The Canterbury Tales Spook Academy gives Our Kent Family a frighteningly fun time

Hubble bubble, toil and trouble...and that's just the thought of small children on their half term break surely?

That said, the October half term holiday despite the distinctly cooler unsettled weather (so long summer!) is often packed full of activities to keep little people amused.

With autumn in full swing so many Kent attractions are running woodland walks, autumnal crafts, bug and creature hunting, scarecrow trails, not to mention Halloween-related events.

Now Halloween can often be a tricky balancing act when you have small children.

They see the decorations in the shops, they quite fancy a costume, they're desperate to pick and carve a pumpkin and they look forward to the potential for trick or treaters at the door.

And if you can excuse the shameful gender/age stereotype for a moment - Oscar being the oldest and possibly a typical six-year-old boy - wants to see skeletons hanging from the ceiling, scary spiders and other insects a plenty, severed fingers and fake hands under door frames and of course a hefty dose of dripping fake blood.

He loves anything that makes you jump or triggers a scary noise and a wander through the Halloween aisle of a supermarket or department store where he can awake from the dead every graveyard/skeleton/creepy hand/vampire decoration is considered a worthwhile afternoon outing that leaves him howling with laughter.

And then there is my little Liv.

She's now four, developing a bit of a squeamish side and on occasions is all mouth and no trousers - or witch's frock - when it comes to Halloween.

And while she talks a good game, the first person to knock at the door with a marginally scary outfit or the first fake spider to land on her head courtesy of her big brother and it's all off.

So in an attempt to strike a (very) fine Halloween balance, this pair of horrors and their friends enrolled in The Canterbury Tales's Spooky Academy for a spot of harmless broomstick training, potion making, truth or trick games and scare training at ghoul school.

We'd already been to the attraction's Medieval Garden for Knight School in the summer so we had high expectations and it certainly didn't fail to disappoint.

It's good, clean, tame, educational, friendly Halloween fun for all ages.

(And your enrollment also includes a ticket to the Canterbury Tales attraction itself).

My little tribe of witches and skeletons got a science lesson in potion-making class where they were able to make their own pot of slime to take home, had a go at riding a broomstick and a bit of fun at making their best scare noises.

As big fans of Horrible Histories they also enjoyed a historical true/false game based on the more gruesome facts of The Plague, which came complete with their own magic boards on which to write the answers in true quiz panel style that they were allowed to bring away with them.

Each academy pupil gets a report card - in which they can collect stickers for each lesson they pass - and the term finishes in true spooky school style with a graduation photo where they were able to don props and have their photo taken.

Oh - and fancy dress is really encouraged. Which if you don't embark on trick or treating - gives them a good excuse to get some use out of the costume they inevitably persuaded you into buying while simultaneously numbing your senses with the setting-off of 60 shrieking skeletons on a supermarket shelf.

Or is that really just Oscar?

Spook Academy was great fun and more importantly appealed to all of them - the bold, the brave, the squeamish and the not-so squeamish.

For details on how to enrol your children in Spook Academy visit The Canterbury Tales website.

For anyone on the lookout for more Halloween fun in Kent - click here for a list of spooky Kent events.

Or for more gentle autumnal fun check out our October half term picks and suggestions.