Enabling Environments: Visits and Visitors - Introduction - Planning a visit

Even the most ordinary destination - a local cafe or supermarket - can offer a rich and exciting learning opportunity for young children, and the more planning that is done, the more successful a visit is bound to be.

Maps, mobile phone numbers, risk assessment, ratios, head counts, toilet stops, first aid, children's clothing ... the list goes on. All should feature on a planning checklist, but what matters most is that children derive as much pleasure and learning as possible from a trip. Start then by asking yourself:

- Why are we going on this trip?
- Does it fit with children's current interests?
- What do we want the children to learn?
- What do we think they may gain from the experience?
- How are we going to ensure children get the most out of the visit?
- What will we draw to their attention?
- What questions will we ask them on the day?
- Will we take photographs?
- What resources and activities should we offer the children ahead of
the visit?
- How do we plan to extend their learning after the trip?
- Do all practitioners and volunteers understand the purpose of the
trip?
- Have they been given enough information?