SEND school visits to Museum of Norwich

We're delighted to welcome special educational need and/or disability (SEND) school groups to Museum of Norwich at the Bridewell. We know that every group is different, so if you decide to book a visit we'll work with you to tailor events for your students. Please see below for more information about what we can offer. We can run SEND events Tuesday - Thursday, subject to availability.

Topics

The current topic areas that we can support are:

Florence Nightingale
Norwich industries
Toys
Chocolate

Each workshop will last around an hour and cost £50. They will incorporate a sensory focus as suits the needs of your group plus lots of active participation, and will include a mix of object-handling and storytelling.

We're always working to develop the inclusivity of our schools offer and would love to hear from you on ways we can continue to improve and develop our provision.

If you think your group would be happy and confident at one of our mainstream school events, we'd be pleased for you to take part. Please note that other schools may be attending at the same time, and you'll share the introduction and plenary sessions with them, though the other sessions will be just your group.

You can also make self-guided visits (these must also be booked in advance). Pre-booked self-guided visits for Norfolk schools are free. For schools outside Norfolk, it's £2.40 per student.

Information, inquiries and booking

If you'd like to book one of our events, please call 01603 493636 or email norwichcastle.bookings@norfolk.gov.uk, and have the following information to hand:

The name and postcode of your school
Your class size
The pupils' year group(s) (this is for our monitoring)
The number of accompanying adults
The event you're interested in, or whether you'd like a self-guided visit
Which half-term/term you'd like to visit
Details of access or learning needs. We'll contact you to discuss further
If you choose the Chocolate session, please include any allergy information, as this event includes a tasting element
For facilitated visits, the approximate level that your pupils are working at
Whether you'd like a space to eat packed lunches (subject to availability)

Finding out more about you

If you book for a facilitated visit, we want to ensure that we're offering the best possible experience for the pupils or young people in your group. To help with that, we'll contact you before your trip to discuss the needs of individuals in your group. We can discuss over the phone or via email, whichever is easiest for you. To get you thinking, the kind of questions we might ask about the members of your group include:

What are their strengths? What are they really good at?
Are there any particular dos or don'ts we should be aware of?
Any particular sensory preferences? (For example: Is anyone particularly visual-seeking or unsure of particular tactile experiences?)
Is there anything any individual pupils find particularly challenging?
Are there any particular approaches used in your setting which work really well for individuals in your group? (For example: Visual timetables, opportunities to get up about and move, regular sensory breaks, key phrases etc?)
What approximate level are individuals in your group working at academically?
Is there anything else you feel it is important for anyone working with your group to know?

Access information

If you have wheelchair-users in your group, please note that currently only two wheelchair-users are permitted above ground floor level at once. In the event of an emergency they'll need to be able to self-transfer into an evacuation chair. This is so we can ensure safe evacuation of the building in the event of an emergency. There are wheelchair-accessible toilets but not a Changing Place.

The museum is a city-centre site with no parking. You can drop off nearby on Duke Street or Charing Cross.

Resources

There are free resources available to support visits to Museum of Norwich. These are aimed at the listed Key Stage, so you may wish to adapt them to support the needs of your group.

View virtual trails and download on-site trail.