Thursday, 16 May 2013

Hampshire County Council is encouraging parents to swap their car for a ticket to stride on the school run instead, with their children, during Walk to School Week (20- 24 May).

Over ninety thousand Hampshire-based school children have signed up to take part in Walk to School Week 2013, encouraging parents and children to take the opportunity to try walking to school and putting into practice good pedestrian road safety behaviour. All children taking part in Walk to School Week will receive a log book, certificate and stickers.

Walk to School Week is the initiative of national charity 'Living Streets'. According to the charity, by walking to school, parents say they find the journey to school less stressful, their petrol bill goes down, their children perform better at school and both they and their children feel healthier and fitter.

The aim of the initiative is to encourage as many school children and their families across the county to give walking a go during Walk to School Week. It is a more active way to start the day and can help improve concentration in the classroom. It can also be beneficial in helping children develop life long road safety skills and their sense of independence, as well as being fun.

Number of children participating by district.

East Hants 7,860
Basingstoke 13,170
Eastleigh 9,060
Fareham 8,435
Gosport 5,995
Hart 6,860
Havant 7,705
New Forest 9,980
Rushmoor 6,835
Test Valley 8,265
Winchester 6,455

Total 90,620

• Walk to School Week

Tuesday, 16 April 2013

John Coughlan, Hampshire County Council's Director of Children's Services, said: "The County Council's admission team has handled more than 14,000 applications for children starting primary school in September and parents have been notified of places offered to their children today, April 16. 97.76% of children have been given a place at one of their preferred schools, slightly higher than last year, including a small increase in the number getting their first choice.

"If parents applied by the deadline of midnight, on the 15 January, via our online application system, they will have been notified online accordingly, via email. In the cases where email addresses appeared to be incorrect, or where paper applications were received, hard copies of the offer letter will be sent instead, by first class post today. If parents are happy with the place offered to their child, there is no need for them to confirm acceptance but they are expected to contact the school with evidence of address and their child's date of birth over the coming weeks.

"Parents can appeal in respect of any school for which they have received a refusal. If parents have been allocated a place at a school other than one they hoped for, we advise that they hold onto that place for the time being, pending the outcome of offers being made to children on waiting lists or any appeal process. Their child's name will automatically be added to the waiting list of any higher preference Hampshire school named.

"If parents no longer need the school place secured for their child, they are asked to notify us, as soon as possible, so that the place can be re-allocated."

• Further information about what happens next

Wednesday, 20 March 2013

Friends of the Hampshire County Youth Orchestra have received a boost to help them to replace a full set of concert dresses for their public performances.

At his Decision Day on 14 March, Hampshire County Council Leader, Councillor Ken Thornber awarded the organisation £5,265 towards the total cost of £10,000 to replace the 20 year old garments. The funding will contribute towards purchasing fabric and dressmaking.

Council Leader, Councillor Ken Thornber said: "This organisation provides an opportunity for young people to develop and present their talent across the County, providing musical pleasure to large audiences. I am happy to be able to assist them in updating their concert wardrobe."

The Friends of the Hampshire County Youth Orchestra aims to assist in the musical education of students at schools and colleges in Hampshire by providing financial support to the Hampshire County Youth Orchestra, Hampshire County Youth Chamber Orchestra, and Hampshire County Youth String Orchestra.

In particular, the Friends contribute to the cost of residential training courses and orchestra overseas tours to reduce parental contributions and ensure that opportunities are open to all. The Friends also help by giving grants to the orchestras for instruments, commissioning of new works, soloists and workshops.

• Friends of the Hampshire County Youth Orchestra

Monday, 18 March 2013

Lively and innovative geology sessions are coming to Hampshire museums, with activities including a collector's box of geological curiosities, story-telling activities, a geochemical kit, a beginners guide to fossils and a stunning textile geological map of the area.

The activities have been made possible with funding provided by the Heritage Lottery Fund, which awarded £48,000 to a partnership of museums across several counties in the South East region, collectively known as Rockband.

Hampshire's interactive map, which has lots of intriguing pockets with fossils to explore and discover, was produced by textile artist Jenny Langley and shows many local geological features, including St Catherine's Hill, Selborne Hanger and the 'Sand Boils' at Bishops Waltham.

The new activities will be suitable for audiences of all ages and backgrounds, including audiences with learning disabilities and those who are partially sighted. Schools will soon be getting stuck in at special educational sessions, and members of the public will have a number of opportunities to try out the materials.

Check out the Hantsweb What's on listings to see further sessions as they are arranged, or contact the Museums and Arts Service.

• Willis Museum, Basingstoke, 10 April

Friday, 01 March 2013

Hampshire County Council's schools admissions service has been able to offer 99.5% of parents a place for their child at a school of their choice - with 96.2% getting their first preferred school, around 10% higher than the national averages released by the Department for Education last year.

The numbers getting a school of their choice is a record high. In total the service handled just over 13,000 on-time applications for Hampshire secondary schools and has notified parents of the outcome today.

Commenting Councillor Roy Perry, Hampshire County Council's Executive Lead Member for Children's Services, said: "I am delighted to see that an overwhelming majority of Hampshire children have been able to get into a secondary school of their choice this year - 99.5% is a very high success rate indeed when compared with rates elsewhere and is an improvement on last year's figure.

"I know that for the small number of children, some 60 out of more than 12,000 who applied, there will be disappointment not to have secured a place at one of their choices but that is because they applied to schools with exceptionally high demand. It is a mark of the high quality teaching in Hampshire schools that some have attracted more applicants than there are places but it really is only a very small proportion of the total number of applicants who have been unable to get a place at one of their preferred schools. The vast majority will be attending a school of their choice , and for over ninety six percent of families that is their first choice.

"No Hampshire child is without a place and those who did not secure a place at one of their chosen schools will be allocated a place at the nearest school with places available. Parents who have been unable to secure a place at their chosen school do of course have the right of appeal and they can put their child's name down on the school's waiting list. Places do become available as some parents change their mind or families move home and no longer need the place they had applied for.

The admissions team is now handling the primary school applications with offers due to go out on 16 April. In total the department will have dealt with 33,000 applications this year for children who are either starting primary or secondary school or transferring from infant to junior school.

In common with many areas around the country Hampshire has experienced heavy demand for primary school places. This is due to rising numbers births and more crucially increased numbers of families choosing to move into the county, in part attracted by the high quality schools, with more than 75% of children attending a primary school ranked good or outstanding by Ofsted.

In response to the increased demand for primary school places the County Council has committed more than £160m to providing an additional 8,000 primary school places in Hampshire.

• Schools in Hampshire - information and support services

Sunday, 16 Dec 2012

Girl Guides in Lymington will benefit from a new minibus thanks to a financial boost from Hampshire County Council.

At his Decision Day (13 December 2012), Leader of Hampshire County Council, Councillor Ken Thornber, awarded funding of £5,000 to Girlguiding Lymington towards the replacement of their current bus.

Girlguiding Lymington provides young girls in the local area with support from volunteer leaders, enabling them to increase their self esteem, learn new skills, and gain new experiences and friendships.

Councillor Thornber, said: "Girlguiding Lymington supports over a hundred five to 18-year-old girls, and provides them with opportunities to take part in a variety of community based volunteer projects. We are pleased to support their efforts within Hampshire and also help them to develop important skills as they prepare for adulthood."

• Girl Guiding
• Hampshire County Council Grants

Friday, 07 December 2012

Hampshire County Council has published its overarching framework and analysis for school places for the next four years.

At his decision day on 6 December Councillor Perry approved a framework and process for the planning of, and the consultation on, the provision of school places in Hampshire.

Hampshire in keeping with the national picture has experienced a significant rise in births over recent years which, together with housing development and in-migration to parts of the county, has increased the pressure on primary school places.

The framework, which has been developed following consultation with district and borough councils, national park authorities, diocesan authorities, head teachers and Governing bodies, forecasts future trends in predicted pupil numbers based on past and present uptake of places and birth and housing data. It also gives an indication of the need for additional future places and how these may be provided.

The document is intended to be a dynamic, living document which will be updated and developed according to information from Hampshire's thirteen planning authorities, all of which are at various stages in producing their Local Plans. It will be used to inform the development of more detailed district level plans as and when the need arises. This detailed planning for specific areas of the county will then be the subject of specific local consultations.

Commenting Councillor Perry said: "The County Council has a duty to ensure the provision of sufficient school places in such a way that raises standards, manages rising and declining pupil numbers and creates a high quality, diverse community of schools.

"I do appreciate how important it is to parents to be able to secure a place for their child at their local schools. The County Council has a planned investment programme of £161m over the next three years, subject to the receipt of future government grants and developers' contributions. A range of factors impacts upon the demand for school places such as birth rates, housing development, movement of families in and out of the county and parental preference.

"We seek to meet parental preferences wherever possible, and we have a very good record of success in this respect, much better than most authorities, but it must be remembered pupil forecasts are primarily concerned with the total number of school places available in an area. While over subscription of certain schools can give the impression that there is a shortage of school places that is not necessarily the case. It is the number of spare places in an area that we have to balance against the number of children seeking to start school that is the principal factor which we seek to predict and respond to. This is a continual process enabling us to develop detailed local plans for provision as and when needed."

• School Places : framework and analysis 2012-16

Thursday 25 October 2012

Walking to school can save money, boost brain power and kickstart a healthy lifestyle but children and parents can be discouraged if access is difficult.

Cadland Primary School, Holbury is set to benefit from improved access to and from the main school gate and into the school building. The three-week programme of work, starting at the end of October, is a project that aims to improve pupil safety at the school gate and encourage walking to school instead of travelling by car, so increasing levels of physical activity for pupils.

The work will improve the access to and from the school in three ways

• The existing front gate and adjoining high section of brick wall will be replaced with a new single-gate access and set of railings. This will improve visibility for both pedestrians and drivers around the school entrance
• An additional single gate, a new hard-surfaced footpath, dropped kerbs and tactile paving will also be built. This will provide better, safer school access for those who live on the new housing development, especially anyone with impaired mobility or pushing a buggy
• A raised table crossing will be constructed across the access road to the school and the new housing development. This will encourage reduced vehicle speeds outside the entrance to the school and provide a crossing, all on the same level, linking the school entrance to the footpaths leading into the nearby housing areas

Councillor Mel Kendal, Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Environment and Transport, said:

"It is important that children can travel to and from school safely because a daily walk to school is a great opportunity for children and their parents or carers to get regular exercise. We have worked closely with the school in developing this scheme, which will contribute to meeting some aims of the school travel plan. We appreciate that works of this nature will cause some temporary inconvenience to children and their parents but we will do all we can to keep disruption to a minimum. I hope that once the works are complete more children will take advantage of all the good that walking to school daily can bring."

• Cadland Primary gets access makeover

Wednesday, 03 October 2012

Having retired from being a teacher and then working as an Ofsted inspector Margaret Cooper who lives near Lymington, wasn't quite ready to give up all connections with education.

Instead of taking life easy she became a school governor at Manor Infant School in Holbury. But after 11 enjoyable years, a period of which was spent as Chair of the school's Governing Body, Margaret is now finally retiring.

To mark her retirement and her years of sterling service to school governance Margaret was presented with an Outstanding Governor award at a recent meeting of the Governors' Forum.

As well as serving on the Governing Body of Manor Infant School, where she helped train other governors, Margaret also served on county governance representative groups including the Hampshire Governor Association and the Schools' Forum. These bodies represent the views of governors from local forums and enable the governors in Hampshire to work with others to influence and shape policy.

Presenting Margaret with her award Councillor Roy Perry, Hampshire County Council's Executive Lead member for Children's Services, paid tribute to the efforts of governors like Margaret who work tirelessly in a voluntary capacity to help schools across the county.

He said:

"This is a well-deserved award. Margaret's professional skills and personal qualities have made her a highly valued member of the Governing Body at the school and she has made an excellent contribution to the work of Governor Services in a variety of roles sitting on various forums to represent the voice of school governors.

"Schools and headteachers benefit considerably from the work of governors like Margaret who offer both support and challenge to the schools. Ofsted inspectors are increasingly assessing the contribution of the governing body and I am extremely grateful to Margaret and all the governors who provide their experience and expertise to our schools to the benefit of the pupils."

Margaret is modest about her efforts and says she was surprised and delighted to receive the award. She said she has thoroughly enjoyed her connections with the school and its Governing Body and is going to miss the social aspect of the role.

"It is a very fulfilling role. I enjoyed having the challenge after I had retired from my working life," she said.

"It kept me ticking over and on my toes. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to others. Schools need people from all walks of life to be governors. You can make a real contribution, helping to meet the needs and care for children. They are after all our future and we should all do our best for them."

• If you are interested in becoming a school Governor see our website for more details.

Friday, 20 July 2012

The sights and sounds of summer were evident at one New Forest school this week despite the unseasonal rain.

Cream teas and the sounds of jazz, classical and contemporary music were the order of the day at St Luke's Primary school in Sway to celebrate the official opening of the purpose-built music room and library.

The works, costing around £465,000, were funded in the main by Hampshire County Council (£400,000) with the remaining £65,000 coming from the school.

As well as the construction of a new music room and library to replace a temporary building which was in poor condition, the works at the school in Westbeams Road also included an enhanced main entrance and office area as well as refurbishments to the headteacher's office and a planning room used by the teaching staff. The design also included a separate area for parents to drop off and collect their children from.

Performing the official opening was Hampshire County Council Leader, Councillor Ken Thornber, pictured below with pupils looking on as he cut the ribbon.

He said: "I am very pleased we were able to provide this wonderful facility for the children and staff at St Lukes. It is marvellous to have been here today and to have listened to the children play so beautifully . It is clear having this purpose-built music room and the library extension has been a welcome addition to the school enhancing the teaching and learning experience for both staff and pupils. The County Council is committed to ensuring all children in Hampshire have the very best educational opportunities."

Acting headteacher Michelle Hale added: "The exciting new extension offers fantastic facilities for the children at St Luke's. The music room is also used for the school's breakfast and after school club. The school PTA, FOSLSS (Friends of St Luke's School Sway) have worked incredibly hard to raise additional funds for the project, by organising events including 'Musicalia', a cello concert at St Luke's Church, a Firework night, film night and discos. The new rooms provide wonderful benefits for the children and staff and everyone is really enjoying the new facilities."

Following the official opening the new extension was blessed by the Bishop of Southampton, Bishop Jonathan Frost.

• St Luke's Primary School website