Schools and learning

Specialist Schools in Hertfordshire

What is a specialist school?
The specialist schools programme is a government initiative which encourages secondary schools to specialise in certain areas of the curriculum to boost achievement.

The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust offers support and advice to schools who are bidding to become specialist schools. It also offers training events to ensure that best practice arising from the programme is shared.

Specialist schools give a young person more opportunities by enabling them to pursue a wider range of activities in the specialist area, both in school and after school. Having specialist status does not mean that other subjects are neglected. Almost all of Hertfordshire’s secondary schools have now become specialist schools and several hold second and third specialisms, which have been awarded because of their high performance.


What are the benefits?
Specialist status encourages schools to work on their strengths, becoming leaders in the area of expertise and driving innovation.

One of the criteria of a school being designated specialist status is that the school must work together and share its resources and expertise with at least five local primary, secondary or special schools, passing on the benefits to all students in the community. A database has been set up by Hertfordshire County Council to record which schools are benefiting from links with specialist schools.

Specialist status also gives parents and students more choice when deciding what school to apply for, helping them to choose a school that specialises in a subject the child enjoys and is good at.


How does a school become a specialist school?
To gain specialist status, a school has apply to the DCSF. The application has two main sections, the community plan and the school plan.

As part of the community plan schools have to consider work with partner schools and potential learning opportunities for community groups. They must give specific consideration to gaps in services and how links with other initiatives will help address these.

As part of the specialist development plan schools have to provide information about their management and resources, identify how activities will be co-ordinated and what equipment and staff resources will be provided. They also have to set targets to show how their work on their specialism will raise standards across the school.

Specialist schools receive money for investment in buildings and facilities and additional funding for each pupil. At least one third of this must be spent on supporting the work of partner schools and the wider community to share the benefits of their expertise.


How can my child get into my local specialist school?
Specialist schools are part of the normal school application process. Children do not have to sit an exam.


Training schools
These are centres of excellence for training. Training schools demonstrate excellent practice across the range of teacher training activities, especially in initial teacher training and the continuing development of the whole school workforce.

Training schools are ambitious and influential, and they must fit a range of challenging criteria linked to their success as a specialist school and the standards their pupils have achieved in tests.


How do I know which schools are specialist or training schools?
Please click on the document at the bottom of the page for a list of specialist and training schools in Hertfordshire. Further detailed information about the specialist schools programme can be found on Specialist Schools and Academies Trust or Government Standards websites.