Last June, Chatsworth was 'taken over' by children from Athelstan Primary School in Sheffield as part of the Kids in Museums national takeover initiative. 

It was the largest takeover in the project's history, with 765 pupils and staff invited to work behind the scenes at Chatsworth for a week. 

The initiative has been shortlisted for a Museums + Heritage Award in the category of Best Learning Programme but, best of all, will be repeated for the next two years with two new school partners. 

In this blog, discover why Chatsworth committed to taking part in the Kids in Museums Takeover and why the team are so keen to do it again.

About the Big Takeover

Embedded within seven teams at Chatsworth, children from Athelstan Primary School became guides, water scientists, bug detectives, and visitor welcome assistants at the house, garden and farmyard.

The takeover demonstrated Chatsworth House Trust's inclusive approach to working with children, enabling the charity to take a step towards achieving its strategic ambition to help more people feel like ‘Chatsworth is a place for me’.

The Reasons for Doing It

For the first year of delivering this new strategy, Chatsworth House Trust's Learning Team prioritised creating programmes that would build connection, empathy and understanding with communities. 

Chatsworth's main exhibition for 2024, Picturing Childhood, encouraged people of all ages and backgrounds to experience Chatsworth from a new perspective; through the lens of childhood.

Historical works from the collection were showcased alongside new artist commissions to encourage consideration of representations, experiences and memories of childhood. Involving children in the early curation process was central to this and through working with partner schools, Chatsworth included content suggested by and featuring children.

A short film illustrating a passage from Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice featuring children from Athelstan Primary (note: this film has no sound)

Making it Happen

The well-established Kids in Museums Takeover was identified as an opportunity to establish an in-depth partnership with a local school that could act as 'mini-consultants' on child-centred approaches to exhibition development, interpretation and programmes.

The Learning Team researched schools within the locality (Derbyshire and South Yorkshire), identifying a Sheffield primary school - Athelstan - that had not previously visited.

Working closely with the school's Head Teacher and the senior leadership team at Chatsworth, a relationship was developed to build trust before outreach took place in the school in early 2024. This was followed by class trips to Chatsworth to allow pupils to become familiar with the setting and the staff.

Together, Chatsworth and Athelstan School set clear objectives for their experience:

• Children will have co-created a fun and welcoming experience for visitors, staff and for themselves
• Chatsworth colleagues and volunteers will support new ideas and embrace new collaborative ways of working
• Positive long-term relationships will have been established by Chatsworth with the school, the children and their families
• Children will feel more welcome in historic houses and museums – and encouraged to visit similar locations
• Children will be represented in the content of the exhibition and across the Chatsworth site

Ahead of season opening 2024, pupils from Athelstan took part in a Jane Austen related short film made for the exhibition and seen by all visitors to Chatsworth House between March and October 2024.

Ten-year-old pupil, Inaaya Abbas, also posed questions to childhood and empire researcher Dr Edward Town; their audio dialogue now forms part of Chatsworth's permanent exhibition interpretation.

The takeover took place in June 2024, with over 100 pupils arriving every weekday morning to get to work.

The children of Athelstan School are now Chatsworth's mini consultants on new interpretation at the Farmyard and have suggested the reading material available for families on the visitor route as part of the 2025 exhibition, The Gorgeous Nothings: Flowers at Chatsworth.

Involving Everyone

Says Gill Hart, Chatsworth's Head of Learning & Engagement: "The Takeover grew significantly in ambition when Chatsworth's Learning Team realised its potential impact. It quickly turned into the largest-ever Kids in Museums takeover!

"However, the project could not have been delivered by the learning team alone. Focusing on daily jobs enabled face-to-face opportunities for passionate colleagues to share their often-unseen work with enthusiastic pupils. This project was joyful for all - participating colleagues, volunteers, and the school have expressed a desire to repeat the experience which we're already busy planning."

Responses from visitors during the takeover were also heartwarming. ‘What a great way to build the children’s confidence and teach them skills they carry through life.’ Visitor

Making a difference

Over 750 pupils and staff from Athelstan and 59 staff and volunteers at Chatsworth took part in the five day takeover. Surveys were conducted with pupils and teachers before and after the Takeover week to assess enjoyment as well as anxiety and confidence levels.

The Takeover evaluation results showed:

• 87% of pupils expressed a desire to return to Chatsworth.
• 87% of pupils left feeling happy or excited about their visit to Chatsworth.
• There was a 46% decrease in pupils who felt worried or anxious about visiting Chatsworth.
• 87% of teachers felt that the Takeover helped their pupils feel welcome and comfortable in a historic house setting.
• 84% of teachers felt that their class took part in activities they were expecting them to do.

Says Lisa Watson, Deputy Headteacher at Athelstan, "Chatsworth Takeover Week was without doubt one of the highlights of both our pupils’ and our staff’s year and we felt extremely privileged to be invited to take part in this exciting event. To experience this immersion in what is such a beautiful and prestigious environment gave our children a memory that they will take with them through their adult lives."

The 2024 takeover was so successful that Chatsworth has committed to delivering this again for the next two years with two new school partners.

The Museum + Heritage Awards

The global Museum + Heritage Awards celebrate the very best in the world of museums, galleries, and cultural and heritage visitor attractions and the ceremony to reveal the winners will take place on the evening of Thursday, May 15, 2025, at Hilton Park Lane, London. 

This year’s shortlist, which includes entrants from all over the United Kingdom as well as museums and other cultural organisations in 14 other countries ranging from Norway to Egypt and Australia, has been chosen by an independent panel of nine judges, who are all well-known in the museum’s world.