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The 2012 Kent Children's University Awards Event will be taking place on 6 July at The University of Greenwich Medway Campus. This prize-giving event is open to all children who have completed over 100 hours of learning with the scheme. If your child has achieved this, or they will achieve it by 6 July, please make sure you contact us and reserve your place. All participants receive their gold award, a photo-opportunity, a guided tour of the campus and a free buffet. Places are limited so please book your place early and celebrate your graduation from Kent Children's University. Please email kcu@kent.gov.uk. View some of last year's winners.

Key Stage 1 Pilot Scheme

Due to the requests from a significant number of parents we have launched a trial Learning Destinations scheme for children aged 5-7. This works in a similar way to the traditional Learning Destinations scheme, but also awards local certificates for 10 and 20 credits respectively. Credits earned can be transferred to the standard CU scheme when children turn 7. The pilot project is running with 6 infant schools for 6 months. After this time demand for the scheme will be evaluated. To find out more please email kcu@kent.gov.uk

Gold Partners

We are delighted to announce that some of the top attractions in the county have decided to become KCU Gold Partners. Each of these venues have become fully affiliated with KCU and offer a high-quality learning experience for participants. They are keen to promote their venues for both school visits and family days out in the holidays.

My Kent Big Weekend

Working in partnership with Visit Kent we are pleased to promote My Kent Big Weekend.
Kent is the Garden of England and for one weekend in 2012 we want to give local people an opportunity to enjoy all that it has to offer. Experience new attractions, discover hidden treasures, and explore different places. Apply for My Kent Big Weekend tickets and you could get a chance to rediscover just how much there is to see and do in your back garden.

Many of the venues taking part in this exciting initiative are Learning Destinations, so why not go to their website and see which ones you might like to gain your next CU credit at?

Kent Children's University is delighted to announce we now have a Patron. Cheryl Baker, from TV, radio and formerly of Bucks Fizz has kindly offered to promote the scheme on our behalf.

Despite being very busy she has agreed to work with us because she understands the benefits that our scheme offers to young people and their families.

Cheryl said, "I understand the importance of helping children to see that learning can take place both in and out of the classroom. It’s for this reason I’m delighted to become the Patron of Kent Children’s University as, through their Learning Destinations project, they are giving children in Kent the chance to visit a range of local attractions and discover that learning is fun.

Schemes like KCU not only help boost attainment, but help with attendance, attitudes to learning and, perhaps most importantly, give the children self-confidence. These days confidence in your own abilities is so important, for everyone.

From what I’ve heard about KCU, it is clear that children, of all ability levels, can gain much from participating. It’s nice to see that, in these more difficult economic times, the scheme is working with not only the tourist attractions but after-school-clubs too. Making it something everyone can take part in."

We have invited Cheryl along to our annual award event, for gold certificate winners, in July. We hope she will be able to attend and present the certificates if she doesn't have any other commitments.

Guy Bartlett, KCU Manager, said, "The scheme is growing all the time. We have recently added the Shepherd Neame Brewery and the Faversham Heritage Society as new destinations. Having someone like Cheryl on board is the icing on the cake as it will help promote the benefits and impact of our work with the young people who participate. Schools should get in touch and affiliate to us. The process is straight-forward and the costs are minimal."

The Learning Destinations Scheme has under-gone a makeover! From September 2011 the affiliation process has become easier and this has resulted in more and more schools, attractions and external providers, signing up. There are now over 40 schools signed up, and over 30 local attractions and providers on board. Nationally, over 100,000 have been distributed and there are over 250 Learning Destinations available for the children to visit – including the Houses of Parliament!.

During a sunny evening in June over 50 children and their families were invited to attend the annual KCU gold award presentation that was held at the University of Greenwich (Medway Campus). Each attendee had completed over 100 hours of learning with the scheme, and was presented with their national award by Deborah Hayes, the KCU Chancellor.  After the presentation the families were treated to a guided tour and then had the chance to enjoy a tasty buffet as they chatted with their friends.

Kent Children’s University has teamed up with Homewood School, Sittingbourne Community College and Canterbury High. Each of these schools is now a Kent Children's University hub. They are offering Kent Children's University activities for their own students and those from surrounding primaries too. To find out more please visit our hub school pages.

Feedback from the popular Learning Destinations scheme has shown that some people found getting to the affiliated attractions difficult.

We have listened and made changes to reduce this problem. In September 2010 the Learning Destinations scheme expanded to allow any Kent County Council school to affiliate.

Any out of school hours activity held by an affiliated school will now be able to count towards a child's passport to learning. So children can not only earn credits by visiting tourist attractions they can also earn them by attending activities run within their school.

Kent Children's University is continuing to work with top tourist attractions in the county to allow children (between the ages of 7 and 14) the opportunity to enjoy out of school hours learning and gain credits towards National Children's University certificates. The list of affiliated venues is growing bigger all the time.

Guy Bartlett, Kent Children's University Manager says:
"With the launch of this new scheme Kentish children no longer need to be caged in the classroom, instead they can spread their wings and learn in the wild!"

Visit our Kent Learning Destinations page to discover all you need to know to take part in this exciting opportunity, including a list of venues participating in the scheme.

Families interested in a Learning Destinations passport, and any attractions that would like to join the programme, can contact Guy Bartlett, Kent Children's University Manager, on 01622 626790 or email kcu@kent.gov.uk.