GCSE Mathematics and AQA English Revision Workshops for spring and summer 2020
The HfL Secondary Mathematics and English advisers are running 25 GCSE revision workshops starting in January. Schools, parents and Carers can all book places for their children / students onto these workshops designed to support your school’s own revision programmes and motivate and challenge students in engaging, focused and active learning environments to help students feel 'exam ready'. Please visit the HfL CPD Hub to book places or please share the flyer with your parent body.  Revision workshops (pdf)
Wednesday 4th December 2019 |
Now accepting entries to the Hertfordshire Heroes Christmas Art competition 2019!
Opportunity for a Key Stage 2 pupil to win a day of adventure at a Hertfordshire Military Base Hertfordshire Heroes is the name we use to promote the work of the Hertfordshire Armed Forces Covenant Board. Our Hertfordshire Heroes are members of the armed forces community who work hard to protect our nation and are often working away from their families at Christmas. Help send our military heroes some “Christmas cheer” by entering our annual county-wide Hertfordshire Heroes Christmas Art Competition by drawing your own Hertfordshire Hero. The deadline is 9th December and you can find out information about how to enter at Christmas art competition
Tuesday 3rd December 2019 |
New CPD Programme: Curriculum in Motion 2019/2020 – Session Two
Curriculum in Motion 2019/2020: Session Two – 27th January 2020. Session two of this series of half-day CPD events is now available to book. The session will feature a keynote from guest speaker Andrew Percival, Deputy Headteacher and Curriculum Lead at Stanley Road Primary School in Oldham on Developing a curriculum for long-term learning and Penny Barefoot, Headteacher at Bushey Heath Primary School on Where to begin: Developing your curriculum Curriculum in Motion
Tuesday 3rd December 2019 |
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Inclusivity Award 2020
The Accord Coalition’s 2020 Inclusivity Award is open to all state funded schools in England and Wales. The Award recognizes schools that excel in promoting an inclusive ethos and which advance the growth of mutual understanding, especially on the grounds of religion and ethnicity. Deadline for entry is Sunday 21st February 2020. Inclusivity Award 2020
Thursday 28th November 2019 |
Updates to the Insurance Services page on The Grid
Updates have been made to the FAQs section on the Insurance Services page on The Grid. For more information please contact us: insurance@hertfordshire.gov.uk or see the Insurance Services page Insurance Services page
Wednesday 27th November 2019 |
Holocaust Educational Trust - Live Survivor Webcast 2020: Register Now!
Mark 75 years since liberation by hearing the live testimony of Auschwitz-Birkenau survivor Susan Pollack MBE - Friday 24th January 2020 - 10-11am. Read more
Wednesday 27th November 2019 |
ICT and DMS planned closure day - 11th December
Please note that our ICT and DMS Service Desk will be closed on the 11th December for a staff training inset day. For urgent matters relating to internet connectivity, our HICS calls will be answered via RM, our service provider. In the case of an emergency please call 07741 500551.
The email signature to be: Herts for Learning ICT Service Desk
Telephone: 01438 844777.
Email: help@sd.hertsforlearning.co.uk.
Tuesday 26th November 2019 |
Revising for Grade 5 in GCSE mathematics with new HfL resource
Following on from the success of Revising for Grade 4 in Mathematics, Herts for Learning has launched a new resource designed to help students achieve a Grade 5 in GCSE mathematics. Revising for Grade 5 in Mathematics provides students with useful and easy-to-understand revision exercises from the curriculum to help students achieve a Grade 4 in mathematics. Read more
Tuesday 26th November 2019 |
Programme of Visits to Bergen-Belsen in February and March 2020 (Y12-13 only)
Secondary Schools across the UK are being invited to take part in a visit to Bergen-Belsen with learning workshops to support understanding. This project, run by the Holocaust Educational Trust, will only be running in the spring to commemorate the 75th anniversary. Please use this link for further details Visits to Bergen-Belsen
Tuesday 26th November 2019 |
LGBT Inclusive Primary Curriculum
Produced in conjunction with the Government Equalities Office and Pearson, this resource offers primary schools practical support and ideas to include issues around LGBT people and families into their lessons, and will help them to create learning environments where every pupil feels accepted. Each of the 13 subject areas (including PSHE) includes activities for the EYFS, Key Stage 1, and Key Stage 2, as well as offering adaptations that can be made for SEND pupils. LGBT Iinclusive Primary Curriculum
Monday 25th November 2019 |
Hertfordshire Headteacher Updates
The presentation and supporting documentation for the Heads Updates are now available to download from The Grid. Hertfordshire Headteacher Updates
Monday 25th November 2019 |
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Safer Internet Day – 11th February 2020
Safer Internet Day 2020 will be celebrated globally with the theme: Together for a better internet. This year the educational resources focus on the theme of identity online and whether young people are #freetobe themselves online. The free resources explore how young people manage their identity online and are tailored for 3-7s, 7-11s, 11-14s, 14-18s and parents and carers, along with guidance for educators. Find out more about Safer Internet Day
Friday 22nd November 2019 |
Feeling Good Week - February 2020
Feeling Good Week is a Hertfordshire-wide event that encourages schools and the wider community to promote children and young people’s emotional wellbeing by raising awareness of mental health and showing where support can be accessed within the community. From 10th – 16th February 2020, we want you to help make children and young people in Hertfordshire feel good by running your own special projects to boost their emotional and mental wellbeing. Youth organisations, schools, and young people are invited to submit a bid and apply for up to £500 of funding, which has been put forward by Hertfordshire County Council, and the county’s two Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). The bids will be reviewed by a group of young people in December, and they will judge which projects should receive funding. The deadline for applications is Friday 6th December 2019. Read more
Thursday 21st November 2019 |
Hertfordshire Budget Survey 2019 – asking for views from students
Hertfordshire County Council has released its yearly survey to capture residents’ opinion on how the Council should be spending its budget over our next financial year. We want to get a wide variety of responses and opinions from all age groups and we are currently looking for ways to reach younger audiences, who have been traditionally underrepresented in this survey. We are particularly interested in hearing from sixth form students. Please could you share our survey with your students and encourage them to complete our survey. The deadline is the 15th of December 2019. survey can be found using this link
Thursday 21st November 2019 |
Book now for Future Heroes 2020 – the biggest and best health and care careers expo! - 24th March 2020
We have already had an incredible response to Future Heroes 2020 with the morning session now completely full and only around 100 tickets left for the afternoon session. So, if you and your students would like to attend please book your spaces ASAP so that you do not miss out. Read more
Thursday 21st November 2019 |
Herts for Learning receives Gold Stonewall Champion Award
Stonewall, Britain’s leading lesbian, gay, bi and trans (LGBT) equality charity, has awarded Herts for Learning its highest award in its Children and Young People's Services Champions programme. Read more
Tuesday 19th November 2019 |
Operation Encompass 2nd December – information sharing with schools on domestic abuse
Hertfordshire Police will be launching Operation Encompass on 2nd December 2019, which is intended to significantly improve information sharing and the timeliness of this between Police and schools following incidents of domestic abuse. Designated Safeguarding Leads and Deputies are asked to review the documentation and key principles of Operation Encompass which will provide information about the launch and the police commitment to sharing information to schools to ensure your school is prepared for the launch on 2nd December 2019. This information is for the attention of DSL’s, Deputy DSL’s and Head Teachers. View the documentation
Tuesday 19th November 2019 |
Save the Date! Primary School Pastoral Leads Conference - Tuesday 28th January 2020
Following on from the success of the December 2018 event, this interactive conference will provide practical tools for promoting resilience of pupils, building confidence, sharing evidence and good practice, and showcasing information from a variety of professionals. Throughout the day there will be speakers and workshops. Topics will include: Whole school approaches to emotional wellbeing and mental health, Five ways to wellbeing, diet, exercise and pupil wellbeing, and solution focussed reflective practice. We will be offering up to 2 spaces per school. Details of how to book on to this event will be publicised in a future Schools Bulletin and sent to Mental Health Leads - watch this space!
Tuesday 19th November 2019 |
Herts for Learning Annual Secondary Languages Conference – Friday 6th December 2019
Our popular annual conference enables delegates to network, share ideas and hear updates on the latest issues surrounding languages teaching in secondary schools. Our keynote speaker for 2019 is Michael Wardle, National Lead for Modern Foreign Languages, Ofsted. As usual, representatives from AQA and Edexcel will provide feedback on the summer exams. Secondary Languages Conference
Monday 18th November 2019 |
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Review of SEND IASS
The Transforming SEND team is supporting a review of Hertfordshire’s SENDIASS service, which is a free service providing confidential and impartial information, advice and support on issues related to SEND for parents of children and young people up to the age of 25. In a review of the service, we would like to ensure we provide relevant support to schools and would like to hear any comments on the service, whether you have used it, or whether you have thoughts on what you would like to receive from the service. Please take this five minute survey to share your thoughts. Stakeholder Survey
Friday 15th November 2019 |
The new Data Management Services (DMS) Portal is now live
Herts for Learning is pleased to announce that the new Data Management Services (DMS) portal is now live and can be accessed via your main school account if you have a support contract with the DMS team. More information
Thursday 14th November 2019 |
Just Talk Campaign Week – W/C 18th November
Just Talk is Hertfordshire’s mental health and wellbeing campaign, co-designed with young people from across the county. The campaign and all of its free resources are designed in a way to ensure that it is as easy as possible for anyone to get involved. Just Talk Campaign
Wednesday 13th November 2019 |
Flying Pizza Theatre production ‘The Snow Queen’ - Special Reduction
£50 off to local Hertfordshire schools who book a show in November, December or January. Full details available in the flyer or visit Flying Pizza Theatre production
Monday 11th November 2019 |
Budgeting
The Mid-Year Update to the Access Education Budgeting software (previously called HCSS) is planned for release shortly. As with previous updates this will be presented as an Optional Update allowing the opportunity to apply it at a time convenient to the school or not apply it. Financial Services will be releasing a bulletin to accompany the release but in preparation it is strongly advised that schools Lock any budget Working scenarios you wish to keep as updates do not get applied to Locked or Archived scenarios. If you have any questions please contact the helpline.
Friday 8th November 2019 |
Ofsted - Education Inspection Framework (EIF) roadshows
Ofsted are running a series of Education Inspection Framework (EIF) roadshows for primary and secondary schools to help them deepen their understanding of the curriculum thinking that underpins the ‘quality of education’ judgement. These one-day events will offer the opportunity to learn about deep dives and early emerging findings from the EIF. These events are aimed at curriculum leaders and headteachers. Three representatives from your school are welcome to attend. Each will need to register separately. Current Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) should not attend this event. Spaces are available on a first-come-first-served basis. If you are interested in attending this event, please register for your place here. Contact events@ofsted.gov.uk
Friday 8th November 2019 |
EU exit: no deal preparations for schools in England
The Government has issued some updated guidance on the 1st November for schools in the event of a no deal Brexit. Further information from the DfE
Friday 8th November 2019 |
Hertfordshire head teacher updates - Autumn term
The Hertfordshire head teacher updates for the Autumn term have now been published. Read more
Wednesday 6th November 2019 |
Herts for Learning Training Programme Spring 2020
Herts for Learning (HfL) is pleased to announce that our Spring 2020 training programme for staff working in primary, including Early Years, and secondary phasesis now available on our CPD Hub Read more
Monday 4th November 2019 |
Just Talk – resources to help you promote positive mental health in your school
*New resource* Just Talk is a local, award-winning mental health campaign that has been co-designed with local young people and encourages children and young people to talk about things that are worrying them before they escalate. Please watch this short film to find out how your school can make the most of the free, easy-to-use resources and support available through the campaign and see the positive impact Just Talk is having on young people in the 76 local schools already using it. Read more
Wednesday 23rd October 2019 |
HfL’s GCSE revision workshops back for spring 2020
The Herts for Learning secondary maths and English teams have announced 25 revision workshops for spring 2020, designed to motivate and challenge students in an engaging, focused and active learning environment. These supportive sessions are taught in groups of up to 30 students with two subject experts providing additional tuition with the sole aim of helping your child perform to their full potential in the summer examinations. GCSE revision workshops
Wednesday 16th October 2019 |
Families First survey
We have created a short survey to gain a snapshot of the understanding across the services of the Families First way of working and help us to build on the good work taking place and also recognise where improvements can be made. Please take just a couple of minutes to give your feedback. Families First survey
Monday 14th October 2019 |
School Emergency Response Plan update
The School Emergency Response Plan has been updated. It has been produced as a guide for Hertfordshire schools to use when responding to an emergency, which may affect the operation of their premises and their day to day business. In addition, a new Critical Incident Helpline document has also been added which lists contact details for the helpline. School Emergency Response Plan
Monday 14th October 2019 |
Our Passion, Their Future. Placing Children at the Heart of the Early Years Curriculum – 30th January 2020
Ofsted specialist adviser for Early Education, Phil Minns, will be providing a keynote on ‘lessons so far’ since the launch of the new education inspection framework with a focus on early reading. Neil Farmer, International Educational Consultant supporting schools and settings, will be speaking about the purpose of what we do in Early Years and why. Billy Hickling, a veteran performer with the international hit percussion show STOMP will engage the audience in the award winning TrashBang music endnote. Our Passion, Their Future
Monday 14th October 2019 |
Herts for Learning Annual General Meeting 2019
Herts for Learning’s Annual General Meeting 2019 was held at the Hertfordshire Development Centre, Stevenage on Thursday 3rd October at 5pm.
The AGM provided a great opportunity for Herts for Learning’s Managing Director, Andrew de Csilléry and the Chair of the HfL Board, Robin Barrett, to report to shareholders about the impact that HfL has had on education over the last year and to share the company’s plans for the year ahead. Annual General Meeting 2019
Friday 11th October 2019 |
Model Health and Safety policy update
The Model Health and Safety policy has now been updated. This document provides a customisable template to assist schools in producing a written health and safety policy. Model health and safety policy
Thursday 10th October 2019 |
Welcome to the Great School Framework
Over the past year, many of you will have heard about or been involved in the development of the Great School Framework, which strives to bring together and share the component parts of what makes a ‘great school’. Its development has been a collaborative venture, with input from a number of HfL colleagues and many Hertfordshire school leaders. Read more
Wednesday 9th October 2019 |
Herts for Learning launches new benefits for Quality Improvement Forum members
Herts for Learning’s Early Years team has announced a range of new benefits for members of its Early Years PVI support service for pre-school and PVI settings managers, the Quality Improvement Forum. Members can now benefit from new discounts on educational resources from TTS Group and workshops from EPIC Early Years. As well as discounts, Premier Education are offering QIF members a free one-hour session for your setting focusing on Wellbeing, Performing arts or sport. This can be for adults or children. Read more
Tuesday 8th October 2019 |
Young Chef of the Year Award
This month sees the launch of the Young Chef of the Year Award across Welwyn, Hatfield and Stevenage schools. The Award focuses on celebrating food education in the classroom and giving children hands-on practical experience alongside the message that what you eat is closely linked to your health and wellbeing. In April 2017 The Food Teacher™, was commissioned to create an innovative and engaging award for 10 and 11 year olds in Fleetwood, Lancashire. This was a project sponsored and supported by NHS funding, local and national sponsors. 450+ pupils took part and following its great success the award is now being made available to all schools across the UK and Ireland with over 4,000 pupils set to complete the award this year. Read more
Friday 4th October 2019 |
EU exit: no deal preparations for schools in England
The Government has issued some guidance for schools in the event of a no deal Brexit. Further information from the DfE
Thursday 3rd October 2019 |
Secondary Mathematics 2019/20 CPD support for schools
Plan your Secondary Mathematics staff’s professional development through the year to maximise the impact on learning, by downloading the Herts for Learning secondary Mathematics support for schools 2019/20 flyer (pdf) which also includes listings for training courses at the Matrix Maths Hubs
Thursday 3rd October 2019 |
