Work with partners to establish an inclusive extra-curricular enrichment offer for young people in South Yorkshire.

We believe that every child in South Yorkshire should be able to become the very best they can be. Our vision is to develop and maintain a South Yorkshire Children’s University, to ensure that every school-aged child in South Yorkshire, especially those from disadvantaged areas, can access high-quality extra-curricular learning activities that are tracked, rewarded and celebrated.

Children's University is a national initiative that celebrates participation in learning activities and opportunities outside of normal school hours.

Sheffield Children's University launched in 2008 and is now the biggest Children's University programme in the UK.

Regular research and monitoring by the Sheffield Children's University team has shown that children in the region taking part in Children's University made two additional months progress in reading and maths compared to children in other schools.

In 2019, Sheffield City Region Mayor Dan Jarvis pledged £95,000 of his Mayoral Capacity Funding to support the expansion of the highly successful Sheffield Children's University model across South Yorkshire.

Katie Hamshaw and Helen Oades have been working within Sheffield City Council to expand the Sheffield Children's University programme for over 10 years. They are now working with South Yorkshire Futures and the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority to develop and support a South Yorkshire Children's University.

“We’re keen to ensure each area has its own local Children’s University centre, so the diverse needs of each locality can be met through individual programmes.”

A new Children’s University has been established in Rotherham, led by the School Improvement Service and the foundations for Barnsley Children’s University are rapidly taking shape. Together with existing centres in Doncaster and Sheffield, South Yorkshire Children’s University is coming together – a strategic partnership which aims to share good practice and develop collaborative projects for the benefit of all young people and families in our region.