How Westminster Children’s University Works

Westminster Children’s University is built around connection.

We connect children with experiences.
We connect schools with trusted partners.
We connect families with opportunities.
And we connect organisations with communities where their skills, resources and ideas can make a real difference.

Rather than offering one fixed programme, WCU develops throughout the year in response to the children, schools and communities we work with.

That means one school might begin with a cultural trip, another with a wellbeing programme, another with sport, STEM or creative workshops, and another with family activities or holiday provision.

The starting point can be different.

The aim is the same:

to give children more opportunities to participate, discover, grow and achieve.

Working With Schools

Schools can engage with WCU in whatever way works best for them.

Some join us for individual activities and trips.

Others develop a much broader relationship that includes:

• Whole-school Children’s University registration

• Enrichment planning

• Trips and cultural experiences

• In-school workshops

• After-school provision

• Holiday activities

• Family programmes

• Targeted wellbeing work

• Mentoring

• Outdoor learning

• Arts and creative projects

• Sport and physical activity

• Careers and aspiration work

• Staff development

• Resources and practical support

• Graduation and celebration events

We regularly share new opportunities with school coordinators, but there is never an expectation to take up everything.

Schools choose what is right for their children.

Recording the Journey

Children can be registered through the Children’s University system so that participation in learning beyond the classroom can be recognised and recorded.

This creates a picture of the experiences children have accessed across the year and helps schools celebrate learning that might otherwise go unseen.

It also helps WCU understand:

• who is participating

• which opportunities are being accessed

• where additional support may be needed

• which areas of provision are growing

• where gaps still exist

This evidence is incredibly important.

It helps us evaluate our work, demonstrate impact and secure future funding so that opportunities can continue to remain free or affordable for children and families wherever possible.

Wellbeing and Mentoring

We know that children engage best when they feel safe, connected and valued.

That is why wellbeing sits alongside enrichment rather than separately from it.

Our work can include mentoring, emotional wellbeing, confidence building, resilience, pupil voice, small-group support, mindfulness, movement and positive relationships.

We also work with schools to identify children who may benefit from a more supported route into enrichment.

Sometimes participation itself becomes part of the intervention.

Joining a club.

Working with an adult who believes in you.

Discovering something you are good at.

Feeling part of a group.

Those experiences can matter enormously.

Supporting Staff

WCU also invests in the adults around children.

We provide and share CPD, professional learning, specialist training, supervision opportunities and practical resources that schools can use within their own settings.

Our work has included areas such as:

• Mental health and wellbeing

• Mindfulness

• Compassion-focused approaches

• Supervision and reflective practice

• SEND and inclusive practice

• Pupil voice

• Family engagement

• Arts-based learning

• Outdoor learning

• Personal development

• Enrichment planning

We also develop practical resources including activity packs, wellbeing tools, pupil voice materials, floor-book resources, creative challenges, planning templates and evaluation materials.

The intention is simple:

support the people supporting children.

Families Matter Too

Many WCU opportunities extend beyond the school gate.

We work with families through trips, workshops, holiday programmes, community activities and shared learning experiences.

For some families, taking part together removes barriers.

For others, it creates a new connection with school.

And sometimes it simply gives parents, carers and children the chance to enjoy an experience together that might otherwise have been difficult to access.

We believe family engagement is part of enrichment, not an addition to it.

Learning Everywhere

WCU learning can happen almost anywhere.

In a classroom.

In a garden.

At a football pitch.

Inside a museum.

On a boat.

In a theatre.

At a palace.

In a forest.

At a cinema.

In a youth club.

Or around a table with children and parents creating something together.

What matters is that the experience has value.

Children are learning even when learning does not look like a lesson.

Building Towards Celebration

Throughout the year, children can build a record of their participation and experiences.

Schools can then work towards a Children’s University graduation and celebration, usually held in the summer term.

Graduation is an opportunity to recognise not only hours completed, but the wider journey children have made.

The new things they tried.

The places they visited.

The friendships they built.

The skills they developed.

And the confidence they gained along the way.

Partnership Makes It Possible

WCU is only possible because of the people and organisations who choose to work with us.

Our network includes schools, universities, artists, sports providers, cultural organisations, community groups, charities, businesses, youth services, outdoor-learning organisations, volunteers and funders.

Every partner brings something different.

Our role is often to bring those pieces together.

A good idea becomes a workshop.

A venue becomes a trip.

A specialist becomes a mentor.

A small opportunity becomes something that reaches hundreds of children.

That is how the network grows.

Want to Work With Us?

Schools can join gradually.

Partners can approach us with an idea.

Families can access opportunities through their school or community network.

And children can begin with just one experience.

There is no single route into WCU.

What matters is that the door is open.

Cllr Stella Wilson
Manager
Westminster Children’s University