School Visits

Familiarisation Tickets

We provide teachers with two complimentary familiarisation tickets to visit the park, allowing you to plan your day and conduct your own risk assessments. These tickets are exclusively for teachers and cannot be used by friends or family members.

To qualify for these tickets, you must have an existing school trip booking. If you have already booked your trip, please contact us at info@howlettsandportlympne.com to arrange your familiarisation tickets.

Please note: Requests for familiarisation tickets must be submitted at least 14 days prior to your preferred visit date.

Public Liability Insurance

Public Liability Insurance downloadable here.

Risk Assessment

Risk assessment guidance downloadable here.

Supervision

The following supervision ratios are guidelines only. While students must be supervised at all times, these exact ratios are not mandatory. Please base your supervisory ratios on the behaviour of your specific students.

Children who qualify for a carer are provided a free adult carers ticket at a 1:1 ratio and therefore do not count towards your free adult ratio. Children using Annual Passes may enter free of charge but do not count towards your free adult ratio.

We are happy to admit a ratio of adults free of charge to supervise students. The ratio of free adults to children is as follows:

• Nursery: One free adult per 5 paying pupils
• Primary (years R-6): One free adult per 5 paying pupils
• Secondary (years 7-11): One free adult per 5 paying pupils
• Post 16: One free adult per 10 paying students

All children under the age of 16 must be supervised at all times. All supervisors must be adults (over the age of 18) and not students of the supervisee’s school/college.

It’s the Group Leader’s responsibility to ensure effective supervision and behaviour of all students at all times whilst onsite.

Wheelchairs

A limited number of manual wheelchairs are available to hire. These can be booked on a first come, first served basis. Please address this requirement with the booking team at time of booking.

Howletts is mainly flat terrain.

For full accessibility information please view our accessibility page on our website.

First Aid

We have qualified first aiders on site. If you require first aid assistance, please report to the nearest member of staff from any department, who will be happy to help.

If any of your pupils have severe allergies, please inform us in advance so we can notify our first aiders.

Ensure you carry all necessary medication for your pupils. The administration of such medication is the responsibility of the group organisers and cannot be performed by our first aiders.

Arrival

Upon arrival we must ensure that we have the name and mobile number of your group leader for contact whilst onsite in case of emergencies.

When arriving at our gatehouses, the group lead must:

• Know how many pupils and adults you have
• Bring any proof for pupils who qualify for free adult carers / assistance (a letter on school letterhead is acceptable proof)
• Have your booking confirmation to hand
• Present any valid Annual Passes collected from pupils / adult helpers
• Provide emergency contact details for the group lead on site

Coaches

On arrival, coaches should park in the designated / reserved coach parking area. If we were not made aware in advance of coach use any available parking space may be used.

Coach parking is free. Coach drivers for school trips receive free entry to the park. To claim this, coach drivers should report to the main entrance building with their ID and job sheet.

Park Map

The park map is available in hard-copy form on arrival at our Gatehouse. Please request a copy when you arrive if you require them.

Please note we will only issue these to group leaders. If you wish to print one for each student please see our Plan Your Day page for a downloadable version.

Group Meeting Points

When planning meeting points for individual groups of students or groups of adult helpers with children, please ensure pathways and food outlets remain clear out of respect for other visitors.

Upon arrival, please speak with a member of our team for suggested meeting points and maps.

Lunches

We have several outdoor picnic areas around the parks and a limited number of covered areas. These cannot be pre-booked and are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Schools eating packed lunches are not allowed to eat inside our food outlets or café. If your students plan to eat at our food outlets, please inform the booking team to ensure adequate stock for your group visit.

Keeper / Daily Talks

Schools are welcome to attend any of our many keeper talks, which take place throughout the day at the animal enclosures. These talks may coincide with feeding times, enrichment activities, or simply provide a chance to hear from our keepers. Most talks last between 5-15 minutes. See the talks timetable upon arrival.

Please note that these are not suitable for a large group all attending.

These talks are separate from the bookable educational talks.

Education Talks & Workshops

Schools can book a private talk or workshop in advance, subject to availability.

To allow our team to plan your session appropriately, please advise us of any behavioural or physical needs, allergies or anything else you feel is relevant.

A maximum of 30 pupils can be accommodated at each talk and all sessions are approximately 30 minutes.

We can adapt each talk according to your year group, curriculum and any special requests.

Walkthrough Experiences

Both Howletts & Port Lympne have animal walkthrough experiences.

All visiting guests must not stray from the path or try to touch/feed any of the animals.

Please do not bring food or open drinks into walkthrough enclosures and avoid running or loud noises.

These are open enclosures where the animals are free to explore as much as they wish.

From time to time the animal may jump on or come into contact with guests.

Please note: Nuts and other allergens may be present within the walkthrough experiences.

Gift Shop

All students must be accompanied while in the Gift Shop.

If you are planning time in the shop, you can do this at any time during your visit and we recommend scheduling this during the middle of your visit. This will avoid you having to rush to the coach while waiting in end of day queues.

Please note: We require children to be supervised by adults while in the shop. The onsite team may limit the number of students that are permitted within the shop at any one time.

Exiting the Park

You will exit through the Gift Shop. All students must be accompanied in this shop. The exit is located in the main building where you entered the park.

The coach park and car parks are often busy at the end of the day. If you are gathering your group together, please do this before you exit (although please ensure you are not blocking the entrance to the shop). Please do not gather groups in the middle of the coach park as there will be other vehicles attempting to exit.

What to Wear

Sensible footwear for lots of walking and rucksacks for carrying packed lunches are advised. Children need to come to the park prepared for all weathers. Please note that covered areas are limited at the park.

Getting Here

Howletts Wild Animal Park is located in Bekesbourne, Kent in the South East of England, just three miles south of Canterbury. For SAT NAV please us CT4 5EL.

Opening Times

☀️ Summer (1st April - 3rd November)

Summer (1st April to 31st October) 09.30.00-17.00 Monday to Sunday – except school holidays, Bank Holidays and summer holidays 09.30-18.00

❄️ Winter (4th Nov to 28th March '25)

Howletts will be closed Monday – Thursday commencing Monday 4th November 2024 - Friday 28th March 2025

During this time, we will be open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays 10am – 4pm

We will be open all week for the UK school holidays: 13/12/2024 – 05/01/2025 (Christmas) / 14/02/2025 – 02/03/2025 (Feb half term)

It will re-open fully for the season on Friday 28th March 2025

Student Behaviour

Before your visit to Howletts or Port Lympne, please ensure your pupils are aware of the following rules:

• School children must be supervised at all times, including while in the gift shop or food outlets
• School children are not allowed on the Safari vehicles at Port Lympne without supervision
• No food or drink is permitted on the Safari at Port Lympne
• Secondary and older children are not permitted in any play areas
• Litter can harm the animals if it gets into enclosures. Please use the bins provided
• To observe the animals behaving naturally, visitors must remain quiet. Banging on windows, shouting, or imitating animal sounds will frighten the animals
• Our animals are on balanced diets to keep them healthy. Please do not feed them, as this can cause harm
• Be mindful of other visitors in the parks. Please be respectful and use appropriate language
• No ball games, scooters, bikes, skateboards, or wheeled shoes are permitted on site

We take every measure to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all our visitors.  Instances of disruptive behaviour will be immediately reported and our onsite team will take appropriate action. In extreme circumstances this can lead to whole school groups being asked to leave the premises.

We will also report poor behaviour to head teachers in writing and we reserve the right to refuse future admission to schools who have behaved in a disruptive manner during a visit.

Any replacement or repair costs due to damages caused by student behaviour will be solely the booker’s responsibility.

Cancellation & Amendments

Schools and groups can change the date of their visit up to 14 days prior to the scheduled visit date. If the new date falls within a peak period or a different calendar year, rates may be subject to change.

If you are unable to visit or need to rearrange your visit, please contact our team as soon as possible via info@howlettsandportlympne.com.

Once the invoice is confirmed and settled, tickets are non-refundable. Any balance from a reduction in numbers can be held as credit for future bookings (within 12 months).

Please contact our team to make any amendments to your numbers or timings at least 5 days prior to the arrival date.

Please note that the safari at Port Lympne and any educational talks are subject to availability and limited capacity.

What if one of our pupils go missing?

We do ask that all children under the age of 16 are supervised by an adult at all times. However, if one of your pupils does get separated from your group please contact the main office on 01303 264647 or speak to any member of staff and we will assist you.

What if someone in our group requires first aid?

We have a number of trained first aiders in the park. In the unfortunate situation you require a first aider then please contact the main office on 01303 264647 or speak to any member of staff and we will arrange a first aider to come to your location.

I have a pupil that requires a wheelchair, would this be a problem?

For those needing assistance, the park has an on-call minibus service which can transport you to any area required. Please contact any member of staff if you require assistance and this will be arranged.

Please see our accessibility page for more information.

Are we able to visit the gift shop when we visit the park?

Yes! We do ask that teachers supervise pupils in our gift shop at all times. Numbers may need to be limited if you are attending in a large group. Our staff will be happy to assist in accommodating your school group.

Is there anywhere we can eat our lunch?

There are many picnic areas in the park which are available on a first come first served basis.

Is there an option to book overnight stays for school groups?

Pinewood Camping Pods and Bear Lodge at our sister park, Port Lympne Reserve, a 30 minute drive away near Ashford, are able to facilitate residential school groups. For more information give our bookings team a call on 01303 234112 or email us at shortbreaks@portlympne.com.