Latest news with #WSCC
BBC News
19-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Romesh Rangathan critical of West Sussex council after child's school placing
The comedian Romesh Ranganathan has hit out at West Sussex County Council after his youngest son did not get offered any of his preferred choices in his secondary school Ranganathan said he had emailed the council six times after his son was placed in a school "on the other side of town", and not at the same school as his elder brother. He said he did not get a response from the council so he contacted his local MP, who told him they would look into it, but he was told "they can't do anything about it".A spokesperson for West Sussex County Council (WSCC) said: "We don't comment on individual matters, but we acknowledge the disappointment when students cannot be placed at their first choice." 'More than disappointing' Mr Ranganathan, who hosts A League of Their Own and a Saturday morning show on BBC Radio 2, said he was particularly angry as his elder son was already at the school the family had selected as his youngest son's first to social media, he said: "It's more than disappointing."He said he had emailed the council six times but had had no response. Taking his case to his MP, Mr Ranganathan said: "I wait two week, they come back and say 'West Sussex has looked into it. They can't do anything. They have conducted an investigation into their placement procedure and found it satisfactory'."I bet they have," Mr Ranganathan said."It's not the football, it's my son's school placement."We have to go on the waiting list and see what happens." The council spokesperson said: "We will always work with families to ensure a suitable school placement can be found."On Wednesday, WSCC said 91.1% had been offered their first preference school and 98.6% of all applicants were offered a place at one of their three preferences.
BBC News
19-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
Horsham woman's son missed learning due to 'discrimination'
A deaf woman from Sussex, who says her autistic son missed years of secondary school, has accused West Sussex County Council (WSCC) of discrimination and Pilgrim, from Horsham, says Matt's care plan was never suitable, but she felt excluded from discussing it when he was at primary school, because she wasn't provided with a qualified British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter."The school head teacher at the time said it's too expensive, we can't afford it. I said what about my rights?", she and The Kemnal Academies Trust, which runs Hilltop Primary in Crawley, said they couldn't comment on individual cases. A spokesperson from the trust said: "Our school's priority is and has always been the education and wellbeing of our pupils."We work with our pupils and their families to ensure necessary accommodations are provided in line with a pupil's Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP)."The latest Ofsted inspection of Hilltop Primary School found that pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (Send) achieve "extremely well as a consequence of staff's expert approach to meeting their needs." 'Stress, discrimination, neglect' Ms Pilgrim says Matt was issued with an EHCP at primary school in 2011. An EHCP is a legal document setting out the support a child via a qualified BSL interpreter, she said the plan was unchanged for nine years with no annual review."It's had a huge impact on my mental health. The stress, the discrimination, the neglect, to me and to Matt, because there was just no help, no support for us," she said. Matt, who's now 18, said he missed out on four years of secondary education, which was very said: "I never thought, during that time, that I would get my education and GCSEs again, which was really sad."Matt is now studying happily for GCSEs at Brighton College under an Education Other than At School (EOTAS) support plan, after Ms Pilgrim paid for a private consultant to engage with West Sussex County Pilgrim said she was considering making a formal complaint to the council, and was speaking out to warn other families facing similar a statement West Sussex County Council said it had implemented a Send improvement plan."We acknowledge the frustrations felt by some families trying to access Send support and express our sympathies to those who are dealing with especially complex circumstances."We, along with local authorities across the country are facing significant pressures in meeting the increasing demand for Send provision."
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Council to expand solar project to 60 more sites
More schools and other buildings in West Sussex will soon be able to generate and use their own renewable energy as the county council expands its solar project. West Sussex County Council (WSCC) says it is growing its Solar Photovoltaic (PV) & Battery Storage programme and is planning to install new renewable energy systems at a 60 further sites across the county, including libraries, fire stations, and schools. Excess energy will be stored in batteries for later use, or exported to the national grid, depending on the set up and needs of each site. WSCC says its systems are already generating energy at 74 schools, and solar panels are installed on nine council buildings. In total, WSCC says it is generating about 17,000 MWh of clean electricity each year, which is enough electricity to power approximately 6,300 homes. West Sussex County Council's cabinet member for environment and climate change, Deborah Urquhart, said: "This programme demonstrates our dedication to creating a more sustainable West Sussex. "By embracing solar power and the use of zero-carbon electricity, we are reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, reducing carbon emissions, and providing real learning opportunities for future generations." Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@ or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. Solar farm aims to power more than 16,500 homes Council spends £8.2m to reduce its carbon footprint West Sussex County Council
BBC News
07-02-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Broadbridge Heath: Retail park plans approved after access changes
Plans for a retail park in Broadbridge Heath have been approved after West Sussex County Council (WSCC) improved bike and pedestrian access. Horsham District Council (HDC) originally gave the county council permission to develop a former depot off the A24 in September 2024 on the condition it made some development could create around 150 jobs and is expected to include branches of Lidl and B&Q as well as Starbucks and McDonald's drive-throughs, said the Local Democracy Reporting will be three pedestrian entrances via Wickhurst Lane, Broadbridge Way and near the neighbouring Tesco petrol station. Since WSCC's original application in 2023, National Planning Policy Framework issued new guidance which states that applications for takeaways and fast food branches within walking distance of schools should be planning committee felt the guidance was "open to interpretation" and gave the project the go-ahead on Tuesday. The depot was declared surplus to requirements by WSCC in 2018, and plans for the retail park were submitted in June 2023.
