Learn the lessons from the Holocaust

National Holocaust Centre and Museum School Trips

Why book 'Learn the lessons from the Holocaust' with National Holocaust Centre and Museum for School Trips and Educational Visits?

Our museum’s education team welcomes and visits thousands of students every year across the country. Our museum is unique – we are the UK’s only dedicated Holocaust museum – and we teach this difficult history in a beautiful setting, encouraging young people to think about the lessons of the Holocaust for today.

Our Journey Exhibition is the only one of its kind in Europe. Similarly, our Holocaust Exhibition, museum collections and gardens can be found nowhere else. Our educators provide expertise, access to artefacts and creativity that no other educator can provide, in or out of school. We are a family and we retain our warmth in everything that we do. We look forward to welcoming you and your students.

“We had an excellent day… incredibly thought-provoking and well organised. Our students were encouraged to reflect on events not only during the Holocaust itself but how it links to current events and lessons we should learn and apply in our own lives. Our students valued the opportunity to stretch their knowledge of this time in history.” Secondary school teacher.

“We have found this the most incredible experience. The staff were immensely knowledgeable and informative and tailored everything to the needs of our children. We will be returning every year as we feel the learning is crucial to the moral development of the children.” Primary school teacher.

Learn the lessons from the Holocaust photograph

school trip at Learn the lessons from the Holocaust

school groups Learn the lessons from the Holocaust

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What activities are available during group visits?

Key Stage 2 children follow the journey of Leo, a German Jewish boy in 1930s Berlin. Leo is a composite character based on Holocaust survivor testimonies. Children learn about how Leo is persecuted by the Nazis and escapes to England on the Kindertransport. Pupils handle objects and multiple extras are available, including our popular Be Inspired To Write programme.

For Key Stages 3-5, students learn about antisemitism, past and present, through the contents of our Holocaust Exhibition. We ask students to analyse responsibility for the Holocaust and to critically evaluate social media and our responsibilities today. Once again, a range of extras are available including exam writing workshops.

Our programmes benefit pupils in History, English, Religious Education, PSHE and Citizenship. Many schools choose us because our programme is focused on the personal development of young people, a key part of the Ofsted inspection framework.

When you book, you are able to choose a range of additional extras for pupils for your itinerary, depending on the age of the students and their curriculum focus. Primary students can choose additional workshops based on reading and writing skills; secondary students can choose extra workshops based on the requirements of the History, English Language and Religious Studies GCSE exams. Before you visit, we will ask you to complete a questionnaire that allows you to tell us about what your students have been learning in school and any adaptations that are required to ensure all students benefit fully from the day.

Our programmes are designed to be fully inclusive for students with special educational needs and disabilities. All of our educators are former teachers in state schools; all have many years of experience and all of our full-time educators have completed the UCL MA in Holocaust Education.

Which Curriculum Subjects do you cater for?

Citizenship

Personal development and resilience Laws and the justice system Human rights and international law National regional religious and ethnic identities British Values

Our programmes ask students to think critically about what citizenship means in Britain today. We talk about British values, law, justice and the development of human rights. Above all, we ask students to have self-respect and respect for others. Learning the lessons of the Holocaust means learning about why it was allowed to happen and in which forms does discrimination continue to happen in Britain today. Our programmes aim to support the personal development of young people and to promote positive, collective action to better our communities.

English

Story writing

Pupils explore different types of writing, which will be brought to life when they are transported back in time. We always suggest that students write down questions in preparation for the time in the day when they come face to face with a Holocaust Survivor or they see interactive, recorded testimony that enables them to pose their questions. Throughout the programme, students are encouraged to share ideas with one another, think independently and reflect on what they see and hear. Students are encouraged to turn this inspirational experience into a piece of significant writing, which they will develop and complete when back in school.

Our programmes, which involve evaluating sources and texts, help students with their writing, vocabulary, language, communication skills and debate skills.

Religious Education

Judaism

Our programmes and the expertise of our educators will significantly grow your pupil's understanding of Judaism and Jewish identity. We explore the big questions, such as why does hatred persist? How should we treat others? How do we think for ourselves? In a world of online hate and conspiracy, now more than never we need to learn the lessons of the Holocaust.

PSHE

Online Safety Morality Right and Wrong

Reflect on the moral and ethical questions that the Holocaust raises with us. Our programmes aim to build the confidence and self-esteem of pupils, enabling them to be equipped to challenge hate, including that which appears online. We encourage all students to think critically and to develop their communication skills as well as empathy for those who are different or who hold different points of view. We want to help ensure students are safe online with a strong understanding of morality.

World War

How and why the War started

Many schools choose our programmes to support their pupil's learning across wider topics. Leo, our character in our one-of-a-kind Journey Exhibition, escapes to England on the Kindertransport shortly before the Second World War begins. Learn about the lives of Jewish people in Germany before the war and hear the experiences of Holocaust survivors who have led extraordinary lives across Europe, during and after the Second World War.

Twentieth Century

The Holocaust was not a one-off, but the darkest chapter in an on-going story. The Holocaust may have happened in the middle of the twentieth century, but it was preceded by two thousand years of anti-Jewish hate. This hate continues today.

Students, in an age appropriate and sensitive way, learn about how Nazi persecution of the Jews developed after Hitler came to power in 1933. Our educators teach students about why the Holocaust happened and the different groups and individuals that bare responsibility for it.

What size groups do you cater for?

We can accommodate group sizes of up to 180 students on site at one time.

Do you offer on-site classroom facilities?

We have multiple classrooms as well as our learning centre. Students will be able to visit our memorial hall, exhibitions, book shop, cafe and gardens.

Is there first aid on site?

Yes

Do you offer access for visitors with disabilities?

Yes. We have accessible toilets, parking and a lift.

Do you cater for visitors with Special Educational Needs (SEN)?

All our programmes have been reviewed by primary and secondary SENDCos to ensure that they are accessible to all students.

Anything else?

We are open all year round, Sunday to Friday 10:00 to 16:30 with last admission at 15:30. School groups can arrive earlier than 10:00 to begin their itinerary. The price is £9.50 per pupil with extras an additional £1.50 per pupil. Teachers are free in a ratio of 1:10. For groups smaller than 18 students, there is a £150 minimum fee. We charge VAT on our school programmes but schools can reclaim this.

Our museum’s education team have developed a suite of learning resources for you to use with your own classes before and after your visit, enabling your students to prepare their thinking and questions as well as to reflect on their experience afterwards and consolidate their new knowledge and skills. These were developed by our educators, using the expertise of Holocaust educators in primary, secondary, Further Education and Higher Education settings. They have all been tested with school groups. Many schools send us examples of their follow-up work and activities - we love to receive these.

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Who are National Holocaust Centre and Museum?

Our learning programmes, delivered at our beautiful garden museum in north Nottinghamshire, build knowledge and encourage critical thinking. When we teach about the Holocaust, we ensure that we link the thought processes and conspiracy theories that created the genocide to the challenges of antisemitism and online hate today. All students have access to our museum collections and hear testimony from our family of Holocaust survivors. We teach why the Holocaust happened through a spiral curriculum that supports students all the way from Year 5 to 13. The four-hour visit is led by our team of former school teachers.

“Of all the Holocaust museums I have visited around the world, Beth Shalom is the only place I leave feeling uplifted.”
Eva Schloss MBE, Holocaust survivor and step-sister of Anne Frank