Essential information for school visits to Tring

The behaviour of pupils at the Museum is the responsibility of teachers and adult supervisors. Please ensure your group meets the minimum adult to pupil ratio for your Key Stage.

The supervision guidelines allows for classes to be split into small groups and visit different areas of the Museum and reducing crowding. In workshops classes are further split into 5 groups for KS1 and lower KS2 and 4 groups for upper KS2, for the students to get the most out of their workshop each group should have a supervising adult.

Guidelines

• Pupils must have adult supervsion at all times.
• When using the Museum shop, we would be grateful if you could split into small groups.

Behavioural code of conduct for schools

Respecting the space in which you are visiting is vital for the preservation and longevity of our collection, for ensuring the comfort and enjoyment of all visitors here and for ensuring your own safety.

We ask teachers to remind their pupils of the following before their visit:

• Please follow any instructions provided by Museum staff.
• Please treat the Museum’s spaces and specimens with care and respect.
• In the galleries please ensure that pupils walk, take care in opening cases. Do not climb or lean over the railings in Gallery 3.
• Please respect others enjoying their visit.
• Please dispose of litter in the bins provided.
• Please stay with your group at all times.

In making your booking with the Natural History Museum at Tring, you agree that your group will abide by this code. Please ensure all accompanying adults are aware of the code and that children are well supervised throughout their visit.

On the day

Parking

If you are arriving by coach, please ask the driver to drop you off at the coach parking bays in the Hastoe Lane car park. Pedestrian access to the Museum from that car park is by footpath, through a small wooded area. Follow the footpath and enter via the grassy courtyard. Minibuses may park in either of the Museum's free car parks. Please take care in car parks and use zebra crossings where available.

Arrival

Upon arrival please use either the Akeman Street or Park Street entrance. Our front of house staff will be there to greet you and signpost your group to the cloakrooms and toilets.

The meeting place for your workshop is the Polar bear in Gallery 1. Please ensure you are ready a few minutes before your workshop time.

Eating

The Museum has one outdoor picnic area which can be used at any time and there is a small indoor picnic area for up to 32 pupils at a time. Our indoor lunch space is a 30 minute slot and must be booked in advance.

The Museum has three spaces on the grounds which you can explore alongside the galleries - our quad, woodland and meadow. You can use our I-Spy Outdoor trail PDF (2.5MB) to investigate the quad and woodland.

Adjacent to the Museum is our quad. This area has picnic tables and umbrellas which can be used for unreserved breaks or lunches at any time. There is also a small area with wooden play equipment and a willow nest.

Over the road to the Museum, Park Street, there is a patch of woodland and grass with pathways to explore. This can be an area for students to run around or investigate nature. Please be aware of stinging nettles and brambles.

Through the woodland and the Hastoe Lane car park there is a wildflower meadow. This is open during the spring and summer. Enjoy a ramble on the mowed path and see if you can spot any butterflies or insects.

The Museum's public galleries and grounds have been designed and are maintained as safe spaces for all our visiting public.

Activities for schools are designed with full consideration of risks. Risk assessments are completed for all new activities.

In particular, please note:

• Any materials to be handled as part of workshops have been risk-assessed. Staff leading the activities will advise those taking part of any precautions and will ensure safe behaviour.
• Trip hazards are identified and isolated from access routes.
• In the galleries please ensure that pupils walk, take care in opening cases and do not climb on or lean over the railings in Gallery 3.
• The building has fire doors and is fitted with smoke and heat-sensing systems that will trigger alarm systems to alert staff to the need for evacuation. Fire exits are clearly sign-posted and well-rehearsed evacuation procedures ensure visitors can safely and quickly exit the premises.
• Teachers (or other accompanying adults) remain responsible for the general health and safety of pupils as at school. Teachers (or other adults) should supervise groups at all times for their health and safety and to accompany them in the case of an evacuation.
• The Fire Assembly Point for schools is in the woodland area. Please ask a member of staff for assistance in locating this area if needed.
• The Front of House team is the first point of call for lost pupils, incidents and can contact a first aider if required.
• Our Learning and Events staff are enhanced DBS checked and our front of house team receive safeguarding training.

School visit risk assessment information PDF (32KB)

We can provide additional support and resources for children with SEND. When booking a visit please provide information about your students' needs and we will do our best to ensure they have an enjoyable visit.

For students in mainstream schools, we can provide additional resources within workshops to support their learning.

Whilst visiting the galleries we can provide our Explorer Bags which include a variety of resources and toys to support engagement with our displays. These need to be booked in advance and returned when finished. We also have Makaton trails available to print at school.

For SEND schools or small groups of SEND students we can provide our specifically designed workshop – Walter’s World Adventure.

Before visiting the Museum we also recommend our pre-visit resource or visual guide to set expectations of the day.