Schools, both primary and secondary, in your MP’s constituency may request a visit to Parliament. Parliament’s Education and Engagement team (part of the wider Participation team) offers a number of services for schools, teachers and MPs to support students’ understanding of Parliament and democracy, including a ‘visit Parliament’ programme. These visits are in high demand and booked a term in advance.
Parliament’s Education and Engagement Team
Parliament’s Education and Engagement Team works on behalf of both Houses of Parliament to support students and teachers in developing their understanding of Parliament and how it works. All of its programmes and resources are free and aimed at young people aged 7-18. Visit the Learning website to find out more.
The Parliament Education and Engagement Team consists of the following key areas:
- Education Centre at Parliament
- Outreach Officers based across the UK
- Teacher Training Team
- Campaigns Team (UK Parliament Week national event)
- Business Support Team (bookings and travel subsidy)
- Learn with the Lords Team
- Online and printed resources
The Education and Engagement Team can arrange school visits to Parliament, offer online sessions and provide outreach visits and teacher training about citizenship and political literacy.
Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) can be accommodated in mainstream school tours, or special tours can be arranged for whole classes of children with SEND across all our services. Contact the Education and Engagement Team for details at [email protected].
School Visits Programme
UK Parliament’s Education and Engagement team offer free educational visits to Parliament for UK students aged 7 – 18. The visit includes a curricula-linked workshop or immersive film experience in the Education Centre and a tour of the Palace of Westminster.
If the Education and Engagement team receive a booking from a school in your MP’s constituency, they will contact them to find out if they are available to join a Q&A session with the school in the Education Centre. The Q&A session lasts 20 minutes and is an opportunity for MPs to hear directly from young people in their constituency and answer their questions. This is often a highlight of their visit.
To book, schools must visit the Education Visits webpage for information on availability, how to book, and other FAQs. These sessions are highly popular and are booked a term in advance Education groups interested in booking a visit can sign up to the Education newsletter or follow the @UKParlEducation X account to get notified when bookings open each term.
A travel subsidy scheme is also available to help with the travel costs for state schools outside of London and the South East who have booked for a tour and workshop with the Education Service. At the General Election, there was a change to UK constituency boundaries. This means some schools have been redistributed to different constituencies, which may affect their travel subsidy band. If schools made their booking before the General Election, they will be entitled to the same travel subsidy allowance that they were entitled to at the time they applied. This will only apply for the term the booking has been made for, and normal travel subsidy eligibility criteria apply. Visit the travel subsidy webpage for further information.
In most circumstances, if schools have booked for a tour and workshop, a lunch room is available in the Education Centre. Otherwise the group might like to go to St James’s Park, a short walk away.
If the group is coming a long way they may be keen to do other things in London while they are down. You might suggest visits to a civil service department (the school should approach the department directly), the Churchill’s War Rooms, the Imperial War Museum, the Tower of London, a Thames River Cruise (several websites), or a trip on the London Eye. The Science Museum, Natural History Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum are all less than a ten minute tube journey away from Westminster, in South Kensington.
Information about school visits can also be found on Parlinet.
Parliamentary Education Centre
Parliament’s Education Centre was officially opened by Professor Brian Cox on 15 July 2015. The Centre, which is situated at the North End of Victoria Tower Gardens, is a world-class education facility that inspires and connects young people with Parliament and democracy.
Education Outreach Team
Across the UK every region is served by an Outreach Officer who focuses on reaching schools by visiting their classrooms. Outreach Officers also work with unrepresented community groups in their regions. Schools can request an Outreach assembly or workshop.
Education Teacher Training Team
The Teacher Training team visit teachers across the country to improve teachers’ knowledge of Parliament and the political process and give them techniques for teaching political literacy in the classroom. Teachers are also invited to Parliament for the Teachers Ambassadors Programme twice a year and for tours throughout the year. To find out more, visit our Teacher Training webpage.
Online Resources
The Learning Resources webpage has a growing bank of fun and informative web resources which aim to engage both teachers and students.
To find out more about any of the services provided by the Education and Engagement Team please email [email protected] or call 0207 219 4496 or visit the Learning website.
Member-Sponsored Inside UK Parliament Tours of Parliament (previously known as Democratic Access Tours)
Members of Parliament can sponsor tours of Parliament (along the Line of Route) which include the Chambers of both Houses, the State Rooms in the House of Lords, and Westminster Hall.
Find out more about this tour here: https://w4mp.org/w4mp/w4mp-guides/guides-to-parliament/tours-of-the-houses-of-parliament/ or on Parlinet.
If you are a teacher or student and have just read the above and would like to book a trip for your school or want to access wider Education and Engagement Team services, visit the UK Parliament Learning website.