Yorkshire Wildlife Park
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Yorkshire Wildlife Park, Hurst lane, Doncaster, , DN9 3QY
MONTHS OPEN
DAYS OPEN
AGE GROUPS SERVED
Listed under: Curriculum Subject / Activity Type | Special Educational Needs (SEN) | Wildlife and Nature Reserves | Zoos | STEM | Themed Attraction | Conservation | Wildlife Parks | Biology | Animal Experiences | Safari Parks | Picnic Areas | Business Studies | Leisure and Tourism | Media | Science | Day Trip Destinations | Animal Welfare | Ecology & Green Awareness | Indoor Activity & Soft Play Centres | Outdoor Education | Enrichment Learning
What we offer on a school trip
As the UK’s number 1 walkthrough wildlife adventure, we offer a unique view into the world of animals. Spend time getting closer to wildlife than you ever have imagined by visiting our walkthrough areas including lemur woods, Wallaby Walkabout & Amazonas. Yorkshire Wildlife Park is the perfect fun and safe environment for your next educational expedition and our dedicated award-winning team will take the stress out of planning your trip.
What makes us a great choice for education
We have a separate entrance for educational group visits, providing easy access to the park without the need to queue with our general visitors.
All educational visits to the park are self-guided, so during your day you are free to explore and attend feeding times and ranger talks. The ranger talks provide students with the perfect opportunity to talk to our experienced and qualified animal rangers.
Education sessions can be pre-booked to enhance your visit in our purpose-built Discovery Forest Classrooms or in our Woodland Classroom during the summer term. The rooms are fully accessible and packed full of special resources for your students to explore.
We are home to a huge variety of species at the park from across the world, and also home to the biggest collection of polar bears in the world.
Accreditation and Awards
Yes, we hold the LOTC Quality Badge. We are also members of the STEM Network, Children’s University, IZE (International Zoo Educators Association, BIAZA, EAZA & WAZA.
What is typically included on our school trips
YWP provides students of all ages with a rich educational and recreational experience to enable cross curricular learning. We accomplish this by offering various informal & formal visiting opportunities throughout the year. Our education sessions have been developed according to National Curriculum/ exam board syllabi objectives and offer links to the cornerstone’s curriculum as well as STEM links.
Our pre-bookable education sessions are available across all of the key stages from early years up to university level. We cover various topics, which are not all animal /science related. We cover topics such as Habitats & Adaptations, Evolution, Animal Groups & Food Chains. We also cover topics such as Zoo Careers, Marketing, Business, Customer Service & The Role of the Modern Zoo. The Education Team are always happy to talk through the sessions and see how we can adapt them to meet your students’ needs.
During education sessions students have an opportunity to view and touch bio-facts, such as bones, horns, feathers, skins and live animals.
We also offer an Outreach & Virtual visits program, along with our Award-Winning Employability Day session which links to many of the GATSBY Benchmarks.
Group Sizes Catered For
We are primarily an outdoor attraction and so do not limit numbers on site. We welcome a minimum group size of 10 or more students to access the discounted education rates and welcome whole school visits. We do allow SEND schools to access discounted education rates with smaller group sizes.
The education sessions are for a maximum of 32 students in 1 session.
Materials, Resources & Information Provided
We have a hidden page on our education website which education visitors get access to once they have booked. Under the link you will find resources for our Adel’s Alphabet Trail which can be followed around the park. The park also has an App which features an interactive map with lots of animal information. If you visit our Amazonas Walkthrough you can also complete the interactive QR trail.
Photography, Filming & Audio Restrictions
We allow visitors to take photos and videos on their educational visits.
Students wishing to film for projects or carry out interviews with staff are not allowed without prior consent.
Risk Assessment Details
Once the visit is booked, we provide staff with the link to the hidden section of our website which has a generic Hazard Identification Sheet for the park which can be used to write your own risk assessments. We also provide a risk assessment for the classroom sessions.
We offer free teacher pre-visits to the park for schools to carry out their own risk assessments and plan their day. Staff have the option to meet up with the education team on these visits if they wish to ask any further questions. We also host free Teacher Open Mornings at the park to showcase our facilities & education program.
We also hold the LOTC quality assured badge.
Education Officer Information
Education Manager = Miss Jade Bancroft, education@yorkshirewildlifepark.com
Pricing Information
Education Ticket Type Ticket Price
Additional adults/teacher £15.50
Students (aged 3-16) £8.50
Students 16+ £9.50
2 year olds £5.50
Carers** £0.00
Education Session (per child)* £1.80
Free adult ratios >>> Primary = 1 free adult for every 5 students
Secondary 1 free adult for every 10 students.
Education bookings are for a minimum of 10 children/students (with the exception of SEND schools).
*Minimum charge of £45.00 per education session, based on a minimum of 25 student.
** Adult carers are admitted free of charge at a 1:1 ratio for any students with physical or emotional disabilities, are the subjects of SEND statements or EHCPs, or can provide other evidence of specific needs. A letter from the headteacher / SENCO on school letterhead is acceptable proof. Any additional carers are required to pay normal education admission prices.
Clothing Requirements
We suggest that appropriate clothing for the weather is brought along, and that suitable footwear is worn.
First Aid Information
All educational groups are responsible for their own first aid whilst on site & therefore must bring their own first aid kits. If groups are splitting into smaller groups to walk around the park it is vital that all leaders have the contact details of your group’s first aider, should they be required.
The park does have emergency first aiders on site at all times should your school first aider need any emergency assistance or an ambulance calling.
Available Facilities
There are many catering outlets with different offers around the park which cater for lots of dietary requirements. Which ones are open will depend on the time of year of your visit. All up to date information is available on the parks website and will be included in your pre-visit information.
There are plenty of toilet blocks on site. The closest toilet blocks to the educational entrance are the ones near the Safari Café & in the Monkey Playhouse.
We have a Safari store located at the education entrance which has lots of gift options, including a variety of ‘pocket money’ lower cost items. Gift bags & Bear Necessity Activity booklets can also be pre-booked and collected on the day of your visit.
We have an indoor eating area which is available exclusively for education visits which is located at the education entrance. There are also plenty of large picnic areas around the park, including a large undercover pyramid tent at the big bugs play area.
We do not offer storage facilities on site.
Accessibility & Disabled Facilities
Yes, we have fully accessible toilets and facilities for wheelchair users.
The majority of the pathways throughout the main park are level, with shallow gradients in areas. All pathways are accessible to wheelchair users.
Seating and rest areas are located throughout the park as well as wheelchair wash stations.
We have worked where possible to design animal enclosures so that our animals can be seen without looking through fences. For safety purposes our stand-off barriers are a minimum of 1,100mm in height, with mesh panel infills to allow for visibility. We also have ground-level, glass viewing panes included in some of the enclosures.
Further information on accessibility at the park can be found on the main website.
Opening Hours & Information
The park is open all year round, with the exception of Christmas day. Education visits are bookable during Doncaster LEA Term time.
The opening hours are slightly different in summer & winter but can be found on the park’s main website. We typically open at 9:30-18:00 during summer & 10:00- 16:00 during winter.
Testimonials
- “This was a great day, the students loved it and YWP staff were all friendly, knowledgeable and helpful” Hungerhill school.
- “Everybody was very complementary about the quality of your talk, perfectly suited to the level of our students” University of Hull
- “The park was an amazing place to bring the children for numerous reasons, such as space, facilities and table space for lunch. The staff that I dealt with on the booking process and phoning could not have helped more, they went above and beyond to answer questions and support. We needed an additional adult for a child with SEN and they were amazingly accommodating. I would definitely recommend to other schools”. Half Acres Primary Academy
- “An amazing day from start to finish. The workshop was also fantastic and our host was great too, she really engaged the children and they loved her session”. Church Vale Primary school
- “We had a fantastic day from start to finish at the YWP. The communication beforehand was excellent and the staff on the day were brilliant. Alex who led our educational session was fantastic with the children, keeping an excellent pace and keeping the children engaged”. St John’s Primary Academy
- “All the keepers who were with the animals took the time to answer our learners questions, they did not rush off and were very polite and informative. The park is very clean and all the animals enclosures are clean and tidy” REAL Education.
- “The booking process was easy and quick and the welcome process was also very easy and quick”. St Josephs Catholic Primary school
- Our workshop leader was excellent Normanton Junior Academy
Other Information
The award-winning education team at YWP have years of experience in the field & are always on hand to offer you support when planning your visit to the park. The team is led by an education manager and there are both permanent and seasonal education assistants within the team. The education staff have various levels of qualifications including degree level in animal science related subjects and QTS.
The team were finalists in two categories in the 2023 School Travel Organiser Awards (Best Education Team of the Year & Best Wildlife Attraction). These awards are nominated by teachers that have visited the park.
