Accessibility Information

All information relating to facilities at the Combined Military Services Museum can be found on the AccessAble website:

AccessAble – Your Accessibility Guide

 

Our Access Policy is detailed below:

Approved by Chair of Trustees:                 21^st April 2022

Reviewed:                                                    19^th March 2022

Next Review:                                               18^th March 2027

1. Purpose, Vision and Values

The quality of our collections and depth of information associated with our holdings is of national importance. This, we believe should define our service offer and future development, enabling us to provide a rich and engaging visitor experience; recognising the diversity of our audience and levels of engagement from casual visitors to those with special subject and research interests. Our ethos is defined through our purpose, vision and underpinning values.

Our Purpose is:   

To preserve and display the collections of the Combined Military Services Museum.

Our Vision is: 

We aspire to tell the amazing stories of the British military services through our nationally important collections.

Our Values are:

• Being accessible to everyone
• Ensuring our historic assets are cared for
• Maintaining high standards in everything we do
• Sharing our knowledge of the collections
• Providing a range of engaging experiences
• Encouraging learning and discovery

2. OUR DEFINITION OF ACCESS

The Combined Military Services Museum recognises there are many barriers to access at all levels of the museum service.  However we believe that all people have a fundamental right to engage with, use and enjoy the service.

We define access as something that is made possible when physical, cultural, social, financial, intellectual, psychological and emotional barriers are removed or reduced.

3. OUR COMMITMENT TO ACCESSIBILITY

The Combined Military Services Museum aims to provide the widest possible access to its museum, collections and services to enable audiences from all sections of the community to enjoy use of the museum. We will provide access to services in the wider community and within the museum we will aim to provide independent use wherever possible.

This policy has been written in line with the museum’s Equality and Diversity Policy (2021), the aim of which is to ensure that:

‘all employees, potential employees, volunteers and visitors are treated in a fair and equitable manner regardless of their colour, race, ethnic or national origin, language, religion or belief, gender or gender reassignment, marital status, sexuality, disability, age, any illness or infection, social background, or organisation role.’

Our policy is to build accessibility into everything we do to develop and improve the service. Our commitment is long term and our policy is to make continuous improvements as our resources permit.

Our commitment to accessibility extends to our staff, volunteers and work placements as well as visitors.

We are committed to ongoing training in access issues for staff and volunteers.

To eliminate barriers and ensure equality of access we will consider the following forms of accessibility:

• Physical – to enable people with physical disabilities to reach and appreciate every part of the museum service. To take into account the needs of the elderly and of people caring for young people. We currently provide level access with ramps and a lift to all areas. Our museum has plenty of space for wheelchair access and we have designated disabled parking spaces near the entrance to the building/ This year we have undertaken to refurbish and update our lift and have put in place a new maintenance contract to ensure its longevity.  If a visitor needs a support worker or carer we allow that assistant to come in for free.
• Sensory – to enable visitors with impaired vision or hearing to enjoy the museum’s building and collections. We have commissioned a company (Pegasus) to audio-describe some of our key items which can be accessed with QR codes. Our Tea Time talks offer free online lectures from important academics and specialists focusing on items in the collection.  This not only offers a free opportunity to engage with the collection but also gives context and understanding as well as  a wider reach through our talks being saved on our YouTube channel for world-wide access.
• Intellectual – we recognize that people have different learning styles and we will provide interpretation in a range of learning styles. We also aim to ensure people with learning difficulties can engage with and enjoy the museum and the collections. Our addition of QR code audio information will help with this.  All items are fully labelled.
• Cultural – to consider the needs of people for whom English is not a first language, or whose knowledge of English history and culture may be limited. We have had museum guide sheets created in several European language including Polish, French, German and Spanish and hope to add to this in the future. All visitors are given a welcome talk and directed to key exhibits.
• Attitudinal / Emotional – to ensure the museum environment and museum staff are welcoming to visitors from all sections of the community. We aim to ensure people of Maldon and Essex feel the museum is of significance to them by working closely with the local community and in particular the schools. We have a Local History section donated by Essex people or focusing on local stories or individuals  We also work with charity Models for Heroes to enable former or serving members of the Armed or Emergency Services to come together for supported free modelmaking workshops.
• Financial – we will take into account that ability to pay can be a barrier to access and offer opportunities for those on lower incomes to access the service. We do have discretionary concession rates and family tickets available, as well as annual tickets at very preferential rates for regular visitors. Our tea time talks also provide an opportunity for free learning and entertainment.

4. MUSEUM BUILDING

We aim to provide equal access to the museum and our facilities for all visitors.  We are constantly working towards improving the facilities available to visitors with disabilities and will try to make our collections accessible even when our building is not. Where adaptations cannot be made this is communicated clearly on our website and in the event of a customer calling ahead for information we give full details so they can made an informed decision about their visit.

5. ACCESS TO COLLECTIONS

Our staff are committed to increasing public access to the collections and information and to increasing knowledge and understanding of British military history.

We will provide levels of information and interpretation to suit a range of audiences and abilities.  We will ensure that the presentation and labelling of displays respects a diversity of background.

6. ACCESS TO LEARNING

The Combined Military Services Museum provides bespoke learning opportunities for local and schools further afield and we tailor our programme to the needs of the individual groups.  We provide education programmes for the different collections within the museum and these take into account visitors from a range of backgrounds and abilities.  We will identify and develop partnerships with a range of educational and community organisations to ensure that our activities continue to cater for the widest possible audiences.

7. ACCESS TO VISITOR SERVICES

Our engagement volunteers will assist and welcome all visitors. They will be available around the museum to help people understand and enjoy the collections.

We will consider the comfort of our visitors by providing accessible toilets, baby changing facilities, access for pushchairs and seating in galleries.  We commit to reviewing these facilities on a regular basis. Our most recent review was December 2021.

Information regarding the museum and accessibility can be obtained at our website https://www.cmsm.co.uk or by emailing our team at admin@cmsm.co.uk.

8. ACCESS TO COMMUNICATION

We will promote our activities and events using accessible means of communication, such as social media using Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.  We have also  invested in a new website which gives lots of information, and a YouTube channel for our tea Time Talks.

We have introduced a museum introduction sheet in a number of languages to serve the needs of visitors who speak little or no English.

We will evaluate all our services and projects to ensure they meet the provision of this policy and we will consult users and non-users on all new developments.

Access Policy 2022 – 2027

Signed Approval

Richard Wooldridge

Chairman of the Trustees