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Submit Teaching Materials                      Residential Stays in West Sussex

Bookings

For a printable map of the Museum site Click here

Important Information for Group Leaders/Teachers

The following information is intended as a preparatory tool and does not replace a teachers or groups leaders own risk assessment. Please share these details with other adults in your group

Children must be accompanied by adults in a ratio of 1:8

Arrival

A member of our staff will meet your coach when you arrive and show the driver where to park. They will confirm with you numbers of children and adults in your group and arrangements for the day.  There will be other vehicles driving and parking in the area.  When leaving the Museum please exit through the Museum shop.

Clothing

Please make sure the children in your care are suitably dressed for an outdoor site, with uneven surfaces. It is particularly important in winter months or wet weather that they should be warmly clothed, that they bring waterproofs, and that they wear sturdy shoes.

Access

For specific access requirements for children with disabilities, please call 01243 811459. We have 2 wheelchairs that can be reserved. Please ring for more details.

Toilets

The Museum has 3 toilet blocks on site (see Museum map). Two of these blocks have disabled toilets.

Lunches

Picnics can be eaten anywhere outside on the site, we do have a few picnic blankets for schools to use. Please ring 01243811459 to reserve them.  If the weather is bad, the Schools Services Manager will endeavour to arrange for you to eat under cover, and provide you with bag and coat storage. Please use the bins provided for your rubbish and make sure no waste is left on the floor. The Museum does have a Café if you anticipate using this facility please call in advance to check its opening times.

We discourage groups from eating lunch by the lake as we have a large number of wild ducks living by the lake.  The ducks are very naughty and have taken to biting people to get food.

Museum shop

There are plenty of small items suitable for school children to purchase in the Museum shop, a minimum of £3.00 per child is recommended for children to spend. It would be very helpful if children could come into the shop in small groups, and we suggest they make use of their lunch break or 'free' time during the day so that visits to the shop are staggered.

Buildings

Some of our buildings can get overcrowded. Please move around in small groups and have a flexible timetable so you can avoid delays to your day. You may be asked to wait outside some of our buildings until more space is available inside. We do apologise in advance if you have to wait.

Building Crafts Gallery

This is an excellent facility that is available to school groups to use as a base room, store lunch bags and eat lunch in if needs be. This needs to be booked in advance. There is a wonderful display of tools and crafts on the walls, however the display houses sharp items and MUST NOT BE TOUCHED.

Cooking workshops

If you have booked a cooking workshop, could you please advise us in advance if there are any pupils with food allergies or dietary requirements.

Payment

Payment is by invoice after the visit.  Cheques should be payable to “Weald and Downland Open Air Museum”.

Safety

It must be emphasised that this is a working, outdoor site – you may encounter horse drawn carts and vehicles operating around the site. Please brief all adults and children prior to the visit and on arrival that children should treat our site and its visitors with respect. Accompanying adults are responsible for the behaviour of the children, and should supervise their children at all times to ensure their safety. Any group whose behaviour leads to the inconvenience of other visitors, or contravenes Health and Safety guidelines outlined in this information sheet, will be asked to leave at once.  

 Visitors should not:

•   enter livestock pens or fenced fields

•   climb on machinery, carts, wood, hay or straw stacks

Any touching of livestock should only be done under the supervision of a member of Museum staff. Please refer to the information sheet from HSE on preventing or controlling ill health from animal contact at visitor attractions.                                   

Suggestions to help with your planning

You can download a Museum map. Please ask all your adult helpers to familiarise themselves with the layout of the Museum, your timetable and your risk assessment. Please make sure all group leaders have a copy of the map. We also have downloadable activities and information packs that are free to use.   

You should carry a list of the pupils and supervisors in your party, and carry out a head count at regular intervals.  All pupils should know the name of their school and the name of their ‘Group Leader’.

If possible carry a mobile telephone and ensure you have the relevant numbers in case of emergency. Please take note; mobile phone signal is poor at the Museum.

You should instruct pupils or staff who get lost to report to the Museum shop.  Likewise, you should report any pupil who goes missing to a member of Museum staff who will be identifiable by their white Museum badge.

Should you require emergency assistance please report to any member of Museum staff. Should you need to use a Landline phone these are available in the following locations – Education Room (upstairs) (map ref. 32) & Museum Shop (map ref. 1). Please ask a member of staff before using a landline phone.

You should be aware of any medical problems or allergies/dietary requirements that your pupils have and you should make sure all cuts and abrasions they have are covered with waterproof plasters.

It is recommended that you have in your group an approved first aid kit, and a qualified first aid person.  Should you require emergency treatment, a trained first aid person will be on site during your visit – please request for the Museum trained first aid person at the Museum shop or to any member of staff whilst on site.

You should ensure that you are familiar with your own school guidelines and guidelines issued by your LEA.  You should have the appropriate insurance cover for such school visits.  The Museum carries Public Liability Insurance up to £10 million.

Hazard Information

PLEASE MAKE SURE ALL YOUR PARTY ARE AWARE OF THESE SAFETY ISSUES

• Please be aware that conditions at the Museum may change rapidly, and that you will need to remain alert at all times during your visit. 

• Please be aware that the general public are also on site at all times during your visit. 

• Please respect our site, buildings and artefacts and handle everything with care.  

• Some buildings have open fires inside them.  

• As part of our site is heavily wooded there are lots of tempting trees and sticks available.  Please do not disturb any piles of wood and be aware of low or loose branches. 

• There is open access to the Museum Lake. 

• Pathways can be uneven and slippery and muddy when wet.   

• Stairs and floors in buildings are uneven. 

• If children are in contact with animals, warn them not to place their faces against or put their hands in their own mouths afterwards. 

• After contact with animals and particularly before eating and drinking, ensure all pupils wash and dry their hands thoroughly. If young children are in the group, hand washing will need to be supervised. There are three lavatory blocks on site, all have washing facilities. There is a hand sanitizer station next to Cowfold Barn (map ref. 13). 

• Meal breaks or snacks should be taken well away from areas where animals are kept, and pupils should be warned not to eat anything, which may have fallen on the ground. 

• Manure or slurry presents a potential risk on infection, and pupils should be warned against touching it. If they do, ensure that they thoroughly wash and dry their hands immediately. 

• All visitors are asked not to feed any livestock.

Need more information?

If you need further assistance in planning your visit please contact the Schools Services team

Evaluation Sheets

At the end of your visit we ask you to complete an evaluation sheet.  These remain confidential and are used to monitor and improve our services. Click here to view or print.

Invitation to Submit Students' Work

Teachers are invited to submit original writing, photographs, art-work or web-ready material produced by their students.  Any age group may contribute.  We ask that, in the teachers judgement, the material will be helpful to others following the National Curriculum.  Please note that we cannot guarantee inclusion of a piece of work onto the website and we reserve the right to alter the content of the site at any time.

If you would like to submit work, please write a covering note with the following information:

• Your name
• The name of your school.
• The first name of the student
• The school year for which the piece is relevant.
• Any restrictions pertaining to the use of the piece of work by the Museum.

Please deliver the piece personally to the Museum, email or post it.

To view submitted work go to the News pages.

Invitation to Submit Teaching Materials

Teachers are invited to submit teaching materials, worksheets, activity sheets that may be of use to the wider teaching community.  Please note that we cannot guarantee inclusion of a piece of work onto the website and we reserve the right to alter the content of the site at any time.

If you would like to submit items, please write a covering note with the following information:

• Your name
• The name of your school.
• The school year for which the piece is relevant.
• Any restrictions pertaining to the use of the piece of work by the Museum.

Please deliver the piece personally to the Museum, email or post it.

To view submitted work go to the News pages.

Invitation to Comment on the Website

This website is intended to make teachers aware of the opportunities offered to schoolchildren by the Museum site.  We would like to hear comments about the format and the content of the website from teachers who have brought school parties to the Museum or those planning visits in the future.  Please email your comments to the Webmaster making sure to include your name, your school and your area of responsibility as well as your comments.  The webmaster will coordinate all comments and they will be discussed at the regular meetings of the development group.  This site is for you, we want to make it better and more useful to you in planning your visits to the Museum.

Residential Stays in West Sussex

If you are interested in visiting the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum as part of a residential visit to Sussex then the Museum would recommend the Lodge Hill Centre as an ideal residential venue.

The Lodge Hill Centre is located in West Sussex; it offers residential, camping facilities and a vast array of outdoor activities. The centre can sleep up to 72 in the main house in shared bedrooms and 100 on the campsite under canvas. There are also two eco-lodges which each sleep 12 children and 2 adults and are located near the campsite.  The centre has different rates for the high and low season and is well equipped to accommodate groups aged from 8 year olds upwards.

Visit www.lodgehill.org.uk for further information