EXEMPLARY work of staff and volunteers at Kendal’s Quaker Tapestry Museum has been recognised by Arts Council England.

The Quaker Tapestry in Kendal was first awarded museum status in 2000 and maintained its accreditation in 2009. In recent years the Arts Council has raised its high levels of expectation and the Quaker Tapestry team have again achieved the standard of Full Accreditation.

Manager Bridget Guest described it as fantastic news and said it showed how committed the 12 paid staff and 40 volunteers are to continually improving the visitor experience.

"This award puts us in a similar league as the much bigger museums run by expert teams of staff. It gives us access to funding, we can borrow displays and loan out our collections to other museums. It’s a form of ‘museum speak’ which assures others that we do things extremely well here!”

The Accreditation Scheme is a benchmark for museums, setting nationally agreed standards in collection care, public services and museum management. It lasts for three years and defines the good practice and standards that help museums to be the best they can be, for current and future users.

About 1,800 museums are part of the UK-wide accreditation scheme managed by the Arts Council England. Staff and volunteers cannot rest on their laurels as Bridget Guest explains: “Accreditation is an ongoing process and we must show continued improvement in standards which we’ve managed to demonstrate each time we’ve been assessed.”