Interview with Claire Welsh - Primary Schools Programme Manager

BS: Can you tell me a little bit about what your job does entail?

CW Yeah. We're responsible for everything to do with the - the programs, for the schools. So, for primary schools that is. So, it'll mean writing, workshops, writing shows, writing trails for the exhibition area, and sort of researching what, what teachers need what they're looking for, as well, and then also, getting teachers in to actually liaise with us about how we can, you know what sort of things should be included. There's a lot of training involved. Each week when we run - if we're running a show for a week there might be say 30 shows in a week of which I would do about 4, and then I'd train maybe about 5 other people. So, about 5 different staff will do sort of 4 or 5 shows each. So it means every week - because the program changes every week - we're doing, we're doing training for a number of the helper staff or members of the education team. To train them up for the shows that are going on.

Let's think. I'm sure there's more to it than that.

((long pause))

Yeah, I mean, the, the developmental side of it - in a way we'd love to do, sort of, more of. I think this year we've got about 4 new shows happening. And that is, that's the time consuming bit, I mean I've got a new show happening in a fortnight now, and, that's taking a lot of my time to get that just so, and going out trialling in schools and things like that to get that sort of up to speed for the time we're running it. But then because every week, because there's, the program changes every week it's then - sort of looking at what's coming up and making sure everything's just so and tweaking things a bit, making a few, few, you know, minor changes to things. What we try and do each week, we give out - the presenters are given a, a sheet just to make any comments, on how they felt the show's gone, any changes they want to make, any problems they had and so we've got that from the last time we ran out so we can, look at those and hopefully tweak things where we can, you know, make changes.