Booking information

Also on this page:

• Risk management advice
• Toasting activity
• Cancellations
• Invoicing and payment

Bookings

• A confirmation will be emailed to confirm dates and times booked.
• A detailed excursion plan will be emailed around Week 8 of the term prior to your visit.
• We recommend that the students eat morning tea on arrival as they’re usually hungry and the sessions can then be run uninterrupted.
• A maximum of two parents/carers per class can accompany an excursion. There is no limit on staff numbers.
• For the optional toasting activity in Terms 2 and 3, we require two adult helpers to stay with the fire for all the classes. See Toasting activity below.

Book ahead

Schools are advised to book as early as possible to secure a date. Most schools book a term or two terms ahead. Bookings are taken in order of receipt. We do not take tentative bookings.

Minimum charge

We usually have a minimum charge of $1056 per booking – equating to the charge for 44 students – but this is not always applied. It doesn’t usually apply to schools for students with additional needs. We can usually accommodate single class bookings on a day with another small group – email us to check availability.

Visit fees fund staffing, collection management and conservation works and are our sole funding source.

Maximum number of students

Our limit of 105 students is because of space capacity. If it rains we need to divide the students into 3 groups as we only have 3 indoor spaces. Our indoor spaces can seat a maximum of 35 students.

How to book 

Please check the calendar for available dates and email the NSW Schoolhouse Museum to request dates and confirm availability. Include:

• preferred dates
• program you wish to book 
• your school
• grade
• number of classes
• number of students – as accurate as possible
• postal address and phone number. 

We will email a booking confirmation to confirm the booking of the dates requested. An excursion plan will be sent the term before the visit.

Student numbers

Please email as soon as possible if the student numbers on your excursion booking differ from your expected or enrolled numbers. Once permission notes have been returned, let us know if numbers are significantly lower than originally booked.

As casual staff are scheduled specifically for your excursion, we appreciate as much notice as possible so we can adjust staffing where needed.

Email: info@schoolhousemuseum.org.au 

Risk management advice 

Risk management advice (updated 4 July 2025 – new format)

Schools must bring their own first aid kit, emergency medications and hand sanitiser for their students. All museum staff are trained in e-Emergency, CPR, anaphylaxis and emergency asthma procedures. An EpiPen, first aid kit and Ventolin reliever with spacer is located on site.

Toasting activity

The toasting activity is optional and involves students cooking toast over an open fire under adult supervision. Please let us know before your excursion if you would like to include this activity.

White bread and golden syrup are provided. Download images of the ingredient panels and packages.Schools should supply alternative bread for students with special dietary requirements. Students with coeliac disease can toast their own gluten-free bread first using clean equipment.

Schools must provide two supervising adults to remain at the fire for all classes. If your school has four classes, supervisors may swap over at lunchtime. Supervising adults may be parents, carers or additional staff, but not class teachers or class SLSOs. This supervision requirement changed in 2025.

Cancellations

Confirmed bookings cancelled within 5 school-term weeks (35 school days) of the booked date will incur a $500 administration fee. Cancellations within 2 school-term weeks (10 school days) of the booked date will incur the full excursion cost based on the numbers in the confirmation or excursion plan, whichever is most recent.

This does not apply to cancellations due to extreme weather, unexpected changed risks or last minute bus company cancellations. Cancellations must be in writing. Please provide as much notice as possible as casual staff have been allocated to work on your excursion days.

Invoicing and payment 

We email tax invoices to schools on the Friday after their visit. We charge for the number of students who attend the excursion unless we have set a minimum fee on confirmation. 

• We ask schools to confirm the number of students at least 7 days before the booked date of the excursion.
• Public schools wanting their invoice paid by EdConnect should provide a purchase order number by the Friday after their final visit.
• Catholic schools in diocese with centralised payment systems should provide a purchase order number by the Friday after their visit.  
• We accept payment by direct deposit, P-card, debit/credit cards and cheque. There is a surcharge of approx. $0.40 per student if paying by card.
• We are unable to issue refunds.

Please note, from February to August 2025 we trialled charging for the confirmed number of students in an effort to have a clearer indication of student numbers. We have now reverted to our previous system of charging for the number attended.