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Our Impact
SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY IMPACT
Through visits to us and our outreach programmes, we have provided educational experiences for early learners, young adults and adults.
Our education department tailor all visits and experiences to educate about Mackintosh, art and help provide valuable life skills in a unique venue.
Through outreach and internal visits we have helped target social exclusion. We are a central community hub.
A SUPPORTED TEAM
All our staff have undergone mental well-being support training. We have also up-skilled our senior team and they have successfully gained their Mental Health First Aid Certification in order to provide the best possible support for our young team.
Ten of our Princes Trust trainees are currently undergoing training towards gaining their Scottish Vocational Qualifications in Hospitality. This a huge part of assisting our staff improve their CV and professional development.
It is important that our staff continue to gain skills in what they have a passion for. From back of house spreadsheets to historical tour guiding our staff spend one on one time with our management to choose and develop the areas that are right for them.
SCHOOLS
We welcome children over the age of five to discover what The Willow has to offer. Using heritage as an enabler, our specially curated education programme takes inspiration from design features throughout. Each school visit is adjusted according to the needs of those visiting. We have had the pleasure of having visitors from all over the country who have gained valuable experiences from their visit. This year, we have already provided workshops and activities to over 12 new SIMD schools.
“The variety of experiences offered helps the children to stay on task and have the opportunity to experience a large number of learning outcomes.” – Visiting Teacher, St Roch’s
SPECIALISED VISITS
We aim to provide educational experiences that are fit for purpose and that can bring long lasting learnings to the group. We use every aspect of tourism and hospitality to do this. We have run successful hospitality led visits – where the group can have real life interactions with working hospitality professionals. Our head chef on hand to demonstrate skills in cookery and our talented front of house team providing training on delivering exceptional service.
“Such a fun packed day. St Mungo’s Academy pupils learned all about silver service. What a cracking day we had learning about the amazing variety of jobs. Our young people watched the head chef do a live demonstration.’ – Alba Wilkinson, St Mungos
OUTREACH PROGRAMME
Our creative learning and education manager has created some specialised learning programmes which aim to bring Mackintosh and Miss Cranston’s legacy into the community and schools. Through donations and funding, we are able to provide valuable learning experiences to those who may not otherwise be able to access them. We’ve delivered free school holiday activities and also set up a community project dedicated to tackling social exclusion. We also deliver talks to various community and special interest groups.
“Once again many thanks for your wonderful talk yesterday everyone really enjoyed it. hope to see you soon on a visit to Ms. Cranston’s tearoom.” – Motherwell outreach talk
TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
Many of the young people employed at Mackintosh at the Willow have joined us through our partnership with the Princes Trust. It is our mission to continue to provide valuable opportunities to our young team. Ten of our team are currently undergoing their Hospitality and Front of House training towards gaining their SVQ Qualification. We provide valuable mental well being support, specifically training our senior team members to gain their Mental Health First Aid Training certification. We are so proud of the professional journeys that each employee has made. We are committed to listening to the needs of our staff and creating bespoke learning for each individual. As part of their development they often get involved with the education programme activities – enjoyable and a great way to build on their skill-set!
EDUCATION FOR ALL
Mackintosh at the Willow is proud to be an accessible venue, providing accessible educational experiences for everyone. We teamed up with the British Deaf Association to run tours suitable for the deaf community. We have also welcomed pupils with additional support needs, tailoring the activities to meet their needs.
“The Deaf pupils… really enjoyed learning about Charles Rennie Mackintosh at the Willow and trying their hands at Mackintosh’s style of art. They were amazed at the artwork and they were surprised to discover that this talented artist was from Glasgow. The presenter followed appropriate pace to allow the BSL/English interpreter time to give clear information in British Sign Language and paused to allow the Deaf pupils to respond which we greatly appreciated because this empowered the pupils to fully understand the information. Before they went back to their schools, they were asking to find out more about Glasgow people, especially Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Glasgow Heritage.” James Barnes – Miller, BDA Scotland
GALLERY
