Illuminate Uk - Case Studies - Further Information

 

 

Projects working with children & young people

 

EKOSGEN: In 2008 Illuminate worked with EKOSGEN, the economic development consultancy, to carry out research on behalf of the Scottish Government, into Early Years Services.

 

The final published report was entitled "Perspectives on Early Years Services: Qualitative Research With Service Users" and will inform the Government's Early Years Framework - a 10 year strategy addressing the needs of families with children from pre-birth to age 8.

 

The Scottish Government were keen to know what users thought of the services on offer to the under 8s throughout the country - both children and their families. EKOSGEN approached Illuminate UK asking how we could conduct research with 2-8 year olds to find out what they thought and felt about every day experiences and services like childcare, play and leisure facilities, education and health care.

 

Karen created a series of workshops according to the different age brackets involved which would allow the children to be active participants and to express

 

 

their views through techniques such as role play, musical statues, tableaux, drawing and storytelling. Karen and Callan travelled the country delivering 22 interactive workshops in nurseries, schools and after school clubs and were delighted to have been able to assist the children in contributing their views and experiences to this important piece of work.

 

 

 

My Future's in Falkirk: Illuminate UK have recently completed a large scale project for the My Future's in Falkirk initiative, training P6 pupils from the Larbert High School cluster primary schools to be Young Ambassadors. Karen, Kara and Calum trained over 100 children in how to communicate the key messages of the My Future's in Falkirk (MFiF) initiative to their schools and communities.

 

The MFiF initiative aims to let people know that the Falkirk area is changing and getting better - with projects like the Helix, various town centre improvements and fantastic venues to visit like the Falkirk Wheel, Callendar House and the Bo'ness Hippodrome.

 

The Illuminate UK team consulted with the children to find out how they would like to communicate these messages and the result was a play, written by Illuminate, in the form of a news report. The children are now able to present their fun and informative play to other schools and to business and community groups but they are also trained to give out information informally.

 

If you would like to book the Young Ambassadors to present the 'My Future's in Falkirk' play at your school, business or community group contact Trudy Guzik at Falkirk Council on trudy.guzik@falkirk.gov.uk

 

 

Historic Scotland Junior Tour Guides: In 2006 the Historic Scotland Education Unit approached Illuminate UK to discuss developing and expanding the successful Junior Tour Guide Scheme, which had run at Linlithgow Palace for a number of years.

 

Our first stop was to investigate what had made the scheme such a success in Linlithgow. Beautiful period costumes, exciting and useful presentation skills training, supportive school and site staff and a tour full of games, facts and fun for visiting children was the answer...

 

So the Illuminate team have worked hard since then to ensure these elements were in place at the sites marked for Junior Tour Guide schemes thus far.Since 2006 we have enjoyed setting up schemes, writing scripts and training P5, 6 and 7 guides for: Claypotts Castle (Dundee), Doune Castle, Stanley Mills, Craigmillar Castle, Iona Abbey and the Blackhouse at Arnol on the Isle of Lewis.

 

Each site has its own tour/script specially researched and prepared by the Illuminate team. We ensure that the children are given useful, meaningful and fun tour guide training and see the project right through, even putting in place site staff training, booking systems and evaluation techniques.

 

In summer 2009 we will be working with S1-6 pupils from Linlithgow Academy to train former P7 Palace Guides to be volunteer tour guides at the Palace during their summer holidays. Illuminate UK are currently managing an application and audition process for pupils wishing to be summer tour guides such is the popularity of the scheme with the young people of Linlithgow.

 

Other sites and visitor attractions have been inspired by this Historic Scotland scheme and have hired Illuminate UK services to train Junior Tour Guides. These sites include the Scottish Seabird Centre and Callendar House.

 

 

Projects working with businesses and all ages

 

Mercat Tours: Karen was herself a tour guide with Mercat Tours of Edinburgh from 1995 - 2002, latterly also part of the award winning training and development team.Karen has maintained close links with the company and was recently invited back to deliver training.

 

The company were particularly interested at looking at the link between performance and persona for their talented team of ghost tour guides. The company has won a series of awards and accolades for the quality of their guides and were keen to see how they could push the guides even further so that staff are equipped with the skills of an actor as well as a tour guide.In consultation with one of the Mercat Company Directors, Karen developed a bespoke workshop looking at how drama, tension and vocal technique could be incorporated into their storytelling to improve the visitor's experience still further.

 

 

Historic Scotland Engaging With Your Customer: Historic Scotland's Training Unit commissioned Kapow Coaching and Illuminate UK to create a 1-day workshop for customer facing staff from their sites across the country. Kate, Karen and Diane have now travelled from Edinburgh to Orkney via Stirling and Banff to deliver this innovative experience to a large majority of Historic Scotland's site staff.

 

The training unit asked us to create a workshop which reminded staff of the basic principles of customer care, but which went further than conventional customer care courses and enabled staff to think more deeply about their own personal approach to customers, colleagues and to themselves. Incorporating coaching and drama techniques this course has proved to be one of our most popular with staff and management alike.

 

We can honestly say it's been an absolute pleasure to work with Historic Scotland staff and would like to thank them for their open and honest approach to each and every workshop. We are looking forward to more!

 

 

Providing actors to bring heritage events to life: Our Time Travelling Teachers are a talented bunch and can sometimes be persuaded not to only land in schools but to arrive at special events, festivals workshops and celebrations.

 

Historic Scotland and the Scottish Traditions of Dance Trust have invited Mary Queen of Scots to Castle Campbell each year for the last two years.

 

 

Each July a special one day event is held at the Castle where the public are invited to come along and learn period dance - and we provide a Mary to meet her people and even to dance a step or two with them! Over at Stanley Mills, Janet Scott, our 1830s mill worker, recently lead guided tours of the site for the Festival of the River, a special open weekend and part of Historic Scotland's Homecoming 2009 celebrations.

 

Adults and children alike highly praised the experience of meeting a character from the mill and finding out what life and work were really like 150 years ago.

 

We can also provide models for photographic shoots. For the grand unveiling of the wonderful tapestries at Stirling Castle, Historic Scotland required a Mary Queen of Scots to admire these works of art while having her photograph taken. We can provide actors and costumes for photos shoots at historic sites.