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HEAT offers comprehensive training and support to help members confidently engage with the system, unlock the full value of their data, and strengthen evaluation practice.
- Member Services
- Training & Support
Understanding how we support our members
Our members are central to everything we do; our priority is to ensure they are confident using the database so they can get the most out of their data. We appreciate that with a database and service with such a wide variety of benefits and flexibility, there is a lot to learn in order to use HEAT optimally.
We provide high quality training resources to build evaluation capabilities around our shared system, ensuring that all members can get the most out of the service.
How we support our members
Online Training & Support
Our online courses are designed to support members of all abilities with a structured learning pathway through the stages of evaluation; from getting started with configuring the database through to reporting on outcomes and evidencing impact.
Read more about HEAT’s online training courses below.
We also provide daily assistance on the Helpdesk at HEAT Support, where questions will be responded to and members can book to meet with a member of the team for help and advice.
Webinars & Events
We deliver a range of webinars and events on all aspects of the HEAT Service, including how to interpret data and reporting.
We also provide technical help and guidance with using the system across our technical update deployments.
Learn more about our upcoming webinars and events.
Resources & Comms
Members are further supported through our guides and videos, alongside a suite of Data Protection resources to support compliance.
We regularly communicate with our membership through our e-bulletin, Research Blog and website to ensure members are kept up to date with the latest developments.
Learn more about our latest news.
Online Training Courses
Our growing suite of online courses support members to build confidence in using HEAT, develop strong evaluation practice and get the most from the system.
Each course is designed to be:
- Evaluation-Focused: Learn to use HEAT to generate robust evidence of impact for your interventions.
- Modular and Incremental: Build your knowledge step-by-step through bite-sized modules, covering essential skills to advanced topics.
- Practical and Solutions-Focused: Tackle common challenges in the sector, and learn clear pathways to practical solutions.
- Flexible and Self-Paced: Access training anytime, with content that supports you to learn at your own pace.
- Supported with Optional Follow-Up: Book optional support sessions to deepen learning and address specific questions about the course material.
HEAT Online Training Framework
We are building up the number of online courses to complete our framework, which offers a structured journey through the HEAT system.
We currently have three courses available, with more courses coming soon. For more information on the courses currently available, including how to access them, please see the Available Online Courses section.
Available Online Courses
This foundational course is designed for all HEAT users and provides a clear, practical understanding of the pathway from collecting data to making meaningful impact claims. Whether you’re new to the system or looking to deepen your expertise, this course will ensure you are better equipped to get the most out of the system, and use it effectively and confidently.
Building on this strong foundation, we are developing a series of advanced knowledge courses to support members to enhance their data collection, evaluation, reporting and analysis skills.
This foundational knowledge course is designed for all HEAT Coordinators and Point of Contacts and provides you with the essentials you need to feel confident in managing HEAT for your organisation.
This course will guide you through managing User accounts, data sharing and data cleaning, and will help you to save time, avoid common mistakes, and know exactly where to find answers when colleagues come to you with questions.
This advanced knowledge course is designed for all HEAT users. It supports members with the Analysing Impact stage of the evaluation cycle, and offers a detailed guide on how to use the system to evidence the impact of your pre-16 attainment-raising activities on GCSE exam attainment.
This is a specialist knowledge course that is designed for all HEAT users. It provides a guide to all the key information members need to know to manage your Ambassador programme at your organisation, from recruiting Ambassadors, setting up their access to the Ambassador Portal, creating Work Opportunities and managing applications to their jobs.
This is helpful guide for new users exploring the features, and a great refresher for those already using them.
Accessing Online Courses
HEAT’s online training courses are hosted on the University of Kent’s external Moodle system. Within this, we have our own HEAT Training area for all members to use.
To access the training courses, HEAT users can easily set up their own Moodle account and login. This provides access to course content, enables progress tracking, and allows users to revisit materials at any time. A User Guide for setting up your account and accessing the online training course can be found on File Store (members only).
The online training courses are available to all HEAT users – for new members as part of the onboarding process and existing members to refresh knowledge. We strongly recommend working through as much content as possible to optimise your use of the system.
If you have any questions about accessing the online training courses, please contact HEAT Support.
HEAT Support
HEAT provides a ticket-based Helpdesk for any day-to-day queries from members. HEAT Support is open Monday to Friday, 9AM to 3PM and is the first point of contact for all enquiries. Outside these hours, please access our Report an Emergency page for any high priority concerns, data breach or security emergencies.
Following onboarding to the HEAT Service, members have access to a comprehensive suite of User Guides, videos, webinars and wider resources.
Explore the System & Service
Overview
Learn more about data and tools we offer that can support with each stage of the evaluation cycle.