Email News & Updates
March 2013 - update
Notifications will be going out to schools regarding the impending upgrade from Live@Edu to Office 365.
The dates for the upgrades are being defined by Microsoft in their national rolling program and schools will be notified when it is their turn to be migrated.
This project is to ensure that all herts.sch.uk email domains are upgraded to Office 365 within the next few months.
Schools should immediately ensure that they start to use a new URL for accessing their email.
- After the upgrade, users can no longer access email by going to
- To ensure your users can access email before and after the upgrade using the same URL, update your email sign-in URL now to :
https://www.outlook.com/<<Domain name>>
eg: https://www.outlook.com/myschool.herts.sch.uk
Schools should also ensure that they are using the correct version of Internet Explorer:
User guides etc. will posted on this page as soon as they are available.
Once all the upgrades have been completed we will offer further guidance and training to support the use of other Office 365 services that can be licensed via Microsoft.
Moving on into the future Office 365 will undergo a further upgrade and move across to the 2013 version of Office 365. Again information, training and documentation will be provided as available.
April 2013 – update
Schools will begin to receive confirmation of their email migration DATE from Live@Edu to Office 365. This is largely a ‘Do Nothing’ upgrade and schools should find no disruption to their email service during the upgrade.
While the upgrade is in process, administrators can’t add, delete or modify users, or reset passwords. You will receive an email when the process is complete
Schools will be notified of the upgrade by email to the Head and Administration accounts.
Providing you have changed the URL, as recommended in the March update, users should see very little difference in the way they use their email system.
The link on the Home page of the Grid has been changed to accommodate the revised access to email arrangements.
Additional information for users with existing Live@Edu SkyDrive accounts.
After the upgrade, each user will have two accounts: (both accounts use the same user name and password as Live@Edu):
- An Office 365 account. This account is managed by the educational institution and is used to access all Office 365 for education services.
- A personal Microsoft account. This account can be used to access existing Live@Edu SkyDrive content, Messenger, Zune and Xbox settings.
Users should access their personal Microsoft account SkyDrive at:
Mail Administration
There are several important differences between the personal Microsoft account and the user's previous Live@edu account:
- The Microsoft account is now a personal account for each user.
- This account uses the same username and password as the Live@edu account did.
- Note that this can be confusing for users, since they now have two accounts with the same username
- The Microsoft account can't be administered by the educational institution.
- As an administrator, you can't reset the password for the account.
- You can't delete the account.
- The standard header is used no matter which services the user accesses, with no co-branding. It gives users access to Messenger, SkyDrive and MSN.
- Advertising will be displayed on this account unless a student is determined to be under the age of 13.
Further upgrades
Once all the email upgrades have been completed we will offer further guidance and training to support the use of other Office 365 services that can be licensed via Microsoft.
Moving on into the future Office 365 will undergo a further upgrade and move across to the 2013 version of Office 365. Again information, training and documentation will be provided as available.
February 2013
Most Hertfordshire maintained schools and academies have been successfully using Microsoft’s Live@Edu email application for nearly two years. Microsoft has now developed a new email application which includes more functionality called Office 365.
Office 365 is being offered to all its existing and new email customers (both business and education) and Microsoft wish to have all existing users of Live@Edu migrated to Office 365 by end 2013.
The migration from Live@Edu to Office 365 will be considerably easier than the migration from RM’s EasyMail to Live@Edu as it is an upgrade rather than a complete change of product, as happened previously. The look and feel of Office 365 is just the same as Live@Edu. School IT Systems Support (SITSS) are working closely with Microsoft to agree a migration plan for Hertfordshire schools. This means school staff will not be required to do anything to make the move.
If you are considering self migration from RM EasyMail to Microsoft’s Office365 you may find the attached guidance of help.
Guidance to Self Migrate from RM Easymail to Office365 
Further communications will be issued when we have more information.
30 July 2012: Logging into Microsoft Live@Edu
We have informed Microsoft of the problem, until it is fixed the following workaround may be helpful to you:
- Go to http:\\outlook.com/ecp
- Type in login details and click “Sign in”
- This should load the user into their settings. To go to emails, click “Mail” in the top left corner and this should allow the user to access emails.
20 July 2012: Microsoft Security Notification
Microsoft recently enhanced the security requirements of Live@Edu e-mail. Users of Live@Edu may be prompted to provide an alternate e-mail address or phone number as a secondary security authentication method. If you are using Microsoft Office Outlook software or a mobile device you should not receive this request.
In certain situations, an end user of Live@Edu may be prompted to change their password if it is not a strong password. A strong password contains 7-16 characters, does not include common words or names, and combines uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers and symbols.
It is recommend that young people under the age of 13 years old do not provide their own personal alternative e-mail address or phone number when requested by Live@Edu.
Other users can decide if they wish to provide alternative personal information.
Pupils under 13 years of age and other users who prefer not to give out personal information should not fill these fields out and ignore the request by clicking save.
Minor Maintenance on 7th February 2012
Minor maintenance is planned to the Microsoft Live@Edu Service Management Portal accessed via
This might have an effect on enrolment, administration and reporting in Live@Edu.
The interruption will occur on 7th February between 10am and 12pm. Users might experience a maximum 30 minute interruption.
16th January 2012
Free Deployment Kits for Schools
Microsoft has recently supplied Hertfordshire with Live@Edu deployment kits for 150 schools using Live@Edu. The aim of these deployment kits is to promote the e-mail system within schools.
The deployment kit contains two:
- USB Keys
- Posters
- Window Clings
- Pencil Tubes
- Bookmarks
- Notepads
- Pens
- Monitor Hangers
- Table Tents
The USB memory sticks contain various documents that can be used to develop the use of Live@Edu.
In order to request a kit please send an e-mail from your school to liveatedu@lea.herts.sch.uk with the name of the box recipient in the body of the e-mail. These will be distributed on a first come, first served basis.
If your school does not have e-mail supported by SITSS your Headteacher should also receive full administrator details during the next few days. In the event that your school would like to reconsider e-mail support please contact the SITSS helpdesk on 01438 844777 or e-mail sitss.technical@hertscc.gov.uk
If you have any queries about the deployment kits please email : ictcurriculum@hertscc.gov.uk
10th January 2012
Several additional support documents have been produced for users of Microsoft Live@Edu
These include:
- Data security guidance
- Setting up shared calendars
- Managing junk e-mail
- Transferring mail from another account
- Including global addresses in your private contacts
- Removing incorrect auto complete addresses
These documents can be found at:
12th December 2011
Important - Email Virus Scam
Please remember to never click on links from unexpected emails.
A number of people have recently received emails with harmful viruses:
- the email contains a link which takes you to a webpage which says you have a virus on your computer
- the webpage offers to fix the virus with a small downloadable program
- if you attempt to install the file, a virus is installed on your computer.
Fortunately, the recommended anti-virus software (McAfee) is currently detecting this and deleting the file, provided McAfee is up to date. However, please do remember not to click on any links from unexpected emails, no matter how genuine they look. If you receive a message which says your computer has a virus, immediately call the your support provider.
Janine Bryant
Head School IT Systems Support (SITSS)
30 June 2011: Live@Edu support
Email plays a critical role in schools therefore we have set out the future support pathways, including ongoing support, training and maintenance for Microsoft Live@Edu. Any school that has opted for Microsoft Live@Edu for e-mail should have recently received the e-mail below about support along with another attachment about support packages. The message includes essential contact information in the event that challenges arise.
Email to schools - Live@Edu support
School IT Systems Support - Support Options for Live@Edu
21 June 2011: Dealing with Spam Issues
Ignore spam messages and block the sender.
26 May 2011: Email Scam
It has come to our attention that some Live@Edu users have been receiving e-mail from a company informing them they are reaching their mail limit of ‘250mb’ and that account validation is required. See below.
This e-mail is phishing for information and is a scam. Please add it to your blocked senders list.
24 May 2011: In School Live@Edu Training
Many Hertfordshire schools are considering the CPD requirements for the new Microsoft Live@Edu (Office 365) mail service. We can visit your school to provide ‘hands on’ user and local mail manager training for Live@Edu.
For more information
Email: ictcurriculum@hertscc.gov.uk
20 May 2011: Mail from teachinherts.com filtered by Live@Edu (Office 365)
It has come to our attention that some e-mail alerts from the Hertfordshire school recruitment website http://www.teachinherts.com/ are being seen as ‘junk mail’ by the new Live@Edu (Office 365) mail service.
Unfortunately we are unable to apply a rule across the authority at this point in time that will allow the site to be seen as a safe sender for all Hertfordshire schools using Live@Edu. We are working with Microsoft in order to try and solve this issue.
For information on how to resolve this issue:
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