Enrolling your child with Children’s University

I first came across the Children’s University, which is for 5-14 year olds, when my eldest was at school. I duly paid the money for the ‘passport’ and then did nothing else. The school, short of giving out the passports didn’t appear to do much else, and I didn’t look into it further so did nothing with it.

I then came across it again when Bee was with her first karate school. Her school were not part of the scheme so I emailed Children’s University and was told we could join the virtual school. It seemed like too much effort, completing forms and going to collect the passport from the local learning destination that I didn’t bother. However our interest arose again when her current karate school also decided to join the scheme. I did my research to see what exactly was involved and decided it was something that Bee would enjoy being part of. So I completed the forms, collected the passport and paid the £6.

What is Children’s University?

Children’s University is a charity that works in partnership with schools to develop a love of learning in children

Children’s University is all about encouraging children to join extra curricular activities, whether this is activities within school or outside of school.

It is so easy in this technology era for children to simply go to school, and then spend time on their electronics after school and in the holidays. Children’s University will help get children doing more activities with the goal of achieving their ‘graduation’. Childrens University isn’t just about encouraging children to participate, but is about rewarding their participation.

Extra curricular activities are so beneficial in a number of ways. They can help improve a child’s confidence and social skills as they will likely be taking part in activities with other children they may not necessarily know. The activities can also help teach life skills.

How Does it Work

If you complete an event/class at one of Children’s University’s approved learning destinations then you have to get them to sign the book stating the hours you have done. They also usually have an online code which you can then input on the website once you have logged in.

The online system will show you how many hours you have done and how many you need until your next award.

In addition to this there are also numerous online badges you can collect:

What Can You Achieve?

The aim is to be rewarded with your certificates. There are a number of levels:

• Children’s University Undergraduate Level (30-400 hours)
• Children’s University Postgraduate Level (430-800 hours)
• Children’s University Doctorate Level (830 to 1000 hours)

And the biggest reward is being able to attend their own graduation ceremony!

To gain extra hours, the virtual school send out holiday sheets with simple activities the children can do. In addition to this they also hold events just for Childrens University members.

How Can You Join?

Firstly find out if your school is part of the scheme. If they are not, it may be worth asking them if they would be interested in enrolling with Children’s University. Alternatively, if your school aren’t part of the scheme then you can join the Virtual School. You can find out more via their website: Children’s University. You can also do a search to see what local activities your child could take part in.

In addition to this, if your child does an activity that is not enrolled with the Children’s University, then why not speak to them about signing up?