University of the First Age

University of the First Age Partnership Manager: Linda Innes
Tel: 01642 728093
Email: linda_innes@middlesbrough.gov.uk
Address: Study Support, Capital & Assets, PO Box 69, First Floor,Vancouver House, Gurney Street, Middlesbrough, TS1 1EL

www.ufa.org.uk

UFA's basic principle is that everyone has the potential to achieve success.  Sometimes they need to be shown the keys to unlock that potential, and the UFA shares the knowledge and power of how to be a successful learner with young people and those who work with them.

Middlesbrough's University of the First Age (UFA) Partnership works with schools, community and agencies to transform teaching and learning through out-of-hours activity which impacts on mainstream learning.

We currently develop and run:

  • UFA Fellowship training - in UFA techiques and principles
  • Super Learning Days - where people learn how they learn, or how to revise
  • Summer Challenges - week-long summer schools for pupils, run by UFA practitioners & Learning Teams
  • UFA Peer Tutor training - young people trained in UFA to assist with summer schools and out of hours learning
  • Family Learning - piloting UFA training materials with parents and carers

UFA Everybody's Smart!

37 Middlesbrough schools are partners with the UFA University of the First Age.  The UFA improves young people's confidence and self-belief through exciting and memorable learning experiences.  It helps children to understand how they learn and to realise the phenomenal power of their brain and how to use it better.

Middlesbrough schools are sharing this knowledge with young people.  Intelligence is not fixed (you can become smarter!) and everyone is intelligent people smart (friendly and chatty), music smart or any of 8 intelligences.  The UFA believes that everyone has the potential to succeed.  Knowing that you're good at something is the first step to confidence and motivation!

Brilliant 'Mind-Friendly Learning' web pages from Cheshire County Council.  Useful resources for accelerated learning, thinking skills, multiple intelligence & VAK questionnaires, mindmapping, learning theory, checklists, planning tools, lesson plans and more.   www.salt.cheshire.gov.uk/mfl/index.htm

36 UFA Fellows from schools and other organisations in Middlesbrough are being trained to use Brain Gym®, and other techniques to offer multisensory experiences that give every child a sense of achievement.  This can powerfully affect students who are de-motivated or disadvantaged.

The UFA promotes learning out-of-school-hours too, using learning teams that include young people as peer tutors.  Five UFA Summer Challenges funded by New Opportunities Fund ran this year, involving King's Manor, St David's, Hemlington Hall, Ayresome, Newham Bridge, Green Lane, Linthorpe, Caldicotes and Park End schools.  Everyone thought it was great!

Research shows that participation in more than 75 hours of UFA activity raises achievement in formal educational tests.  So, if a child attends two summer schools and after-school clubs, they can improve their SAT and GCSE results.

A Super Learning Day involving young people from 13 schools learning to count 1-10 in Japanese in four minutes, mindmapping, how they were intelligent gave the 80 pupils involved a real high.  It was declared by two participants, More than excellent! and The best day I've ever had! If we can instill that kind of enthusiasm in Middlesbrough's young people, we're doing well!

Fellowship/Partnership

  • 37 schools, 3 other council sections (Arts, Museums & Social Services: children looked after) are partners
  • 85 members of staff are involved in UFA Fellowship training
  • Six cohorts of UFA Fellows each received 5 days training per year
  • Youth Service, Libraries and other schools have expressed interest in supporting Fellows

Summer Challenges

  • 5 UFA summer challenges ran, involving 135 participants and 20 peer tutors.
  • One pupil said, Thank you for achieving the impossible.
  • 100% tutors evaluations stated that the Summer Challenges were successful in meeting their aims, and rated the learning for students at 92%.
  • From the student survey: 100% would like to take part in UFA activity again.
  • 97% enjoyed the summer challenge,
  • 96% thought the summer challenge was a good place to learn, thought working with different adults has been really useful and said the summer challenge met or exceeded their expectations,
  • 95% enjoy learning new things,
  • 92% thought the summer challenge will help with their school work, and liked working with peer tutors.
  • 86% said they were good at working with other people
  • 82% thought it was a good place to make new friends.
  • 81% said they liked school.
  • Young peer tutors : 100% said they thought students and staff found them really helpful, learnt about the different ways to learn, had lots of fun, and learnt to be a better listener,
  • 95% learnt to be more patient and said the experience will help with their own learning.

LEA Super Learning Day

  • 80 pupils and 13 schools participated in an LEA UFA Super Learning Day
  • 100% of young people declared the UFA SLD a very positive experience, one participant stating, this is the best day I ve ever had!

NE hub's Innovation Grant

3 primary schools were involved in the NE hub's Innovation award programme to pilot parents resources.