LEARNING

School Visits

Hall Place is a fantastic location to visit with students of any age and ability, we have award winning gardens, Historic House and Education Service.  

We ask that all educational groups contact our Education Officer in advance to notify them if you are planning to visit the gardens.  It is essential that we know when groups are visiting site so we can manage the facilities and a quick email to us can make all the difference.

Hall Place and Gardens offers a number of facilities for school visits, which include:

  • Education/lunch room with its own toilets and drinking water
  • Onsite Riverside Café for adults to buy refreshments during lunchtime
  • Award-winning gardens including magical topiary, grass maze, the River Cray and all its diversity of wildlife

We currently offer:

  • Onsite Taught Sessions 
  • Onsite Self-led Visits to the Gardens
  • Loans Box Service

See below for more details.

Taught Sessions

At Hall Place we strongly believe in a hands-on approach to learning using our amazing handling collection of objects and original artefacts.

We offer several  taught sessions onsite with our Education Officer. These are available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Capacity is limited to one class of 30 students per day with a minimum of 4 accompanying adults to support the children’s learning.

Please note that the Historic House and Main Glass House are not currently open to the public and cannot be accessed unless booked in advance.

For more information, please click the button below.

Taught Sessions at Hall Place

Visiting the Gardens

If you are interested in visiting the gardens with your class group, please let us know by emailing the Education Officer.

  • We want everyone to have the best time possible whilst visiting the gardens at Hall Place. Working together is the best way to ensure this. Sometimes we need to limit access to certain areas because of maintenance, private functions or circumstances beyond our control that could effect your visit. If you let us know you’re plans, we can advise you of any issues and help make your visit the best we can
  • We might have some free resources that could support the learning for your class visit. Let us know what your theme is
  • When you arrive, just let the reception desk know. This way we can help if you need anything during your visit or in an emergency
  • Unfortunately, we do not have any inside space for your group to have lunch or congregate if it rains unless you book our Education Room in advance. Our Education Room is available for £69.00 for 3 hours as an exclusive space with two toilets of its own. 30 children maximum. Subject to availability, mainly Fridays.

For more information, please click the button below.

Visiting the Gardens with School Groups

Loans Boxes

We have an amazing variety of Loans Boxes available for schools to rent.

Each box contains objects, documents or books and a set of Teachers Resource Notes. We use original artefacts whenever possible. All contents require careful handling at all times as many are irreplaceable. These boxes are designed for use in the classroom and can be loaned for a week at a time. They are very popular, so please book in advance to avoid disappointment.

For more information, please click the button below.

School Loan Boxes

Education Room Hire

The Education Room is available for hire by visiting schools not booking a taught session. This space can be used as a base for your visit, to have lunch in and also to use should it rain whilst visiting. You can store your bags and any equipment you bring with you. It has air conditioning for those hot summer days or cold winter days, 2 toilets and drinking water is available from the main sink.

The Education Room can be booked as a HQ and lunch room for £23.00 per hour for a minimum of 3 hours. Unfortunately, there are no other inside areas where schools can eat or congregate

Please note that this room is mainly available on Fridays and does need to be booked in advance.

If you wish to book this room for your visit to the gardens, please fill out a Booking Enquiry form below.  I’ll then create a Booking Agreement and once confirmed will raise an invoice for you.

Enquiry form

Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge

The nationally recognised indicator of good quality educational provision.

The LOtC Quality Badge is the only national award combining the essential elements of provision – learning and safety – into a trusted accreditation scheme for all types of learning outside the classroom provider. 
The Department for Education guidance on Health & Safety on educational visits recommends that schools look for the LOtC Quality Badge when choosing external providers of educational visits. For more information about the LOtC Quality Badge visit their website https://www.lotcqualitybadge.org.uk/home