A Day in the Life of a Learning Assistant

In the first of a new series, our Learning Team talk about their work educating the youth of today about the story of the Mary Rose

"I’m Tarn, I’ve been a Learning Assistant with Mary Rose Learning since January 2022 as a job share. I love my job and thought I would share what sort of things we do! We make sessions fun as well as educational and work alongside a wonderful team of staff and volunteers. Some of them even dress in Tudor costumes which the children love."

The Mary Rose is a very popular choice for schools both in the local area and further afield. We have had over 2,500 pupils this year in our Learning Centre already! Some of our local schools have been selected for the All Aboard Access Fund, which offers a free visit and a workshop for schools in deprived areas. Many of the pupils have never visited a museum before. They have all had a fantastic day with us - according to what they tell us in their feedback!

I love presenting all the workshops. A favourite is how to load the gun on a Tudor warship - something you definitely can’t do in school! The loud bang at the end often catches our other visitors unawares. Pupils ask some amazing questions so I have had to do my own homework! All the workshops offer a ‘hands on’ approach so the children can handle real and replica artefacts and dress up in Tudor clothes. We have had some fantastic photographs sent in by schools!

We welcome pupils with special educational needs and are able to adapt all our workshops to suit individual and extra needs. My background is in special educational needs and I appreciate being able to use my skills to help develop this area further.

We meet the school at the front of the museum when they arrive and work with teachers to make sure they get the most out of their visit. Schools visiting from a distance can sometimes be very late and we rearrange their program accordingly; you have to be ready for anything in this job!

Apart from generally having fun during the sessions, we try to link the Mary Rose story to the way we live our lives today. Looking at the Mary Rose crew and how they worked helps pupils understand the value of teamwork. We also mix science and history - pupils are often surprised to learn from DNA and skeletal evidence how much diversity there was on board the Mary Rose.

I'm looking forward to a busy summer term at the museum!

Learning at the Mary Rose

Our busy Learning Department provides learning opportunities for all ages and abilities in the purpose-built Stavros Niarchos Foundation Learning Centre classroom and laboratory. School visits, CPD for teachers, family learning and more!

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