Primary Award Winners: Summer 2022
Here is a round-up of the awarded so far in the summer term of 2022. 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 | Focus Area | Award Summary | Amount |
Hoblett's Manor | Hemel Hempstead | English | 7 treasure chests and a wide variety of books to engage and enthuse children about reading. | 1000 |
Central | Watford | STEM | 20 Micor:bit GO bundles and an Inventor's Kit to enable pupils to see their coding in action on real hardware. | 985 |
St. Mary's Catholic | Bishops Stortford | English | A diverse range of class-based library books ranging widely across genres and themes, developing their knowledge of cultural differences, current global challenges, and knowledge linked to many areas of the curriculum. | 1000 |
Benington Primary | Stevenage | English | Little Wandle phonics scheme membership, 120 decodable readers and classroom resources to standardise the phonics learning in R and Y1 and enable catch-up in other years. | 959 |
Almond Hill Junior | Stevenage | Foundation | 30 Headphone/Microphone sets to allow children to use immersive reader, dictate and other audio tools as well as listen to their animations, tutorials and personalised learning tasks. | 690 |
Colney Heath | St. Albans | English | 3 sets of Little Wandle phonics system reading books for reception classes to facilitate phonics sessions 3 times a week and consistent phonic-orientated reading at home. | 1000 |
Longmeadow | Stevenage | English | Multiple copies of Little Wandle phonics readers to catch up with progress in KS1 and facilitate home phonics reading. | 1000 |
Bayford CE | Hertford | English | 3 sets of Little Wandle phonics scheme books to start their new SSP programme to comply with government guidelines and interest/engage pupils. | 1000 |
Saffron Green | Borehamwood | STEM | Secure charging trolley to enable all classes to have easy, efficient access and charging facilities for their new chromebooks and to make full use of learning platforms, differentiated tasks and independent learning. | 1000 |
St. John the Baptist | Ware | English | Little Wandle phonics scheme training, membership and books to kick-start their SSP programme. | 1000 |
Thorn Grove | Bishops Stortford | STEM | Data loggers and blood flow sensors to facilitate pupils' "systematic adn careful observations... taking accurate measurements... using a range of equipment...' | 932 |
Primary Award Winners: Spring 2022
Here is a round-up of the awarded so far in the spring term of 2022. 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 | Focus Area | Project | Amount (£) |
Brookmans Park Primary | Multi-focus | All-day assemblies/workshops by global adventurer, James Ketchel to inspire and develop risk-taking, resilience and resourcefulness. | 500 |
Cassiobury Junior | Effective/Outdoor L. | A greenhouse to enable learning about biodiversity, healthy eating etc. | 1000 |
The Grange Academy | English | Various magazine subscriptions for each year group inc. National Geographic, How it Works and The Week Junior. | 1000 |
St. Meryl | English | 4 iPads for the library to help with research, book search and large print/audio access | 1000 |
St. John's RC (Baldock) | Multi-focus | Healthy Bodies/Minds Day: PE, wellbeing drama and cookery specialist workshops | 1000 |
Maple Grove | STEM | 5 iPads for small groups and Tapestry learning journal | 1000 |
Cockernhoe | English | Little Wandle phonics membership, readers and resources | 959 |
Moss Bury | Multi-Focus | Books and resources to start 4 after-school clubs | 439 |
Watling View | PE | Equipment for their soft-play room to develop communication and gross motor skills | 1000 |
Harvey Road | STEM | 15 Freenove Ultimate Starter Kits for BBC micro:bit computers to develop understanding of components and coding | 960 |
Hillshott Infants | English | Membership of Little Wandle Phonics Scheme to embed a consistent phonics curriculum across the school. | 995 |
Hertingfordbury Cowper C/E | English | Three sets of Little Wandle Phonics decodable readers to enable home reading and catch-up. | 1000 |
Holy Family | Multi-Focus | Initial equiping of outdoor play area to aid communication, social and physical skills. | 1000 |
Wareside | Effective/Outdoor L. | Equipment to set up a Forest School to enhance wellbeing and build social skills, independence and problem solving. | 999 |
Shenley | English | 3 sets of Read/Write Inc. phonics books to reduce sharing, facilitate books being taken home and catch-up sessions. | 946 |
St. Michael's Woolmer Grn. | STEM | 8 Asus laptops for children to use in the classroom for presenting work, research and IT skills. | 1000 |
St. Pauls Catholic | English | Outdoor library, bean bags and book sets to promote and support leisure-time reading and study/homework. | 1000 |
Thundridge | English | A wide range of diverse and subject specific books to expose pupils to a wider range of genres, people, backgrounds and alternative professions. | 1000 |
Offley | English | A school-branded book vending machine for lending prize books to encourage reading at home and facilitate author focus periods. | 1000 |
Hoblett's Manor | English | A school-branded book vending machine to encourage reading at all levels and create a talking point about current "on-trend" books. | 1000 |
Primary Award Winners: Autumn 2021
Here's a quick summary of what primary schools in Hertfordshire have successfully bid for so far in this autumn term. Schools can bid for up to a total of £1000 per academic year (in a number of different applications if desired) and the budget is "refreshed" at the start of each term.
We wish them all the best with their amazing projects.
School | Focus Area | Project | Amount (£) |
The Wroxham School | PE | Basketball, hockey, netball and rugby equipment | 1,000 |
Tonwell St. Mary's | Multi-Focus | Forest School and Food Technology resources | 977 |
Stevenage and North Herts Writing Project | English | This year's focus book for all classes/schools and award ceremony contribution | 1000 |
Moss Bury | Effective Learning | Setting up a "chill room" | 488 |
Roebuck Academy | English | Book vending machine | 1000 |
Gade Valley | Multi-Focus | Allotment equipment | 832 |
St Mary's (Berkhamsted) | Multi-Focus | Google Classroom INSET | 975 |
Great Gaddesden | Multi-Focus | 4 Chromebooks and licences | 916 |
Applecroft | EL/O | Forest school equipment, activities pack and training | 798 |
Therfield First | Multi-Focus | Half-termly mindfulness workshops | 900 |
Applecroft | STEM | 4 Chromebooks and licenses for a loan scheme | 1000 |
Greenfields | STEM | 3D construction pens, refills and design mats | 814 |
Larkspur Primary Academy | Foundation | A range of music instruments and equipment | 937 |
Hartsbourne Primary | Effective/Outdoor Learning | Plant troughs, giant scales, multi-tables, balance boards, creative crates | 918 |
Cuffley | English | Little Wandle Phonics scheme and training | 995 |
Oxhey Wood | Foundation | 4 workshops and school trip | 980 |
Warren Dell | English | Book vending machine | 1000 |
Flamstead End | STEM | Science models and equipment | 996 |
Hollybush | STEM | iPad charging trolley | 855 |
St. Bernadette Catholic | English | Class sets of diverse/inclusive reading books | 1000 |
St. Margaret Clitherow R.C. | English | Wide range of reading for pleasure books | 1000 |
Ashwell | Multi-focus | Gardening/allotment structures and tools | 982 |
Wilbury Junior | Foundation | Historical timeline corridor art | 1000 |
Woodside | Foundation | Range of musical instruments | 977 |
Oakmere | EL/O | Junk music garden surfacing and instruments | 828 |
St. John's C/E | STEM | Electronic, robotic and K'nex equipment | 1000 |
Primary Award Winners for 2020/21
Primary Award Recipients for 2020/21
(Click on the school name for details of the awards won. Each school may make bids totalling a maximum of £1,000 over an academic year)
(Focus Key: MF = Multi-focus E = English F = Foundation EL/O = Effective Learning/Outdoors STEM = Science, technology, engineering, mathematics PE = Physical Education)
Primary Awards: Summer 2 Round-up
A lovely busy summer for us - here's a round-up of the primary awards we have been able to grant in the last half of this term:
Leverstock Green C/E Primary | E/OL | Shed, composter, water butt and poly-tunnel |
St. Mary's CE (Rickmansworth) | STEM | Digital cameras, headphones, robot and Beebot mat |
Icknield Walk First School | STEM | Kapow planning and resources for D+T |
Cockernhoe Primary | English | Wide range of non fiction texts for all curriculum areas |
Aycliffe Drive Primary | Multi-focus | 5 Raspberry Pi 400 computers and monitors |
St. Teresa's Catholic Primary | Multi-focus | Interactive Smartboard |
Cranborne Primary | Multi-focus | Wide range of STEM and outdoor equipment |
Thorn Grove Primary | Multi-focus | Equipment to set up a "Garden of Well-being" |
Purwell Primary | STEM | Diverse range of control technology devices |
Almond Hill Junior School | E/OL | Support for PP pupils on Y6 residential trip |
Wheatfields Infants/Nursery School | E/OL | Sensory room giant interactive bubble column |
Therfield track down two, tip-top teepees.
We were very pleased to award Therfield First School (Royston) a Multi-Subject Award for two large wooden teepees. In a strongly argued application, Tara McGovern (Headteacher), explained how the project would fit into their existing impressive drive for outdoor learning:
"At Therfield, we have been on a journey for effective outdoor learning for the past four years. We introduced 'Outdoor School' in May 2017, where all children had a weekly lesson outside, led by a specialist teacher. At the same time, we introduced greater emphasis on using our outside spaces for as many curriculum lessons as possible. In 2018, we introduced Forest School and now very proud of our high quality, embedded forest school provision.
We have fundraised to purchase outside overalls for all pupils and have created a welly wall to store our pupils’ wellies, which stay permanently at school. We want to be ready, during all weathers, to take our learning outside.”
Tara then went on to extol the many virtues of learning outdoors:
“We strongly feel that this offers a more practical, hands-on approach to learning, providing our pupils opportunities to make real life links to their learning. We also recognise and witness first-hand the benefits on our pupils emotional and social wellbeing by learning in the natural environment. …It also provides opportunities for pupils to learn and develop new skills and to find a voice that we do not always see within the classroom. …Children's imaginative play will be promoted…”
The teepees will benefit a very wide range of pupils:
The whole school will benefit. Outside, of the 5 teachers and our forest school specialist that the school employs to teach across our three classes, the teepees would also be used by other adults overseeing small groups/projects. This would include:
Teaching Assistants leading small groups
1:1 support, including SEN (Autism, Sensory, Additional Learning Needs)
Therapies - Play, Music, Lego etc
Reading groups
Mindfulness sessions
…These will run parallel to our outside learning circle and will be used by all pupils. They will be integral to outside learning lessons, small group and 1:1 interventions and in promoting pro-social experiences during break and lunch times.
…We also allow the local pre-school to use our outside spaces as they have very limited outside areas attached to the local village hall that they use. These would be available for the pre-school leaders to use with their young children.
…I also regularly reach out to the Children's Centre, that are based in the nearest town as they have very limited reach to our parents in the village. I am sure that these will prove a welcomed addition to any 'stay and play' sessions that they lead on site in the future.”
Finally, researching the best quality and effective products/services for a fair price always strengthens funding applications to us. Tara did just that:
“Ordinarily, these are exceptionally expensive and we are a very small school. Our budget is based on having just 52 pupils. We have seen much more cost-effective versions on the Costco website, and we would arrange for the teepees to be assembled.”