Planning and booking a school visit

(For participating Schools only).

How do I book for Steve McQueen Year 3?

Booking for the exhibition can be done on the same website where you booked your school’s photography session in 2018/2019. The lead contacts at each school will have the school’s login details. If you have any questions, please contact us.

Which browsers do I use when booking?

Booking works best on the latest version of your browser, preferably Chrome. If you are experiencing problems, you can update or install the latest version of Chrome, Firefox or Microsoft Edge.

(Note: Booking will not work on Internet Explorer, as this is no longer supported by Microsoft.)

What do I need to know before I make my booking?

  • Information about your visiting classes: class name, class teacher name (can be edited later on), approximate number of pupils.
  • Travel information (how you are planning to get to Tate Britain)
  • The date(s) you would like to visit between 12 November 2019 – 1st May 2020. Classes can be booked for the same day or spread out over different days.

Please confirm and check dates with all the teachers before making your booking!

If you work in a school that is split site or that has a special needs unit, remember to check with those teachers too before making your booking.

How long is an exhibition visit?

Your exhibition visit will last 2 hours and 30 minutes.

What time do I need to arrive?

If you have booked a morning visit, please arrive at 9.45am.

If you have booked an afternoon visit, please arrive at 11.30am.

There is flexibility with these timings for Special Schools that book for Quiet Days. Please choose this option when booking and we will then get in touch with you to arrange.

What provision is available for Special Schools?

Special Schools that feature in Steve McQueen Year 3 are invited to book a visit to the exhibition. We have set aside a ‘Quiet Day’ on selected weeks that will only be available to Special Schools. The timings for these days are more flexible and will be arranged with you once you have booked.

There is parking available for Special Schools and we will contact you nearer the time of your visit to arrange this access directly with you. Tate Britain is fully wheelchair accessible, with ramps and lifts around the gallery.

On the day, there will be a quiet space available for all visiting schools who may require this. There is also a Changing Place on site, as well as accessible toilet facilities. If you require the use of any of these spaces, please do ask a Tate member of staff to guide you.

What is a Quiet Day?

Quiet Days are set aside exclusively for Special Schools, where the gallery will be quieter due to fewer school groups visiting on that day. This will allow for more flexibility with your visit to suit your groups’ needs if this is required.

What will happen during our visit?

Arrival and registration (15 minutes): Each class will be met by a Year 3 Group Assistant who will register the class; ensure bags and coats are stored away and introduce the day with a printed activity for every child to guide and support the

Orientation and Steve McQueen Year 3 (1 hour): The class will start their visit in a dedicated learning space where classes will also be shown their individual class photograph. Classes will spend around an hour in the Duveens where children will experience the Steve McQueen Year 3 artwork supported by the Steve McQueen Year 3 resource. This printed activity for pupils will also be sent as a PDF link before your visit so teachers can prepare beforehand .

Tate Britain (45 minutes): The Steve McQueen Year 3 resource will support groups to visit other artworks across the gallery in smaller groups. At the end of this part of the visit, you will either go to lunch (if on a morning visit) or return to school (if on an afternoon visit).

A lunch space will be available to all classes for 30 minutes. Please be aware of the volume of classes visiting the exhibition so space and time will be limited. Please note, Tate cannot guarantee eating in a nut-free or other allergen-free space.

How will we find our own class photo?

During your time in the Duveen Galleries, the Year 3 Group Leader will take you to a dedicated learning space to give your class a closer look at your class photograph and will also show you where your photograph is in the artwork itself.

Can we visit other parts of Tate Britain as part of this visit?

Yes, as part of your visit, all classes will visit other parts of the gallery and collection. A Self-guided visit resource will be sent to the class teachers before their visit to allow teachers to prepare.

We ask that teachers plan to disperse their classes into smaller groups of 6-7 to make the most of this time in the rest of the gallery and to avoid a class moving around as a group of 30.

Will this be a guided visit or self-guided?

Each class will be met by and accompanied by a Year 3 Group Assistant who will introduce the Steve McQueen Year 3 artwork and support the beginning of the visit. Each class teacher is responsible for their pupils and will guide the experience using the Steve McQueen Year 3 resource.

What is the Steve McQueen Year 3 resource?

The Steve McQueen Year 3 resource provides activities for the pupils to do on their visit to Tate Britain supported and led by the teacher. The activities in the resource have been devised to support a range of engagement with the artwork, and Tate’s collection. They include talking, drawing, writing, speaking and performative activities. They also involve group work, pair work and individual work. Activities can be broken down or expanded as appropriate according to your knowledge of your group.

How many adults are needed to accompany each class?

The required adult to pupil ratio is 1:7 to allow the class to make the most of their visit to Tate Britain. We cannot accommodate additional adults or parent helpers above this number to attend the visit, unless specific 1:1 support is required.

Can I bring parents/carers and other school staff?

We appreciate the excitement surrounding this project and support from Year 3 pupils’ families and other school staff. However, given the scale of the project, we can only accommodate a required adult to pupil ratio of 1:7.

The exhibition is open to the general public however, and the Tate Families team will have a variety of resources and activities on offer at weekends and in the school holidays so please do encourage those who cannot come on the school visit to come along then.

I need to complete a school risk assessment for our visit. What guidance and information can I include about Tate Britain?

Tate is an exempt charity, incorporated under the Museums & Galleries Act 1992. We are regulated by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport and are a Non-Departmental Public Body.

Our Safety & Security team have undertaken full risk assessments of the galleries for public safety (in conjunction with the Met police) and fire safety. Our premises have also been safety assessed by the police and home office registered counter terrorism safety advisors. We issue a 'Health and Safety Statement' to all groups that book a visit. If you have any further queries regarding safety and security at Tate Britain please contact year3@tate.org.uk.

Can family and friends visit the artwork? Will they be able to see our class photo?

There isn’t a public map of the location of each photograph for safeguarding reasons, but Friends and family are warmly encouraged to visit this vast artwork. Visitor experience staff will be on hand to support your visit.

Steve McQueen Year 3 is open to the general public so family and friends of Year 3 pupils will be able to attend, but not on a school visit. Due to the scale of the project, we can only accommodate a required adult to pupil ratio of 1:7. The Tate Families team will have a variety of resources and activities on offer at weekends so please do come along then.

Can children who didn’t have consent to be in their class photo attend the exhibition?

Yes. Just as our Tate Year 3 Photographers were able to include the children in the photography sessions, children who did not have consent to be in the photo will be fully included with the class activities in the gallery.