A message from Penny

On my last day with Sheffield City Council, I would like to say thank you for my cake, the flowers, my certificate and goodbye gifts, and most of all for eight amazing years working with wonderful people to grow the Children's University. It is a dream that has come true thanks to those who have joined forces with us to celebrate out of school hours learning and to try and ensure that allchildren experience the pleasure and satisfaction of investing their own time in developing skills that will lead to a lifelong passion for learning. There are now over 15,000 children in Sheffield who are involved in the Children's University, who have received certificates and badges and who are building their own impressive portfolios of achievement.  There is a brilliant team in Sheffield City Council spreading the message that learning is wonderful,  learning is fun. As well as Katie, Helen, Toby and Mark from the Extended Learning Team there are hundreds of other colleagues in the City Council, in schools, voluntary and independent organisations, linking into Children's University and working hard to create the best possible opportunities for children and young people. I am sure that in another thirty years or so we will be celebrating 50 years of a national Children's University that it is as widely known and valued as is the Open University.  CU is a university without walls, the first step to lifelong learning. And in Sheffield it shines.  Thank you and good luck.  Penny

Celebrate!

A fantastic panoramic view from our very recent awards ceremony... Some excited and proud parents, carers and children in the audience, anxiously awaiting news of which award they are due to receive!

Thanks to our fab photographer Mark for all his hard work!

Top tips!

Participation in out of school activities helps children success at school.


It's easy to get involved. Here are our 5 top tips on how to engage your child with CU.


1. Visit our website to find out if your child’s school is registered. Encourage your child to take up opportunities offered by the school and to attend regularly.


2. To collect extra credits, buy a Passport to Learning at a library for £2 and sign the front page so your child can collect credits at Learning Destinations


3. Encourage your child to join in other activities in your area


4. Recommend good organisations to us if they are not already CU Learning Destinations


5. Come along to the CU ceremonies when invited and celebrate your child’s success! 

Roll out the red carpet...

Awards season is now upon us in Sheffield! Our primary ceremony takes place on Wednesday 14 March at Sheffield Town Hall, and there are over 100 children invited along with their parents/carers to receive their Gold Awards. That's over 100 hours of giving up their own time to learn something new, which is something to be very proud of.


Collectively these children have managed to clock up a staggering 15,390 hours taking part in a wide range of activities, both at school and in our growing number of Learning Destinations across the city. From singing songs in the woodland, to learning how to juggle in the circus, to finding out how to take care of animals at Heeley City Farm, to learning how to speak arabic on a Saturday morning, the children invited to attend will be celebrated for their huge commitment to learning with National Award certificates and special Sheffield CU badges.


Our secondary students will also be celebrated in April when we hold our prestigious secondary awards ceremony in the fantastic Pennine Lecture Theatre at Sheffield Hallam University. 


This spells a very busy time at Sheffield CU HQ as we organise the ceremonies, send out the invitations and prepare all the awards for the children and young people. However busy it seems though, it is undoubtedly the best part of the job. We can't wait to see you at the ceremony!