News

Wokingham Borough Council have announced plans to upgrade Bulmershe School in Woodley, Wokingham, including priority work on some existing buildings, significant refurbishment of existing classrooms, a new post-16 learning centre, a remodelled library and information centre, an improved dining facility and an on-site student inclusion centre for the school.

The £6million capital investment from the borough council means accommodation and facilities can be updated, refurbished and remodelled to give its students and staff a 21st century learning environment.

A consultation runs until 18 April and work could begin later this year if plans are approved. Members of the public and interested parties can view the application online on the Wokingham Borough Council website by searching for application F/2013/0430, and have until April 18 to give their feedback.

The school, a mixed sex comprehensive, was built in 1964.

From April 1 public health, which works to prevent disease and prolong life, will become the responsibility of the borough council.

The public health service will be hosted in Bracknell Forest and will work across the whole of Berkshire. To lead this core group, Dr Lise Llewellyn has been appointed as strategic director for public health in Berkshire.

The new Wokingham Public Health Team has six staff which have either transferred from the NHS or been recruited by the council. They will be based within the Health and Wellbeing service at Shute End.

Wokingham Borough Council has been awarded £3.8million in funding to finance its public health duties for 2013/14, and £4.2million for the following year.

This funding is ring-fenced for public health services and will cover the costs of the borough council’s new responsibilities.

Wokingham Borough Council are to consider changes to 2014/15 school admissions on March 28.

Shared catchment areas for some primaries in hotspot areas of the borough needing additional places, and the current rules for out-of-catchment siblings when a primary school is oversubscribed are among the recommendations to be discussed.

Some of the recommendations also respond to the wishes of local schools and stakeholders, as well as public feedback from the annual consultation into the co-ordinated admission schemes for all state- funded primary, junior and secondary schools within the Wokingham Borough.

This includes free schools and academies, as well as specific rules for schools maintained by a council such as community and voluntary-aided.

The consultation asked if The Colleton Primary and Polehampton CE Infant and Junior schools should share a single catchment area. Respondents and the schools were in favour of this change.

Members of the public who took part in the consultation and council both believe this change would give parents greater choice in the Twyford area, and reduce the risk of siblings being split.

Therefore, the executive will consider the recommendation to introduce a single catchment area for these schools from 2014/15 onwards.

Under the Education and Skills Act 2008 (as amended) and the statutory School Admissions Code, all admissions authorities, such as Wokingham Borough Council, must carry out annual consultations into their admissions arrangements for the following academic year where changes are proposed.

The public consultation for 2014-15 admissions arrangements therefore ran for eight weeks during January and February of this year. It is held annually at about this time because admission arrangements for each school year must be decided by April 15 in the previous year.

Following the consultation and determination/setting of the admission arrangements, a person or body can still object to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator. However their objection will only be considered by the adjudicator on the grounds that the arrangements, as determined, fail to comply with the statutory requirements of the School Admissions Code.

Once set, a council has a statutory duty to administer its admissions as set out. It cannot vary them unless there is a change in a school’s organisation, or the law, or to comply with a decision from the Office of the School’s Adjudicator.

Wokingham Borough Council are to start building three new primary schools during the next few weeks.

The planning applications submitted by Wokingham Borough Council are for single-form entry schools to meet pupil demand in Charvil, Winnersh and Wokingham. Each will cater for 30 new children per year.

The Secretary of State for Education has also confirmed that The Piggott School will run the site at East Park Farm in Charvil.

A meeting for prospective parents is being held at the school on April 17, at 7.30pm, to outline admissions arrangements and details about staffing.

A number of education providers have expressed their interest to be considered as potential sponsors to run the Winnersh and Wokingham schools as academies.

The council is now considering these and hopes in the next two weeks to submit the name(s) of its preferred education provider(s), to run the two new schools, to the Secretary of State for Education who will make the final decision.

The new single storey school buildings will accommodate a reception class, a food science room, six new classrooms, a library and ITC area, and a hall.

The facilities have also been designed for community use.

The schools will take 30 children each September, over a period of six years, until they reach their full capacity of 210 pupils.

Wokingham Borough Council’s decision making executive will consider plans to create additional secondary school places when it meets on March 28.

The Secondary School Provision Strategy sets out how the council will create these places between now and 2016, as well as in the long term.

More secondary school places are needed to meet a national rise in birth rates, and to accommodate new families moving into the Strategic Development Locations (SDLs) being created in the Wokingham Borough.

This rise in birth rates is already being felt in the borough’s primary schools. The council’s Primary School Strategy is progressing well to create new places ready from this September.

There is no immediate shortage of secondary school places in the Wokingham Borough. However, additional year seven places will begin to be needed from 2016 onwards.

Wokingham Borough Council is running a road safety photo competition on pedestrian safety. to support the second UN Global Road Safety Week (May 6 to 12).

The borough council is looking for budding amateur photographers to come up with creative and innovative images to raise the dangers of road traffic collisions involving pedestrians and raise awareness of ways to improve pedestrian safety.
There are two age ranges and themes for the competition; ‘Think! Safer Ways to Cross’ for 11 to 17-year-olds and ‘Think! Safer Pedestrians’ for 18-year-olds and over.

The pedestrian safety theme for this year’s Road Safety Week was chosen as pedestrians make up a major group at risk of death, injury and disability on the road. The week will focus on drawing attention to the need for pedestrian safety; generating action on measures which work to increase pedestrian safety; and achieving the goal of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011 to 2020 to save five million lives. In the UK, accident statistics show that pedestrian fatalities on our roads increased by 12% in 2011 compared to 2010.

The winner of each category will receive £100 John Lewis vouchers, kindly donated by BG Group at Thames Valley Park, to spend on photographic equipment.

Details on rules, terms and conditions for entry can be found on the road safety website page. The closing date for entries is 5pm on Friday April 12. All entries need to be submitted to Julie Pillai, road safety officer, either by post to PO Box 153, Shute End, Wokingham, RG40 1WL or by emailing: [email protected].

Two key properties to be demolished in the next phase of Wokingham Borough Council’s station link road scheme will be recycled as part of its pledge to be environmentally responsible.

Numbers 48 and 50 Reading Road mark the spot where the new link road will meet the A329.

Their demolition is expected to start towards the end of the month, and should take two weeks.

All of the concrete based products from the two properties will be crushed and kept on site to be reused – also saving on costs to transport it away.

Some 90 per cent of the rest of the buildings will be recycled; everything from glass, wood, and plastics, to metals and UPVC.

Wood from trees already cleared as part of enabling works has also been saved.

The new link road is the vital element in the multi-million pound scheme to redevelop the town’s train station into a 21st century travel centre, ease local traffic congestion and improve provision for pedestrians and cyclists.

Number 48 Reading Road was the former base for Rethink Mental Illness, Wokingham Community Support, but this has now relocated to Molly Millars Lane.

Four vulnerable adults living at 50 Reading Road, under the statutory care of the borough council, were moved to their new home last month.

The first section of hoardings has been erected. Trees and Japanese Knotweed have been removed from the site along the route of the new road. General ground clearance work is continuing.

The next stage of enabling works will include reptile mitigation, archaeology, earthworks and highways drainage.

The demolition is being carried out by Balfour Beatty Living Place, the council’s maintenance contractor, with Shorts-Group as specialist sub-contractor.

Wokingham Borough libraries drop-in stop smoking clinic is now running. Advisors will be available at Wokingham Library between 10am and 4pm on Saturdays and at Woodley library between 11am and 4pm on Sundays.

Heather Dyson, adult outreach development officer for libraries, said: “There is so much on offer in our libraries, there’s never been a better time to pop along to your local branch and sign up for one of our activities.”

Details of all activities at Wokingham Borough libraries can be found online at: www.wokingham.gov.uk/librarie

Duncan MacKay will be giving a talk called Eat Wild this Thursday (March 14) from 6.30pm. He will be discussing his book about food foraging and rough cooking. The event takes place at Wokingham Library and there is a £2 charge, places can be booked by calling (0118) 978 1368.

Ann Lawrence will be talking about Hypnotherapy and how it can improve life on Thursday March 21 from 6.45pm at Wokingham Library. There is a £2 charge and places can be booked by calling (0118) 978 1368.

Anyone interested in tracing their ancestors can visit Finchampstead Library this month where members of the Berkshire Family History Society will give a talk on the subject of How to Start Your Family History Research. The talk will take place on Thursday March 21 at 10.30am. Places are free but should be booked in advance by calling (0118) 908 8176.

If any residents are thinking about joining a club, there’s a great range to choose from in Wokingham Borough libraries.

A club for crossword puzzle enthusiasts starts on Monday March 25 (running on the last Monday of each month) from 10.30am at Wokingham Library. Book worms have a chance to join a new day time book group starting on Tuesday March 19 at 10.30am and running there after on the third Tuesday of the month. A new club for card games enthusiasts will also start this month (Friday March 29) at 10.30am.

King Henry VIII will be visiting Wokingham Library on his royal progress this March. The costume presentation by The Select Society, depicts Henry in the later years of his life as he looks back on the events of his long reign. The event takes place at Wokingham Library on Wednesday March 20 from 2pm with a £3 charge.

For more information about these groups residents should call (0118) 978 1368.

Wokingham Borough Council has submitted planning applications for three schools, and two are open to offers to be run as free schools or academies, part of a council drive to create 150 new school places per year group.

The National Audit Office said 250,000 extra school places would be needed in England by autumn 2014.

Wokingham Borough Council has plans for new schools in Charvil, Winnersh and Wokingham and also intends to create some new places at existing schools.