Education Sessions for Home Education children
Sessions are free but don’t include zoo entry.
Participants must arrange entry separately by paying standard fees, organising 15 people to qualify for Group rates or using zoo passes (recommended for multiple sessions). Live animals are not used in any session.
2025-2026 Home Education Sessions
Registration for 2025-2026 Home Education Session is now open.
Session Registration
Completed forms should be emailed to education@colchesterzoo.org
After your booking form has been received by our Education Team, you will be sent an email confirming your registration and the day of the week you are registered for. We will attempt to offer spaces for the First Choice day of the week, followed by the other ranked days.
5-7 year old sessions take place on:
Wednesday 1:00-1:45pm; Thursday 12:00-1:45pm; Friday 12:00-12:45pm OR 1:00-1:45pm.
7-11 year old sessions take place on:
Wednesday 2:00-2:45pm (Full); Thursday 1:00-1:45pm OR 2:00-2:45pm; Friday 2:00-2:45pm (Full).
11-16 year old sessions take place on:
Wednesday 3:00-4:00pm; Thursday 3:00-4:00pm; Friday 3:00-4:00pm (Full).
Sessions will run on three days each month (Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday), the sessions offered are identical on each day. Each day will have sessions aimed at different age ranges – 5-7 year olds, 7-11 year olds, and 11-16 year olds.
Session Topics 2025-2026
2025-2026 Session Dates
| Sept | Wed 3rd, Thurs 4th, & Fri 6th 2025 |
| Oct | Wed 1st, Thurs 2nd, & Fri 3rd 2025 |
| Nov | Wed 5th, Thurs 6th, & Fri 7th 2025 |
| Dec | Wed 3rd, Thurs 4th, & Fri 5th 2025 |
| Jan | Wed 7th, Thurs 8th, & Fri 9th 2026 |
| Feb | Wed 4th, Thurs 5th, & Fri 6th 2026 |
| Mar | Wed 4th, Thurs 5th, & Fri 6th 2026 |
| Apr | Wed 15th, Thurs 16th, & Fri 17th 2026 |
| May | Wed 6th, Thurs 7th, & Fri 8th 2026 |
SEN Sensory Workshops
Bookings are now open, register using the form below!
Blocks of five SEN Sensory Workshops will be repeated across Autumn term and Spring term
Registration is for ONE block of five workshops.
Autumn Workshop Dates Sept 2025-Jan 2026
| 8th Sept | Rainforest Topic |
| 13th Oct | Hot Habitat Topic |
| 10th Nov | Woodland Habitat Topic |
| 8th Dec | Polar Habitat Topic |
| 5th Jan | Zookeeper Sensory Story |
Spring Workshop Dates Jan 2026-May 2026
| 12th Jan | Rainforest Topic |
| 9th Feb | Hot Habitat Topic |
| 9th Mar | Woodland Habitat Topic |
| 13th Apr | Polar Habitat Topic |
| 11th May | Zookeeper Sensory Story |
Sessions are free but don’t include zoo entry. Participants must arrange entry separately by paying standard fees, organising 15 people to qualify for Group rates or using zoo passes (recommended for multiple sessions).
This Home Education programme is designed to support the learning of children who have PMLD Educational Needs. These workshops will be based around immersive, sensory, and hands-on learning about a themed animal related topic. Each workshop will use tactile items such as skins, furs, and feathers as well as sensory activities designed to enhance exploration and engagement.
A full briefing document and What-to-Expect Guide will be sent out the week before each workshop. This will include more details, including visuals to prepare before attending.
No live animals are used in any workshops.
SEN Workshop Registration
Pre-registration is required to attend.
Register by emailing the below form to: education@colchesterzoo.org
On the form, please indicate your preferred block (Autumn or Spring) and time (1:30pm or 2:30pm). We’ll do our best to accommodate your choice. If sessions are full, we’ll contact you to discuss alternatives and operate a waiting list.
Spaces are limited to 15 children with carers per workshop.
For safeguarding reasons, all participant children must be between 4-16 years old. There are no other age restrictions on these sessions. Please be aware that the activities/learning will sensory-based at a basic level, aimed at children with PMLD Educational Needs working below standard learning milestones.
2024 Home Education Reindeer Workshops
Bookings open at 9am Monday 13th October
We are unable to hold places or take reservations before this time.
Participation in these unique session is £5.50 per child participant. As with all our home education sessions, this does not include entry to the zoo which must be arranged seperately.
All children attending, including younger siblings, are charged £5.50. Babies under 1 year old can attend free of charge, but if you wish for them to receive a cuddly toy reindeer, they are also charged £5.50. There is no charge for adults to accompany children at this session. However, due to space limitations in the teaching area, it may be nessecary to limit adults to 1 per child.
This winter, CZS invites Home Education families to join our unique reindeer-themed workshop! All versions of the workshop will last approximately 40-60minutes. Each session includes interactive activities to explore the amazing winter adaptations of our young reindeer herd, plus a chance to meet the reindeer up close. Every child will also receive a cuddly toy to take home as a keepsake.
To make sure every family can enjoy these unique educational sessions, we’re offering three versions of the workshop: our festive Christmas Workshop, a more supportive Relaxed Christmas Workshop, and a Special Reindeer Workshop that focuses on reindeer without the festive characters.
Session Registration
Details about how to register for all these sessions will be live on this page at 9am Monday 13th October.
Home Education Christmas Reindeer Workshop
Thursday 27th November at 13:00
Friday 28th November at 12:00
Best suited for children ages 4-8 years old.
Step into the magic of Christmas with our festive reindeer workshop! Guided by a merry elf, your family will explore a trunk of surprises and a scroll of tasks as you learn all about reindeer and their clever winter survival skills. Wander through our Christmas forest before meeting Father Christmas himself, who will join you for a photo opportunity. To round off this enchanting session, each child will receive a cuddly reindeer toy to remember their adventure.
Home Education Relaxed Christmas Reindeer Workshop
Friday 28th November at 10:00
Best suited for children who may prefer a calmer environment. This may include children and young people with neurodivergence such as autism, learning disabilities and other sensory or communication needs. This includes children over the target age of the other sessions.
The activities and story remain the same, but the story is delivered at a gentler pace, with less noise and fewer sensory distractions. Families can still enjoy the Christmas magic — discovering fascinating facts about reindeer, meeting our herd, and having a photo with Father Christmas — but in a way that feels more comfortable and supportive. Each child will also receive a cuddly toy to take home.
Home Education Special Reindeer Workshop
Monday 17th November at 13:00
This session focuses on adaptations, using vocabulary and content best suited to children ages 4-8 years old.
Through interactive activities, you’ll discover how reindeer survive in their chilly environments, from their incredible coats to their clever feeding behaviours. You’ll see our young herd up close and take home your very own cuddly reindeer toy as a special reminder of the day.
This session does not involve any festive elements, and will be lead by a regular education staff member. Toys will be given by the staff as a souvenir without any mention of gifts and with no mention of Father Christmas.
Home Education Session Terms & Conditions:
Unexpected Circumstances: Sessions sessions are offered in good faith on the assumption that Colchester Zoo will be open and visitors will be allowed to attend sessions. Please be aware, that due to potential unforeseen circumstances (e.g. government restrictions, severe weather events, etc.) there may be unexpected changes to sessions dates and/or topics. Additionally, due to situations outside of Colchester Zoos’ control, as a last resort, sessions may be cancelled. We will endeavour to avoid this wherever possible, and strive to keep registrants updated if this occurs.
Age to Attend Sessions: The sessions are divided into different age groups because this lets us tailor the session to include terminology and activities which are better suited to different age ranges. However, the ages we provide are just guidelines of where we will be targeting the information/activities, not firm requirements. To ensure the smooth running of the session, and for the benefit of all participants, we request younger/older children do not attend if they would be disruptive to the rest of the group.
Adult Supervision: All children attending sessions must be accompanied by an adult.
Minimum Class Size: Colchester Zoo reserves the right to cancel a class, no less than 4 days prior to the first class of the month, if registration is under five participants. In this event, you will be notified via the email you provided when you registered. You will also be given the option to attend the other date the same session is offered (e.g. if the Monday session is cancelled you would be offered a space in the Wednesday class if you so wish).
Maximum Class Size: Classes have a maximum of 25 participants. If a class is full, you will be put on a waiting list and contacted if there are any cancellations. Being on the wait list does not guarantee you will be able to attend the session.
Unattended Sessions: If you are unable to attend a session, please inform Colchester Zoo via email (education@colchesterzoo.org) as soon as possible. This will allow them to contact someone on the waiting list to let them attend. If you repeatedly do not attend sessions you are registered for, without letting the zoo know, you may be removed from future sessions.
Please note – Home Education sessions are free of charge. However, Registration for sessions does not include entry to the zoo. Participants must arrange entry to the zoo separately; either paying entrance price, organising themselves independently into a group of 15 (to qualify for group rates), or using zoo passes (gold cards) (see above for further details).
