Learning outside school
Not all learning takes place in the classroom – in fact, most of your child’s learning is going to happen outside of school.
In this section of the site you’ll find how to make everyday events, like gardening or playing football, into learning opportunities, how to create a reading-friendly home, fun science and craft activities to try at home and ways to bring maths into your child’s everyday life.
If you are considering home education, we’ve also got information to help you weigh up the options.
Articles
Family-friendly museums
The UK's museums are among the best in the world. Uncover amazing artistic, scientific and literary treasures with your children by visiting the museums other parents love and return to time after time - in our reviews mums and dads highlight the audio trails, activities and exhibits you mustn't miss. With links to the national curriculum and free educational materials to download, you'll enjoy every minute of hands-on learning!
- Look Out Discovery Centre, Bracknell
- DIG, York
- York Castle Museum, York
- York's Chocolate Story, York
- Discover Children's Story Centre, Stratford, London
- World Museum, Liverpool
- The Geffrye Museum of the Home, London
Learning at home: educational TV, apps, activities and more
- Best educational TV shows for EYFS children
- Best learning TV programmes for KS1
- Best educational TV for KS2 children
- Penpals: an engaging and lifelong learning activity
- 6 of the best computer tablets for children
- Film making and animation fun for children
- Computer coding for kids
- Cooking with kids: the educational benefits
- Scouting with the Cub Scouts
Holiday learning made fun!
A long, lazy holiday is one of the great joys of life – but within days you’ll be driven to distraction by sibling squabbles and cries of “I’m bored” (not to mention a visible emptying of your wallet). Plus, research shows that kids who don’t stay mentally alert during the summer lose up to a third of what they’ve learned during the academic year. So try one of our 59 easy, boredom-busting activities – at home, on the move and on holiday. They’ll be having so much fun they won’t even realise they’re learning…
Brain-boosting challenges to try at home!
Juggle fruit. Work on the technology of the future. Plot and design a lost city, create a zoo of invented animals, learn to talk sdrawkcab and bake a pizza clock and a pastry map. How many of our wonderful brain-boosting challenges can you have a go at? All you need are some art materials, imagination and an enquiring mind to have a go at a whole host of practical and reflective activities, suitable for primary-school children (and parents, of course). Have fun!