New CU Online system
The summer break has been a busy one for everyone in
Children’s University as the CU Trust have launched their brand new web
platform, 'CU Online'. There are lots of new elements to the platform including
an ability for local CUs to use it to track their children’s CU credits. However, we won’t be using this facility in
Sheffield because we’ve have
had our own database for years that is already tracking around 3 million
credits earned by around 45,000 children!
As you can probably imagine, it’s not easy to unpick that and we don’t
want children losing credits in the process! However we will be exploring ways
in which we can link closely or start to utilise the system over time.
Find a Learning Destination
But, the really good element of CU Online
which we WILL be using, is the search facility to find Learning Destinations. Previously, the ‘Children’s University App’ enabled families
to search for Learning Destinations up and down the country – perfect for
planning your breaks or holidays away. But, much of the information was out of
date and some of the Learning Destinations on there we no longer operating. So,
CU Trust took the opportunity to refresh the whole system. We’re always committed to ensuring the
information we provide is accurate, and that the learning that takes place at
the CU Learning Destinations is good quality.
We also wanted to make sure that all of those organisations are aware of
their own commitments to CU and that they share our aims and objectives – why
we do what we do!
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| What the Children's University home page looks like |
The App is no longer in use but instead you can find all the
info you need for all things CU in one place – www.childrensuniversity.co.uk. You can find contact details for all the local CUs (including ours), the
background to CU, why it’s important and the difference it makes. And
importantly, this is where you will find all the details of the CURRENT
Learning Destinations where you can collect your CU credits in your Passport to
Learning – just click on the ‘find an activity in your area’ in the middle of
the screen.
Learning Destinations across the UK
If you’re planning a day-trip, short break or holiday in the
UK, have a look at the Learning Destinations near your location. Don’t forget,
if you take part in their activities (as they’ve detailed them on the website),
you’ll need to get your Passport to Learning signed AND to claim your credits
from us, you’ll need to complete and send in a Passport Activity Diary Sheet
(which you can download from our website). For activities completed
from 1st September 2019, we will only award CU credits earned at
Learning Destinations beyond Sheffield that are live on the new CU Online
system.
Check your Learning Destinations are still validated
Each local CU is responsible for validating each of their
local Learning Destinations. We’ve been
doing this throughout the summer here in Sheffield which has resulted in some Learning
Destinations being de-validated. This might be because they’re no longer
operating, or perhaps because they’ve not been sending in their CU registers to
us regularly enough over the last 12 months or so, risking children losing
their CU credits. Others are in the process of re-validating so that we can
refresh their information once again. There are also some brand new
organisations joining us, so keep an eye on the CU Trust webpages for updated
information. As we complete the process, more and more Sheffield Learning
Destinations will appear on the new pages, so bear with us - we’ve had over 200
to work through!
Receive our parent/carer newsletter for a regularly updated list
As always, the most up to date list of current SHEFFIELD
Learning Destinations (from Weds 25th Sept 19) can be found on our website and it is always
included at the back of our Passport Activity Newsletters which are published
just before every school holiday (except Christmas). If you’d like to receive this newsletter
direct to your inbox, just email CU@sheffield.gov.uk
with your email address and we’ll add you to our parent/carer mailing list.
So, do have a look at our local list of Learning Destinations to check yours is still there. If not, this means that you can no longer
collect CU credits in your Passport to Learning. It might be that they’re in
the process of re-validating (you’ll be able to collect credits again, as soon
as they do) so it’s worth talking to them to check.
As always, we welcome new activity providers so if you know
of one in Sheffield that isn’t already a Learning Destination, then you can nominate
them by emailing their details to CU@sheffield.gov.uk
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