Our story

The Heritage Education Trust is a national education charity and currently the only organisation providing independent quality assurance for heritage sites across the UK, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man through our flagship programme, the Sandford Award. The Trust has stewarded the Award for decades, maintaining its independent assessment model and ensuring continuity of standards in heritage education. The Award is administered by the Heritage Education Trust in partnership with Lincoln Bishop University.

Here’s a brief timeline of our journey:

Pre 1977: The number of school groups making educational visits to heritage sites increases and heritage education provision expands

1977: Lord Sandford was a peer in government during the 1970s in the departments of environment and education. He founded the Sandford Award with Lord Montagu of Beaulieu (representing English Heritage) and Commander Saunders Watson (representing Historic Houses Association- who later led the group which designed the History National Curriculum for England). Initially the focus of the award scheme was on historic houses.

1978: The Sandford Award is established and the first six awards are made

1986: The Heritage Education Trust was established to take on the running of the Sandford Award and to advance the development of heritage education.

1994: The scope of the Sandford Award was expanded to include industrial heritage, museums and galleries.

Further expansion has taken place since then, and the Sandford Award now encompasses a broad range of heritage sites, including gardens and landscapes, wildlife parks and zoos, archaeological reconstructions, museum and gallery collections, archives, and historic ships. The Sandford Award criteria continue to provide a trusted benchmark for high quality in heritage education and learning.

Banner image: 2024 Sandford Award winners