Museum Learning and Engagement Grants

This Grant is supported using public funding from Arts Council England (ACE) and the UK Government and is being administered by MDL

This is a national programme of public funding distributed by Museum Development providers across the country, enabling more museums to benefit from funding and implement best practice.

The Museum Learning and Engagement Grants have been introduced to provide a transition between the current and future cohorts of the Museums and Schools Programmes. It will support and enable museums to undertake innovative school pilot projects that improve access to cultural learning opportunities for children and young people in education settings, particularly in underserved communities and areas of low engagement.

The main aims for the grants are to:

• Support museums to prioritise engagement with schools in DCMS Culture Priority Places and/or schools in low socio-economic areas
• Enable museums to pilot new models of engagement with schools and other learning settings, reaching a diverse range of children and young people, including those in Primary, Secondary and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) education and school-aged children learning in settings outside of mainstream school provision (including for example Home Education Providers, Hospital Schools, and Pupil Referral Units)
• Support museums to develop a more sustainable and effective schools offer, including partnerships and delivery models 

MDL has £40,000 (for grants of between £5,000 and £20,000) to allocate to London’s accredited and officially working towards accreditation non-national museums in 2026-2027, to develop and deliver new activities for school-aged children aged 4-18 currently learning in school settings inside and outside mainstream school provision.

Applications are now open

Closing date for applications: 12.00noon on Monday 12 October 2026

Applications submitted after this deadline will not be accepted.

The funding could support a range of projects which enable museums to develop new delivery models, provide new curriculum approaches, provide enrichment for children and young people with limited access to cultural learning, as well as test pilot projects that helps museums unlock future investment.

Projects will need to have spent their full awarded grant amount by Wednesday 31 March and completed the project activity and reporting by Friday 14 May 2027. More information on eligibility as well as the type of projects the grants programme will support can be found in the Guidance for Applicants.

If you would like to apply, please complete and return an Application Form, along with any supporting documents to [email protected], no later than 12.00noon on Monday 12 October 2026.

If you are unsure whether your project would be eligible, have questions about the grant criteria or would like to discuss your project in more detail, please do get in with Museum Development London.

We will announce our grant museums for 2026-2027 in November once the Assessment Panel has met and the applicants have been notified of the outcome of their application.