The Autism Peer Support Group recently collaborated with English Heritage to enhance the accessibility of Discovery visits at The Old Hall in Gainsborough for autistic visitors. Discovery visits are sessions that English Heritage out on for school children to create unique and memorable learning experiences to them bring the topic to life. 

The visit to Gainsborough Old Hall showcased one of English Heritages sites, a stunning medieval manor house in Lincolnshire, offering visitors a glimpse into over 500 years of history. This beautifully preserved building features a grand Great Hall, a working medieval kitchen, and a unique timber-framed design. Visitors can explore its rich past through guided tours, interactive exhibits, and special events that bring history to life. The Old Hall also offers a welcoming café and gift shop.  
 

After the Autism Peer Support Group contacted The Old Hall, Angela, Educational Visits Officer for English Heritage, reached out to them to explore how they could support English Heritage in making their programmes more autism friendly. The Autism Peer Support Group attended a morning discovery visit to observe a school group of over 60 children on a local residential trip. During this two and a half hour, the group shadowed the tour to identify sensory and accessibility considerations relevant to neurodiverse visitors. 

Following the visit, the group provided constructive feedback on practical adjustments that could better support autistic visitors.  Key recommendations included: 

• Pre-visit Materials: Sharing images of key areas such as the entrance, toilets, dining spaces, and specific rooms ahead of time. This would allow visitors to familiarize themselves with the environment, easing anxiety and uncertainty. 

• Sensory Considerations: We noted that certain areas, particularly large and echoey rooms, could be overstimulating due to bright lighting and noise levels. We suggested adapting lighting where possible and adding signage to indicate quieter areas. 

• Quiet Space: Having a designated quiet area available for those who may become overwhelmed would offer visitors a comfortable space to regulate before rejoining the tour. 

Angela, Educational Visits Officer for English Heritage, was very pleased with the feedback, especially the idea of incorporating pre-visit images and other preparatory materials. Having shared these insights with the English Heritage learning team to explore implementing these autism-friendly practices across all English Heritage sites, English Heritage have started to make plenty of adjustments. 

Angela shared her thoughts on the visit “They were brilliant. I asked them to watch a discovery visit, which is the session we put on for school children and they let me know what we could do to make it autism friendly. Their actual “lived” experience was invaluable, I taught before doing this job and I sat through so much autism training, providing strategies which I knew wouldn’t work with the students in my class…the way they explained it all made so much sense and I’ll use their words when I train staff for delivering sessions at sites across my patch, not just Gainsborough. 

The bright lights but they are now on our radar. We’ve bought some ear defenders to lend to students, produced an autism friendly guide for pre visits to the site which we can send to schools when they book, and we are going to create a swatch of fabrics used in the costumes for students to use if they want.  

For the staff providing those visits – being told they were doing a good job by being so empathetic and willing to adjust things where they could – I think really helped their confidence because they only meet the students for an hour so don’t really have a chance to know exactly what is needed to help. Being told that they were getting it right by people who really know, was invaluable. Eventually we will have an autism friendly bag for students to borrow too” 

This experience was not only enjoyable for the group, who appreciated the opportunity to visit The Old Hall, but also extremely valuable in contributing to improved, more inclusive experiences for neurodiverse visitors in the future. 

Following the success of this visit, Thriving Abilities funding has been awarded for further visits. This funding will allow the autism peer support group to visit six more venues across Gainsborough to help them make their programmes more accessible. Barbara Hancock, Wellbeing Services Manager at Acis Group said “The participants are enjoying visiting local amenities and helping make Gainsborough a more inclusive community.”  

We look forward to sharing the success of the groups future visits. 

To find out more about the autism peer support group contact info@cliplearning.com or call 01427 677377