Sandringham School to become national teaching school hub

Sandringham School is to become one of only 81 designated teaching school hubs in England.

Under the new plans announced by the Department for Education last week, teachers across the country will benefit from vital developmental support and expert advice, allowing them to improve a broad range of vital teaching skills.

Sandringham headteacher Alan Gray said: “This is the start of a new journey in professional development for schools in Hertfordshire and we are delighted to be able to help lead this national initiative across the county.

"Schools in our area have traditionally worked closely together and this provides the opportunity to strengthen these links, and to ensure the highest quality training and development across the spectrum from new entrants to prospective headteachers.

"Planning the start of the new hub has begun, and will involve 250 schools from primary to secondary. We are confident the new Alban Teaching School Hub will make a significant contribution to improving educational outcomes for all young people in our care.”

The teaching school programme was announced in 2019 and was followed by a procurement to successfully appoint six test and learn hubs, appointed in January 2020.

The 81 new hubs will be rolled out in addition to those six existing test and learn hubs, meaning there will be nationwide coverage for the first time.

Each hub, all of which will be operational and helping schools from this September, will have its own defined geographical patch and will be expected to be accessible to all schools within that area, serving on average around 250 schools each.