Hallmark Award Scheme

Hallmark is a quality standard scheme for the management of village halls and community buildings, the scheme was created by Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE) and is overseen by Community First in Wiltshire and Swindon.

ACRE Logo
hallmark village halls scheme logo

About Hallmark

Hallmark is a nationally recognised quality assurance scheme which is open to any village or community hall management committee. It aims to:

  • Support, establish and reward good practice.
  • Encourage improvement in established customs and procedures.
  • Obtain recognition from other bodies for the standard of management of community buildings.
There are three Hallmark Awards:

  • Hallmark 1: Focuses on the management and administration of the hall or building.
  • Hallmark 2: Health, safety, security & licensing
  • Hallmark 3 : Requires the hall or building to have a community and social awareness, with forward planning and communication being key.

 

Hallmark uses a system of trained peer visitors who use standardised checklists to assess performance and provide an external validation of achievement. The peer visitor is overseen by Village Halls and Community Buildings Adviser Heather Pinney.

Hallmark Awards last for three years and need to renewed after that time.

How to Apply

The Hallmark quality standards scheme is an excellent way in which local village hall committees can show their commitment. The scheme enables accountability and transparency and village halls achieving the Hallmark award demonstrating best practice in the management of these important local community assets. To apply, please contact Heather Pinney (hpinney@communityfirst.org.uk).

An application form is included below.

Application form

Benefits of Hallmark

Establish and reward good practice by raising its management standards

Encourage improvement in establishing customs and procedures

Reassure the committee they are up to date and correct with their procedures by uncovering any anomalies

Ensure the hall is ‘fit for purpose’

Give confidence to the trustees

Inspire confidence in hall users

Encourage new trustees onto the committee (less worried about liabilities)

Encourage more bookings for the hall

Ensure that all funders are aware of the halls’ professionalism

Give Councils and other authorities more confidence in the hall management

Give Insurers confidence in the halls ability to negate risk

County Auditors will love it!

Worton and Marston Village Hall

“Worton and Marston Village Hall Trustees have been involved with Hallmark since 2016. We have found the process really useful for assessing which policies and procedures we need in place and how we could improve the facilities at the Hall. There are three levels, each adding criteria that have to be achieved in order to receive the hallmark for that level. Initially we applied for Hallmark one and two but at our renewal in 2019 we were able to achieve level three as well. Each of the levels builds on the previous one so Trustees of a Hall could just apply for level one in the first instance and then decide if they want to take it further. Hallmark is a kite mark. It tells hirers and grant awarding bodies that the Hall reaches a certain standard. You have to renew it every three years but once you have the procedures, processes and facilities in place it shouldn’t be that difficult (fingers crossed as our renewal date is next year).”