We offer training to develop skills, knowledge and understanding within the archives sector. Our training sessions are relevant from both an organisational and individual perspective. Please email us if you would like more information about any of our sessions. At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, our events and training moved online and some of our events remain digital, alongside our e-learning courses.
Most of our training sessions are free, and bookings are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. If you’re unable to cover the cost of travelling to one of our events, please get in touch and we’d be happy to discuss this. We have a limited number of spaces available at each session. Because of this, please only book if you are able to attend, and contact us if you can no longer attend.
Upcoming events
Working with medical and mental health records (online)
Wednesday 15 April (13:00 – 14:00)
Part of our series on engaging with difficult records, this session will explore the complexities of working with records related to medical scandals, terrorism, and personal trauma.
Speakers will present case studies of person-centred initiatives and discuss the difficulties encountered when records are missing or inaccessible. They will also reflect on the value and impact of organising such activities, the types of support provided, and the lessons learned in collaboration with affected communities.
Register to attend the working with medical and mental health records workshop
UK Archive Sector Survey surgery session (online)
Tuesday 28 April (12:00 – 13:00)
To support archive professionals in completing the UK Archive Sector survey, Simon Mckeon, our Head of Public Records and Standards at The National Archives, will be hosting an online surgery session. This will give attendees the opportunity to ask any questions they may have about completing the survey. You may want to know how to calculate cubic metres or what measurements should be used for visitors or retrievals. All questions are welcome!
The National Archives delivers this comprehensive survey every year in partnership with National Records of Scotland, the Scottish Council on Archives, Welsh Government, Archives and Records Council Wales, and Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. The survey allows this partnership to identify the strengths of the archive sector, as well as areas where we can provide more support. It also enables us to conduct trends analysis and informs our evidence-based decision making.
Sign-up to attend the UK Archive Sector Survey surgery session
Launching the Inclusive Archival Practice Network
Thursday 30 April (12:00 – 13:30)
The National Archives, in collaboration with practitioners across the archive sector, recently established an Inclusive Archival Practice Network to provide support to recordkeepers on inclusive practice. This event will launch the network and introduce its steering group members. We will hear from three steering group members about their own inclusion projects and then delegates will have an opportunity to ask questions and help shape the direction of the network. The event will involve a mixture of presentation and delegate participation, so we encourage you to come ready to interact and contribute to the discussions.
This event will be of interest to anyone working in the archive sector and/or with a particular interest in inclusive practice. You do not need to have experience in inclusive practice to attend the session.
Find out more and register for the launch of the Inclusive Archival Practice Network
Leadership skills: Confidence, Communication and Influence (Conference Aston, Birmingham)
Tuesday 5 May (10:00 – 14:30)
This half-day event is designed to support recordkeepers at all career stages who want to feel more confident, more influential, and more engaged with their ongoing professional development. It is part of a joint programme of support from The National Archives and the Archives and Records Association, to develop recordkeepers’ leadership skills and find solutions to workforce development challenges.
The event builds on the Leadership for Recordkeepers Summit. It responds directly to feedback from participants, who wanted greater confidence, a stronger professional voice, and more practical support in influencing conversations and decisions.
A limited number of bursaries are available to help cover travel costs to the event for delegates who have to pay for their own travel. Priority will be given to delegates travelling from outside Birmingham.
Identifying and understanding pre-modern records (online)
May – October 2026
This series of webinars, led by record specialists at The National Archives, is designed to introduce recordkeepers to some of the most common pre-modern document types found in archives. It will explain how to identify these documents, where to find important information to assist with cataloguing, and what kind of information the documents could contain for users.
Each webinar will include a presentation, Q&A and glossary of relevant Latin terms. You can register for individual webinars, or the entire series.
The series will include four Wednesday lunchtime (13:00 – 14:00) webinars on the following topics:
- 20 May – Charters and Deeds
- 10 June – Seals
- 23 September – Manors and their documents
- 7 October – Wills
The series will be of interest to recordkeepers working in archives that contain pre-modern records. While examples will be predominantly medieval, the general principles are applicable to early modern records too.
Find out more and register to attend the Identifying and understanding pre-modern record webinars
E-learning courses
Data Protection Toolkit for Archives
This toolkit is for archive service staff involved in providing access to personal data found within an archive service’s collections.
The toolkit is hosted on Moodle, an e-learning service that The National Archives uses to host learning and development content for the archive sector. Following the link provided below, please fill out the New Account form with your details. Please enter your email address as your username and use the enrolment key: ‘Data Protection Toolkit’. Once you have registered, you will receive an automatic confirmation email from Moodle.
Sign up to the Data Protection Toolkit for Archives
If you already have an account, log in to the Data Protection Toolkit
Archive Service Accreditation e-learning course
This e-learning course is for anyone working with archive collections who wishes to find out about Archive Service Accreditation. It provides a general introduction to the scheme and will help participants take the first steps towards making an application.
Sign up for the Archive Service Accreditation e-learning
Fundraising for Archives e-learning course
This e-learning course covers fundraising strategy, financial planning, cases for support, building networks and supporters, crowdfunding, and measuring outcomes and evaluation.
Video tutorials and step-by-step guidance will introduce you to each topic and guide you through online activities, enabling you to put what you are learning into practice and tailor it to your archive service.
Sign up for the Fundraising for Archives e-learning course
Transfer to Places of Deposit (PoD) e-learning course
This online learning course explains the key points of the Public Records Act for public record bodies. It describes what a place of deposit is and the process public record bodies should follow to select, prepare and transfer records for permanent preservation to a place of deposit.
The learning objectives of this course are to:
- understand the content and scope of the Public Records Act and the ’20 Year Rule’ changes
- gain knowledge about the process of selecting and transferring records from a public record body to a place of deposit
- recognise the roles and responsibilities for managing records under the Act and what the public record body needs to do
- find out about the guidance and support available from The National Archives
Sign up for the Transfer to Places of Deposit e-learning course
Recorded events
Take a look at our recorded events on YouTube, which cover a variety of topics, services and networks including:
Training
- organisational impact
- advanced bid-writing
- crowdfunding and digital fundraising
- Manage Your Collections in Discovery
Events
- Digital Archives Learning Exchange (DALE)
- Manorial Documents Register Conference 2022
- Archives for Everyone 2023 – 2027
- Launching the Level 7 Archivist and Records Manager apprenticeships
Grants programmes
- Risk and Resilience grants programme
- Cataloguing grants programme
- Research and Innovation grants programme
- Archives Revealed cataloguing grants