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

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

Monday, 16 July 2012

Connaught School, Aldershot, has won the annual Hampshire Schools' Challenge, backed by London 2012's Inspire Mark.

In second place was Icknield School, Andover and in third place was Swanmore College of Technology, near Southampton.

The final took place yesterday at Hampshire County Council, and saw five finalists (out of a group of 16) fight it out to win the top prize of Paralympic tickets.

Lasting legacy

This year's competition, inspired by London 2012, challenged schools to use the values of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to deliver a project or event that embraced two or more of the 'Inspire Themes' and would leave a lasting legacy for their chosen community. The schools were also asked to produce a short video about their projects to be viewed by the public in a Community Vote.

Connaught School in Aldershot won the competition with their Aldershot Paralympics project. The pupils wanted to raise the profile of the Paralympics and give the area's young people an opportunity to appreciate what it's like to be a disabled athlete. The school worked with a local disability sports team and primary and secondary schools and used their knowledge and expertise to put on a tournament of disability sports.

Memories of the 1948 Games

Icknield School in Andover were very proud to have won second place. Icknield is a special school for pupils aged three to 19 with severe learning difficulties and focussed on working with the elderly for their community project. They held an afternoon tea on St Georges Day and recorded people's memories of the 1948 London Olympic Games. They hope to repeat the event next year as well as stay in touch with the people they have met.

Swanmore College of Technology, near Southampton, took third place with their project on Travellers. As a mono-cultural school they wanted to educate local people about the heritage of travellers and showmen and change people's perceptions. They have worked hard to produce information boards, newsletters and even a cookery book.

Prestigious panel of judges

Five finalist schools had to present their projects to a prestigious panel of judges including Paralympian Gold medallists, Peter Hull MBE (swimming), Andy Cassell (sailing), local business leader Clare Scheckter, Deputy Director of Children's Services John Clarke and the Leader of Hampshire County Council, Councillor Ken Thornber CBE.

Councillor Thornber said:

"The calibre of entries this year was outstanding and there was very little between the finalist schools. The Olympics was obviously a theme that really captured the imagination of the students and inspired them to create some extraordinary community projects. Huge congratulations to the winners and two runners up who thoroughly deserve their prizes. The finalist schools were The Connaught School, Aldershot; Cove School, Farnborough;Horndean Technology College; Icknield School, Andover and Swanmore College of Technology"

The annual schools competition, now in its sixth year, is run by Hampshire County Council to encourage pupils to get more involved with their local community and improve their understanding of local government and the services it provides. Students work alongside chosen mentors at the council to innovate and debate the issues their communities face. The project also gives the council , an invaluable insight into what younger residents are thinking.

• Connaught School website