We offer training to develop skills, knowledge and understanding within the archives sector. Our training sessions are relevant from both an organisational and individual perspective. Please email us if you would like more information about any of our sessions. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, our events and training moved online and some of our events remain digital, alongside our e-learning courses.
Most of our training sessions are free, and bookings are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. If you’re unable to cover the cost of travelling to one of our events, please get in touch and we’d be happy to discuss this. We have a limited number of spaces available at each session. Because of this, please only book if you are able to attend, and contact us if you can no longer attend.
Upcoming events
Accreditation support for Higher Education Archives (online)
26 June (13:00 – 14:30)
This online event is an opportunity to hear short case-studies from three Higher Education archivists who have gone through the process of applying for Archive Service Accreditation. They will talk through both the benefits of accreditation and the challenges they faced. There will be an interactive element to the session which will allow space for participants to discuss aspects of accreditation. Attendees with also be given useful contacts for ongoing support. This event is specifically aimed at archivists in Higher Education who are leading, for the first time, on archive accreditation.
Find out more and sign-up to attend the accreditation support for Higher Education Archives event
Conservation webinars for archive professionals
The National Archives is working with Victoria Stevens ACR to develop basic conservation guidance for archive professionals. This guidance will be delivered as 5 webinars between May and June 2024:
- Managing perceptions of damage (11:00 – 11:45, 2 May 2024)
- Conservation for digitisation (11:00 – 11:45, 16 May 2024)
- Storage and its environmental management (11:00 – 11:45, 23 May 2024)
- Mould and hazardous materials (11:00 – 11:45, 13 June 2024)
- Conservation documentation (11:00 – 11:45, 27 June 2024)
The webinars are aimed at archive and heritage professionals working with collections who have little or no conservation experience. The webinars are not aimed at conservators.
To inform the development of the guidance, between February and April 2024, we ran 5 online knowledge exchanges for conservation professionals. This collaborative approach harnessed a wide range of professional expertise and advice to build a body of information that has been distilled into comprehensive guidance.
The basic conservation guidance for archivists will complement the work done by the Archives and Records Association to create a resource for archivists to care for their collections without direct daily conservation support. It will continue to firmly advocate for the use of conservators and is not intended as a replacement for professional expertise.
Conservation for digitisation (online)
10 June – 10:00 – 10:45)
This webinar will focus on conservation for digitisation. It will provide guidance based on themes explored in the knowledge exchange which included: why are we doing it and who for, how to advocate for conservation within this process, what questions and decision do we need to make for treatment, and how do we manage the relationship with many stakeholders in a digitisation process?
To find out more and sign up please email James.Heyworth-Taylor@nationalarchives.gov.uk
Mould and hazardous materials (online)
13 June (11:00 – 11:45)
This webinar will focus on mould and hazardous materials. It will provide guidance based on themes explored in the knowledge exchange which included: identification, how it affects collections, how it affects humans, and how we deal with risk.
Find out more and register to attend the mould and hazardous materials webinar (sold out)
Conservation documentation (online)
27 June (11:00 – 11:45)
This webinar will focus on conservation documentation. It will provide guidance based on themes explored in the knowledge exchange which included: who and what are we preparing information for (audiences), controlled vocabularies (everyone using the same descriptive terms), documentation choices (one size does not fit for all projects).
Find out more and register to attend the conservation documentation webinar (sold out)
Round Tables for Archives Unlocked Refresh Consultation
Due to the General Election we are pausing consultation on the refresh of Archives Unlocked. It will recommence later in the year (the dates below will change)
The National Archives has been commissioned by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to refresh the government’s strategic vision for archives, Archives Unlocked. We have appointed BOP Consulting to carry out consultation on the current and future issues and opportunities for the archives sector. The consultation is based on a provocation paper.
We would greatly appreciate your input into this important refresh of the strategic vision for archives. We are running eight available roundtables, six of which will be in person across England and two of which will be online. Please note that you only need to attend one roundtable.
- 3 June – online
- 11 June – Durham University
- 20 June – Lancashire Archives
- 26 June – Essex Record Office
- 5 July – Birmingham Archives
- 10 July – The Box, Plymouth
- 12 July – online
- 16 July – London Metropolitan Archives
If you’re not able to attend any of the roundtables, there is also an online consultation form for archive sector professionals. If you are a member of the public, there is an online consultation form for archive users. Both forms will be open until 16 July 2024.
Find out more and register to attend one of the eight round tables
Writing on the Wall’s Creative Heritage model (online)
27 June (13:00 – 14:30)
Writing on the Wall (WoW) is a writing development and festival organisation that works with local, diverse communities. In this impact seminar, WoW’s Directors, staff and participants will have an informal discussion on the Creative Heritage model WoW has created and the partnerships they have formed across the Liverpool City Region. Creative Heritage is WoW’s programme which explores and documents hidden histories while engaging local communities. The model includes activities designed to develop archiving skills and inspire creative work based on the stories they uncover.
Registration for WoW’s Creative Heritage impact seminar will open on 27 June
E-learning courses
Data Protection Toolkit for Archives
This toolkit is for archive service staff involved in providing access to personal data found within an archive service’s collections.
The toolkit is hosted on Moodle, an e-learning service that The National Archives uses to host learning and development content for the archive sector. Following the link provided below, please fill out the New Account form with your details. Please enter your email address as your username and use the enrolment key: ‘Data Protection Toolkit’. Once you have registered, you will receive an automatic confirmation email from Moodle.
Sign up to the Data Protection Toolkit for Archives
If you already have an account, log in to the Data Protection Toolkit
Archive Service Accreditation e-learning course
This e-learning course is for anyone working with archive collections who wishes to find out about Archive Service Accreditation. It provides a general introduction to the scheme and will help participants take the first steps towards making an application.
Sign up for the Archive Service Accreditation e-learning
Fundraising for Archives e-learning course
This e-learning course covers fundraising strategy, financial planning, cases for support, building networks and supporters, crowdfunding, and measuring outcomes and evaluation.
Video tutorials and step-by-step guidance will introduce you to each topic and guide you through online activities, enabling you to put what you are learning into practice and tailor it to your archive service.
Sign up for the Fundraising for Archives e-learning course
Transfer to Places of Deposit (PoD) e-learning course
This online learning course explains the key points of the Public Records Act for public record bodies. It describes what a place of deposit is and the process public record bodies should follow to select, prepare and transfer records for permanent preservation to a place of deposit.
The learning objectives of this course are to:
- understand the content and scope of the Public Records Act and the ’20 Year Rule’ changes
- gain knowledge about the process of selecting and transferring records from a public record body to a place of deposit
- recognise the roles and responsibilities for managing records under the Act and what the public record body needs to do
- find out about the guidance and support available from The National Archives
Sign up for the Transfer to Places of Deposit e-learning course
Recorded events
Take a look at our recorded events on YouTube, which cover a variety of topics, services and networks including:
Training
- organisational impact
- advanced bid-writing
- crowdfunding and digital fundraising
- Manage Your Collections in Discovery
Events
- Digital Archives Learning Exchange (DALE)
- Manorial Documents Register Conference 2022
- Archives for Everyone 2023 – 2027
- Launching the Level 7 Archivist and Records Manager apprenticeships
Grants programmes
- Risk and Resilience grants programme
- Cataloguing grants programme
- Research and Innovation grants programme
- Archives Revealed cataloguing grants