Latest news with #BathandNorthEastSomersetCouncil
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Overnight placements for Send pupils under threat
One mother says she fears her son will struggle as the school he attends may have to stop its residential service. Fosse Way School, in Midsomer Norton, offers a 24-hour, residential option for some children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send). However, Bath and North East Somerset Council has withdrawn its funding for the service, saying there are no children in its care who qualify for a residential placement. It said current pupils will be able to complete their one-year placements. "We, as parents, will have to pick up the pieces. I'll have to work twice as hard," said Sharon Wilson, whose son Ruben, 15, goes to Fosse Way. Ruben, who is autistic and non-verbal, has been living at Fosse Way for a year. "Last year, Ruben's world was small," Ms Wilson said. "Since being at Fosse Way, his bubble has gotten bigger and he's talking to more people." She said she fears he will lose all the skills he has learned and his world will "get smaller again". More news stories for Bristol Watch the latest Points West Listen to the latest news for Bristol Jessica Clark has an autistic son who went to Fosse Way House in his teens. He is now 20 and lives in supported housing. "You always worry about what happens when we as parents pass away," Ms Clark said. "What is his care going to look like?" Jason Towells, residential education manager at Fosse Way, said it had been graded as outstanding by the education watchdog Ofsted for the past three years. "We do a lot of work on preparing for adulthood," Mr Towells said. "We want them to access the community and build friendships." Mr Towells said the school believes there are many students who require a 24-hour curriculum. However, Mr May said: "For the academic year starting September 2025, no children have been identified whose needs would be met by the residential provision at Fosse Way." He added: "When a child is placed in Fosse Way, it is with the clear understanding that it is for one academic year and the children currently placed there will be able to complete this year-long placement. "Fosse Way House is not a council-run facility and decisions about its future are matters for The Partnership Trust whose work we value." A spokesperson for The Partnership Trust added: "Currently seven young people have been placed at Fosse Way House by the council. Such a placement was deemed as being necessary and appropriate when each child's Education Health Care Plans were reviewed last year. "The professionals who work with the young people understand their complex needs well, and all evidence suggests that they are thriving at Fosse Way School and Fosse Way House. "Currently, only children who go to Fosse Way School can access Fosse Way House. As all children are funded through local authorities, over 90% of which come through BANES Council, our options are very, very limited if the council determines not to place children there." Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. SEND pupils encouraged to stay in mainstream schools Families 'exhausted' by special needs 'fight' SEND parents call for change at protest Bath & North East Somerset Council
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Overnight placements for Send pupils under threat
One mother says she fears her son will struggle as the school he attends may have to stop its residential service. Fosse Way School, in Midsomer Norton, offers a 24-hour, residential option for some children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send). However, Bath and North East Somerset Council has withdrawn its funding for the service, saying there are no children in its care who qualify for a residential placement. It said current pupils will be able to complete their one-year placements. "We, as parents, will have to pick up the pieces. I'll have to work twice as hard," said Sharon Wilson, whose son Ruben, 15, goes to Fosse Way. Ruben, who is autistic and non-verbal, has been living at Fosse Way for a year. "Last year, Ruben's world was small," Ms Wilson said. "Since being at Fosse Way, his bubble has gotten bigger and he's talking to more people." She said she fears he will lose all the skills he has learned and his world will "get smaller again". More news stories for Bristol Watch the latest Points West Listen to the latest news for Bristol Jessica Clark has an autistic son who went to Fosse Way House in his teens. He is now 20 and lives in supported housing. "You always worry about what happens when we as parents pass away," Ms Clark said. "What is his care going to look like?" Jason Towells, residential education manager at Fosse Way, said it had been graded as outstanding by the education watchdog Ofsted for the past three years. "We do a lot of work on preparing for adulthood," Mr Towells said. "We want them to access the community and build friendships." Mr Towells said the school believes there are many students who require a 24-hour curriculum. However, Mr May said: "For the academic year starting September 2025, no children have been identified whose needs would be met by the residential provision at Fosse Way." He added: "When a child is placed in Fosse Way, it is with the clear understanding that it is for one academic year and the children currently placed there will be able to complete this year-long placement. "Fosse Way House is not a council-run facility and decisions about its future are matters for The Partnership Trust whose work we value." A spokesperson for The Partnership Trust added: "Currently seven young people have been placed at Fosse Way House by the council. Such a placement was deemed as being necessary and appropriate when each child's Education Health Care Plans were reviewed last year. "The professionals who work with the young people understand their complex needs well, and all evidence suggests that they are thriving at Fosse Way School and Fosse Way House. "Currently, only children who go to Fosse Way School can access Fosse Way House. As all children are funded through local authorities, over 90% of which come through BANES Council, our options are very, very limited if the council determines not to place children there." Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. SEND pupils encouraged to stay in mainstream schools Families 'exhausted' by special needs 'fight' SEND parents call for change at protest Bath & North East Somerset Council
BBC News
19-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
West Country VE Day street parties 'encouraged' by councils
Eighty years after Victory in Europe Day - the end of World War Two in Europe, known as VE Day - people are being encouraged to celebrate the anniversary with street parties.A flypast, concert, and a Westminster Abbey service are some of the national events lined up over the four-day celebration, beginning on the 5 May bank holiday and continuing through to 8 authorities across the west of England are asking people to apply for any street closure permissions or licences as early as possible. The celebrations reflect the end of World War Two in Europe, as announced by then Prime Minister Winston Churchill over the radio airwaves at 15.00 BST on Tuesday, 8 May 1945. It came one day after Nazi Germany's surrender, nearly six years after the war had begun in are planning local events to mark 80 years since that day, with many authorities, including Gloucestershire County Council and Bath and North East Somerset Council (BANES), waiving the usual street party application fees.A spokesperson for the Gloucestershire authority said they would be celebrating VE Day with Town Crier Alan Myatt reading the official proclamation on the cross at midday and with the lighting of a beacon on Robinswood Hill at 21:30 Lightship - a moored former working ship in Gloucester Docks - will also be illuminated at 21:30 BST with the singing of the official hymn, I Vow to Thee My Castle, in Gloucestershire, is hosting an event showcasing the D-Day Darlings, who featured on ITV talent show Britain's Got Talent, with a Winston Churchill character wandering the grounds alongside World War Two re-enactments. BANES Council leader Kevin Guy said the historic occasion was a "great opportunity" for communities to come together to honour and pay tribute to the World War Two generation. He said in waiving road closure charges, the council hoped to encourage groups and communities to jointly commemorate and celebrate the occasion. North Somerset Council has asked people to put any street closure permission requests in leader Mike Bell said: "We've made it as easy as possible to apply for a road closure so people can host street parties."There are some safety and legal considerations that need to be in place [so] we're asking people to apply in good time so that we can carry out the necessary work behind the scenes." Chair of Somerset Council, councillor Mike Best, is working with Taunton Town Council and others, including the Royal British Legion, on a series of events to mark VE day.A spokesperson said there would be a flag-raising ceremony at County Hall, Taunton, at 09.20 BST and a wreath-placing ceremony at the War Memorial at Vivary Park, Taunton, at 17.30 BST.A civic service of celebration and thanksgiving is being held at The Minster in the evening, where there will be a ringing of the church bells in celebration of will also hear a reading of the proclamation, lighting of the lamplights of peace, and a reading of the VE Day tribute. Local schools will be invited to attend along with representatives from military organisations in Somerset. In Bristol, City Hall will be lit-up in red, white and blue for the duration of the four-day celebration, with union flags flying on College Green's flag poles.A city council spokesperson said they were encouraging residents' street parties to take place on the 5 May bank holiday, with the council relaxing its process for street parties in line with government advice."If you would like to hold a resident street party in Bristol on the 5 May then you have until Friday 4 April [to apply]," the spokesperson said. There will be a charge of £21 for larger street Aerospace Bristol museum is celebrating VE Day during the May bank holiday weekend with an event called Spirit of '45: A VE Day 80 will be offering World War Two tours that will include a visit to the newly opened air raid shelter, with their wartime Bolingbroke plane rolled out of the Conservation Workshop. And there will be World War Two spotlight talks, with other ideas still in the planning stage. A spokesperson for Visit West said ongoing walking tours around St Nicholas Market continued the theme, with air raid and shelter tours available. Wiltshire Council is offering guidance online in regard to VE Day celebrations, street closures, and permission or licences needed for events at various asked for anyone requesting a road closure to have already had applications in by 13 across the county include a VE Day flag-raising event at the Ludgershall Town Council war memorial and an afternoon tea party hosted by Tisbury Parish Wootton Bassett will be celebrating with live music, food vendors, army tents and Scarrotts fun across the region will join the nation in lighting the the beacon of peace at 21.30 last big celebration of VE Day took place on the 75th anniversary during the pandemic in 2020, with social distancing regulations in place. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said for this year, the four days of celebrations would mean "people across society will be able to hear our veterans' stories first hand, to reflect and remember".
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Work starts to remove sunken boats from river
Work has begun to remove five sunken boats from the River Avon in Bath. Bath and North East Somerset Council (BANES) said the submerged vessels near Pulteney Weir are dangerous to others and pose a pollution risk. Councillor Tim Ball, cabinet member for neighbourhood services, said: "We have exhausted our attempts to work with the owners to arrange self-recovery, so as a last resort we will be carrying out the operation on their behalf." The work begins on Saturday and is expected to last approximately one week. "We're chasing the owners for recovery costs when we know who exactly owns the boats - but we only know one or two of them," Mr Ball said. The council is hoping to recover the £72,600 costs of the removal once the work is completed. "The sunken boats have been creating a hazard in the waterway and posing a risk to its ecology for a long time, however they are the property of the boat owners who are responsible for them," Mr Ball said. Several of the boats have been left for several years, and the logistics of such an operation present a challenge, the council said. "Some of them are in difficult positions and whether we can actually pull them out on Wednesday and Thursday next week is largely dependent on the weather," Mr Ball said. The same project was attempted last year but was abandoned due to the weather. The works are being done as part of the council's Better Moorings Project, which seeks to address a range of boat mooring-related issues. Several other sunken boats along the river have already been removed by the Canal and River Trust. The council has promised to try to minimize disruption, but sections of the towpath will be closed while the boats are removed. Relief over plans to remove abandoned boats Woman who 'married' Avon continues clean water calls Factory to be torn down to make way for riverside flats BANES
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Glastonbury Festival headliners and sunken boats
Here's our daily pick of stories from across local websites in the West of England, and interesting content from social media. Bath and North East Somerset Council is spending £72,000 to remove five sunken boats from the River Avon, according to Somerset Live. In Weston-super-Mare, the Mercury has celebrated 60 years of service for one RNLI volunteer – who worked as boat crew until he hit the maximum age limit. And Gloucestershire Live is reporting temporary restrictions are in place at two Gloucestershire hospitals to stop the spread of norovirus. Gardener wins case against Paddy Power over £1m prize Council tax hike for residents as 7.49% rise agreed Rare hazel dormouse filmed foraging at night Glastonbury Festival confirming its headliners has created a stir online. Big names including1975 and Olivia Rodrigo will perform on the Pyramid Stage this summer. Cheltenham Animal Shelter has shared a post on World Book Day to promote their Paws for Reading project, where children read to a rescue animal. Meanwhile, Gloucester City AFC has released a statement condemning racist language thought to have been used last Saturday, and says it is carrying out an internal investigation. Finally, after 45 reports of car meets in Swindon between July 2023 and July 2024, the council says it's considering a ban on all unauthorised meets. Follow BBC West social channels in Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.
