The Home Ed Blog

Disclaimer: I have not attended any of these days, and as a result these are not recommendations. I also cannot be held responsible for anything that happens on these days or any cancellations. Please do your own due diligence in advance.

Royal Air Force Museum – Grahame Park Way, Colindale, London NW9 5LL

• Wednesday 1st July 2026
• 10am to 4pm
• £7.50 per learner (includes all activities)
• £5 per vehicle (all day parking)
• Accompanying adults and under 5s are free.
• Designed for learners aged 5-16 years
• “Explore. Experiment. Learn. Bringing science, engineering and history to life.”
• Live-shows, drop-in activities and hands-on learning.
• Quiet rooms and prayer room available.
• Take your own packed lunch and enjoy it in the picnic and social area during a relaxed one hour break (12.30-1.30pm).
• Children under 11 years must be supervised by an adult at all times.
• https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/london/schools/home-education/

Natural History Museum – Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD

• Tuesday 21st July 2026
• 10am to 5.50pm
• Aimed at learners aged 6-14 years.
• Activities available on the day are run exclusively for home educators.
• Entrance to temporary exhibitions is offered on the day to home educators at a discounted rate.
• Home education day activities will take place in quieter areas of the museum, as summer is a very busy time of the year at the museum. There will also be more members of the Learning Team on hand to help direct people on the day.
• Relaxed sessions will be offered for selected workshops and shows to better support neurodiverse and disabled children.
• Pond Dipping Workshop – 10.30am (relaxed session), 11.30am, 12.30pm & 1.30pm. 40 minute sessions. Aimed at children aged 6-12 years. Nature Discovery Garden, Pond. £3.50 per child. Booking required.
• Mission to Mars: Lego Explorers Workshop – 10.30am (relaxed session), 12.30pm & 2.30pm. 90 minute sessions. Aimed at children aged 7-14 years. Investigate, Lower Ground Floor, Central Building. £3.50 per child. Booking required.
• Emergency! Earthquakes and Volcanoes Show – 10.30am (relaxed session), 11.30am & 1.30pm. 45 minute shows. Aimed at children aged 6-11 years. The Attenborough Studio, West Wing. £3.50 per child. Booking required.
• Drop in session – Minibeast hunt & Grassland Survey – 10.30am until 3.30pm (no need to book). Nature Discovery Garden. FREE. These activities will be cancelled in the event of wet weather.
• Any exhibitions you choose to visit outside of the activities organised exclusively for home educated children will be open to the general public on the day.
• Children must be accompanied by an adult at all times. This includes during workshops, shows and talks.
• Only children booked onto workshops and shows in advance will be able to attend. They are not able to accommodate siblings in any of the activities (besides babes in arms) due to space limitations. It is your responsibility to ensure that there are available adults to look after any children not attending the workshops. Only one adult per child will be permitted in workshops and shows.
• You can visit Natural History Museum’s access page here for more information how the museum can support your visit if you or your child/ren have access needs.
• No eating or drinking in workshop or show spaces.
• You can take a packed lunch and enjoy it in their Picnic Area. You don’t need to book in advance.
• The museum will be open to the public as normal on the day, and reduced numbers of school groups will be visiting on the day. They recommend their Five quiet spaces and galleries in the museum.
• If you have any questions about the day, you can contact the museum by email at homeeducators@nhm.ac.uk
• To book tickets, you can contact the Bookings team by phoning 020 7942 5000. Lines are open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
• https://www.nhm.ac.uk/schools/school-visits-at-south-kensington/home-educator-group-visits/home-education-day.html#booking

UK Parliament – Abingdon Street & Millbank, London SW1P 3JA

• Thursday 23rd July & Friday 24th July 2026 (it appears that applications are still open currently)
• Duration: Activities & Tour – 2hrs 15 mins
• 1 hour of activities in the Education Centre; 1 hr 15 mins tour
• FREE
• “Tailored experience for learners to engage with the role and work of UK Parliament.”
• Tour of the Palace of Westminster and participate in a variety of self-led, fun activities for all ages and abilities including Stages of a Bill, Petitions, Elections and Campaigning.
• Applications welcome from home educating families and home education groups with learners between the ages of 7 and 18 years.
• At least one adult must each household as a minimum (capped at two adults per household and a maximum of 4 students per household). You can contact them if your group needs more adults due to accessibility or SEND requirements.
• Applications for Home Education Days open one term in advance.
• They aim to run a Home Education Day each term (dependent on Parliamentary business need).
• Signing up to their education newsletter ensures that you will be the first to hear when dates are announced.
• Your constituency MP or a Member of the House of Lords will be invited to meet with you for a Q&A session at the end of the tour (subject to Parliamentary business).
• Make applications using the form on their website. You will receive an email confirming that they have received your application, this is not a confirmation of booking. They will then review your application and make contact via email to let you know whether you have been successful or not. This can take up to 8 weeks but may be longer dependent on demand.
• The Home Education Day for the autumn term will be on Friday 16th October 2026 (applications are now closed for this).
• Applications for the Spring 2027 Home Education Day will open on Tuesday 8th September 2026 at 10am and will close at 5pm on Tuesday 15th September 2026.
• All further details are available on their website.
• https://learning.parliament.uk/en/session-workshop/home-education-day-visit/

Tower Bridge – Tower Bridge Road, London SE1 2UP

• Monday 7th September 2026
• 10am & 1pm
• 90 minutes duration
• £7.20 per child, £14.40 per adult
• Suitable for children aged 7-11 years (they cannot accommodate any children under the age of 7, or any younger siblings on the sessions on this day).
• Children must be accompanied by an adult. You must have tickets for all the adults and children attending.
• Meeting point is at the Tower Bridge Engine Rooms (located on the south-west side of the Bridge at river level). A member of the learning team will meet participants at the designated meeting point.
• Theme: Raise Tower Bridge – learn how this iconic structure opens and closes for passing boats. You will then write and input the code required to raise the roads of an animated Tower Bridge using Scratch.
• Sign up to their mailing list to be notified when this workshop goes on sale.
• https://www.towerbridge.org.uk/home-educators