Latest news with #Stonehouse
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Yoga, art and nature: Thrive Day inspires pupils at Maidenhill School
PUPILS in Stonehouse spent a day exploring mindfulness, creativity and emotional growth through hands-on activities. The event, known as Thrive Day, took place on Thursday, July 17, at Maidenhill School and was designed to promote wellbeing through the Thrive approach, which focuses on emotional resilience and personal development. It was funded by the school's parent-teacher association (PTA). Andrea Roberts, who organised the event, said: "Thrive Day is about more than just fun. "It's about helping children understand their emotions, build strong relationships and develop the life skills they need to flourish." Children took part in a wide range of activities, including yoga, storytelling, nature exploration, music and creative arts. Each session was designed to support children at their individual stage of emotional development. A yoga teacher from Calm Club led sessions focused on relaxation and body awareness, while former primary headteacher Bill Church delivered live storytelling. Other activities included sensory play, pond dipping, painting and a climbing wall challenge. Eco-themed activities took place in the school's garden with the support of parent volunteer Sarah, giving children the chance to connect with nature through hands-on exploration. Artistic activities ranged from finger painting in the nursery to mandala drawing in Year 6. Classrooms also gathered for Thrive circle time, where pupils shared fruit, played connection games, and reflected on kindness and empathy. The Thrive approach is embedded throughout the federation and focuses on supporting unmet emotional needs, building resilience and celebrating progress. The day brought these principles to life in a practical and engaging way. Mrs Jones, executive headteacher, said: "It was a day full of smiles, laughter and connection. "We saw children shine in ways that go beyond the classroom." The school extended its thanks to the PTA, staff, volunteers, and visiting practitioners who helped make the day possible.
BBC News
26-06-2025
- BBC News
National Lottery funding bid to reconnect Stroud canal with network
A plan to link a canal in Stonehouse to the rest of the national network is set to move forward District councillors will vote on whether to apply for £6.5m in National Lottery funding and provide an extra £1.5m to finish restoring the canal network on move would restore the network from Stonehouse to Saul Junction, and reconnect Stroudwater Navigation to the national canal of the restoration work would also re-establish the so-called "missing mile", a stretch between the A38 at Whitminster and Eastington which was filled in to make way for the M5. Applications for the lottery grant have to be made by July, and without this work cannot District Council has been trying to restore the Stroudwater canal since 2006 when work started on bring the five-mile stretch between Thrupp and Stonehouse back to money would be used to construct 1.5km of new canal in the River Frome under the M5, a mooring basin, and a new cafe and car council also proposes to reconnect the towpaths, which would effectively extend all the way from Stroud to to a council report, the finished project would provide a boost to local tourism.
BBC News
10-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Stonehouse school pool reopens after community fundraising effort
Thousands more children will learn to swim thanks to a £60,000 makeover of a primary school's pool. It is estimated around 10,000 pupils have had swimming lessons at Leonard Stanley C of E Primary School in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, since the pool opened in the 1970s. Decades of use, as well as exposure to the elements, eventually took its toll and the pool fell into disrepair - meaning it had stood empty for nearly three years. But now, after a community fundraising campaign, the facility has reopened. "I feel really lucky because it's really nice to come in the pool and have a nice time," said eight-year-old Evie. "It will be a really happy place to go. We can learn how to swim at school and it can make us really happy." Fellow pupil Nevin, 8, added: "It's great, it's fun, we can swim three times a week and learn."It's all fun. I'm glad the school got it." The new pool was built as a result of a fundraising effort amongst staff, parents and the surrounding community - with every penny raised through non-uniform days and sponsored walks going towards the total. School office manager Lisa Williams, who was one of the first children to swim in the pool as a pupil in the early 1970s, was one of five skydivers who raised more than half the total with their efforts. "I didn't hesitate," she said. "I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2022 and I thought - why not give something back, try and do some good?"As for seeing the pool finally reopen, she described the moment as "quite emotional"."This is what it's all about, teaching the next generation to swim, and opening it up to the community as well."It's something very close to my heart," she said. Headteacher Andrew Milner added: "It's a massive life skill for children to learn how to swim, particularly around here where there is water."It really enriches the curriculum and their wellbeing. To get them swimming here three times a week as part of PE will really enhance their learning."
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Making cannabis legal would help fight crime says ex Tory councillor and health chief
The debate over decriminalising cannabis is back on the agenda following a report by the London Drugs Commission, which is says that possessing small amounts of the drug should not be illegal. Chaired by Lord Charlie Falconer, the LDC found current laws are 'disproportionate to the harms it can pose'. Former Conservative county councillor for Stonehouse Nick Housden, who also served as cabinet member for public health, has strong views on the issue. Here he argues that the Class B drugs should be legalised IF I told you there was one policy that could save the UK billions, help the police do their job, destroy criminal drug networks, raise enough in tax to fund real public services, and even make cannabis use safer, you'd probably think I'd lost the plot. Or, depending on your tabloid of choice, you might think I was stoned. But here I am - entirely sober - telling you that legalising cannabis is not only sensible, it's long overdue. And frankly, it's madness that we're still talking about it like it's some radical idea. Because right now, the UK government is spending billions fighting a war on cannabis that it's already lost - and was never going to win. You're not just witnessing failure, you're paying for it. Let's start with the numbers. The UK burns through about £1.6 billion a year on drug law enforcement, a huge portion of which is devoted to cannabis. Even more frightening is the £5.5 billion wasted in our courts addressing these 'crimes'. So that's actually £7.1 billion total every year. That's police time, court costs, prison space — all to chase down people who, let's be honest, are often just trying to relax without pouring alcohol down their neck. And it's not like we're getting results. Cannabis is widely available in every town and city in the UK. The only difference is that, under our current system, it's sold by dealers — not regulated businesses — and users have no idea what they're buying or what's actually in it. It is easier for our schoolchildren to get stoned than it is to buy cans of cider, something I partook in occasionally myself! Meanwhile, our government is penny-pinching on PIP, winter fuel payments, and other vital lifelines for working families. Ministers are happy to claw back £300 from a vulnerable pensioner, but think nothing of blowing £10 billion on giving away the Chagos Islands, only to rent them back like mugs at a dodgy timeshare seminar. Imagine if we flipped the script: legalise cannabis, tax it sensibly, and use the revenue to fund the services we keep being told we 'can't afford.' In the US, states like Colorado and California have brought in billions in cannabis tax — money used for healthcare, education, even addiction services. It is no surprise that in the Netherlands their strategy towards legalisation of cannabis has seen relatively low hard drug use compared to other countries, because they can actually focus resources on stopping it instead of wasting their time on cannabis enforcement. We could be doing the same. Instead, we're locking people up and letting the proceeds of Britain's booming weed market go straight to criminal gangs. Because that makes sense. Every year, tens of thousands of people in the UK are criminalised for cannabis possession. That's more than a third of all drug offences. These aren't kingpins or cartel members — they're often young, working-class people trying to unwind on a Friday night. And they end up with criminal records that can mess up jobs, travel, even relationships. Meanwhile, the real crooks - the organised networks trafficking cocaine and meth, laundering money and exploiting people - are laughing all the way to the bank. Our police forces are forced to juggle the impossible: low resources, shrinking headcounts, and a rising tide of serious crime. As someone who spent years working with police and health officials as a councillor and later as cabinet member for public health in Gloucestershire (a short tenure, but I lasted longer than Liz!) I saw how bad the pressure is. Officers are constantly being pulled in all directions, dealing with mental health crises, missing persons, knife crime - and yes, cannabis users too. If we took cannabis off their plate, they could actually focus on what matters. That's not radical - it's just common sense. A legal cannabis market would deal a massive blow to the criminal gangs who control the UK's supply. You want to undercut a black market - beat it on quality, price and convenience. It worked for tobacco and alcohol and it would work for cannabis. At the same time, we'd bring in huge tax revenue. Experts estimate the UK could rake in over £1 billion a year from legal cannabis - even before you count the savings from not enforcing pointless laws. That's money we could use to reverse police cuts, fund mental health services and fix potholes. This isn't about encouraging drug use it's about recognising reality. Estimates show we have over 2.5 million active cannabis users in the UK. The question is do we want them to get it from a gang leader in a hoodie, or a licensed, regulated shop with a receipt?
Telegraph
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
How the ground war won it for Labour
It was the ground war 'wot won it' for Labour in the Hamilton, Stonehouse and Larkhall by-election, thanks to the hundreds of foot soldiers drafted in to pound the pavements in support of their candidate. And Davy Russell, the well-liked candidate in question, proved to be a tremendous bonus in a contest fought on old-fashioned terms and in which the media – especially the broadcasters – failed to set the agenda. His win will put a smile on the face of Scottish Labour and end the gloom of the last six months, in which the huge gains in last July's general election have disappeared and have even possibly been reversed by the SNP. Scottish Labour still has masses to do – but in this part of what used to be a traditional heartland, it showed it is up for a fight in next May's Scottish Parliament election. It can't just sit back and enjoy Reform UK hammering the Scottish Tories – Nigel Farage's party is taking lots of votes off Labour too. In this contest, Labour strategists highlighted what they claimed were Reform's 'dog whistle' tactics on race and its suggestion that the Barnett formula, which helps pay for Scotland's public services, might be scrapped. Mr Farage dismissed these claims as smears, but his critics believe that they helped 'crash his own campaign' and convince traditional Labour supporters to stay loyal. The result was a shock for the SNP, but the party can blame it on its tactics – the stupid talking up of Reform's chances and sending Nicola Sturgeon to canvass in the constituency where her policies caused a decline. There is no comfort in this result for the Scottish Tories. They scraped home with 6 per cent of the vote, just enough to save their deposit. It's difficult to know where they go from here – except perhaps to hope that the early signs of a civil war inside Reform will continue to fester. One overriding aspect of this campaign has been that Scottish Labour won in spite of, and not because of, its relationship with UK Labour and Sir Keir Starmer's Government. Too many of the Government's policies have proved hugely unpopular with the voters, as Sir Keir seems to have recognised. He was only 10 miles from Hamilton five days ago, launching his new defence policy in Glasgow. However, he wisely stayed away from the by-election campaign and nobody seems to have noticed. On a significant, but lighter, note I reckon that if ground wars clinched the Labour victory, 'star wars' played a part, too. In an area where not everyone supports Glasgow Rangers Football Club – although they tend to keep quiet about the fact – and where light blue and orange are favourite colours, Labour won tributes from just about the two biggest personalities you could imagine. Sir Alex Ferguson may have been manager of a hugely successful Manchester United, but in this constituency it's the fact that he had played for the 'Gers' that makes him a star. And the honours list for Graeme Souness includes 54 Scottish international caps and numerous other accolades – the most important in these parts, being a no-nonsense former player-manager of Rangers. Sir Alex was fulsome in his praise for Labour's candidate. He said that the surprise winner in this fiercely-fought local election was 'a man of integrity, determination, and deep commitment to his community'. He might have added, but didn't, that Mr Russell was also an occasional stand-in for the King, serving as a deputy lord lieutenant for Lanarkshire. But when it comes to Mr Souness, who was reputed to have never avoided a tackle, he didn't ignore Mr Farage in his support of Mr Russell. Resorting to that well-known Scottish insult, which is one short of calling someone a 'liar', he said the Reform leader was a 'chancer' who didn't care about Scotland. Yes, I know that my old friend Sir John Curtice could produce a long list of stats to provide a better explanation of Labour's win, but who's to say that, with a majority of just over 600 between first and second and less than 1500 votes between the first three, that personalities such as Sir Alex and Mr Souness didn't sway the voters. After all, few opponents argued successfully with them in their playing days.
