The Passport to Learning…not just a book to collect stamps in!

Since the Passport to Learning was launched in Sheffield, we have known the positive impact it can have - children and young people having a dedicated place to capture and track the extra learning they undertake beyond the normal school day, their climbing credit totals, their collection of coloured stamps and stickers from Learning Destinations and of course the award certificates and badges presented to them at special award ceremonies in front of proud parents and carers.

But we also know that the Passport to Learning is even more than all that!  It opens the doors to new and exciting learning opportunities that perhaps they’d never thought of before.  Children, young people and families having the tools but more importantly, the knowledge, confidence and motivation to get out there and enjoy their new-found Learning Destinations both within and beyond Sheffield. 
 

The wider impacts of the Passport to Learning are easy to see but so difficult to capture and so we leave it to one of our parents to describe just how brilliant having a Passport to Learning has been for her children and family, and what a difference it has made...

'Getting a Passport to Learning for my oldest son (who has just turned 10) has had a lot of positive effects, not just on him but on our family. We instantly had a new enthusiasm towards finding new things to do and places to visit in order to gain credits. As I researched learning destinations, I began to put more effort into planning and found I was more willing to travel further from home, which isn't always easy using public transport with 4 children!  

Collecting credits at The Deep in Hull

I also discovered an old school friend I hadn't seen for years had passports for her children, and began to plan days out together to learning destinations/events. Since then there’s been no stopping us! We've visited places in and out of Sheffield and recently joined a local conservation group, all as a family, which we've all loved, and I've also found out about sports camps, gaming groups and a youth club that my son can attend by himself.

There have been huge positive changes in my son as a result! He was always outgoing and chatted easily to other children, but his confidence at interacting with adults has grown greatly, as has his sense of independence due to being able to attend the groups without me and his siblings,  while I can still feel safe in the knowledge that he is being supervised. He's gained an unbelievable amount of knowledge in a wide variety of subjects, and has tried so many new things (including drama, Imagination Gaming, climbing, zorbing, ice skating, dance, science experiments ) that he’s now willing to try anything! His feelings of self-belief have grown dramatically and he now approaches new tasks with enthusiasm and determination.

So far, he's managed to gain 322 credits and is incredibly proud of this! We recently received a letter inviting him to an award ceremony where he will be presented with some of the certificates he's earned... he can't wait!'