South Glos Lib Dem Councillors want the scientific advice on opening schools published

- so every single parent and individual schools can make an informed decision about the risks. This is our lives, our families, we should have the information we need to control our risks. For more info about what we are doing locally to try to get it published go to https://www.southgloslibdems.org.uk/school-opening-scientific-advice

https://www.southgloslibdems.org.uk/school-opening-scientific-advice

Education Update COVID

Education update

• Schools – remain closed except for vulnerable children, children with education, health and care plans (EHCPs) and children of key workers but to be used only as a last resort. For Easter term break we are pleased to say all schools will have provision for key workers, and some will be open on the Bank Holidays, please contact your local school to find out what is available. In addition, we will be providing places for the children of NHS staff on Saturday (11 April) and Easter Sunday (12 April), where South Gloucestershire schools will be contacting NHS workers to offer them a place.

• Free school meals - We are also working with schools to support those children who are entitled to a free school meal, ensuring each of them continues to receive the benefit despite many being at home during the current period.

• GCSE and A level exams – Following the initial government announcement that both GCSE and A level exams were to be cancelled for summer 2020, it has now been confirmed that students who were due to sit A level, AS level or GCSE exams this summer will now receive a calculated grade. The calculated grade process will take account of a range of evidence including other assessments and mock results, with the approach standardised between schools and colleges.

• Vocational qualifications - For those pupils undertaking technical or vocational qualifications, the priority is to ensure that student and adult learners can move on as planned to the next phase of their lives. The government is working with Ofqual and we expect an update shortly on this. If you have any specific enquiries, please contact your school or college.

• Support for children and young people - Visit our education and support for children and young people page. If you have a safeguarding concern call us on 01454 866000. More information about safeguarding is available on the South Gloucestershire Children Partnership website. Our teams will be busy and we will need to prioritise help to the most vulnerable during this period

• SEND –  a helpline (01454 865137) for anyone with queries and FAQs

URGENT - SEND (Special Education Needs Review) SURVEY & MEETING 10 Feb

If you have any experience of the way children with special needs are supported in schools here - or worry about funding please contribute your views. Claire Young and your Focus Team have  been  supporting parents arguing for better funding for schools and children with special needs.Now current and future children with special needs,  need your support, by feeding into the review. To find out more about groups working to get improvements to special needs support here look for 'SEND Emergency' on facebook 

The Ofsted re-visit will take place from Monday 10 to Wednesday 12 February 2020. The Ofsted/CQC team will be keen to speak to as many children and young people and their parents and carers as possible, specifically about the weaknesses identified in the written statement of action (WSOA) for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).You can complete an online survey ahead of the re-visit, from 12 noon on Monday 3 February to 12 noon on Friday 7 February. Parents and carers who would like to take part in this survey can follow this link: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/SouthGloucestershireRe-Vis…/ .

There will be an open meeting of parents and carers and the Ofsted/CQC re-visit team. The meeting will take place on Monday 10 February at BAWA, 589 Southmead Road, Filton, BS34 7RF from 7pm until 8.30pm. Please register your interest in attending the open meeting through South Glos Parents & Carers (the local SEND Parent Carer Forum).https://www.sglospc.org.uk/shop/ofsted-cqc . - you can find more info about the meeting there. 

For full details of the re-visit and how you can contribute your views visit www.southglos.gov.uk/SENDrevisit

Could YOU be a school governor?

From September 2018 Yate Secondary Academy and Woodlands Primary School will be operating as two individual schools, and each school will have its own local governing body – and they are looking for people to become school governors. Here is their description of the role:

"Yate and Woodlands are happy, energetic, welcoming and inclusive schools; Woodlands has a nursery and Yate has a thriving sixth form, and there is a Hearing Impaired Resource Base for students from 3 to 19. Having joined the Greenshaw Learning Trust in September 2017 as an all-through school, rapid improvements in behaviour and the quality of teaching are significantly improving outcomes, giving all our students a better chance of success"

You can find out more on the school website: http://www.yateacademy.co.uk

"Each school in the Greenshaw Learning Trust is led by its own leadership team and local governing body and strong governance is key to the schools’ success – providing strategic leadership, oversight of financial and academic performance, and challenge and support for the headteacher and leadership team.

Being a school governor is an important and rewarding role. School governors apply their knowledge and skills to ensure their school does the best for all its pupils and its local community, learn about aspects of education and gain experience that will benefit other parts of their life. No particular qualifications are required and support and training is provided.

The local governing body normally meets at least six times per year and governors are asked to take on particular tasks including serving on ad-hoc committees, visiting the school and meeting with members of staff, and taking part in training and development activities.

We want our governing bodies to reflect the diversity of their school population and local community and we would welcome interest from people of all ages and backgrounds.

If you or anyone you know might be interested in joining us as a school governor, please find further information and complete and return the form at: https://bit.ly/2JPFO3B or contact Susanne Wicks, Head of Clerking at swicks@greenshawlearningtrust.co.uk
The Greenshaw Learning Trust is successfully supporting and improving primary and secondary schools in Gloucestershire, Bracknell Forest, Sutton and Croydon – see the Trust website: http://www.greenshawlearningtrust.org.uk"

Finch Road - consultation on waiting and stopping restrictions

In the light of the traffic problems around Raysfield School, which have not been helped by the proposal to redevelop the Tern Inn and the Heron Way Shops car park - now gated off by the owner - South Glos Council has launched two consultations:

FINCH ROAD and HERON WAY - Proposed No Waiting at any Time - Raysfield School Area - STATUTORY NOTICE

See https://consultations.southglos.gov.uk/consult.ti/PT.5732RaysfieldWaitingRest/consultationHome

CHIPPING SODBURY - FINCH ROAD - Protection of School Entrances - No Stopping Order - Raysfield School Area - STATUTORY NOTICE

See https://consultations.southglos.gov.uk/consult.ti/PT.5733RaysfieldNoStopping/consultationHome

The proposals are partly to make existing "no parking" lines legally enforceable.

The consultations run until 16 November.

Chipping Sodbury School area - 20 mph speed limit consultation - open until 22 September

South Gloucestershire Council is consulting on a scheme is to reduce traffic speeds in the vicinity of Chipping Sodbury School, which will make walking and cycling to school more attractive. The proposal is to reduce the speed limit from 30mph to 20mph along roads in the vicinity of the school, in line with the other schools in the area.

The following roads are affected by this scheme:

• Bowling Road
• Claypit Hill
• Dodington Road
• Gullivers Place
• Lilliput Avenue

You can find full details and comment here

Fair Funding for Schools campaign

Claire Young recently joined thousands of people marching for fairer funding for our schools - parents, children, teachers and fellow Lib Dems - at the Fairer Funding for Schools rally.

The Liberal Democrats would invest £6.9bn more in our schools and colleges over the next parliament, to ensure no school and no child loses out. That would mean £26m more in schools and colleges in South Gloucestershire, including £1.3m to protect the Pupil Premium, introduced by the Liberal Democrats to help the most disadvantaged children.

In contrast, the Conservative government is proposing deep cuts in many school budgets - schools with the most disadvantaged children are likely to face the biggest funding cuts. According to figures from teachers' unions NUT and ATL, local secondary schools face cuts equivalent to up to a dozen teachers. Primary schools face cuts of 1, 2 or 3 teachers.

You can look up the impact on your local school here: http://www.schoolcuts.org.uk - it's noticeable that although Claire has pledged to support the campaign against the school cuts, at the time of writing neither the Conservative nor the Labour candidates for this constituency have even responded.

Claire has been continually pressing for clarity about the situation at Winterbourne and Yate International Academies and supporting parents campaigning for better funding for schools. Please support our campaign by signing our petition at www.claireyoung.org.uk/schoolcuts

The photo shows Claire with fellow Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidates Stephen Williams and Karen Wilkinson at the Fair Funding for Schools rally.

Yate International Academy to become part of Greenshaw Learning Trust

The Department for Education has announced that Yate International Academy will be "re-brokered" into the Greenshaw Learning Trust, with the changeover happening no later than September 2017. You can read more here.

Winterbourne International Academy will remain the responsibility of The Ridings’ Federation Academy Trust, who, with the support of The Olympus Academy Trust and Castle School Education Trust, will take responsibility for responding to the issues identified by the Department, EFA and Ofsted.

Rodford Way No U-turn Consultation

South Glos has already gone some way towards stopping dangerous U-turns across the Rodford Way dual carriageway by putting an island in the mouth of the Abbotswood junction, which was the favourite turning place.

It hasn't totally solved the problem yet, because some people are still doing U-turns - we even saw a large articulated vehicle do it the other day. Even worse, some of the drivers are going through the wrong gap in the central reservation and meeting legitimate turning traffic head-on, or turning through the three-way Sundridge Park / Rodford Way / Shire Way junction. There have been a number of injuries, both motorists and cyclists.

It is proposed to put legally enforceable "No U-turn" signs for eastbound traffic at the central reservation gaps near Abbotswood, Glenfall, Bredon, Sundridge Park, Dovecote and also at the eastern end of central reservation near the Scott Way roundabout.

You can see the plans and the explanation on the South Glos website. The consultation is open until 12 February,

Rodford Way safety schemes under way

You may have seen the road works going on in Rodford Way last week - these are the first stage of the road safety project that was consulted on recently. Most of the proposals put forward by your local Focus Team met with general agreement by local residents:

1. Abbotswood U-turn prohibition and splitter island (8 against, 47 in support)

The island has now been installed. The proposed Traffic Regulation Order required for the prohibition signs will be advertised for potential implementation later in 2016.

2. Advisory 20mph speed limit for Abbotswood and Culverhill Schools (17 against, 36 in support)

This will go ahead. Times of operation will be designed to suit both schools and nursery drop off and collection times.

3. Cycle safety measures (5 against, 50 in support)

The Rodford Way / Shire Way cycle track visibility improvement will definitely go ahead. The Rodford Way / Sundridge Park part will be reviewed along with the vehicle crossover and will depend on how much money is left.

4. Shire Way and Sundridge Park junction markings (25 against, 31 in support)

The main vehicle crossover changes are to be delayed pending a detailed review of concerns raised during consultation. In particular this will look at potential queuing onto Rodford Way and whether changes might reduce visibility for emerging vehicles at peak traffic times.

Rodford Way safety proposals - have your say!

Rodford Way and the junctions along it have seen a succession of accidents over the years, and following pressure from local councillors (see our previous blog post) South Glos Council have drawn up proposals for improvements:

Shire Way / Sundridge Park junction - There have been many vehicle accidents here because drivers aren't certain who has priority. It is proposed to put some "Give Way" markings in the central crossover areas to make this clear.

Shire Way junction - a number of cyclists have been injured here, possibly because drivers pulling out of Shire Way are too busy trying to work out what cars in the centre of the road are doing. It is proposed to mark out the cycle lane with green surfacing and put up a sign to remind drivers that there is a cycle lane. (At the moment it is not intended to do the same on the Sundridge Park side of the junction, but that would seem very logical)

Abbotswood junction - at school run times a lot of vehicles, sometimes minibuses as well as cars, do a very dangerous U-turn via the mouth of Abbotswood and across both lines of traffic and both cycle lanes. We've personally witnessed a number of very near misses here. It is proposed to put in a traffic island at the mouth of Abbotswood to deter U-turns and to prohibit this dangerous manouvre.

Rodford Way near Kelston Close - The final part of the proposals is for an advisory 20mph speed limit on Rodford Way near Kelston Close in both directions, in line with Council policy to install 20mph speed restrictions outside schools. The restriction will operate at school opening and closing times as shown by signs with flashing lights. The road is so busy that it's not uncommon to see 30 or so people all trying to cross the road at once between the Abbotswood car park and Kelston Close.

You can comment on South Glos's proposals here - the consultation closes on Wednesday 5 February.

Primary school admission applications close next week

The closing date for submitting applications for infant and primary school admissions in South Glos is Friday 15 January 2016.

To find out more about primary, infant and junior school admissions visit the South Glos school admissions web page.

Progress report on Rodford Way traffic issues

Flashback - Paul Hulbert and Tony Davis
at the Abbotswood junction

Proposals are being developed to reduce accidents and hazards at the Rodford Way / Abbotswood junction and the offset junction between Shire Way, Rodford Way and Sundridge Park. Ideas on the table at the moment are as follows:

• Prohibiting U-turns on Rodford Way near the Abbotswood junction, with a short length of central island being put in the mouth of Abbotswood (to reduce the near-misses between U-turning traffic and vehicles continuing along the road)
• An advisory 20 mph limit on Rodford Way near the Kelston Close junction, marked by flashing lights, at school opening and closing times (to avoid the dangers to families crossing at these busy times)
• Changing the slip lane priorities at the offset junction and making the cycle lanes more obvious there (to reduce the unacceptable rate of cyclist casualties at this junction)

 These ideas may change as the plan is worked up - we'll keep you informed.

New housing proposal for Wapley Court site

Developers are having a second stab at redeveloping the Wapley Court site, the former elderly persons home adjoining Rodford Way. The latest proposal is for 15 houses and 9 flats.

Dodington Parish Council has commented that this is over-development, with the flats being the only three-storey buildings south of Rodford Way. They are very concerned about the traffic aspects, because the access to the site would be off Kelston Close, along with two schools, a pre-school and the playing fields. They have asked for a traffic survey to be carried out on this busy road during normal "school run" times, and not at half term.

Free school meals for all infants

Steve Webb is keen to hear YOUR feedback on the new School Meals scheme. From this term, infant age children will ALL get a free meal at lunch time in School. As well as catching many lower income children who miss out on free school meals, the evidence from places where this is already the policy is that *all* children benefit from this time together eating a nutritious meal. This is a Lib Dem initiative nationally. Steve would like to hear from parents and pupils about it - you can email him on steve@stevewebb.org.uk
.

Apply online for school places

If you have a child due to start in reception, move to secondary school or move to a school that has its first admission in year 10 (for example, the Bristol Technology and Engineering Academy), you can apply online now. The closing date is 31st October for secondary school applications and 15th January for primary school applications.

Last chance to apply for 2014 primary school places 15 January

Is your child due to start primary school this year? The deadline to apply for South Gloucestershire primary school places is 15 January. Applications can be submitted online or by post - for further information and an application form, visit www.southglos.gov.uk/primaryadmissions

Housing for Wapley Court site?

Several planning applications have been submitted for the site of the old Wapley Court Elderly Persons Home, in Kelston Close - the other side of the Rodford Way dual carriageway from Abbotswood shops.

Originally there was one planning application for the demolition and for a mixture of flats and houses. This was then withdrawn, and a "prior notice of demolition" was submitted instead. We anticipate that another housing application will be submitted in due course.

Dodington Parish Council objected to the first application, which was for 16 houses and a block of 9 flats. Kelston Close is the access road for Abbotswood School, Culverhill School and the Phase Five Playgroup, not to mention the QE2 Playing Field. This road is already very crowded at peak school hours, and the Parish Council fears that cars from the new development might start using the heavily used parking bays marked out on Rodford Way.

As the building is surplus to requirements and isn't suitable for community use - we've looked into it - we can't see any objection to the demolition, but we'll let you know when the important planning application for housing is submitted again.

Chipping Sodbury School consult on Co-operative Trust

The Governing body of Chipping Sodbury School is consulting on a proposed change of category from a Voluntary Controlled to a Foundation school, and at the same time acquiring a co-operative charitable trust, to be called the Chipping Sodbury School Co-operative Trust. You can find out more and have your say on their website.

School admissions consultation

South Glos Council is currently asking for your views on its proposed schools admissions policy for 2014/15. This is that policy that will state how school places will be allocated for that year. Last year some local residents felt they were disadvantaged because of where they lived. You can view the proposed policy and comment online.