Case Study: Bronte Parsonage Museum

What were the aims of this activity?

• Support Brontë Parsonage Museum to increase accessibility for neurodivergent staff and visitors,

• Try out new ways of working to support the sector with accessibility.

  
  

Summary of the areas covered

• Access Policy,

• Visual Story and Website,

• Calm Bags,

• Seating,

• Learning,

• Museum in a Box,

• Welcome and ticketing,

• Staffing.

What activity did Emily complete?

Emily initially met with the Director of the Museum and the HR and Operations Manager to discuss the current situation and potential areas to cover.

The opportunity to speak with Emily was opened up to all teams to discuss anything around accessibility.

Emily met with Front of House teams to discuss the current provision of calm bags and how this could be improved. This discussion also covered looking at the welcome provided by staff, ticketing queries and staff briefings.

Emily reviewed documents such as the Access Policy and Visual Story. Once reviewed feedback was given on what could be included or how to improve the current document.

Emily also toured the museum independently when open and with a member of staff when closed. This helped to identify potential areas where seating or additional access resources could be included.

Emily also met with several teams to discuss the Museum in a Box resource and how this could be used with audiences.

What are the next steps following this work?

• An accessibility report has been provided highlighting priorities such as putting the access resources around the museum and updating seating,

• Emily has been invited to attend a future EDIB (Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging) meeting to discuss the project findings,

• Option of working with Emily on further access work in the future.

Brontë Parsonage Museum already offers a range facilities to support access such as seating around the museum and the availability of calm bags.

Were there any specific challenges with this work?

• Time constraints meant that not all areas could be covered in detail as part of the project.

What was the most successful part of this work?

• Being able to have open discussions about potential activities and share ideas.

• Being on site meant that Emily was available to chat with teams throughout the day and provide support at a dedicated time.

What are the key takeaways and learnings from this case study?

• Even if you don’t have a lift and are in a listed building, there are still so many things you can do to improve access.

• Having dedicated meetings and policies with an access focus can really help bring a site together around accessibility.

• The importance of showing what you are already doing to improve access.

Brontë Parsonage Museum has a range of ticket prices available that make the museum more accessible for a range of visitors including ground floor only tickets and concessions.

Testimonial from Bronte Parsonage Museum

“It has been wonderful to work with Emily again, following the autism awareness training she provided last year. Looking at our access provision from an ‘outside’ perspective has been incredibly useful, and Emily also had some interesting ideas for enhancing accessibility for our staff and volunteers. We understand that improving access is an ongoing process and we look forward to working with Emily again in the future.”

Rebecca Yorke

Date of work completed: May - August 2025