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Mum's guide to Harpenden
The Word About Town
Issue 25, October 2018
Welcome
As always life has been busy at Mum's guide to.  We have welcomed more new Mum's guide to sites, most recently Hertford, and now have a total of five:  Bournemouth, Harpenden, Hertford, Romford and St Albans.  It's certainly an exciting time, if a little hectic!  

If you're like us, you will have just about got into the swing of the kids being back at school and the normal routine, but may have only just caught up with the 'to do' list which built up over the summer holidays!  Sadly, mine seems to be growing rather than shrinking.  Even so, it's a great time of year to enjoy the wonderful place in which we live;  the trees are turning, the colours are beautiful and the conkers are shining, much like our kids' faces when they find them.  It's easy to get swept along in the everyday but it's definitely worth taking time out to enjoy the moment, especially as the craziness of Christmas will be here before we know it!

This is also the time of year when a lot of people's thoughts turn to applications for nurseries, schools and colleges for next year.  Remember to have a look at our Education and Childcare section for some guidance.  And if you're applying for secondary schools take a look at the latest news from Katherine Warington below.  And don't forget the closing date for secondary school applications is 31st October.   Good luck with those decisions!
Beechwood Park School Open Morning - Friday 19th October
music.jpg Beechwood Park School
01582 840333
 
Beechwood Park School may be a school you are considering if you have nursery, infant or junior age children.  Situated in stunning parkland just 15 minutes from Harpenden and 20 minutes from St Albans, Beechwood Park offers an environment were children can flourish. 

"Going places. With its dynamic new head and, in the words of one happy parent, 'feel good factor', Beechwood should definitely be on the list of parents who want the certainty of a quality end destination for their child without compromising the joy of the journey." 
Good Schools Guide, 2017
 

Beechwood Park School are holding their Open Morning on Friday 19th October.  To find out more call 01582 840333 or visit 
www.beechwoodpark.com.
The Southdown Play Areas Charity
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The Southdown Play Areas charity is very close to being able to build an exciting new Toddler Zone at Parva Close play area in Southdown. We have been fundraising hard and are on a final push to raise the rest of the money needed.

Please can you help us?

· Buy one our wonderful I ❤️ Harpenden or I ❤️ Southdown jute bags for just £5!
· Attend our fundraising quiz night with fish and chip supper on 17 November 2018.
· Visit our donation page to donate directly.

Please email southdownplayareas@gmail.com or see our website for more details! Thank you for your support!
The new Hertfordshire Family Centre Service
From 1st October 2018, the Children’s Centres as you knew them changed to Family Centres and they are now managed by InspireAll for Hertfordshire County Council.

Here are some other useful pointers from the new Family Centres: 

  • The new phone number is 0300 1237572, please choose the option for ‘Family Centre’.
  • The new website is www.hertsfamilycentres.org.  Here you are able to contact us via email, register with the new service and sign up for email updates.  There are links to the new programme of events, plus links for further advice and support. Booking on to courses/events and payments is all be done using Eventbrite through the website.
  • The new Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/StAlbansFCS
  • The four centres in Harpenden, Redbourn and Wheathampstead will only be open when there are timetabled activities taking place.  If you need to collect Women’s and Children’s vitamins these will be available from the Health Visitor Well Baby Clinics.
Please do make sure you register now in order to be able to access the new service.
Drama Llamas
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Spend some time with your child's imagination!

Before your child even picks up a pen or starts to read they need to hear rich language though rhymes, riddles and, you guessed it, stories!  All of this not only gives your child the building blocks to become a confident, fluent reader but also a love of language, which in turn enables them to communicate their needs and express their feelings.  They also learn the skills to entertain others using their own stories, with essential embellishments!

We live our life through stories. Stories about getting to work through terrible adversity, or what happened at the doctor’s today.  We bond over favourite family stories and when we reminisce with friends. Stories make up the fabric of society on a personal to a global scale, from the tales told of World Wars or that one about the time Granny forgot put her teeth in on Christmas day!  It’s how we make sense of the world and they are crucial.

Stories are what Drama Llamas is all about and stories make the world go around. Miss it, miss out!

Drama Llamas runs weekly classes and parties in Harpenden & St. Albans. We also run sessions for nurseries and schools.  Free trial session available.    Email info@dramallamas.co.uk or call 07718828697 

Education Update
Katherine Warington gets go ahead

You will probably all be aware by now that the the Court of Appeal denied permission for Right School Right Place to appeal against the High Court Judgment made on August 2nd in relation to the planning permission for the new secondary school in Harpenden.  As a result of this decision the school have said that works on the site should start this year and the school will open in September 2019. 

If you are applying for secondary schools now for September 2019 it is worth noting that there is a separate process for applications to Katherine Warington.  This means that you can nominate up to four secondary schools in the usual way through the Herts County Council application process AND make an application for a place at Katherine Warington.  You will then be offered a place at one of your nominated preferences (places and admissions criteria permitting) AND a place at Katherine Warington School (places and admissions criteria permitting).  Offers will be made on 01/03/2019. If Katherine Warington have not entered into a funding agreement with the Secretary of State for opening the school by that date, the Katherine Warington offer will be a conditional offer and will be confirmed once they have a signed funding agreement. Please see the school's website for more details.

Primary School Applications

Do you have a child turning 5 between Sept 2019 and Sept 2020?  If so, local primary schools have started to publish their open days and tours for prospective parents for 2019/20. To save you trawling through the individual school websites we've done it for you and compiled the list on our School Open Days page.

Not every school offers formal tours and some haven't announced dates yet, but most are on the page already, so take a look, book your places and get the dates in your diary! We will add any others as they are announced.

The applications process will open on 5th November. And full details of the process can be found on the county council website.  The deadline is 15th January 2019.

Sixth Form Open Days

If you have a child in Year 11, not only do they have their GCSEs to worry about but also what to do next! One of the 16+ options is of course Sixth Form, and the dates of the Open Events and information meetings for local Sixth Forms is now on our website.

New places to visit in Harpenden

Giggling Squid and MUST open in town

We were lucky enough to be invited to try out both the new recent additions to Harpenden Town Centre - Giggling Squid and MUST.  Both bring very different offerings, with Giggling Squid providing a new option for eating out with family and friends, and MUST providing a sophisticated option for an adults night out, as well as morning coffees and lunches.  But both are equally fantastic.  Read our reviews of both on our website blog.
Halloween Happiness and Fabulous Fireworks!
Halloween and Half Term Happenings

Here in Hertfordshire, Halloween this year will fall in the middle of half term for most.  Interestingly, nearly everywhere else in England has their half term the week before.  Therefore, it may be worth checking out some of those slightly further away places where you've always wanted to go but never do in school holidays because they're too busy ...but shhhhh, we don't want everyone cottoning on!  But it does mean that some of our usual half term haunts (!) won't be holding events during our half term, but luckily plenty still are.  There is the Pumkin Festival at Willows, Spook Fest at Aldenham Country Park, Boo at the Zoo at Whipsnade, Howl-o-ween at Paradise Wildlife Park, Reptiles at Hatfield Farm Park, not to mention the events being organised  at St Albans Museum & Gallery, Milton Keynes Museum, Tring Natural History Museum, RSPB Rye Meads and so many more.  Plus, Circus Zyair will be in town 30th Oct until 4th Nov.  So, for some spooky (and some not so spooky) goings-on check out our What's On page and find something to entertain you and your kids this half term!   If you would like some more inspiration have a look at our Monthly Picks for October and our Tried & Tested articles - there is so much for everyone that we challenge anyone to announce they are bored!

Firework Fun

And if Halloween is just around the corner it must also nearly be time for some wonderful fireworks.  We are very lucky to have a great selection of organised events to attend - Harpenden Rugby Club Fireworks on 4th November, Crabtree Fireworks Spectacular on 10th November, Redbourn Common Fireworks on 3rd November, St Albans Firework Display on 3rd November and Wheathampstead Fireworks on 4th November.   So you can ooo and ahhh to your heart's content! 
Where to see Santa  (shhhh, did we say that out loud in October?!)
It may seem a little early, but now is the time to start thinking about where to see Santa if you have a particular place in mind.  (I am determined to one day take the kids to the Harrods' grotto, but every year miss the date as booking takes place in August, and my head is far from ready for Christmas in the summer holidays!  So really talking about this in October is absolutely fine!)  With this in mind we have done some of the hard work for you and have created our ultimate guide to all the Santa's Grottoes and Father Christmas Experiences taking place in the local area this year.  From train rides to winter wonderlands you can find them all in our guide.  Ho Ho Ho!
The Final Word
Phew, what a lot of amazing things there are for us to enjoy in Harpenden and surrounds.  We really are very lucky.  So, all that remains is for us to wish you a wonderful few months and we'll be back with our next newsletter in January, but in the meantime enjoy our website and all it has to offer!
Alison, Angela, Carol & Katie
Mum's guide to Harpenden
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Please note that the articles in this newsletter are written by third party businesses as specified at the end of each article. Any opinions are the article writer's opinions and not Mum's Guide To Limited's opinions. Mum's Guide To Limited do not represent or guarantee the truthfulness, accuracy or reliability of any article by any of the Businesses in this newsletter or endorse any opinions expressed by them, or products or services provided by them.
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