Littlehampton Museum has been awarded full Accredited status by Arts Council England, after the panel met on the 24th April to discuss the application which had been over a year in the making.

The Museum Registration Scheme was established in 1988, and Littlehampton Museum became a Registered Museum in 1994. Since then the scheme has supported museums across the UK to focus on standards and identify areas for development. In 2004, the scheme was renamed Accreditation to better reflect its purpose. The scheme, now administered by Arts Council England, is regarded as one of the most innovative and effective developments in the museum sector. It has led the way in raising museum standards in the UK, and has been used as a model and source of inspiration for similar schemes overseas.

The Littlehampton Museum team have been working continuously on raising their already high standards since first achieving full Accredited status in 2009, with the latest assessment of the Museum being stringent and extremely thorough. A panel of experts met on the 24th April 2014 to discuss the work completed by Littlehampton Museum’s team, and they duly awarded the Museum full Accreditation status for their excellent standard of service.

This is fantastic news for the Littlehampton Museum service and the town, and the Museum will be building on the high standard now set with the launch of a new standalone website in July 2014, in time for the busy summer season. Watch this space!

“Everyone at Littlehampton Town Council is extremely proud to have achieved such a high standard for the Museum service in Littlehampton,” said Cllr Malcolm Belchamber MBE, Chair of the Community Resources Committee, “it’s something the town can be rightly proud of.”