Educational Visits

A visit from Home Front Heroes brings the Second World War Home Front to life for pupils studying Key Stage 2 History. You get a full day of talks and activities without the trouble of organising an external visit.
Home Front Heroes have the skills and the artifacts to bring WWII to life for your pupils and make a dramatic contribution to their history studies.

And each day is tailored to your needs because Home Front Heroes have the breadth of knowledge and adaptability to cover just those areas you want included in your pupils’ programme of studies.

A typical day might consist of three sessions, which aim to cover the broad sweep of the National Curriculum Key Stage 2 History syllabus:

Session 1 - Preparing for War on the Home Front:
Air Raid precautions, gas masks, and air raid shelters. An entertaining glimpse into how the government planned for the expected onslaught from the German air force in 1939.
Children can tackle incendiary bombs with a stirrup pump under instruction from the Air Raid Wardens, shelter from the Blitz in a Morrison Air Raid Shelter, handle gas masks and even sound the all clear on an air raid siren.

Session 2 - Making the Best of It.
Living with the reality of everyday shortages when almost the whole of economic effort went into war production. A look at rationing, Dig For Victory, Make Do and Mend, salvage and the Black Market. Meet Potato Pete and Dr. Carrot and the dreaded Squanderbug.
Also includes look at changing roles in wartime as men were drafted into the services. For the first time women were conscripted and could be directed into almost any field of work. Women moved into the munitions factories, built aircraft and helped keep the farms going in the Women’s Land Army. The men that remained joined the Home Guard or dug for survivors in the Blitz. Both sexes worked longer and longer hours to ensure ultimate victory.
Children can grapple with the rationing points system, try their hand at knitting for the troops or design their own posters featuring the Squanderbug.

Session 3- Leaving Home.
A look at the evacuation of children from the big cities to the country. How it was organised. Where the children went and how they got on in environments they had never before experienced.

A chance for your children to pretend they are joining the great evacuation. We provide suitable dressing up clothes, suitcases and toys for the great adventure.

Session 4 - Rounding it all off.
An opportunity for children to ask questions about anything they have seen or done during the day.
We encourage you to get your children to bring a pillowcase to school with three favourite items to remind them of home.
We explore what they have brought with them in their pillow cases and show them what is in our evacuee suitcase of the period.
Then we present the children with Junior Fire Guard Certificates for them to take home to their parents as a souvenir of the day.

So how much does this all cost?
Well, Home Front Heroes charge £225 per day.To cover our transport costs we charge 30p per mile. If you book a second day concurrent with the first, then we offer a £50 discount.
Our presentations last around 4 hours broken down into two sessions in the morning and two in the afternoon.
A typical session would be half talk and half handling artifacts and includes trying their hands at the stirrup pump and investigating the Morrison Shelter.

Why not get parents and school supporters involved in the day. We will send you advice on costume and patterns for making gas mask boxes as well as National Identity Cards you can photocopy for each pupil and adult involved. Remember there could be checks at any time so make sure you carry you gas mask and Identity Card with you at all times!

Depending on how your school catering is done you could also have a special wartime menu on the day we visit the school. We can give advice on menus from the simple Spam sandwiches to Woolton Pie. We can also provide suitable wartime background music to match the cuisine

We try to make your day specially tailored to meet your needs. Every school operates within the constraints of the National Curriculum but every teacher brings a different and personal slant to the content of exactly what they teach. We will work with you to meet your specific requirements.

For more details contact Mick Parker on 01789 763980 or John Reid on 01926 491638.

Home Front Heroes are part of History for Hire - a group of living history presenters who specialise in Key Stage 2 areas.
You can be sure if they are part of History for Hire they not only have the experience and expertise you need but also meet insurance and vetting requirements.

Tudor Times