Learning Destination Watch
October 2013
Welcome to the autumn Learning Destination Update.
What a brilliant summer of activity we’ve had! The number of Learning Destinations continues to grow – we
now have 2,865 Public Learning Destinations – and we welcome the first Learning Destinations from our new
international CUs – Australia, Singapore and Scotland.
As well as growing the number of Learning Destinations, we are making renewed efforts to see how we can
make the most of our national partners in recognising the links between their programmes and ours, in fact,
three P’s spring to mind for the themes of this update – Partnership, Progression and Provider feedback.
So what better way to start than with the announcement of our formal partnership with English Heritage to
encourage more young people and their families to enjoy a visit to their properties: Stonehenge, Dover
Castle, Kenilworth Castle, Whitby Abbey are just a few of the 120 staffed properties we are delighted to be
working with in the first phase of the partnership. We know that some properties already participate very
successfully in the scheme, which will now be extended to all regions. English Heritage has designed a
special stamp for us and will be issuing a briefing for all staff at the properties to stamp CU Passports To
Learning for 1 hour for an initial visit. We will upload details of all the properties to the website as soon as
possible, but in the meantime, please check out the properties in your area via the English Heritage website.
Some of the properties offer additional activities, so please make contact to explore what can also be
validated locally.
We have some inspiring partnership stories of children making the most of ‘CU Sat Nav’ to participate in
accredited learning opportunities offered by our partners to achieve their awards - the Summer Reading
Challenge, Arts Award, the RSPB, Scouts and Guides … as well as the phenomenal holiday programmes you
have been putting together locally.
Ibrahim from Manchester scored a first for himself and his school in using his Reading Agency ‘Creepy
House’ certificate towards his first CU Award – and his school is now thinking of introducing the Children’s
University to all pupils. For more information on activities with the awards above please go to
http://readingagency.org.uk/.
The RSPB have sent us news of a CU student who has gained a Gold Wildlife Action Award, which he has
included in his CU Passport To Learning and is now looking to count both towards a Blue Peter badge. Millie
in Birmingham achieved her Arts Award Explorer certificate and an Outstanding Achievement Award for
Children’s University. Her school now has 20 young people signed up to participate in Arts Award Explore
and sees this as a great way of offering exciting arts experiences as validated Children’s University Activities.
Please visit the RSPB website http://www.rspb.org.uk/youth/join_in/childrensuniversity.aspx to find out
more.
Arts Award is available in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands. Find out
more about how to get started here, If you are based outside of the UK, it may be possible to get involved
providing you meet some specific conditions.
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Moving on to the second ‘P’ for Progression, we are looking to support local CUs in offering CU passport
holders and learning providers a pathway of potential activities within areas of interest e.g. the Arts, STEM,
Sport, etc.
School clubs are an important starting point for our provision, and a number of our national partners are
developing free or low cost downloadable resources which can provide schools with exciting content either
for independent use, to build into after school clubs or as ideas for holiday programmes. We would like all
local CUs to share what works in reviewing how their activities offer a menu of opportunities for children to
build their learning journey – between school clubs, out into a weekend or holiday activity, stopping by an
external provider, making an excursion to a CU Lecture, discovering a local role model, visiting a Public
Learning Destination……..you get the drift!
Starting with the Arts, Bigfoot Arts are developing an activity resource pack that young people can
download free of charge from our website from January 2014. These resources are designed to enthuse and
encourage children to engage with the arts independently, providing them with tasks to complete that
demonstrate their understanding of how characters, settings, plots and storylines develop. We are also
proud to be able to provide Bigfooters that can set up Youth Theatres in a wide variety of the CU regions so
that children have access to high quality creative artists and practitioners who can further their exploration
of the arts and their place within it, whether that be through drama, dance, music or visual art (to find out
more, please go to: http://bigfoot-theatre.co.uk).
Moving on to STEM, we have already worked with the British Science Association to include the validation
of two additional types of activities – CREST Star Awards and CREST Discovery Awards. Schools have
already been using CREST Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards to develop STEM investigations for older primary
and secondary children. With the launch of the CREST Star Award Scheme, resources are now available to
support practical and fun investigations for all children aged 5-11 years. CREST Star has three awards with
over 60 investigations:
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
Star (Key Stage 1) complete 8 investigations
SuperStar (Key Stage 1 & 2 ) complete 12 investigations
MegaStar (Key Stage 2) complete 3 projects
The activities focus on a mixture of hands-on practical work and discussion, encouraging children to work
independently of adults. Lasting approximately one hour, the investigations are designed to be used in a
club, in lessons, or outside of school. You don't need a science background or even to be a teacher to run
them. Full notes are provided as part of the resources including a list of everything you need for the activity.
(N.B. There is a subscription fee of £40 per school).
September also sees the launch of the new CREST Discovery Award. Designed to be an introductory award,
CREST Discovery recognises quality STEM project work that is done over a short period of time (usually a
day). It focuses on fun, teamwork and transferable skills. This could provide an ideal vehicle for a STEM
based CU holiday activity. For more information, and to locate your local CREST Co-ordinator, please go to
http://www.britishscienceassociation.org/creststar.
This summer has seen an explosion of interest in linking with CU from a range of providers of learning in the
natural environment. We will be working with the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom (CLOtC) to
ensure that all relevant providers with CLOtC accreditation are aware of what the CU offers and can be proactive in offering up activities for CU Validation. Furthermore, there will be a national validation of
appropriate CLOtC providers - this can form the basis of validations for specific local activities. To see the
accredited providers in your area, please go to http://www.lotc.org.uk.
Natural England, DEFRA and English Heritage, are joining forces to support the Natural Connections
Demonstration Project which will be run by Plymouth University. It is one of the largest outdoor learning
projects in the UK and will involve around 200 schools and between 200-500 volunteers. This innovative
project will operate at a local, school led level, in five ‘hubs’ across the South West – which happen to match
exactly with our 5 CUs in the South West. The project will run until March 2016 and although it is currently
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restricted to the South West region, the website has some great sources of information and inspiring ideas
for outdoor learning (for more information on this project, please visit their website:
http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/enjoying/linkingpeople/learning/naturalconnections/).
Watch this space too for a developing partnership with the Forestry Commission. The Forestry
Commission is currently developing a downloadable activity book for use at a number of their forest sites.
The pilot areas are likely to be in the West Midlands and the South West, where CU Passport To Learning
holders can take their activity book to the forest, and on completion receive a stamp either from the Forest
Ranger or via email.
Moving further afield, those of you in the South West will already be familiar with Education Through
Expeditions: they are currently recruiting pupils and classes from across the UK to join an exciting new
online 'ETE Antarctic Research Team’! The purpose of the research team is to help support Polar Explorer
Antony Jinman's 730 mile solo expedition to the Geographic South Pole, as well as conduct a number of
research activities, learning about the coldest continent on Earth.
Pupils in schools across the country will have the opportunity to follow Antony's expedition blog and enter
free competitions directly linked to Antony's progress through the expedition, for example helping to design
a nutritious expedition biscuit, design the expedition logo, create a piece of motivational music that Antony
can listen to, to name a few. Schools and individuals can become members of the ETE web platform which
will give direct access to lesson resources, the competitions, and will also give students and teachers the
opportunity to ask questions directly to Antony via the discussion board. If you would like more information
please contact the ETE office on 01752 588347 or email info@etehome.org.
We are exploring a closer partnership with the RNLI, following the validation of life boat stations in the
North West region by Blackpool CU. Their mission is to save lives at sea by changing attitudes and
behaviours and most of their work is with primary schools, although they are developing their links with
secondary schools. RNLI has a national network of volunteers trained to give water safety talks to groups of
primary children. They also have high quality downloadable resources which schools or individuals can
access, offering the possibility of some in school activity, supported by a validated volunteer led session after
school. Ultimately this could be followed up by a visit to a local lifeboat station. A menu of RNLI educational
resources can be found here: www.rnli.org/education. The list of regional contact details is below:
Name and title
Region
Email
Telephone
Carol Raeburn
Youth Education Manager
Paul Rafferty
Youth Education Manager
Natalie O’Sullivan
Youth Education Manager
Amber French
Youth Education Manager
Gail Graham
Youth Education Manager
Amanda Robson
Youth Education Manager
Tatti McNally
Youth Education Manager
Anthony Jones
Youth Education Manager
Bridie Appleby-Gunnil
Youth Education Manager
Scotland, North East England
carol_raeburn@rnli.org.uk
Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland
paul_rafferty@rnli.org.uk
North West England, North Wales,
North Yorkshire
Midlands, Cheshire, North West Wales
natalie_osullivan@rnli.org.uk
amber_french@rnli.org.uk
mob: 07796 941836
office: 01738 642979
mob: 07827 232324
office: 02890 473665
mob: 07901 108475
office: 01253 771840
mob: 07827 986981
Hull, Lincolnshire and East Anglia
gail_graham@rnli.org.uk
mob: 07775 406121
Greater London
amanda_robson@rnli.org.uk
mob: 07887 771913
Kent, Sussex and Hampshire
tatti_mcnally@rnli.org.uk
South Wales, Bristol, Somerset,
North Cornwall
Cornwall, Devon, Dorset
anthony_jones@rnli.org.uk
mob: 07876 790207
office: 01273 623087
mob: 07766 422257
office: 0144347457
Contact details to be
confirmed – new in post
Contact details to be confirmed –
new in post
We are pleased to be able to add the award winning Manchester Museum to our Public Learning
Destinations in the North West. The museum offers a range of exciting tours and activities for independent
visitors, with a real focus on family learning. Children can receive a stamp in their Passport To Learning for
an initial visit, as well as additional stamps for a range of workshops and events. Please see
www.museum.manchester.ac.uk for further details.
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In case you think we’ve forgotten, the final ‘P’ we mentioned at the beginning of the update – Provider
feedback. We know you all have your ear to the ground locally, reporting back on attendance and
participant feedback, and we need to collate evidence of your local data to support national partnerships.
This is particularly important as we enter the second and third years of these partnerships – we need to
demonstrate the impact the partnerships have in terms of numbers of passport holders involved, as well as
their anecdotal feedback. Please send us any hard data you have, and any links to good news stories.
Thanks to all of you who are currently updating Learning Destination data for the website. The quality of
information returned in the website search is a vital part of maintaining the quality of our brand. We are
looking to review the operation of the website search, and ultimately to develop a CU Learning Destination
App, so please make sure your Public Learning Destinations are uploaded correctly, along with their
associated activities.
And finally - please email Triinu (triinu.onton@childrensuniversity.co.uk) if you need any website training to
learn how to build a local CU minisite within the main CU Trust website. This online group training session
lasts about an hour – all you need to participate is a computer with internet connection and a landline
telephone. There will be opportunities at the conference to share ideas about the latest developments with
both the website and the E-Passport, as well as a chance to hear from local CUs about their successes and
challenges on the ground.
I look forward to seeing you there!
Lynne Upton
October 2013
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