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2 weeks ago | 
thecomet.net | DeboRah Price |Deborah Price
A polling station sign (Picture: Yui Mok/PA) Despite uncertainty around the future structure of district, borough and county councils, Hertfordshire residents will be heading to the polls on Thursday, May 1. Across the country, many councils opted to delay the next election to await the outcome of government mandated local authority reorganisation.
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2 weeks ago | 
thecomet.net | DeboRah Price |Deborah Price
Polling station (Image: Archant) Despite uncertainty around the future structure of district, borough and county councils, Hertfordshire residents will be heading to the polls on Thursday, May 1. Across the country, many councils opted to delay the next election to await the outcome of government mandated local authority reorganisation. Hertfordshire currently operates a two-tier local government structure – with a single county council and 10 district or borough councils.
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3 weeks ago | 
watfordobserver.co.uk | DeboRah Price |Deborah Price
The number of fines handed to parents has more than doubled (Image: Pexels) The number of fines issued to Hertfordshire parents who have taken their children out of school to go on holiday has more than doubled since a change in national guidance. Previously parents could expect to receive a fine if their children were absent from school for 15 half-day sessions or more in a 12-month period.
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3 weeks ago | 
watfordobserver.co.uk | DeboRah Price |Deborah Price
Council to pay parent £700 after complaint about EHCP process (Image: Will Durrant) Hertfordshire County Council is set to pay a parent £700 following a complaint to the Ombudsman about the issuing of an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). A parent claimed that the council had taken too long to assess her son’s needs and issue the EHCP, had ‘named’ an unsuitable school for her son to attend, and had "communicated with her poorly".
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1 month ago | 
thecomet.net | DeboRah Price |Deborah Price
Plans have been drawn-up for additional ‘specialist resource provisions’ at primary schools in Letchworth and Welwyn Garden City. Specialist Resource Provisions (SRPs) are designed to meet the needs of children with speech, language or communication needs, including autism – offering specialist support within a mainstream setting. Nine SRPs already operate from five in primary and four secondary schools across the county – with two more planned to open in September.
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1 month ago | 
watfordobserver.co.uk | DeboRah Price |Deborah Price
Hertfordshire County Council allowances have been (Image: Hertfordshire County Council) Allowances paid to county councillors next year (2025/26) are to be set in line with any pay rise awarded to council staff, it has been agreed. All 78 county councillors are currently allocated a ‘basic allowance’, of £12,051 a year (2024/25). Those with other responsibilities can claim higher amounts – currently up to £60,255 for the leader of the council and £36,153 for executive members.
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1 month ago | 
whtimes.co.uk | DeboRah Price |Deborah Price
Children from Sherrardswood School outside Hertfordshire County Hall. (Image: Frances Knox) Hertfordshire County Council is to "investigate sources of funding" for a crossing outside a school in Welwyn – after parents and teachers raised concerns about the 70mph speed limit. Parents and teachers from the Sherrardswood School – which sits off the A1000 dual carriageway – say the current speed limit poses “an unacceptable risk” to their children.
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1 month ago | 
whtimes.co.uk | DeboRah Price |Deborah Price
Councillors have agreed that a county council-owned site in Hatfield – once earmarked as a potential site for a waste incinerator – can be sold off. The ‘New Barnfield Centre’ site, off Travellers Lane, was home to the Hatfield School, between 1971 and 1990. It was later proposed as a potential site for a waste incinerator, until the controversial proposals were refused by the Secretary of State in 2014.
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1 month ago | 
thecomet.net | DeboRah Price |Deborah Price
Numbers are set to reduce at St Mary's CE Junior School in Baldock (Image: Google) New Reception places at a Baldock primary school are set to reduce from September. County councillors agreed to reduce the number of places available at four primary schools in Hertfordshire. From September the number of Reception places available at St Mary’ CE Infant School, in Baldock, will be reduced from 60 to 30. Places will also reduce in schools in St Albans and Harpenden.
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2 months ago | 
whtimes.co.uk | DeboRah Price |Deborah Price
County councillors are to consider whether a former secondary school – once earmarked as a potential site for a waste incinerator – should be disposed of. Between 1971 and 1990, the New Barnfield site, off Travellers Lane, was home to the Hatfield School. Reused as a central resources library and the Park Education Support Centre until 2015, the remainder of the site had previously been allocated for a proposed ‘energy from waste’ facility.
