Schools
Children's University structure
Children's University is run by the Children's University
(CU) Trust. It operates through more than 80 local centres,
with a further 25 in planning. Local Children's University centres
are almost always a partnership between several organisations, and
membership is managed at school level. To find your nearest local
Children's University please click here.
School membership fees and costs for children are decided by the
local Children's University but are generally based on a
contribution according to the size of the school and include a
small charge for the Passport To Learning per pupil taking
part in the scheme.
Children's University learning
Activities must take place outside the normal school day and are
always voluntary. Activities can include clubs which run before
school, during lunchtime, after school or at weekends and
during holidays. The learning is linked to Higher Education
course provision as exemplified on www.ucas.com/students/coursesearch
- in other words: if you can aspire to do a degree in it, the
Children's University wants to know!
All activities are validated/checked by local Children's
University representatives for the quality of learning they
provide. Safeguarding arrangements are always the responsibility of
the learning provider.
Once the quality of learning has been validated, the
learning provider becomes a CU validated Learning
Destination. All Children's University Learning
Destinations are required to visibly display our black and
gold Learning Destination poster and/or sticker in and
outside the learning environment and are encouraged to use the
Learning Destination logo on their literature and as well
as on their website. Click here to find a
list of public Learning Destinations near
you. Please note that CU learning activities may also be provided
at locally validated restricted Learning Destinations.
Restricted Learning Destinations are places which are not
publicly accessible, such as schools and clubs which require
membership and are thus aimed at the local CU audience alone. To
find out more about restricted Learning Destinations in
your area please contact your local Children's University centre
directly.
Recognising and rewarding participation
Participants to the Children's University use
Passports To Learning in which they record the
number of hours of completed CU validated learning
activities. Children are encouraged to progress through the CU
Certification scheme, based on the number of hours of attendance
throughout their involvement with the Children's University.
bronze, silver and gold certificates are awarded at CU
Undergraduate, CU Postgraduate and CU Doctorate levels. The
certificates are usually presented at a graduation ceremony
organised through the local Children's University. To find out more
about CU Certification, please click here.
If your school is interested in becoming part of the Children's
University, please contact your nearest local Children's University
Manager in the first instance.