents who answered ‘other’, several
noted that while they were happy with the amount of
time spent on each occasion, the infrequency of
occasions was a shame as they would have liked to be
involved more often. In particular, 63% of the Bolsover
Castle respondents and 50% of Pendennis Castle
respondents said that they would like to do more.
Satisfaction levels
Volunteers were asked to rate their satisfaction with
various aspects of the volunteer programme. Top of
their list was the support they received from the
Education Volunteers Manager. All volunteers were
satisfied with this aspect and 71% were ‘very satisfied’.
The second element they were most happy with was
the support they received from the regional
education team and third was the induction process.
In general, volunteers were satisfied with every aspect
that they were asked to rate, with only very few
expressing dissatisfaction. The highest levels of
dissatisfaction, which were still very low, were
‘resources and materials to support your work’
(5% dissatisfied) and ‘support received from site
staff’ (4% dissatisfied).
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Findings continued
Positive experiences
When asked the extent to which they agreed or
disagreed with positive statements about their
experience as education volunteers, the vast majority
of respondents agreed with each statement.
Those which received the most positive response
were:
having the opportunity to ‘contribute their
ideas/being listened to’ and
feeling ‘valued and welcomed by other education
volunteers’ (53% strongly agreed with each).
Other very positive responses were given for:
‘knowing the right person to approach’ with a
problem,
having ‘ownership’ over what they do and
feeling ‘valued and welcomed by the staff at
the site’.
Slightly more negative overall, but still with the vast
majority of volunteers agreeing included:
‘volunteers and site staff being clear about their
respective roles’,
‘understanding the overall aims of English
Heritage’ and
feeling ‘valued by English Heritage as an
organisation’.
Preparation for role
When asked to think specifically about the role that
they had been assigned on their site, almost all said
that they felt that they had been well-prepared for
the role and had a clear idea of what was expected
of them. While the majority felt that their role had
the right level of interest and challenge, 13% said that
this was not the case and 20% said that their role
didn’t give them enough to get their teeth into. 15%
felt that their role would benefit from being more
clearly defined.
Expectations
All respondents considered that education
volunteering had at least partly met their
expectations. 80% of volunteers said that their
experience had fully met their expectations with
18% saying that it had exceeded them.
Best bits
Asked an open-ended question about what they
enjoyed most about being an education volunteer, a
wide variety of answers were given. There were
some common themes, however. Many volunteers
mentioned the social aspect of their work with
comments such as ‘meeting people, banter with
friends who volunteer’ and ‘listening to other
people’s experiences and points of view’. Working
with children was also mentioned by several
respondents as was being involved in education or
imparting knowledge. Team working was also
mentioned many times along with learning about the
site or ‘indulging my love of history’.
Worst bits
Another open-ended question, this time concerning
what volunteers least enjoy about being an
education volunteer brought a similarly wide-ranging
response. This time there seemed to be few
common themes although several respondents did
mention bad weather and long gaps between
bookings as negative parts of their role. Other
complaints were quite specific to the individual and
the site such as ‘carrying heavy tables’ and
‘frustration with storage’.
Future ideas
Responses to the question ‘How would you like to
see your education volunteer role develop in the
future?’ showed an overwhelming desire to do more
and get involved. There were many mentions of
wanting Discovery Visit bookings more often so that
volunteering could be more frequent, whereas
others would like to see their role expanding to
cover general site volunteering or even to cover
education activity at other sites nearby. Other
volunteers would like to be more involved in the
development of new sessions or research. When
asked to note down anything that they would like to
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change about their volunteer role, many volunteers
stated that they would not really change anything.
Those who did comment gave some negative points
such as ‘to make the work more variable – it can be
quite dull giving the same Discovery Visit four times a
day’ while others gave suggestions ‘A little more of
the role playing for children, more participating
rather than just listening’. Others were extremely
positive comparing their voluntary experience with
English Heritage to other volunteering experiences
in English Heritage’s favour.
SECTION 5 (see table 4, page 9)
KEEPING VOLUNTEERS INFORMED
Volunteers were asked about the usefulness of
communication tools designed to improve the
exchange of information between volunteers and staff.
78% of the respondents had never used the online
forum the ‘Education Volunteers Google group’ and
only 2% said that they had used it frequently. Of those
who had used it, however, only half said that they felt
confident about how to use it and less than half would
actually like to contribute to it.
Over half expressed an interest in contributing to the
newsletter. 85% said that they would like to see the
inclusion of more articles by volunteers themselves.
Opinions were split over the frequency of the
newsletter with 35% saying it should come out more
frequently than twice a year. Respondents were happy
with the balance of pictures and text in the
publication. When asked for their open-ended
suggestions, one volunteer commented ‘Articles from
key English Heritage staff supporting and commenting
constructively on the contribution of volunteer
projects would enable the volunteer staff to feel
valued and an integral part of the organisation.’
SECTION 6
VOLUNTEER PROFILE
83% of the respondents were female and all
described their ethnicity as white. 52% of volunteers
surveyed were under 60 and therefore of
employment age only 10% of these were under 34.
4% of volunteers considered themselves to
have a disability.
Opinions of the education volunteer newsletter
(introduced following the evaluation of the pilot
volunteering programme), however, were much
more positive. All of the respondents had seen
it before and 98% thought that it was useful.
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TABLE 1
VOLUNTEER SATISFACTION WITH THE INFRASTRUCTURE
OF THE EDUCATION VOLUNTEERING PROGRAMME
Please indicate how satisfied you are with the following aspects of the Education Volunteer programme*
Recognition for the work you do
Amount of communication from English Heritage
Support received from Education Volunteers Manager
Support received from regional education team
(Education Manager and Liaison Officers)
Support received from site staff
Resources and materials to support your work
Training
Induction
Application and recruitment process
3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8
TABLE 2
VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE
Please indicate, from your experience of being an Education Volunteer, the extent to which you agree or disagree*
with each of the following statements
I feel valued by English Heritage as an organistion
I feel part of English Heritage as an organistion
I feel I understand overall English Heritage aims
I feel that my skills are being developed
I feel I have ownership of what I
do as an Education Volunteer
I feel that I have the opportunity to contribute
my ideas and that I am listened to
If I had a problem related to my volunteering,
I would know the right person to approach
The Education Volunteers and site staff
are clear about their respective roles
I feel valued and welcomed by
the other Education Volunteers
I feel valued and welcomed by the staff at the site
2.9 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6
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TABLE 3
VOLUNTEERS’ SATISFACTION WITH THEIR ROLES
Regarding the specific role you have been assigned at your site, please indicate the extent to which you agree or
disagree with the following statements
My role is not flexible enough
My role would benefit from being more clearly defined
My role has the right level of interest and challenge
My role doesn’t give me enough to get my teeth into
My role is too difficult and demanding
I have a clear idea of what is expected of me in my role
I feel that I have been well-prepared for my role
0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5
* With questions involving agree/disagree answer a numerical rating is given to each possible response – ‘Strongly agree’ has been given the value 4, ‘agree’
the value 3, ‘disagree’ is 2 and ‘strongly disagree’ is 1. By adding these all together and then dividing by the total number of respondents answering the
question (not including those who answered N/A), an average is calculated. The decimal number at the bottom of the chart is the average.
TABLE 4
VOLUNTEER AGE
How old are you?
18-24 3.7%
25-34 5.6%
35-44 16.7%
45-59 25.9%
60 and over 48.1%
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How do the findings compare with
2007 volunteer survey?
On the whole the findings are very similar.
There hasn’t been a significant shift in why people volunteer as two out of the top three reasons for
volunteering are the same in both surveys – ‘using my existing skills and experience’ and ‘developing
new skills’.
There also hasn’t been any change in the most popular ways volunteers heard about volunteering
opportunities – with the English Heritage members magazine ‘Heritage Today’, the English Heritage
website and local press all featuring prominently.
When the 2007 survey was conducted it was still very early in the volunteering programme and many
volunteers had not settled into a fixed pattern of volunteering nonetheless, as in 2009, most people felt
that the time they were spending was about right.
Some volunteers in 2007 said they would be happy doing more and this was even more apparent in
the 2009 findings.
The volunteers’ views about the arrangements that had been put in place to recruit, train and support
them had not really changed between 2007 and 2009.
Most volunteers had a positive experience of the programme’s infrastructure and no-one was dissatisfied
with any aspect.
Finally, there hasn’t been a marked shift in the demographic of the volunteer community, although the
identification of new groups and volunteer roles may change this.
Progress made since 2007
One area that was identified for improvement in
2007 was that information needs were not being
met fully by the induction process. This seems to
have been fully resolved as all volunteers were
satisfied or very satisfied with the induction process
and the vast majority were also happy with the
training provided.
The 2007 survey identified that clearer lines of
communications were needed between volunteers
and staff as the complex volunteer support network
of site staff, regional education staff and a national
Volunteer Manager was often complicated and
confusing. However, the 2009 survey demonstrates
that much of this has been resolved and there is a
marked improvement in this area with the majority
of volunteers stating that they know the right
person to approach with a problem. This in part is
likely to be due to the more integrated role of
regional Education Liaison Officers who contribute
to the induction process and support volunteers
to a greater extent.
The education volunteers newsletter and the online
forum were set up as a response to the 2007
findings, and although the online forum has proved
largely ineffective and has since been closed down
the newsletter has been hugely popular.
Overall, the programme has built on the success of
the pilot and is well prepared for the future.
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Conclusion & Recommendations
The findings of the 2009 survey are overwhelmingly
positive and demonstrate that the programme is
performing well. This survey will be used to inform
the future development of the education
volunteering programme at English Heritage.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Utilise the best methods of
promoting volunteering
The results show the importance of not only
maintaining the information on the English
Heritage website but also keeping it as up to date
as possible, as well as trying to get print media
coverage of upcoming opportunities. Findings also
suggest that posters and letters to members,
although a valid and valuable recruitment method,
may not be as effective as we had thought and
that we could revisit the time spent on these.
Volunteer thoughts on recruitment information
suggests that although printed recruitment
literature was important most people felt case
studies and comments from actual volunteers
were more valuable.
2 Maintain current levels of overall volunteer
satisfaction and diversify education
volunteer roles
The vast majority of volunteers are happy with
their role although there is an underlying feeling
that some volunteers would like to do more
(either for the education department or more
generally for English Heritage). This feeling could be
linked to infrequent Discovery Visit bookings or
volunteers might be based at properties that are
closed during the winter months.
3 Improve the diversity of education volunteers
More than half of all education volunteers are
under the age of 60 which is a successful step
towards age diversity when taking into account
that all education volunteer roles require availability
during weekdays. Although the volunteering
opportunities manage to attract people from a
wide variety of ages it is less successful attracting a
more diverse range of people. In any future
expansion of the programme English Heritage
should try to increase the diversity of those who
volunteer, in order to more accurately reflect the
population as a whole.
4 Resolve practical and site-specific issues, for
example storage
The few areas for development that were
expressed in the survey were mainly caused by
practical issues that need to be assessed on a site by
site basis. Examples of these issues include the
limited storage facilities for resources that volunteers
use as part of the Discovery Visits they deliver.
5 Build on the successes of communicating with
and connecting volunteers
Volunteers liked to be kept informed of news and
stories from other volunteers, the education team
and more generally with news about English
Heritage. This is an area for improvement in the
future as there is demand amongst volunteers to
increase their knowledge and engagement with
English Heritage’s wider role and overall aims.
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Appendix 1
Current Volunteers by Site
A special thank you to all of the education volunteers currently participating in the programme
AUDLEY END HOUSE
Christine Greet
Helen McKavney
Jeanette Fulcher
Julie Fellows
Patricia Carter
Diana Harrison
Pamela Russell
Geraldine Cowell
Kate Faircliffe
Anne Rhodes
Patricia Brown
Sandra Turner
Judith Roberts
BATTLE ABBEY
Pamela Bourne
Melvyn Nolan
Sheila Clements
Barbara Kaliniecka
Roy Calthorpe
Henry Lampitt
BOLSOVER CASTLE
Kevin Springthorpe
Val Gamble
Carol Measham
Ginny Dodds
Edward Ratcliffe
Joan Sweetman
Joanna Habart
Velma Pursehouse
Stuart Covell
BRODSWORTH HALL
Susan Lee
Pauline Walker
Russell Davis
Anne Swann
Patricia Granby
Sarah Beck
Garry Swann
Gillian Johnson
Roy Whyke
Mollie Lodge
Glenys Harrison
Sue Love
Hilary Simmons
Sally-Ann Burley
Anne Westbrooke
Ingrid House
Sarah Watson
Maggie Sidebottom
Cynthia Bennett
FORT BROCKHURST &
PORTCHESTER CASTLE
Terry Rhodes
Geoff Hallett
Diane Travell
Alison Woolley
Brigid Hamilton
Dean Hines
Derek Shaughnessy
Jane Foster
PENDENNIS CASTLE
Lesley Cope
Ethne Brandson
Christine Morris
Clive Morris
GOODRICH CASTLE
Helen Rogers
Diane Hudson
Helen Roberts
Elaine Savage
Kate Miller
Rosie Hunnam
Joanna Gleed
Jacquie Twaits
KENWOOD HOUSE
Victoria Gordon
Rachael Crofts
Sarah Brown
Reagan Kiser
Sarah Batten
Jennifer Harland
Hedy Cohen
WARKWORTH CASTLE
John Maddock-Lyon
Peter Regan
Kenneth Southam
Phillippa Pendrich
Lesley Purdy
Anne Hudson
Katy Simpson
Lynn McQuin
Jan-Marie Claridge
Bev Palin
Stephen Fry
Anne Hudson
Veronica McKenna
ONLINE RESOURCES
Rowena Tulloch
Thanks to: Visitor Operations staff at the 10 properties, the Education team
and the curator at Fort Brockhurst
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For more information visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/learning