- Councillor’s advice surgery: Church Ward Councillors will be available to discuss any issues with residents on Saturday 3rd November at 10.30am-12pm at The Whitley Café.
- Canvassing; Councillors and activists will be out meeting residents to discuss concerns on Saturday 24th November at 11am on Wentworth Avenue and Alandale Close as well as on Thursday 29th November at 5.30pm on Brybur Close.
- Newsletter delivery: The final copies of the latest edition of the Church Ward Labour Rose newsletter will be delivered to households across the Ward by our Councillors & volunteers. This can be viewed under the News section of this site.
- Remembrance service– Church Ward Councillors will pay their respects on the morning of Sunday 11th at St Mary’s Butts before a march through town.
- Calendar collating: The South Reading calendar running from January to June is currently being collated. If you have any events for that period that you would like included, please email ashleypearce84@yahoo.co.uk
- Redlands Labour fundraiser: Church Ward Councillors will be present to help colleagues in Redlands for the Fish & Chip fundraiser and Quiz on Friday 23rd November at St.Luke’s Hall at 7.30pm.
- Policy Committee meeting: Ashley will be present in his role as Lead member for education on Monday 26th November at 6.30pm at the Civic Centre.
Monthly Archives: October 2018
St. Patrick’s Hall appeal has a date
Councillors decide priorities after CIL consultation
After the recent consultation regarding how the local element of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) would be spent in the Ward, Councillors have listened to residents and agreed on their priorities. The consultation saw nearly 100 respondents in the area vote for key improvements to the local community. The top 2 within Church Ward were to implement a zebra crossing at the top of Whitley Wood Road and to implement a 20mph zone on Northumberland Avenue by Reading Girls School. Both of these proposals will help keep our youngsters safe on their way to School and hopefully act as a natural speed calming measure. Also proposed just outside the Ward but very beneficial to residents are improvements to the Whitley Health Centre as well as the play area at Cintra Park. Despite savage cuts to the Council’s budget year on year, Church Ward Councillors are listening and implementing policies to help residents.
Consultation Starts on School Admission Scheme & Policy
CHANGES to the Council’s school admissions arrangements are the subject of an eight-week public consultation which started this week.
The consultation is a result of the Council reviewing both its Co-ordinated Admissions Scheme for Primary, Infant, Junior and Secondary Schools for the 2020/21 academic year and Admissions Policy for Infant, Junior and Primary Schools 2020/21.
Parents, schools, governing bodies and any other interested parties are invited to take part in the consultation which can be found on the Reading Borough Council website at: www.reading.gov.uk/schooladmissions2020
The School Admissions Code requires all relevant authorities to consult on their admission arrangements at least every seven years and Reading is now due to undertake this process. The Council has taken the opportunity to review some areas and is now keen to receive feedback. Some of the changes are concerned with validating applications, late applications, disputes between parents and sibling protection. Respondents are invited to answer the survey questions on one, two or all three revised documents.
Cllr Ashley Pearce, Lead Councillor for Education, said:
“Admissions schemes and policies are in place to ensure the Council has a fair, structured and transparent way of operating the admissions process.
“Councils with admissions responsibilities have to consult on their arrangements at least every seven years and Reading is now due to do so. We have taken the opportunity to review our admissions procedures and we are now inviting people to comment on the proposed changes.”
The School Admission Co-ordinated Scheme & Policy 2020/2021 Consultation can be found at www.reading.gov.uk/schooladmissions2020and the deadline for responses is 9th December 2018.
Education funding cuts
At this months Full Council meeting I will be asking my fellow Councillors to support a motion to write to Education Minister Damian Hinds to ask to halt the Government’s funding cuts in education. But according to the Government these cuts don’t even exist. The parrot like line from the Government of “Record spending in education” was joined this week by “the UK is the 3rd highest spender of education in the world” after an OECD report was released. So all must be rosy in the education world then?