Schools, early years and childcare

Medway Children's University (MCU) has been offering exciting, enriching out of school hours activities since April 1998. Courses offered cover a wide range of subjects, including:

• archaeology,
• ICT,
• robotics,
• crafts,
• cookery,
• sports,
• languages.

Pupils in affiliated primary schools have around 30 exciting courses to choose from and are allocated a place according to availability.

The courses are run in centres around Medway, including:

• secondary schools,
• primary schools,
• libraries,
• museums,
• the Historic Dockyard.

Benefits

MCU students gain in many ways. They have opportunities to make new friends, take part in activities that interest them, learn new skills and pass on their learning to their peers and families. You can have a look at children’s feedback in their own words on the MCU website (www.sasvr.net/medway).

Year 6 pupils also discover what it is like to learn in the much bigger secondary school environment. They have opportunities to meet some of their future teachers in small friendly groups and this helps make the transition from primary to secondary school less daunting.

Staff at the Children's University are immensely positive about their work and they too gain a great deal from working with small groups of children who really want to be there.

Take a look at the website. Read others’ views. Look at some of the exciting opportunities that have been offered recently, and let the council know if you would like to contribute.

Family learning

Every October, during family learning week, parents, carers and their children can learn together by taking part in workshops that show the forthcoming year’s planned activities. The workshops are extremely popular and take place both in the morning and the afternoon.

Funding

Currently, MCU is funded by a partnership of Medway Council, affiliated schools and voluntary contributions. There is no charge to pupils from affiliated schools, although a small number of places are available for pupils from non-participating schools. Further sources of funding are continually being sought to enable more children to take part.

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