Workshops For Schools and Groups

Enrich your class topics with engaging school workshops that will really inspire children. Experts in the subject areas you are studying can bring innovative learning through everything from a museum trip with a Victorian theme to an outdoor experience studying rocks and fossils.

We are constantly updating our offer and are happy to discuss particular needs for your group.

School Workshops at Tameside Museums and Galleries

Our learning programme has been developed with local professional creatives and shaped by feedback from teachers. We utilise the talents of our local artists and performers, plus those of our skilled staff, to deliver workshops that will engage and inspire children. Enjoy learning with inspiring stories, memory-making objects and beautiful spaces. Develop skills, enrich your curriculum, support wellbeing and connect with local places and people.
For more information about our school offer, please visit our new In Tameside website.

Self-led Visits:

We welcome self led visits to all our museums and galleries - please book in advance via the ‘send us a message box’ at the bottom of this page so we can safely manage numbers in the museum.

If you are bringing your class on a self-led visit to Portland Basin Museum, why not download and print copies of this Portland Basin trail worksheet 706.62 KB PDF File

to make your day more enjoyable.

Museum in a Box

For details of our Loan boxes click here All Schools - £39 per week

Costs of All School Workshops:

	Half Day (2 hours)	Full Day (2 x 2hours)
Tameside Schools	£107	£214
Outside Borough	£117	£234

Costs of Outreach Sessions

	Half Day (3 hours)	Full Day (6 hours)
All Schools	£176	£352

Online Educational Resources for Schools and Groups
We’ve created online content to engage pupils with our collections within museums, galleries and local studies and archives. Resources available include short films, lesson plans and activities with examples of objects and photographs from our collections, linked to both the National Curriculum and your school’s needs.

We hope you find them useful and enjoy exploring these themes with your class. We are always happy to discuss any of your ideas and to help support your class’s learning, so please do contact us.

Conflict and Consequences Resource

A series of creative sessions aimed at key stage 2 classes, looking at situations and stories relating to WW1 and the wider repercussions of conflict.

Victorian Children at Work Resource

A series of creative sessions aimed at key stage 2 classes, looking at the history and stories relating to children at work in the Victorian era

Victorian Children at Work Resource

A series of creative sessions aimed at key stage 2 classes, looking at children’s’ toys through the ages

To find out more or book a workshop, please contact Portland Basin Museum on 0161 342 5480.

Tameside Local Studies and Archives Educational Resources

This page includes downloadable lesson plans for teachers to use. The work house lesson plans have additional material that can be used with the plans. Please contact us for copies of this. If you have any queries about this material please contact us.

Workhouse Lesson Plans (Victorians, Key Stage 3)

Victorian Workhouse Lesson 1

An introduction to the topic, reasons for the workhouses, and looking at how the national influenced the local – includes source work, drawing parallel timelines of development, and looking at how events link nationally to locally.

Victorian Workhouse Lesson 2

Looking at life in the workhouse, and if the Victorians cared about the poor – includes answering social political questions, and research.

Victorian Workhouse Lesson 3

Looking at differing views on the New Poor Law, especially reactions to the law in Ashton, and gaining a sense of the opposition movement in Ashton and the North in general – includes source analysis, and case studies.

Victorian Workhouse Lesson 4

Looking at change over time, comparing the local with the national, and engaging with different feelings on history – exploring the emotion behind turning Ashton Workhouse into Tameside Hospital, and the differing views on this subject.

Citizenship Lesson Plans (Migration, Key Stage 3/4)

Citizenship Lesson Plans

Looking at migration globally, how useful oral history is in telling the stories of migration, why people moved to the UK in the 1960s, and the reactions they faced when here – includes a case study of Vinod Chauhan.

School Outreach Education Offer

Tameside Cultural Services have been looking at how we can use our years of experience, resources and collections to support schools on your return.

Our Learning Team has developed a programme which offer participants a wide range of activities that are accessible, educational, fun and inspiring. Whilst we are all working differently we have put together an offer that will continue to allow you to access what we do, but in a different way.


Museums and Galleries	Outdoor education	Local Studies and Archives

We want to reach out! Whilst it may prove difficult for you to visit us at our sites we want to find ways to still work with and support our schools.

As schools return, we look to support each school’s efforts to get involved with the rich tapestry of culture and creativity within Borough. Tameside Cultural Services have been looking at how we can best use our years of experience and resources to support schools. We will link in with the Philosophy for Children, as well as the national curriculum and the councils five ways to wellbeing: Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Keep Learning and Give.

Each month we will keep in touch with each school, sharing information relating to our education offer as well as giving further ideas and ways to engage with our offer in the classroom. There will be activities from each of the cultural services teams and we welcome discussion as to how we could best serve our schools and find ways of learning together.