Millie's Passport Adventures!

Our lovely Millie has been out and about with her Passport to Learning all summer and has been having lots of fun collecting CU credits both in and outside of Sheffield!

She has met the Gruffalo in both Sherwood AND Dalby Forest, had fun pond dipping and taking part in a barefoot walk at Conkers, been on a bear hunt at the Botanical Gardens, met Victor the polar bear, the newest addition to Yorkshire Wildlife Park and travelled to London to meet the Queen (although unfortunately she was on holiday!). She will soon receive a Bronze Award for all the hours she has collected, and we can't wait to celebrate her achievements!

To all those fantastic children and young people who have been sending in photos for our summer competitions showing the credits they have gained both in and outside of Sheffield, just like Millie - thank you! The closing date is for submission is Monday 1st September, so please ensure you send any photos in over the weekend to be in with a chance of winning some CU goodies. Stay tuned for all the entries which will be posted here soon!

Calling all Parent/Carers...!

If you and your children have been busy taking part in activities at Learning Destinations outside of Sheffield, please fill in a Learning Destination Diary Sheet so their credits can be included. This is incredibly important, as its the only way we know where you have been, and how many credits to add in!

To ensure they can be included in the next round of awards, which will be issued in October/November, please send all diary sheets into us by 1st September 2014. Please note we cannot guarantee that any sheets received after this date will be input in time for the Autumn ceremonies. You can find the diary sheet by clicking the link of the right hand side of the page.

Also if your child attends an activity at one of our Sheffield Learning Destinations, please remind the activity leader to send in their registers by the 1st September too! Thank you!

The Golden Rules - Passport to Learning

If you have your Passport to Learning and are busy taking part in lots of fun activities this summer, don't forget the golden rules to make sure your credits count!

1. Learning Destination - the Passport to Learning can only be used at activities that take place at CU approved activity providers. Visit http://bit.ly/1AaKfav for a full list! If someone is not on the list, tell them about us, and us about them!

2. Consent sticker - make sure the consent sticker is signed by a parent/carer before you take your Passport to any Learning Destination

3. Register - your name MUST be put on a register at a Learning Destination in Sheffield. They send it to us, and without it, we can't award your credits!

4. Diary Sheet - if you visit a Learning Destination beyond Sheffield you need to complete and return a diary sheet and we'll know to award your credits. You can download one here: www.sheffield.gov.uk/cu

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact the team by emailing cu@sheffield.gov.uk

Evidencing the impact of CU in Sheffield

Any school, or Learning Destination will tell you that being part of CU and being celebrated and rewarded for taking part in out of school activities makes a difference.

Here in Sheffield, we do lots of work looking at the impact of participation in these activities, through lots of data analysis, but also through case studies and anecdotal evidence collected from schools, providers, parents and the children themselves. For the first time we will publish a complete report which outlines the real difference being part of CU in Sheffield can make.

This will be our most detailed report to date and includes in depth analysis of the impact of participation in CU activities on attainment and attendance, using a variety of measures including progress and Fischer Family Trust estimates. Impact of the most vulnerable children and young people in our city is also examined.

This report will be published VERY soon, but in the meantime, here is a sneak peek at the front cover which is hot off the press! We can't wait for you to see it!

Sheffield CU Summer Competition!

Don't forget about our 2 summer competitions and be in the running to receive an extra special Sheffield CU goodie bag!

Competition 1: Take a photo of you with your Passport to Learning at any Learning Destination outside of Sheffield and email it into us, telling us where you were (CU@sheffield.gov.uk) no later than Friday 5th September 2014 and the best photo will win a Sheffield CU goodie bag!

Competition 2: Whose Passport to Learning will travel the furthest? Whoever sends us their photo from the Learning Destination furthest from our office in Sheffield, will win a Sheffield CU goodie bag!

We have already received some fantastic photos - send yours in as soon as you can!

*please note: the photo must not contain images of anyone else (even in the background) and by emailing it into us, you agree to it being used for promotional purposes both in publications and on the internet.