School Closures in Crawley on Monday 6th Feburuary - Updated – 18:20 – 5/2/12
Currently there are no reported school closures.
Schools have been asked, where possible, to keep their own websites updated.
If you know of any schools that are not on the above list please Facebook Crawley Happy Times or email bry@crawleyhappytimes.co.uk
Volunteers from Natures Way Foods Ltd supporting Seal Primary School, Selsey, to rebuild their Garden Club vegetable patch.
West Sussex County Council and the West Sussex Council for Voluntary Service Network (CVS) have launched a website supporting volunteering in the county.
‘Skillshare West Sussex’ promotes volunteering opportunities of between one day and two weeks duration. Social enterprises, voluntary organisations and community groups can use the website at www.skillshare-westsussex.org.uk to advertise their volunteering opportunities and these can be matched against the skills and availability of registered organisations and individuals.
County Council Deputy Leader Lionel Barnard, who has responsibility for enterprise, said: “The County Council recognises the value of promoting volunteering and of supporting both host organisations and volunteers to find opportunities suitable for them.
“The new website will complement many initiatives run by businesses, including the County Council’s own Employee Volunteering Scheme, which aims to encourage and support staff to take part in volunteering schemes that contribute towards active and independent communities.”
Kate Scales, Chief Executive of Voluntary and Community Action Chichester District, which manages the website, said: “Voluntary and community groups across West Sussex rely on the support of volunteers, but we appreciate not everyone has the time to commit to long term volunteering placements.
“This scheme aims to attract a new audience to volunteering and to support local communities with employee volunteering schemes to find placements for their staff. And as the slogan says, giving a little means a lot.”
The scheme has been designed to run alongside the service provided by the Volunteer Centres. But whereas the Volunteer Centres focus on longer term placements, the website will focus on short term opportunities. The site also enables organisations to showcase their volunteering achievements.
Natures Way Foods Ltd, from Selsey, was the first company to sign up to the new initiative. The company’s 500 employees are given one day a year to volunteer in their local community.
Its Community Partnership Advisor Nicky Upton said: “The Skillshare website is the perfect exchange platform between local community groups and businesses. Employees have the opportunity to use and share their skills in projects outside the workplace, benefiting from team building experience and meeting new people while at the same time giving something back to their local community.”
Rising fuel bills are stretching household finances and people are looking for ways to save money on their energy bills.
Help is at hand through Big Energy Week (16th-21st January 2012) which is being run by Citizens Advice. This has received support from local MP Henry Smith who is encouraging Crawley residents to find the best possible energy deal, which is now easier than ever.
Henry commented:
“Fuel bills are a big worry for many people at the moment. I am pleased to support Big Energy Week and hope it will make a big difference to my constituents. Help is now on hand that can really help every one of us to reduce our fuel bills this winter.
“Therefore I’m very pleased that several of the big fuel companies have dropped their fuel prices by an average of 5% with immediate effect. The cost of gas imports is now falling and British Gas, EDF, EON, Coop and Ovo are passing these price decreases on to their customers. This will certainly be welcome to the hard working families of Crawley.
“Following a meeting between the Prime Minister and the heads of the big energy companies earlier this year, new services have been created that allow customers to accurately compare fuel providers. Ofgem has backed this up by announcing plans to simplify tariffs to make it easier for customers to know exactly what the price each provider is offering.
“Previously there were 400 tariffs to choose from and so I greatly encourage everyone to take advantage of this new simplified system to make sure they are getting the best possible deal. Combined with the help offered by the Citizens Advice and the Big Energy Week, I hope everyone in Crawley can in some way lower their energy bills this winter.”
Citizens Advice, Chief Executive, Gillian Guy added: “We know hikes in prices have put extra pressure on people’s budgets at a time when money is already tight. Day in day out our Bureaux helping people who can’t afford their fuel bills.
“We’re worried that some people are struggling unnecessarily because they’re not on the best deal; live in homes that haemorrhage heat or are not getting all of the financial help available to them.
“More and more people are coming to us for advice on how they can save money on their energy bills. Through Big Energy Week we hope to help lots of people cut their fuel bills and ease their money worries.”
Follow Henry daily via: www.facebook.com/henrysmithmp; www.youtube.com/user/HenrySmithMP; or www.henrysmith.info.
West Sussex County Council Website Pages Will Update Residents On Industrial Action
West Sussex County Council has launched website pages designed to give residents as much warning and advice as possible about any disruption to services as a result of national industrial action on Wednesday 30th November.
The web pages will be regularly updated and will include details of any schools that might have to close – decisions that will be taken by headteachers in conjunction with governing bodies.
The County Council has been reviewing and updating business continuity plans for all its services, and has said it will do its utmost to ensure as little disruption as possible for the county’s most vulnerable residents.
Council Leader, Louise Goldsmith said: “If industrial action does take place, we will ensure that as much information is made available as possible to residents through the website, and as many other channels as possible including our local media.
“We must stress again that this is a national dispute over pensions that can only be settled at national level, and we hope a resolution will be found nationally that both matches the country’s economic circumstances and also the aspirations of staff working in local government and the public sector generally.”
The website information pages can be found by following front page links at www.westsussex.gov.uk
West Sussex County Council has been ranked 322 out of 1,301 businesses and organisations in the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficient Scheme.
The first performance league table for the scheme has been published this week by the Environment Agency. The table ranks participants in terms of their early action to manage their energy and is based on reports from each organisation.
Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources Michael Brown said: Iam delighted with our performance in this first league table. It reflects the considerable importance we place upon managing our energy consumption and reducing our carbon dioxide emissions.
In the past year we have updated our system for measuring and reporting emissions. We have also started a major project to roll out smart meters across all our buildings, and are working with the County’s schools and academies to support better energy management in their buildings.
As a result of all this work, we were awarded the Carbon Trust Standard, and this has greatly helped our position in the league table. So far we have reduced carbon dioxide emissions from our buildings by ten percent, and we aim to do more over the coming year.
Over 2010/11 the Council:
• Achieved a 10.5 percent carbon dioxide saving (based on 2008/09 baseline figures).
• This equates to a financial saving for the Council of £145,916 each year.
• Undertook projects including draughtproofing, pipework lagging, boiler and heater controls, loft and cavity wall insulation, and energy efficient lighting upgrades. Further projects will take place.
• Made energy efficient improvements to 83 percent of the County Council’s administrative buildings, 87 percent of Fire and Rescue Service buildings and ten percent of non-commercial buildings (e.g. community centres).
Future CRC league tables will be based on organisations efforts to improve their energy efficiency. The better an organisation performs in terms of cutting its emissions, the higher it will appear in the annual performance league table.
As well as reducing carbon emissions, the scheme will help organisations save money by reducing their energy bills.
FOUR West Sussex members of the UK Youth Parliament (UKYP) will take their seats in the House of Commons on Friday 4th November.
They are Lola Cole, of Steyning Grammar School, Liam Dallamore, of Crawley’s Ifield Community College, Dominic Stannard, of Worthing College, and Samuel Theodoridi, of St Philip Howard Catholic School, Barnham.
They were voted onto the UKYP after winning a place in this year’s West Sussex County Council Youth Cabinet elections.
They will join more than 300 other UKYP members from all over the country that will debate issues that matter the most to them in the House of Commons Chamber.
More than 60,000 young people across the UK took part in an online poll to decide which issues will be debated on 4th November.
The topics will include:
• The provision of public transport for young people.
• A graduate tax as an alternative to tuition fees.
• Zero tolerance towards bullying in schools.
Peter Evans, County Council Cabinet Member for Children and Families, said: “Our UKYP and Youth Cabinet work hard all year round to make sure the views of young people are known to the decision makers in West Sussex.
“Now they have an opportunity to express those views from the familiar green benches of the House of Commons chamber.”
“I miscarried five times because of a genetic condition but I’m really glad I didn’t have a birth child because I wouldn’t now have Nial,” says Mary, 46, from Chichester.
Mary is right behind West Sussex County Council’s campaign to raise awareness about Adoption and recruit more adoptive parents during National Adoption Week (October 31 to November 6).
The Council needs to recruit more adoptive parents because it has 27 West Sussex children, in foster care, who are waiting to be adopted. So far this year, 15 children have already been matched and adopted into local families.
Cabinet Member for Children and Families, Peter Evans, said: “We really need more people from all walks of life to come forward to adopt these children who are waiting to become part of someone’s family.
“There is a variety of reasons why children can’t remain with their birth families but if more people come forward it will mean these West Sussex children can be matched quickly and correctly with the right adoptive parents in the right home within the county.”
Mary says her advice to anyone considering becoming an adoptive parent is: “Do it, don’t hesitate. If you want to mother or father then adopting a child is just the most wonderful thing in the world. From starting the process to adopting Nial took only nine months and the bond between us is so strong. Our social worker was just fantastic and the home visits were a lot less intrusive than we imagined.
“We now have a loving, boisterous three year-old son who is very clingy because I know he’s frightened of being rejected. Friends have told me they’ve never seen me smile so much since adopting Nial; and it’s true. We are now going through the whole process again in the hope of adopting a little girl to add to our family.”
The two LEADER programmes covering West Sussex and the surrounding area have awarded their 101st grant supporting the rural economy and communities.
It means that grants worth more than £1.8 million have been awarded to farms, small businesses and rural communities across West Sussex, Havant borough and Lewes district.
To celebrate the achievement, West Sussex County Council Deputy Leader Lionel Barnard is visiting some of the projects awarded grants. The County Council administers the two LEADER grant programmes.
Lionel said: “Thanks to the funding from the LEADER programmes, the projects supported will help create 86 new jobs, with another 199 safeguarded. It represents a total investment in the rural economy and communities of more than £6.5 million.”
The grants have been awarded by the Sussex Downs and Low Weald Local Action Group (55 grants awarded), and the Three Harbours and Coastal Plain Local Action Group (46 grants awarded), made up of volunteers with experience and knowledge of local rural issues.
Recent applications include:
• A new farm shop that will help secure the future of a small traditional dairy farm at Southview Farm, Bury
• A new community run store for the village of Milland
• A new community allotments site serving the parishes of Ford, Clymping and Middleton-on-Sea
LEADER grants support local ideas and initiatives aimed at improving life in rural areas. Farms and small businesses can apply for grants towards investments to help improve their viability such as equipment, tourism and training.
Community groups can also apply for grants towards a range of initiatives including village halls and community facilities, community shops and conservation and heritage projects.
For further information on LEADER and how to apply for grants, visit the County Council website at www.westsussex.gov.uk/rdpeleader, e-mail rdpeleader@westsussex.gov.uk or contact 01243 756606.
West Sussex County Council is encouraging vulnerable people to be safe and get the flu jab this winter.
Cabinet Member for Adults’ Services Peter Catchpole said: “Flu can be life-threatening and prove fatal. I would encourage all residents who are eligible to receive a free flu vaccine to contact their local GP surgery and take up the offer.
“We’re also encouraging our frontline social care workers to have the vaccine to help ensure they’re protected and that we can continue to provide a full service over the flu season.”
The flu vaccination is available for free to:
• Pregnant women
• People who are over 65
• Carers
• People with long term conditions (such as diabetes, asthma, heart disease and multiple sclerosis)
To find out more, contact your local GP or pharmacist.
INTERNET businesses in West Sussex were targeted in an online swoop by officers from the County Council’s Trading Standards Service.
Posing as consumers, they made test purchases and then cancelled them to see if distance selling legal regulations were being met.
The regulations allow customers to obtain a full refund as long as they cancel before the expiry deadline of eight days after the goods are received.
Trading Standards found that:
• 80% of the businesses dealt with the cancellation and subsequent refund promptly.
• 20% of the businesses did not refund within the required time limit (30 days) or provide a full refund (which should include delivery costs).
• 70% of the businesses did not fully comply with the regulations because they did not provide essential information about the consumers’ rights to cancel in the correct format.
Pete Bradbury, County Council Cabinet Member for Public Protection, said: Our Trading Standards Service is now working with the businesses that were identified as non compliant. The aim is to ensure they are fully aware of the legal requirements and meet them from now on.
As the number of internet purchases continues to rise we urge consumers to be aware of their rights and businesses to be aware of their legal obligations.
The Office of Fair Trading has set up an internet site to provide information about Distance Selling for businesses www.oft.gov.uk/business-advice/treating-customers-fairly/dshome.
For consumers requiring advice, Consumer Direct can be contacted on 08454 04 05 06, or accessed via the Direct Gov website: www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/Consumerrights/index.htm.
Henry Smith MP has praised the Government for restricting immigration numbers to those who will contribute to society.
Henry said:
“Under Labour, nearly 2.2 million immigrants entered the United Kingdom. In 2005 we were the only country to open our borders completely to the eight new EU member states. Labour ministers predicted that only 13,000 people would arrive, but were proved massively wrong as approximately 750,000 came to our shores.
“Many immigrants do bring useful skills that we need, however, many more were arriving who became burdens on society rather than contributors. I’m particularly pleased that the immigration limit for unskilled workers is now zero. Previously, far too many were allowed to settle in the UK without any skills set which all too often rendered them dependent on taxpayer’s support. I fully support the Government’s decision to forcibly remove 55,000 people over the last three months who had no right to remain in Great Britain and the Government’s insistence that immigrants entering the UK, whether permanently or on student/work visas, should have a basic command of the English language.
“Now only skilled workers are permitted to enter the UK and only if they have a specific job offer already in place. This means that workers already living in the UK will now rightfully get priority for jobs. The number of skilled workers allowed in is also limited, though this limit has not been reached this year, or in 2010.”
Another area that the Government has tackled is that of immigrants abusing education and marriage as a way to stay in this country. 69 bogus colleges have had their licenses revoked with several more under investigation. All incoming students require a good level of English and are only allowed to stay on, after their studies, if they receive a firm job offer. These measures alone are predicted to cut net migration by 60,000 as those who abuse these visas, to work rather than study, will now be denied entry or deported.
Tackling the problem of sham marriages is a much tougher problem. New rules demanding a certain level of English have been introduced as well as requiring a couple to have lived together for at least five years, rather than only two years currently, before they can reside here. The sponsor will now also have to prove that they can support their new partner which will put an end to benefit migration.
Henry added:
“We simply cannot afford a repeat of the unchecked, mass immigration into the UK that we’ve seen over the past decade. Our focus now must be restoring the wellbeing of our national economy and ensuring that those out of work are helped back into work.”
Follow Henry daily via: www.facebook.com/henrysmithmp or visit: www.henrysmith.info for further details.
WEST Sussex schools are being urged to join for free the nationwide Wastebusters programme – a multimedia teaching aid designed to make reducing rubbish an exciting part of the curriculum.
The free membership is being offered by West Sussex local authorities, including the County Council, and Better Tomorrows, the independent community interest company that aims to put the lid on the amount of rubbish that goes into our dustbins.
County Council Deputy Leader Lionel Barnard, who is responsible for waste, said: “The Wastebusters programme offers a wide range of guidance and ideas to help teachers and pupils create not only sustainable schools, but also eco-friendly homes and communities.
“It supports schools work towards all levels of Eco-Schools accreditation by providing clear and practical guidance on how schools might embed the principles of sustainable development into the heart of school life.”
Schools and pupils in West Sussex can also enhance their learning in the classroom by visiting the Wastebuster characters and installations at the award winning Education Centre in the state-of-the-art Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) in Ford.
Visits to the MRF are available free of charge to schools in West Sussex. www.recycleforwestsussex.org.uk
Schools can register for the Wastebuster education programme on www.wastebuster.co.uk
Sussex St John Ambulance is on the hunt for would-be paranormal investigators to take part in a spooky sponsored fundraising event at Newhaven Fort.
The ‘Spooktacular’ ghost hunt in aid of the nation’s leading first aid charity will take place on Saturday 22nd October at the 123-year-old fort where eerie encounters are frequently reported.
There have been many supernatural sightings at the fort, particularly in the tunnel leading to the beach. The sound of soldiers’ boots and air raid sirens are said to have been heard there and there are tales of a ghostly drummer boy who reportedly haunts this section of the coastline.
Sussex St John Ambulance County Fundraiser Jeanne Peterson: ‘This promises to be an unforgettable evening for anyone interested in the paranormal.
‘Of course there’s a fun side to it but the aim couldn’t be more serious. We need to generate donations to continue our life saving work in local communities – work which is very often the difference between a life lost and a life saved.’
It costs £39 to take part in the event but if you manage to raise £100 or more for St John Ambulance your ticket fee will be refunded.
The hunt takes place from 7.30pm on the Saturday until 2.30am the next morning. Hot soup will be provided and there’ll be an auction of paranormal investigation equipment.
A maximum of 40 ghost hunters will be guided in small groups by experienced paranormal investigators and a psychic medium.
Book online at www.compassparanormalevents.co.uk or call Compass Paranormal Events on 01558 292838.
St John Ambulance has more than 1,000 adult volunteers and more than 700 youth members in Sussex. Last year they devoted more than 168,000 voluntary hours to providing first aid cover at hundreds of public events across the county.
The charity receives no core Government funding and is not part of the NHS so relies on public support to help fund its vital first aid services.
To find out more about volunteering or fundraising please call 01273 371 500 or visit www.sja.org.uk/sussex
Record results for GCSE examinations have been achieved in West Sussex maintained schools and Academies.
West Sussex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and Schools, Peter Griffiths, has praised the achievements of students and teachers following the provisional results.
Early indications show that a significant majority of schools have improved their performance, with provisional results indicating a 5 per-cent improvement compared with 2010 for students achieving 5 good GCSE’s including English and mathematics, continuing the upward trend of the last 5 years.
Peter said today: “I am absolutely delighted with these results for schools and Academies, and offer my congratulations to the students, staff and governors for their achievement.”
A youth participation co-ordinator at West Sussex County Council has set up a project to give young people in India opportunities to play sport.
Lara Pearce set up the ‘Youthivate’ project working with the Centre for Tribal Rural Development in India. The project will directly engage with young people to improve their health and wellbeing.
Through setting up and running a variety of sports sessions in the villages, Youthivate hopes to create opportunities for young people to become sports leaders and organise tournaments and festivals for children.
The project also aims to improve the quality of life of children in southern India through sport.
Lara said: “Young people who live in the villages enjoy watching sports but do not have the resources to play themselves.
“By building strong partnerships with local charities such as Cricket Without Boundaries which has donated equipment, Yellowave Beachsports which has donated volleyballs, and the Rugby Football Union, plus fundraising locally, we are able get sports equipment out to areas of severe poverty in southern India.
“Huge thanks also to myparceldelivery.com, which has been pivotal in this project’s success and is transporting all the equipment to India in September.”
To keep up-to-date with the project’s news, sign up to its blog at http://youthivate.wordpress.com
Be a rock star – with West Sussex Music Service
Did you play along to your favourite records as a teenager and dream of being in a rock band? If so, West Sussex Music Service (WSMS) can make that a reality.
WSMS Rock Academy will be holding adult rock workshops at Northbrook College, Worthing, on Thursday evenings, starting in late September. Keyboard players, guitarists, bassists, drummers and vocalists of all abilities can go along and play in a band-type format, with the chance to play a gig at the end of term.
Peter Griffiths, West Sussex County Council Cabinet Member for Education and Schools, said: “Our Music Service has been running the rock workshops for youngsters for several now, and they have been a great success.
“Now we are offering the chance for adults to expand on their musical skills, and perhaps re-live their love of music, as well as meet new people.”
The workshops will be held from 6.30pm to 7.30pm and 7.30pm to 8.30pm. They will cost £60 for 10 lessons.
For more information, contact 01243 642361 or email music@westsussex.gov.uk
‘Buccaneer Rangers’ at Buchan Country Park in Crawley - Young people do not have to be pirates to take part.
Unaccompanied eight to 14 year olds can take part in exploration (August 9), fieldcraft (August 10) and conservation (August 11) outdoor activities to see what the life of a countryside ranger is like. Activities are from 10am to 1pm. It costs £5 per child per session. Booking and consent forms are essential.
Other events at the park this month are:
• Guided Wildlife Safaris – explore the wilder parts of the park in a two-hour session with a countryside ranger. Take part in activities such as navigating, pond-dipping, bug hunting and related games – you decide which ones you want to do with the ranger. Sessions run from August 15-19 and August 22-26, starting at 10.30am and 2pm. This event is suitable for all the family, and children aged from four years. Tickets cost £3 per child and accompanying adults are free, or £3 for adults without children. An adult must accompany children.
• Family Bushcraft – practical hands-on day for all the family from 10am to 3pm on August 31. It consists of shelter building, firelighting and fireside food. Booking is essential. Tickets cost £7.50 per person, or £25 for a family of four. This event is suitable for children aged from four years. An adult must accompany children. Booking and consent forms are essential.
For more information about the events, or to book, phone 01293 542088/544120, or email buchan.park@westsussex.gov.uk
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