Norfolk Museums Service's Kick the Dust (KtD) programme — which runs youth heritage groups and traineeships across the county — faces an uncertain future beyond 2028, committee members heard at the April meeting.

The programme is currently funded through a mixed model, with the majority coming from Arts Council England as part of a portfolio uplift grant. A new Programme Coordinator, Trisha Hall, has recently been appointed to oversee the expanding network of KtD groups, which includes established groups such as the Time Turners in King's Lynn and the Thetford Heritage Collective.

One committee member asked directly about what happens when the funding runs out. The Assistant Head of Museums said the service would apply for extensions beyond 2028 and was confident that evidence gathered through a partnership with Norfolk County Council's Public Health Service — which has been tracking the programme's positive effects on young people's mental health and wellbeing — would support a successful application.

A separate concern was raised about how Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) could complicate matters, given that the Arts Council England grant timelines and the LGR process run in parallel. The Director of Culture and Heritage acknowledged the overlap but told members the short-term priority was delivering an excellent museums programme, and that LGR implications would be revisited at a later date.

The programme currently supports traineeship positions across museum and archive sites in King's Lynn, and KtD groups have been active in Thetford and Great Yarmouth, where a youth climate action group from East Norfolk Sixth Form recently created an exhibition displayed at Gressenhall for Earth Day.

One trainee from the most recently completed cohort has secured a permanent position within Norfolk Museums Service, with a new cohort having started on 1 April 2026.