Wellbeing and Younger People

Project Rejuvenate

In October 2022, Historic England, Wessex Archaeology and Isle Heritage launched the Rejuvenate Pilot Project based on evidence gathered by earlier feasibility and test phases. This pilot project aims to expand the capacity of vulnerable young people where it is suppressed by circumstance or self-belief. Participants build transferable skills such as resilience, critical-thinking and cooperation, all through a stronger connection to the historic environment.

The feasibility work developed a theoretical and evidence-based framework for designing and evaluating a young person’s archaeology and heritage project with wellbeing at its heart. This can be read below.

The first stage of full piloting began in late 2022 and ran until October 2023.

In Wiltshire, Wessex Archaeology, in partnership with St Joseph’s Catholic School and the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, supported young people to actively participate in their local historic environment outside their classrooms and outdoors. Becoming archaeologists, they designed and created their own Mesolithic settlement, took part in archaeological digs and learned woodland craft activities through weekly meetings for 12 weeks. In Kent, children supported by the Kent Youth Justice Team, worked with Isle Heritage with partners, including the National Trust, to discover the coastal historic environment remaining from World War II by exploring cliffs, tunnels and forts, and excavating sites of importance for the defence of Britain.

Rejuvenate is one of the first projects to offer a comprehensive heritage-based wellbeing programme for young people in the UK. The initial findings showed us that:

• When Young people feel their views and ideas are valued, they are empowered to make a meaningful contribution to the group activity , display an openness to learning and a greater wiliness to follow instructions.
• When children feel they are a valued part of a team they become inquisitive learners and display higher levels of initiative and perseverance.
• Practical Heritage based activities provide a positive catalyst for enhancing child’s emotional wellbeing and assist them to develop positive attitude toward learning new skills
• A cross curricular approach to learning enables the children to increase their knowledge and skills.
• The children identified the positive impact of the project after its completion

Read the report on the pilot

We are now actively exploring delivery and funding options for continuing and developing the pilot to create more data and evidence, assess ways to create tangible legacy and embed it into systems to create increased opportunities for young people.

History in the Making

Historic England is working with young people (aged 13 to 25) to create a new programme to create place markers across the North of England. They will mark and celebrate important local histories that have been overlooked and bring them to a broader audience. New funding has been announced for 11 youth-led place-marking projects across northern England; such as connecting generations of LGBTQIA+ communities in Newcastle and encouraging young people to explore the history of a former fire station in Hull.

More about History in the Making