School tours

Excursion Risk Assessment for Parliament of New South Wales


Booking a school tour
Education tours of the Parliament of New South Wales are free but must be booked in advance:

• Online (click here) – Please Note: online bookings must be regarded as a request – schools should not consider the booking finalised until confirmation is received from the Parliamentary Tours Officer.

or

• by telephone - call the Legislative Assembly front desk on (02) 9230 3444

or

• by email - schooltours@parliament.nsw.gov.au

About school tours
There are important differences between tours conducted on non-sitting days and those on sitting days - see the Sitting Days calendar on the Home page of the website.

On sitting days, only a very limited tour can be offered (excepting visits before 12 noon on Tuesdays) and will generally be restricted to viewing Parliament in session from the Visitors' Galleries.

On non-sitting days conducted tours will normally include visits to both Houses of Parliament and a role-play conducted in the Legislative Assembly. Teachers should allow for 2 hours when planning non-sitting day tours. The actual tour time is 90 minutes with role play included, but additional organisational time must be allowed for transport delays, movement, security processes, bags, and comfort stops. Members of Parliament are advised of group visits and will sometimes be able to meet groups from their electorates.

The daily non-sitting day tour schedule is shown below.

1:Tour	2: Arrive Parliament House	3: Tour commences Legislative Assembly	4: Tour commences Legislative Council	5: Depart Parliament House
1	9:30	9:45	10:45	11:30
2	10:45	11:00	12:00	12:45
3	12:15	12:30	1:30	2:15
4	1:45	2:00	3:00	3:45
5	2:45	3:00	4:00	4:45

Tours will commence as soon as the group is ready but no later than time shown in column 3.

For primary schools, the maximum group size for each time slot is 60. The recommended maximum for secondary school groups is 50. Small groups may sometimes be combined with other small groups if their requirements are similar.

Education tours are focussed on NSW curriculum requirements and can be tailored to meet group needs. Whilst completing a tour students will engage in civics and citizenship education, learning about the procedures of parliament, the growth and processes of democracy in NSW and within the Australian federal system. They may participate in a role-play, meet their local Member of Parliament or, on a sitting day, observe Parliament in action. Upon booking a tour, schools are sent a package of resource material. A full range of information brochures and education resource materials is also available online from our education publications pages.

The more preparation a group has done before the tour in the study of government and the operation of parliament, the more effective their visit will be.

• Primary school tours relate mainly to civics and citizenship in the HSIE K-6 syllabus, specifically Stage 3, but can also relate to other parts of the curriculum such as literacy and personal development. Schools may wish to prepare their own role-play topics in advance in consultation with the Tours Officer or the Parliamentary Education Section.

• Secondary school tours relate mainly to the History, Geography or Commerce Stages 4-5 syllabuses and to Legal Studies Stage 6. Content of the tour can be linked to civics and citizenship, government, legislative processes, history site studies and electoral processes. A range of role plays can be selected from or schools may wish to develop their own beforehand. Secondary History site study options include the purpose and role of the NSW Parliament in the governing of New South Wales and in the creation of the Australian Constitution at Federation. There is also a take-home extension lesson available relating to Federation and Women’s suffrage from Parliament.

A history trail - excursions along College and Macquarie Streets, Sydney
A brochure to assist teachers to design excursions in the Macquarie and College Street areas of central Sydney. Includes information on the: Anzac Memorial; Australian Museum; Hyde Park Barracks Museum; Museum of Australian Currency (Reserve Bank); Parliament House; State Library; and Royal Botanic Gardens.

Click here for a guided tour of Macquarie Street.

For further assistance with planning teaching/learning activities contact the Parliamentary Education Section (02 9230 2047) or education@parliament.nsw.gov.au.