Children’s University (CU) is all about rewarding children
and young people for choosing to take part in extra learning in their own time
both in and around school, and away from school too!
Our Sheffield CU records show us that children and young
people with a Passport to Learning are taking part in extra learning all the
time, from swimming lessons and dancing classes, to sports coaching, music
lessons, arts and crafts, and outdoor activities. We now have almost 200 different Learning
Destinations here in Sheffield, awarding CU credits for participating in their
learning activities.
However, we are increasingly seeing evidence of families
visiting Learning Destinations beyond Sheffield which is fantastic. Of course, the guidance applies to activities
at Learning Destinations across the country, as they do in Sheffield.
To be eligible for CU credits, an activity MUST be focussed
on learning and we want to ensure you are squeezing every little last bit out of your trip! While you’re visiting, why not look for extra
learning opportunities such as trails, quizzes, expert talks and ask your child
about them afterwards? You could teach your
child to navigate round the attraction using a map, and perhaps even do some
further research about something you’ve learned when you get home? There are so many opportunities to learn all
around us and our research shows that all that extra learning really can make a
difference to your child’s progress and achievement back in school. We want to
encourage all our CU families to develop their learning through the activities
and visits they take part in and for parents/carers to look for ways in which
they can help their children get the most out of these fantastic experiences.
To ensure we are fair and consistent in the CU credits we
award for these activities, we will only award CU credits for the time spent
taking part in learning activities, rather than the amount of time they spend visiting.
Although valuable, time spent taking part in free play (i.e. not more focussed
learning) as well as eating lunch, waiting in queues, visiting the toilets and
the obligatory gift shops are not considered CU activity. We have amended our
Diary Sheet to help you record your learning time more clearly.
There are Learning Destinations as far north as Scotland and
as far south as the southern tip of Cornwall, so plenty to choose from. If you’re going on holiday in the UK, then
why not pack your Passport to Learning and visit a local Learning Destination
while you’re there? You can find all UK
Learning Destinations on the CU Trust website: www.childrensuniversity.co.uk
But remember, so that we can award your CU credits when you
return home, we need your child to complete and return a Passport Activity
Diary Sheet which can be downloaded by clicking HERE or on the link to the right of this post. Without a Diary Sheet, we are unable to award
your child’s CU credits, and they can ONLY be collected at Learning
Destinations on the CU Trust website.
We love reading about all your adventures at Learning
Destinations across the country, and look forward to reading many more in the
coming weeks and months.
