Parent & Carer Guide
Inspiring children to discover their potential
Introduction
We are delighted that your child has become a member of the Selby Children’s University. We have provided the following information to help you and your child get the most from their involvement. It is important to remember that participation in Learning Activities must be voluntary, take place outside the normal school day or at a validated Learning Destination.
We have compiled our most frequently asked questions to help you, but if in doubt please contact your school in the first instance, or one of our team. Our contact details are on the back page.
What is the Children’s University?
The Children’s University is a charitable trust who aims to develop a love of learning in children. We do this by encouraging and celebrating the participation of 5-14 year olds in extra-curricular activities in and outside of school.
Children are given a Passport to Learning in which they collect stamp codes for each activity they participate in at Learning Destinations.
Learning Destinations are the activity providers we work with and can include after school clubs, museums and galleries, sports clubs, community groups, plus many more.
Stamp codes are uploaded to our digital platform where you can unlock additional information about the activities taken part in.
Children receive a certificate of award upon reaching certain thresholds:
• Bronze Award = 30 hours
• Silver Award = 65 hours
• Gold Award = 100 hours
The certificates follow these increments up to 1000 hours, meaning there are 30 certificates to collect in total. A full breakdown of the thresholds and certificates can be found in the front of the Passport to Learning.
Those who reach one of the various Gold levels throughout the year will be invited to the annual Graduation ceremony. The ceremony celebrates these achievements and children wear a traditional cap and gown while being presented with a certificate in front of their family and friends.
The Children’s University aims to:
• Increase the number of ‘beyond the classroom’ opportunities for children aged 5 and above
• Break down barriers to ‘beyond the classroom’ opportunities for children facing disadvantage
• Provide participants with increased levels of curiosity, confidence and resilience to help them realise their aspirations
• Recognise and celebrate continuing participation, creating a sense of achievement and success
• Build partnerships that enables us to provide more opportunities to more children
CU Online
What is CU Online?
Children’s University Online is a fun, safe and secure online space to record what your child is doing as part of the Children’s University. You can use this alongside the Passport - simply collect stamp codes in the Passport and enter them online to add Learning Hours.
The codes are unique to each activity and will show you the interests and skills your child is developing by taking part.
Each child will have their own dashboard which will help them see how they’re progressing towards the next award level. There are also online-only exclusive badges that can be collected between graduations.
How do I get a stamp code?
Your child’s school will issue a stamp code for any after school clubs your child attends. They may do this on a half termly basis. For visits to Learning Destinations, the activity provider will issue this and write it in the Passport.
How often do you check the Passport to Learning?
Selby CU will request your online account to be fully updated approximately 4 times a year in order for us to confirm your child’s Learning Hours total.
Certificates will be issued once Learning Hours have been updated. If your child is an Individual Member, you will be contacted by post/email when the update is due.
Activities
How do I recommend an activity?
We are always on the lookout for new Learning Destinations. They can sign up directly by visiting the CU website. We will then be in touch to complete the validation.
www.childrensuniversity.co.uk/get-involved/learning-providers/
Who decides how much time to include for each activity?
During the validation process, we discuss how many Learning Hours to allocate to each activity. Our key principle is that the hours included relate to learning within an activity and will not necessarily include the whole session. For example, a youth club meeting lasting 2 hours may only be eligible for 1 hour recorded in the Passport, as some of the session may be given over to socialising. While this is an important part of the session, it is not a formal learning experience.
How do I support my child to include a range of activities?
We want to encourage children to try new activities and experiences. Within each award level we would like to see a mix of activities with no more than 15 hours per term, or 45 hours per year of one single activity counting towards a CU award.
Learning Hours awarded at Scouting/Guiding groups can be included for badgework and visits only. Any camps can be included up to a maximum of 6 hours per day.
Residentials/sleepovers can be included provided learning is taking place and up to a maximum of 6 hours per day.
Please do not include time spent sleeping, travelling or lunch breaks as these do not form part of the formal learning we validate. The above follows the guidelines set by the CU Trust.
What other activities are there?
There are many Learning Destinations across Selby which do not require membership to attend, in addition to the regular clubs and after school clubs your child may attend. These can range from museums and libraries to pottery painting and forest schools and everything in between! You can find a full list on our website.
In addition, Selby CU produces a challenge sheet for every school holiday. The challenges are free/low cost and can be done at home. These are sent to schools and are also posted on our social media. We require evidence of completion and all details are on the challenge sheets.
Selby College also runs regular events for our CU members. Keep an eye on your school’s newsletter and our social media for any upcoming events.
Can we use the Passport to Learning outside of Selby?
Yes! The Children’s University has validated Learning Destinations across the country. You can check before you travel on the CU Trust website.
In addition, there are a number of national Learning Destinations, some of which provide online activities. All of these can be found on the CU Trust website.
CU Online - FAQ’s
We’ve included some FAQ’s below to help you with the CU Online system. We hope you enjoy using this alongside the paper Passport to Learning but if you do have any questions or queries, please let us know and we’ll do our best to help.
How do I login?
Go to www.childrensuniversity.co.uk and click on ‘Login’ at the top right. Choose to ‘Login as a child’ and use the username and password given to you.
When you first log in you will be asked to set a new password. This will be your password from then on. You can also add a parent/carer email address which you can use in case of a forgotten password.
What can I do when
I’ve logged in?
You can add a new stamp from a completed activity by clicking the Blue ‘Record an activity’ You can also see the skills your child is developing and the categories of learning that they’re doing the most. There are also online badges to collect.
Inputting a stamp code
Record an activity
If you receive a stamp code from an activity, you can add this online by selecting the colour and the 4 numbers. This will then be added to your total hours and will show on your online account.
The activity didn’t give me a stamp code
• If you do an activity that is part of Children’s University, but they don’t have a stamp code, just collect a staff signature/stamp and send a picture of it in your Passport to Learning to childrensuniversity@heartofyorkshire.ac.uk we can then issue you the correct code or add the hours on for you.
• If you do an activity that is not part of Children’s University, ask them to register their activity online. If they go to www.childrensuniversity.co.uk and follow the instructions for Learning Providers, they can get started. Once they sign up, you can start collecting stamp codes for taking part in activities there. We also have postcards available which you can take to activities to ask them to sign up. These have a QR code which directs them to the form. Ask in school for a post card or email us and we can post you some out.
• If you don’t have a code and the activity provider hasn’t signed up, you can still add on learning hours. Go to ‘Record an activity’ and select ‘No’ when asked if you have a stamp code. You can add 1-3 hours by completing a short form to tell us what you have learnt.
• This can also be used when you are learning and gaining skills at home. We love hearing about what you have been learning! This could be learning to code, learning a new language or BSL, trying a new recipe, visiting the zoo and learning about animals and so much more!
Let’s start adding your activity.
Have you already been given a stamp code for this activity? This will be a colour and four numbers.
Record
I’ve forgotten/lost my stamp code
If you have completed an activity but don’t know the stamp code, simply click on the ‘Record an activity’ button, then click ‘No’ when prompted. This will allow you to submit information about the activity you completed – where was it? When did you do it? What did you learn? This will then record your activity on your Learning Log.
How many hours have I achieved so far?
At the bottom of the dashboard, you can find the total number of hours so far. If you are a new member, this will be 0. If you are an existing member, this will show the last total we had for you. You can also see how many Learning Hours you need to achieve to be awarded the next certificate.
How can I find activities in my local area?
You can use the ‘Find an activity’ button at the top of your dashboard which takes you to the search page. Here you can search by location or name, meaning if you are travelling outside of Selby, you can find Learning Destinations across the country.
I can’t find the activities I usually take part in
If there are regular activities that you attend (dance groups, brownies, scouts, football club etc.) but you can’t find them online, they may not be a validated Learning Destination. Ask your activity provider to go to www.childrensuniversity.co.uk and fill out the short form under ‘Learning Providers’, or you can ask them to get in touch with us directly using the details below.
How do I find my after-school clubs?
If you attend a CU school, you will find a list of activities at the bottom of your dashboard. Your school will decide the number of Learning hours awarded, as each club or activity will be different.
Contact Us
If you still need help, please feel free to contact us;
Selby Children’s University
Castleford College
Thunderhead Ridge
Castleford WF10 4UA
Tel: 01924 789746
Email: childrensuniversity@heartofyorkshire.ac.uk
Facebook: /cuatselbycollege
Twitter: @CUSelby
Web: www.heartofyorkshire.ac.uk/schools/childrens-university
Web: www.childrensuniversity.co.uk