Special educational needs and access provision

Schools at the British Museum


The schools team has a strong ethos of offering inclusive learning opportunities to all young visitors. We have a wide range of facilities for visual, hearing and mobility impaired students.

Visiting the Museum

The majority of galleries in the Museum have level access, and all the facilities in the Clore Education Centre are accessible.

If any of your pupils has a particular access requirement, please let us know when you book your visit. If you are booking an event in the Clore Education Centre, it is very important for evacuation purposes that you notify the Box Office of any students who use a wheelchair.

Planning your visit

To discuss the needs of your group in more detail, please come along to one of our after school planning sessions, where you can talk to members of the Schools team, receive free resources and help in planning the structure of your visit.

The next planning session is:

25 September 2008, 16.30–18.00

For further details please call +44 (0)20 7323 8510/8850
To book please call +44 (0)20 7323 8181

Sessions and workshops - learning for all

Many of our primary taught sessions and secondary taught sessions involve handling objects and are suitable for students with special educational needs, please check when booking.

The Schools and Young Audiences team has been involved in research projects exploring provision for students with English as an additional language.

Taught sessions can be differentiated to cater for the needs of your group. Please state the particular needs of your group, including language needs, when booking.

Touch tours for visually impaired students

There is a touch tour for the Egyptian sculpture gallery (Room 4). There is also a touch tour for the Parthenon sculptures (Room 18) which has Braille labels and plaster cast reliefs of the Parthenon sculptures.

You do not need to book in advance for these tours, just collect the tour pack from the reception desk in the Ford Centre for Young Visitors when you arrive at the Museum.

Teacher training for object handling for students with special educational needs

The Museum offers free training for teachers and helpers, to run object handling sessions for small groups of students with special educational needs. These sessions are suitable for all age groups and focus on three topic areas:

  • Ancient Egypt
  • Ancient Greece
  • Roman Britain

Once you have attended the training you will be able to run any of these sessions as part of your visit, with all accompanying resources provided free of charge by the Museum.

For further details please call +44 (0)20 7323 8510/8850
To book please call +44 (0)20 7323 8181

Other information

Wheelchairs, magnifying glasses and portable induction loops may be borrowed by prior arrangement.

Parking spaces can be booked for minibuses for pupils with mobility impairments. You will need to provide details of the registration number, make and model of the vehicle together with the date of your visit. Please telephone +44 (0)20 7323 8299.