FAQs


1. What is Children’s University?
Sheffield Children’s University is part of an exciting national initiative that encourages and celebrates children and young people’s participation in a wide range of inspiring learning opportunities outside school hours. 

Activities might take place at schools who are subscribed to Sheffield Children’s University, such as breakfast clubs, lunchtime clubs, after-school and holiday activities.  Activities also take place at approved activity providers called ‘Learning Destinations’ (see question 7). 

Children and young people’s commitment to learning is celebrated by recording participation in all aspects of voluntary learning through an awards system. Once credit is awarded for each hour of learning that takes place. These are then converted into awards:
  • Bronze (30 hours)
  • Silver (65 hours)
  • Gold (100 hours)
…and these continue right up to 1000 hours!

2. What are the benefits of being part of Sheffield Children’s University?
Children and young people receive up to 30 different certificates and badges which they love!  Gold awards are presented at special ceremonies at the Town Hall or universities to which a parent/carer is also invited. With each award children and young people receive from Sheffield CU, they receive a report which outlines their activities and accounts for each hour they have spent learning out of school. This report can become part of their record of achievement and evidences the learning they have taken part in out of school hours, which can be important when they begin to apply to further education or seek employment.

Also, national research shows a clear link between participation in study support activities and academic progress due to increased self-esteem and confidence.  Research in Sheffield shows that children and young people who take part in out of school CU activities achieve better at both KS2 and KS4 and exceed their estimated results, whereas Non CU pupils do not meet their estimates. 

3. How old do you have to be to collect Children’s University credits?
In Sheffield, children can start collecting credits either through school and/or through their Passport to Learning (see question 6) as soon as they reach school age, i.e. 4/5 years old.  We’ll keep awarding credits until they reach 19.

4. I don’t know if my child’s school is signed up to Sheffield Children’s University.  How can I find out?
There is a list of Sheffield schools which have subscribed to us for this academic year.  It can be found on our website: www.sheffield.gov.uk/cu.  Go and ask in school.  If they aren’t subscribed to us, it may be for a number of reasons.  It may be that they don’t know about us and the wonderful benefits Children’s University brings to children and young people – so please tell them!  If your child’s school is not subscribed, they can still earn credits through a Passport to Learning (see question 6). 

5. When and how will my child get their certificate and badge?
Once a pupil reaches a Bronze (30 hours) or Silver (65 hours) Award, their certificate and badge will be prepared.  However, it does take a little time for schools and Learning Destinations to get their registers to us, and for us to then process the data and find out who has reached an award.  So, while we get the award certificates and badges prepared as soon as we can, there will always be a short delay. 

If your child’s school is subscribed to Sheffield Children’s University, their Bronze and Silver awards will be sent into school to be presented in an assembly, etc.  If their school is not subscribed, then their Bronze and Silver certificates will be posted out to them at home. 

When a pupil reaches a Gold (100 hours) award, they will be invited to attend an awards ceremony with a parent/carer to be presented with their awards.  These are usually held at the Town Hall or either Sheffield Hallam University or the University of Sheffield

6. What is a Passport to Learning and how and where can I get one from?
The Passport to Learning is a small, black booklet (it looks like a real passport!) that children and young people use to collect the credits they receive from taking part in activities at Learning Destinations (see question 7).  It is their own record of what out-of-hours learning they have taken part in, where it happened and for how long.  There is also a consent sticker in the front which MUST be signed by a parent/carer BEFORE the child takes part in activities.  This gives their permission for information about their child and their activities to be collected by the Learning Destination and shared with the Sheffield Children’s University Team.  Without this consent, we cannot collect information about what activities they have done, and we would be unable to award them their certificates and badges.

Passports to Learning can be bought for £2 each from any local Sheffield library and also from some Learning Destinations. 

7. What is a Learning Destination?
This is the name we use to refer to activity providers across the city who are signed up to Sheffield Children’s University, where children and young people can earn credits for taking part in learning activities.  To make sure that these providers are of good quality, they go through a process with us where we check that their staff have CRB checks, and that they have policies in place to keep children and young people safe.  We also check that their activities are ones where children and young people will learn in a structured way.

Therefore, not EVERY activity provider in the city can award credits to children and young people, only the ones which have been checked out by us and are official ‘Learning Destinations’.  The list of Learning Destinations grows all the time – visit our website for their details, www.sheffield.gov.uk/cu

In order for your child's credits to be included, every Learning Destination MUST transfer your child's information (name, school, date of birth, number of hours) to an attendance register. This information is then sent to us, so we can add the credits to our database. If we don't receive a register, we can not award credits.

8. Does my child need to get their Passport to Learning stamped at school activities?
No.  If the school is subscribed to Sheffield Children’s University, then the school will send us their registers from the activities that they run.  You don’t need to use the passport at school-run activities. 

If your school is not signed up to Children's University, you will not be able to collect credits at school activities, even with your Passport to Learning.

9. My son/daughter goes to a Scout group/football club/dancing classes etc.  Can they get credits from there?
Firstly, your child will need a Passport to Learning to collect credits from Learning Destinations when they take part in activities.  These are available from any local Sheffield library for £2. 

Secondly, if the organisation is signed up to Sheffield Children’s University as a Learning Destination, then yes, your child can collect credits in their Passport to Learning.  If the organisation is not signed up (check out our ever-growing list online, www.sheffield.gov.uk/cu) then they cannot collect credits from this provider.  However, if you let us know the contact details of the provider/organisation, we can contact them and invite them to join Sheffield Children’s University, which is free!  Also, please tell the organisations about us and what we do and ask them to contact us! (email: cu@sheffield.gov.uk, tel: 0114 203 9134)

10. My child has lost their Passport to Learning.  What do we need to do?
Don’t panic!  We ask the Learning Destinations to send us the registers which will show which activities your son/daughter has attended, when and for how long, so we should still know how many credits to award and they won’t lose any.  Just go along to your local library and buy another Passport to Learning (£2 each) and start collecting your stamps again. 

11. We live just outside of Sheffield.  Will my child still get their award certificates and badges from Sheffield Children’s University?  Can we still collect credits from activities in Sheffield?
If your child attends a school which is within the boundary of Sheffield, then yes, Sheffield Children’s University will track their credits and award them with their certificates and badges.  If they go to a school beyond the Sheffield boundary, then there are other local Children’s University branches which will need to track and award your child with their certificates and badges.  Have a look on the national Children’s University website for other local Children’s Universities (www.childrensuniversity.co.uk/local-cus).  Contact them and find out how they work.

Children and young people who have a Passport to Learning can visit Learning Destinations across the country, and gain credits for their learning there too.  There is a list of Learning Destinations for the whole country (and beyond!) on the national Children’s University website (www.childrensuniversity.co.uk/maps).  If you do visit a Learning Destination beyond Sheffield, please remember to get your Passport to Learning stamped and then complete a ‘My Learning Destination Visit Diary’ sheet and send it into us (can be downloaded from www.sheffield.gov.uk/cu).  We’ll then award your credits!

12. How do I find out about CU activities?
If your child goes to a CU subscribed school, you can find out about activities by asking in school, or looking at the school noticeboard. Most schools will have activities that happen after school and in the holidays, but some schools also have activities happening at breakfast, and lunch where your child can also collect credits.

If your child has a Passport to Learning, the best place to find out about Learning Destinations and activities is our website www.sheffield.gov.uk/cu. Here you will find a list of all the Learning Destinations across the city, and the Passport Activity Newsletter which is produced for every school holiday and lists details of all activities happening where children and young people can collect credits. You can also find information on our blog: www.sheffieldcu.blogspot.com and follow us on Twitter (@SheffieldCU). If you would like to receive the Passport Activity Newsletter directly before each holiday, please contact us with your email address and you can be added to our distribution list.


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