Here is a round-up of the primary awards granted so far in the autumn term of 2024. Each successful application has to satisfy our award criteria which you can find here. We wish all the schools every success with their wonderful projects and are very pleased to have helped them "make a big difference with a little money".
| School | Location | Subject Focus | Details |
| Sandon JMI | Buntingford |
Outdoor Learning |
A range of curriculum-based equipment for outdoor learning focussing on STEM and English including an Early Maths Outdoors Kit and a Language Through Stories kit amongst others. By learning outside, their children can explore abstract concepts in a different, real-world context using robust equipment designed to last through many cohorts of children. |
| Kingshill Infants | Ware | English | A Read/Write Inc training day and challenging RWI phonics books at the higher levels of the programme to enhance the effectiveness and consistency of writing teaching and improve age-related expectations in KS1. The books will also be available for children to take home for extra practise and to involve parents in their learning. |
| Widford Primary | Ware | English | A Pearson's Bug Club Phonics Top-up book pack (276 books) which covers all phases (1-5) to help the children in this small school have a consistent method and progression to practise and apply their phonics learning. The pack contains a great mix of fiction and non-fiction with 6 copies of each book to facilitate guided reading and group work as well as individual reading. |
| Hillshott Infants | Letchworth | English | Half-class sets of Little Wandle phonics books focussed on the higher phases to challenge and inspire their more competent readers. They have successfully embedded the Little Wandle scheme for all readers and now want to add a wider variety of books to stretch their improving readers. |
| Larkspur Primary | Ware | Outdoor Learning | A variety of outdoor STEM equipment for EYFS to foster a love of investigating maths and science topics amongst their young cohorts, the majority of whom are FSM, many living in overcrowded homes and no access to safe, outside space. Curriculum-focussed activities outside will not only build their curiousity and excitement about the subjects but also foster social and communication skills and a sense of learning being fun. |
| Simon Balle All-Through School | Hertford | STEM | An interactive STEM presentation and workshop for Year 6 by Wonderstruck. Focussing on forces and motion, the sense of awe and wonder is kicked off with a rocket show which then leads into a highly interactive workshop building vehicles to race which will add a real-life context and interest to their theory in lessons. Teachers will be able to enhance their schemes of work and add in the activities themselves for future cohorts. |
| Gade Valley | Hemel Hempstead | STEM | A range of food technology equipment, including two portable ovens/hobs, to facilitate a full practical aspect to the food aspect of their new D+T scheme of work. They have very limited food technology equipment at the moment and this innitiative will not only enhance children's curriculum knowledge but also develop their life skills and foster a love of healthy eating. |
| Markyate Village | St. Albans | Multi-Focus | 9x tablets and protective covers to support teaching and learning across the school in many ways such as recording and feeding back on activities in practical lessons to facilitate self and peer evaluation, to share work with parents. The devices will also be used work to mirror/project children's work onto the digital screen for evaluation and modelling and also for bespoke learning for individuals using e.g. Maths Frame and Oxford Reading. |
| Hertingfordbury Cowper C/E | Hertford | English | A wide range of fiction/poetry titles to build their recently introduced reading spine throughout the school. Sharing the rich and varied texts as a class will help the children become immersed in reading, close cultural gaps and push up reading and comprehension levels. Disadvantaged pupils will also be able to take the texts home for reading. |
| St. Margaret Clitherow R/C | Stevenage | STEM | A selection of hands-on maths equipment (e.g. magnetic fraction builders, geometric solids and place-value sliders) to enhnance children's understanding of key concepts in a fun and practical way. The manipulatives and visual aids wil deepen and consolidate understanding of abstract maths concepts more easily and increase the engagement and motivation of children at all levels with differerent learning style preferences. |
| Woolenwick Junior | Stevenage | Multi Focus | A 3-year Clicker software license for 10 laptop computers to help SEND children catch up with their writing and spelling. The software allows for progression using tools such as making sentences from limited word selection, reading words aloud and dictation to expanding word choices, typing and predictive text. Using Clicker will be particularly useful for their dyslexic children as well as well as enhancing progress for all children struggling with spelling and writing. |
| Oak View | Hatfield | STEM | 2x BeeBot (6) and docking station packs and 2x Ozobot Bit+ Entry kits to resource the coding and computational thinking areas of computing with equipment they currently have to borrow when they can. Seeing the abastract code enacted in the real world will not only help lower-ability children engage and understand programing concepts but also enable higher-ability children to push themselves with challenging tasks which they can evaluate in real time in the physical world. |
| Christ Church C/E Infant /Primary | Ware | Outdoor Learning | A variety of habitat building, monitoring and investigating equipment (e.g. nesting boxes and cameras and pond-dipping kits) which will expand the range of living things and their habitats which the children can study. Being able to create and constantly monitor a range of habitats will bring this aspect of the science curriculum to life but also greatly benefit their Eco Club activities and make full use of their Eco-School Award pond and sensory garden areas. |
| Little Reddings | Bushey | English | A wide range of texts to build phonics and vocabulary skills themed on areas such as the seasons and growing. There are also a number of texts to replace and build on their Little Wandle phonics resources. These books will be invaluable resources for their new peer-coaching scheme to boost reading, writing, phonics and spoken language across the school and, in particular, their high numbers of SEN and FSM children. |
| Stevenage and North Herts. Writing Project | Letchworth | English |
We are delighted to be supplying the books and contributing towards other expenses of this fantastic project once again. This academic year, the initiative will benefit 16 Hertfordshire state-funded primary schools (plus others) - estimated at reaching an amazing 5,000 pupils! The project involves schools working together on a common text with a written outcome agreed. Schools use a range of creative ways, such as drama, artwork and cross curricular activities, to teach the writing skills and explore the text to write a competition piece. The project culminates in a celebration awards evening where the children’s achievements, efforts and endeavours are celebrated. A great inititative which involves a lot of teacher collaborations to share best practice. |
| Belswains | Hemel Hemstead | English |
8x Read Write inc phonics books packs to extend their successfully implemented RWinc scheme resources as the school moves from one to two form entry. These packs will mainly be used from YR - Y4 in and out of school, however, they will also greatly benefit SEND pupils in upper KS2. Phonics is a focus of their school development plan and they have invested heavily in the scheme and staff training (teachers and TAs) and the new books will help get the most out of that investment in time and money. |
| Alban City | St. Albans | STEM |
2x Crumble class sets and 1x Crumble starter set of computer controlled model resoures. The class kits will allow primarily Y6 pupils to more effectively build their coding and problem-solving skills by working in pairs and the starter kit will be particularly beneficial for SEND children working 1:1 or in small groups to close their learning gap. Compatible with their existing Chromebooks, the physical computing kits will help children understand abstract coding principles in an exciting, motivating way. |
| Albury C/E | Bishops Stortford | English | Badger Learning Hi-Lo bumper pack of books for UKS2 pupils with reading ages of 6-9. These 150 books all have dyslexia-friendly features and allow reluctant or struggling readers in the upper school to build up their reading skills, confidence and enjoyment with approprate and interesting content written at a level they can access. |
| Cockernhoe | Near Luton | English |
10x half-class sets of books to facilitate whole-class reading lessons as the school is migrating to from guided reading. Recommended by a national leader of education, the new system will allow every child to read every day and be heard by a member of staff. The range of books will benefit all classes across the school, affording opportunites to model, demonstrate and practise reading aloud with fluency and expression and facilitate real-time addressing of grammatical and vocabulary points. |
| Therfield First | Royston | PE |
4x portable basketball poles/nets to be used across the school and in breakfast, lunchtime, after-school and youth clubs. Therfield First is one of the smallest schools in the country and the resulting tiny budget has stopped them being able to offer a wide range of sports/activities. Facilitating basketball will allow them to address many NC PE requirements (particularly "participate in team games") in a new and motivating way as well as build teams for local basketball competitions. |
| William Ransom | Hitchen | English |
12x reading pens, a set of Barrington Stoke dictionaries and their Little Gems fiction pack and a range of Hi/Lo fiction books all aimed at their children who are dyslexic or otherwise strugling with their reading. The pens read text out loud, the dictionaries are phonetic based and the Hi/Lo (High-Interes, Low-Ability) books have content geared towards older children with a lower reading age. |
| Nash Mills | Hemel Hempsted | STEM |
3x KNEX Project Sets - Intro. to Machines to help with both specific topics in science/D+T (e.g. forces, gears/pulleys) and more generally in STEM-based learning, particularly in the neglected realm of engineering. With 1100 in each pack, the sets will allow their children to work in groups of 2 or 3 to investigate, explore, create their own test and evaluations with full engagement. |
| Moss Bury | Stevenage | STEM |
4x multifunction ovens and a food mixer to get their food room up and running. Initially catering for their deaf students, the facilities will be extended to small groups of mixed mainstream pupils and the Phoenix Group (charity) during holidays. The equipment will enhance learning in the food side of D+T in both KS1 and 2 as well as developing essential life skills for all pupils. |
| Wymondley | Hitchin | English |
31x sets of Little Wandle Fluency books and resources covering reading speeds of 60wpm upt to 120 wpm. The books will help develop fluency which, in turn, will aid the range of comprehension skills and builds upon the successful implementation of Little Wandle phonics in Reception/Y1. The books will also be available to take home for further practice. |
| Reedings Junior | Sawbridgeworth | STEM |
A 3D printer, primarily for Y6, to enhance learning and motivation in their 3D modelling unit by creating their designs in real-life and to help them fully understand 3D printing across industries. Staff and digital leaders will also be trained on the equipment to facilitate its application across the wider curriculum and year groups. |