Latest news with #MonmouthComprehensive
South Wales Argus
22-07-2025
- Politics
- South Wales Argus
Monmouthshire council 'regret' at axing free school buses
From September schoolchildren in Monmouthshire will only qualify for a free bus pass if they live more than three miles from their secondary school or two miles for primary school pupils. The county council tightened its qualifying distances, which had been two miles and one a half miles, to bring them into line with the Welsh Government's statutory distances and said a home to school transport bill of £7 million a year was unaffordable. The decision was confirmed in September last year and the cut to the transport allocation included in the current budget that was approved in March by the Labour-led council. But at their July meeting councillors backed a motion by Conservative councillor for Portskewett, Lisa Dymock, that 'regrets' its adoption of the statutory distances 'will cause financial hardship and logistical difficulties for many Monmouthshire families'. Several Labour councillors spoke in support of the motion and criticised how the decision had been implemented. Labour's Rachel Garrick said 13 children in her Caldicot Castle ward, who attend a local faith school, are impacted and claimed no parents were aware of an email from the council regarding it. She also criticised an impact assessment as she said it hadn't taken account some parents are having to reduce hours at work to accompany their children to school. Bulwark and Thornwell member Sue Riley said she and her Labour ward colleague, Armand Watts, had raised their concerns about impact on low income families for the past two years. She said she doubted many children from her ward, one of the most deprived in Monmouthshire, would 'have the benefits of a good pair of shoes and warm coat' as she had when she walked to school. The council's consultation was also criticised while Conservative member for Mitchell Troy and Trellech, Richard John, said children in his ward will be expected to walk six miles to and from Monmouth Comprehensive. Shirenewton Conservative Louise Brown outlined fears regarding the council's 'safe route' to Chepstow school, along the A48, and a number of incidents where pedestrians had bene 'clipped' by passing vehicles. 'Anyone who says it is safe has quite frankly never walked it,' said Cllr Brown. She said she will present a 220 signature petition to the council while St Arvans member Ann Webb said 300 have signed a petion concerned at the route to Chepstow and the Dell Primary. It passes the racecourse which she said was also a concern: 'People leaving can be quite jolly, whether they've lost or won, and it can be quite intimidating for parents and children.' Former cabinet member for education, Cllr Martyn Groucutt, defended the original decision and said the council was being 'ripped off' on some bus contracts, which operators can hand back at short notice. He also said when he made the decision he had spoken to headteachers and none had raised school transport as a concern and that he was aware of the socio-economic position in Bulwark and Thornwell but said the headteacher at the primary hadn't raised it as issue. Current cabinet member for education Laura Wright said she was 'entirely happy to support the motion' but defended the 'unfortunately necessary' changes. The Abergavenny councillor said: 'It was not a decision we wanted to make but governance involves difficult choices'. She said it was better to continue to support services such as educational psychology in schools than continuing to provide a more generous transport policy. She also said the other points in Cllr Dymock's motion regarding expediting appeals, contacted affected families and setting out their rights to appeal and working with schools and communities on 'exploring, safe alternatives' were already being done. At the meeting it was also confirmed 51 primary pupils and 64 secondary pupils will lose their entitlement to free transport from September as a result of the changes and a further three pupils will no longer be entitled to a bus pass as a safe walking route to their school has been identified. The council had previously expected more than 300 children to be impacted but said final figures wouldn't be known until application for this September had been made.
BBC News
08-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Mobile phones: Children under-14 advised against smartphones
Parents of thousands of children have been asked not to give them a smartphone until at least 14-years-old amid fears some were using devices for eight hours a dayMany schools have already banned smartphones on site but one part of the UK thinks it will be the first to have a countywide policy advising parents against giving children smartphones at mobiles is already banned in schools in Monmouthshire, south Wales, but due to a rise in cyber-bullying reports and fears phone use at home is affecting schoolwork, schools are going a step further."We've got reports of students who are online at two, three, four in the morning," said headteacher Hugo Hutchinson. "We get a lot of wellbeing issues, as do all schools, that come from social media activity online over the weekend, or when they should be asleep," added the head of Monmouth Hutchinson said schools had worked on "robust" phone policies but pointed out ultimately children's time was largely spent outside of school, where many still had unrestricted access to teachers in Monmouthshire acknowledge they can't force parents not to give smartphones to their under-14 children, schools have taken a "big step" to give advice about what parent should do in their own in some areas of the UK have already asked parents not to get their under-14s smartphones - like in St Albans, Belfast and Solihull in the West Midlands. 'I was worried my son would feel left out' But Monmouthshire believe they're the first county in the UK where all secondary and primary teachers in both state and private schools are advising against smartphones for more than 9,000 children under the age of of those parents being advised not to give their children a smartphone is Emma who said she felt like "the worst parent in the world" after continuously telling her 12-year-old son Monty he wasn't allowed one."He was feeling left out," she said. "He would be sitting on the school bus without a phone and everybody else would be doing the journey with a phone. He found that quite difficult. I think for boys it's more about games on the phone."The mum-of-three is worried what her son could be exposed to online and how "addictive" devices were but offered Monty a "brick phone" – a term to describe older models that can't connect to the internet and is only capable of calls and the thought of giving Monty a smartphone when he reached secondary school had become one of her "biggest fears", she and other parents said they were relieved schools are taking ownership. Schools hope the intervention of teachers would help those parents that were worried saying no to a smartphone would mean their child was "left out".But other some argued their children had been using smartphones without any Dorkings' son, who is moving up to secondary school in September, had his own smartphone when he was eight-years-old."He's always sort of been on one," he said. "It's like a calming thing, or [something to use] out of boredom. He's not on it that much, he's more of a TV boy. He doesn't pull it out his pocket every five minutes, he can put it down and just leave it."Nicholas said he could understand why schools wanted to get involved, but he believed smartphones had become essential to how young people Lili's primary school class is one of the first to be targeted by the new policy, after teachers wrote to their parents urging them to consider "brick phones" - if they felt their child needed something for travelling to school. 'Most kids around here have smartphones' Lili said she felt "14 to 15" was about the right age for children to get their first smartphone as by then they might stand a better chance of knowing if something they read online "wasn't true"."We found out that one in four children have been cyber-bullied within our school, which is really strange," said the year six pupil. "It shouldn't be right, there shouldn't be the chance for people to be cyber-bullied, because we're really young."Lili's classmate Morgan said she had got a smartphone but had decided to stop using it after learning more about them in school."Most kids around here have smartphones," said the 11-year-old. "They are just 100% always on it. When kids come over to play at some households they just go on their smartphones and just text.""I used to go on it to just scroll but I got bored - but then I'd also get bored not being on my smartphone. I just decided to stop scrolling to read a book or the trampoline." Are mobile phones being banned in UK schools? Schools in Northern Ireland are advised to restrict pupils from using phones, in Scotland teachers are backed to introduce phone bans while in Wales, headteachers have been told smartphones shouldn't be banned "outright".In England, the children's commissioner has said banning phones should be a decision for head teachers but insisted parents had "the real power" to alter how their children used phones with more time spent on them outside of now every parent of all of Monmouthshire's state and private schools will be told about the county's new smartphone over the coming months. 'People have an addiction to smartphones' "This is not a school issue. This is a whole community and society issue," added Mr Hutchinson, whose comprehensive school in Monmouth has 1,700 pupils. "Like all schools, we are experiencing much higher levels of mental health issues as a result. Addiction to smartphones, addiction to being online."We have students who on average are spending six, seven, eight hours a day online outside school. We've got reports of students who are online at two, three, four in the morning. "So the impact on their school day, the impact on their learning and the impact on their life chances is really fundamental." In a token of solidarity to their son Monty and to encourage their two younger daughters, Emma Manchand and her husband Kev offered give up their own smartphones."We do 24-hours without the phone, which has been quite a challenging," she said."Sometimes we might slightly fail. But the first time I did it, although I was nervous, I felt like I'd had a little mini break."The kids love it as well, because of course they get to be the ones telling us to put our phones down."
South Wales Argus
07-07-2025
- Business
- South Wales Argus
Grade II-listed building in Monmouth town centre for sale
Located on Agincourt Street, the building has been used for commercial purposes and is being marketed with a guide price of £500,000. According to the listing, the property offers "an excellent opportunity for continued commercial use or potential for conversion to residential accommodation subject to planning." (Image: David James via Rightmove) The three-storey building features roughcast render external elevations, a Welsh slate roof, sash windows, and a wrought iron balcony on the first floor. Internally, the property retains a number of period features. The first floor has undergone renovations in recent years, which the listing describes as providing "modern, high quality office space". (Image: David James via Rightmove) Ground floor accommodation is self-contained and includes two access points, one at the front and another at the side. This level is subdivided into five main rooms, including a large reception room at the front. Ancillary spaces such as a kitchen and toilets are also found on the ground floor. First floor space is accessed by a separate staircase at the side of the building. This area is currently used as serviced office space and contains five individual offices as well as a communal kitchen. Shared toilet facilities are also provided on this floor. The second floor is currently unconverted and is used for storage. It is accessed by an internal staircase from the first floor. The listing states that this area contains "an abundance of character and retention of period features including exposed beams" and may be suitable for conversion to additional commercial or residential space, subject to planning permission. Outside, the property benefits from a walled garden and private parking area. Vehicular access to the parking area is via the adjacent Glendower Street Car Park. (Image: David James via Rightmove) The garden includes a mix of lawn and mature borders. The front of the property is bordered by wrought iron railings and mature planting, and offers immediate pedestrian access to the town centre. The building is described in the listing as extending to approximately 3,500 square feet of accommodation in total. It is offered for sale on a freehold basis, with vacant possession available on completion. Situated just yards from Monnow Street, the property is in a central location within Monmouth. The listing notes that the town is well connected by road, offering access to the Midlands, South Wales, and the West Country. A range of local and national retailers, as well as restaurants and pubs, are located nearby. Local schools, including Haberdashers Schools and Monmouth Comprehensive, are within walking distance. Mains water, electricity, and drainage are connected to the property. The listing notes that the property is being sold with any rights, easements, or incidents of tenure which may affect it. Interested parties are advised to make their own enquiries regarding planning matters with the local authority. Viewings are by appointment only. The guide price does not include VAT, which may be chargeable.
