Food dumped in Baylis Park
Large amounts of food have recently been dumped in Baylis Park, contributing to a rat issue in the area. This has been an ongoing issue for many years and residents are again advised not to leave any food in the park. There have recently and frequently been large amounts of rice, chapatis, and bread left all across the park.
The council will be carrying out active patrols around the park and anyone seen dumping large amounts of food will receive a fixed penalty notice of £75. The no feeding sign near the pond will be replaced and the council would encourage residents not to feed the ducks, as well as not leaving food.
Linda Corcoran, Resilience and Enforcement Lead, Slough Borough Council said: “I would remind all residents not to leave large amounts of food on the ground at Baylis Park or indeed at any of our parks. This causes issues with attracting rats and also makes areas of the park unusable. We want everyone to be able to enjoy our open spaces, and it is up to all of us to keep them clear of rubbish and dumped food.”
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New Youth Parliament elected for Slough! Young voters aged 11-18 took part in the UK’s largest youth consultation to cast their vote on one of 10 issues impacting young lives and their communities. The results mirror the last ballot in 2022, where health and wellbeing also came top of the list and after national consultations and research this developed into a campaign called ‘food for learning’ calling for free school meals to be available for all school students. The 2024 Make Your Mark ballot attracted nearly 100,000 more votes nationally than in 2022, showing participation in democratic processes is growing among young people. Make Your Mark began in 2011 and since then health and wellbeing topics have been highlighted eight times, showing the ongoing concern by young voters and improvements in services still needed. In Slough we held our Slough Youth Parliament elections alongside the make your mark process and attracted 161 candidates to apply for the roles. Voting took place online, across schools, colleges and youth groups and the successful candidates were announced in a results evening at Lynch Hill Enterprise Academy on 22 March. We thank all the organisations for supporting this process and all the candidates for taking part. Our 31 new youth parliament members are: Rijuta Acharya – Slough Young Inspectors Aloysius Fernandes – Beat Routes Aisha Hashmi & Diama Fall – Baylis Court School Jalon Mensah & Lucia Doana - Beechwood School Laxmi Sandal & Paula Wiecek – Churchmead School Aditya Chhatre & Toby Dunford-McLeod – Ditton Park Academy Anam Aslam & Armish Sardar – Eden Girls School Katrina Masih & Shammah Mirza – Grove Academy Reps Hadie Saleeban – Haybrook College David Essien & Gunveen Kaur – Herschel Grammar Lakson Bakeerathan & Yihang Chai – Langley Grammar Emaan Asif – Lynch Hill Enterprise Academy Dakshayani Rajamarthandan & Elsa Francis – Slough & Eton C of E Business & Enterprise College Joshua Arul & Tinotenda Magaya – St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School Mateusz Skowera – St Joseph’s Catholic School Felicity-Mai Ford – Westgate School Junior Jonski & Abbi Mohanaraja – Wexham School Cameron Jack & Rhiannon Fountain-Meek – Langley College Rachita Dhoke – SEND Reps. Sadly, the British Youth Council made a shock announcement on 21 March that they would be closing after 75 years dedicated to championing and strengthening youth voice and involvement in decision making. Due to this any further analysis of the ballot is unlikely to be released. The continuation of the national youth voice programme, funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and UK Parliament, is unknown at this time. Nadine Barrett, Youth Work Team Leader (Youth Voice), Slough Borough Council, said: “My team and I are committed to providing meaningful mechanisms for our young representatives to have their voice heard and acted upon. The youth voice team will continue our important work to empower young people in Slough to influence social and political change.” -
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Equality Objectives – public consultation now open – have your say! In November Cabinet gave approval for the council’s draft equality objectives to go to a public consultation. Setting these objectives is a key part of our public sector equality duty under the Equality Act 2010 and will cover a period of four years. The objectives set out what we want to achieve and our priority areas of focus to: • reduce inequalities for Slough residents and service users • reduce inequalities and promote diversity and inclusion for the council’s workforce. The council is now seeking views on five draft equality objectives and wants to hear from as many people as possible on: • if they agree with the objectives we have proposed • which ones are most important • if there are significant areas of equalities focus or groups that are missing. The consultation can be completed at: https://slough.citizenspace.com/corporate/equality-objectives-consultation If there are any questions regarding the consultation you can contact the team at: equalities@slough.gov.uk Library staff are available to help any residents who have difficulty completing the questionnaire. The consultation closes on 2 February. The outcome of the consultation will be presented alongside the final version of the objectives when this is brought to Cabinet and Full Council later this year. Councillor Dexter Smith, Leader of the Council and cabinet member responsible for improvement & recovery, performance, governance and young futures said: “I would encourage all residents, service users and council staff to take part in this survey to help inform us that we have proposed the right equality objectives and which they see as the most important. The survey closes on 2 February.” -
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Learning Disability Strategy approved at cabinet A new Learning Disability Strategy for 2023-28 describes how the council will work with its partners to reduce health inequalities for adults with learning disability, to live a good quality of life as independently as possible within the local community. The strategy sets out our ambitions to further integrate the work of health and social care professionals to identify solutions that improve the lives of people with learning disability. The strategy sets out seven key priorities for the council and people with learning disability. These include: • promote independence • ensure access to good quality care and support • progress the integration of health and social care • ensure effective transitions • facilitate access to employment, training and skills • embed an evidence based and data driven approach to commissioning • keep people safe. The action plan illustrates how the priority areas will be delivered. The strategy has been developed through a series of engagement events, both in person and online, with learning disability service users, family members, formal and informal carers, professionals in health and social care and the volunteer sector organisations. Furthermore, a multi-lingual questionnaire in the nine most spoken languages in Slough has been circulated to all stakeholders known to the Community Team for People with a Learning Disability (CTPLD) and the commissioning team. The Learning Disability Strategy will be overseen by a new steering group. This will be formed by representatives of the new Learning Disability Partnership Board which will be created following stakeholders’ feedback. Implementation of the strategy will be overseen by the commissioning team. Councillor Anna Wright, lead member for adult social care, mental health and learning disabilities, said: “This strategy has been created through engaging with our residents with a learning disability and their families and carers to ensure that we focus on what is most important to them. Our primary goal is ensuring that we help to improve our resident’s quality of life and the new steering group we are forming will help us to deliver in the seven priority areas identified.” -
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Trader fined for nine food safety offences A fruit and vegetable business has been fined £32,000 for numerous food safety offences, including failure to keep the premises clean. Adams Fruits Limited, owner of Adam’s Fruit & Veg, 283 High Street, Slough, pleaded guilty to all the offences which included not keeping the food premises maintained in good condition. Other offences included not ensuring raw materials were stored at the premises to protect them from contamination, the walk-in chiller was disorganised, with raw meats being close to ready to eat fruit and vegetables, such as berries. The raw meats and the fruit, vegetables and herbs were not sufficiently segregated, posing a high risk of contamination. An adequate number of washbasins for cleaning hands with hot and cold running water, and hygienic drying, was not provided and there was no hot water in the WC basin or drying facilities. There were no pest control procedures in place, as there were mouse droppings at various parts of the premises, including on shelves, in a box displaying walnuts, on a plastic container of dates and a packet of tortillas, near the butchery display counter. As well as this, the rear door was dirty, with a hole at the bottom of the door, the door to the walk- in chiller was filthy, with traces of blood and the WC basin was dirty, causing concerns of cross contamination. The top of a dirty chest freezer was being used with cardboard on top for a cutting surface for watermelon. This is not a material that can be cleaned and attracts moisture, allowing bacteria to grow. A chest freezer full of products (meat/fish) was defrosted and emitting an unpleasant odour, and the bottom of the freezer contained liquid drippings from the bags, including blood. There were no regular cleaning schedules of hand contact points to avoid cross contamination, no schedules to check temperatures on chillers and freezers to ensure they were at the right level and staff were not demonstrating good standards of personal hygiene. These offences relate to poor standards found in November 2022 and June 2023. The premises was formally closed on 17 November 2022 due to a health risk condition. Significant improvements were made to allow it to re-open on 18 November 2022. It took several visits for standards to improve sufficiently. The premises was visited again in June 2023, where standards were found to be very poor again, and further enforcement was taken by the Food & Safety Team. Ann Stewart, food & safety professional, Slough Borough Council, said: “We will support businesses in achieving compliance, however when a business presents a risk to public health and do not improve after we have asked them to, we have no option other than to take enforcement action. We hope that this business and other businesses in Slough will learn and ensure satisfactory food safety controls are in place at all times to protect Slough residents and visitors.” Councillor Iftakhar Ahmed, lead member for community cohesion, public health, public protection, leisure and planning, said: “We have a fantastic Food & Safety Team here in Slough who are dedicated to making sure that standards are met for our residents’ safety. If you run a business here and do not adhere to those standards, we will work with you to achieve them, but will not hesitate to take action if you not do not comply.” -
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Chance to say how you’d like to get involved in shaping Berkshire’s blueprint for nature recovery Communities across Berkshire are invited to say how they’d like to get involved in shaping plans for protecting and improving natural habitats in the county. Berkshire’s six councils, led by the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead, are keen to work with residents, landowners, NGOs, developers, community groups and others to create a Local Nature Recovery Strategy for the county. Funded by DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) as part of a wider national nature recovery project, the result for Berkshire will be a nature map of opportunities, as well as a list of biodiversity priorities. This will prioritise where time and investment are most needed to improve, protect, or enlarge habitats, create wildlife corridors, or create new habitats on land or around watercourses. It will also help to inform and support funding bids for specific projects. To ensure as many individuals and organisations as possible are involved in the planning stage during 2024, the project team is holding an initial survey to hear people’s preferences around how best to engage them in the conversations. This engagement survey covers how people would like to contribute to the strategy and stay up to date with project progress, as well as important accessibility considerations, and the chance to say if you have any specialist skills or knowledge to share around particular habitats and species. Find out more and take part in the survey until Tuesday 2 January at https://rbwmtogether.rbwm.gov.uk/berkshire-local-nature-recovery-strategy If you don’t have online access, you are welcome to use the public-access computers available at all local libraries, where staff are happy to help you get online if needed. Cllr Puja Bedi, lead member for transport, housing, highways, the environment, and environmental services, said: “We are extremely interested to hear how Slough and Berkshire residents would like to contribute to this important strategy which will protect, improve, and create natural habitats across the whole of Berkshire. “Please fill in the short engagement survey to allow us to start the process of involving residents and organisations in this collaborative piece of work, for the benefit of our local wildlife and environment. Berkshire’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy is so important for us all, we would like to hear views from as many people as possible. The survey closes on 2 Jan.” -
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Waiting times cut for stairlifts The council introduced a new Housing Assistance Policy (HAP) detailing the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) options that an individual can receive, in November 2022. One of the key aspects of the policy was fast tracking certain types of equipment, such as stairlifts. The policy will help improve the lives of local people as it will provide more flexibility in how the grant can be administered. This will help reduce waiting times. The stairlift contract agreed yesterday (Monday) at cabinet with Handicare Accessibility Limited, will streamline the process of the stairlifts and cut waiting times for people who have been assessed and have had their DFG grant approved. The council is including key performance indicators and will manage the process to ensure the provider delivers and installs stairlifts within suitable time frames. Previously local people were waiting more than one year for equipment such as stairlifts, and with the introduction of the new policy and working with the new stairlift provider, the council will reduce the waiting time for the process of stairlifts to less than half. Stairlifts can have a huge impact on helping people to continue to maintain personal independence within their own homes. Enabling people to access all areas of the home reduces the need to adapt ground floor living space, especially important in homes occupied by other family members or care givers, where the alternative option would be residential care settings. The contract will be for three years with two possible extensions. Councillor Anna Wright, cabinet member for public health, social care, and wellbeing, said: “This new contract with Handicare Accessibility Limited will cut waiting times in half for residents in need of a stairlift, allowing them to stay in their own homes, and improving their quality of life. Previously the waiting times residents were facing were unacceptable and meant that they potentially couldn’t access the first floors of their homes. I am really pleased that this will be a quicker and easier process for those in need of assistance.” -
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21 November 2023 Children & Young People’s Placement Sufficiency Strategy approved at cabinet The Slough Children’s placement sufficiency strategy sets out our ambitions for children and young people who may become looked after or who are looked after over the next three years (2023-26.) Central to the strategy is a fundamental belief that every child has the right to grow up in a family home wherever possible. We will do everything we can to support children and young people to stay within their family where possible, where it is safe to do so, before considering that they need to be cared for outside of their family home. The sufficiency strategy will achieve this by focusing on 5 key priorities: 1. strengthening Early Help and developing ‘Edge of Care’ and reunification support 2. a clear focus on our recruitment and retention of foster carers and developing options for children to exit residential care into a family home, where possible 3. ensuring robust commissioning arrangements and value for money relationships with providers 4. achieving permanence for children at the earliest opportunity 5. providing care experienced young people with a variety of placement options and support to independence. Slough Children First and Slough Borough Council are committed to achieving the best for our children and work across all council departments to achieve this for our cared for children. The five priority areas will be delivered via specific workstreams, led by our strategic managers, and overseen by a Sufficiency Board to ensure progress and that outcomes are achieved. Sue Butcher, director of children’s services and chief executive of Slough Children First, said: “Every child and young person deserves a supportive and loving home where they feel cared for and safe. However, if you have ever been a child or young person in the care of a local authority or a young adult that has previously been looked after, this is all the more important. “Slough’s new Children and Young People’s Placement Sufficiency Strategy sets out how we will provide these homes which could mean staying at home with family support in place, living with foster carers, living in a residential children’s home, or being supported to live independently. Our vision is ‘Happy, Safe and Loved, Thriving’.” Councillor Paul Kelly, cabinet member for education and children's services, said: “The placement sufficiency strategy puts processes in place to ensure the best outcome for each child in our care. It is our priority that looked after children feel secure, supported, and are encouraged to achieve their full potential. This strategy will be overseen by a Sufficiency Board to ensure key milestones are met, and that we are on track to achieve the five key priorities laid out within it.” -
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16 November 2023 Local pupil wins logo design competition for Local Offer website relaunch The Family Information Service team at the council has soft launched a revamped resource for local residents. The new Local Offer website is a guide to services available for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities: https://www.sloughfamilyservices.org.uk/localoffer A competition, which ran in the summer, gave local pupils an opportunity to design the new Local Offer logo. From many entries Zehra Hamid, a student at Ryvers School, won first place and two of her designs were made into a logo by the council’s graphic designer, Caroline Steele. Zehra won a £30 Amazon voucher kindly donated by Special Voices group and received a certificate signed by Sue Butcher, Director of Children’s Services and Chief Executive of Slough Children First. This was presented by Neil Hoskinson, Interim Associate Director of Education, Slough Borough Council and Pete Rowe, Executive Headteacher, Ryvers School. Zehra said: “I love to draw and have lots of ideas in my head that are aching to burst onto paper and sometimes I can't stop myself. I loved to participate because I love drawing storyboards, book covers, posters and now logos! I was so surprised and shocked to hear I had won and then ecstatic!” Zehra’s father, Hammad Hamid, said: “Our daughter Zehra is great at drawing; she has books of drawings stuffed in her cupboard. Immediately, we knew she would be keen on the logo competition and there was some satisfaction in knowing that the service itself would benefit someone like her. The finished logo was an amazing composition of two of her logo designs, we were awed, humbled and proud.” The revamped website is to be soft launched and also presented at a Special Voices Information/Local Offer Live Day on Friday 24 November, 9.30am - 1pm, at Singh Sabha Sports Centre, Stoke Poges Lane, SL1 3LW. For more information call 07990693439 or email info@specialvoices.co.uk The new website has been co-produced with children and young people, parents, carers, and professionals. Young people have created new videos featured on the site, and through talking to parents, carers, and professionals the team gathered feedback about the look and feel needed, and what content was important to them. The Local Offer website has been redesigned to make it easier for children and young people and their families to independently access information. The new look website has been designed following consultation with a range of partners and engagement with children and young people. We are continuing to co-produce the Local Offer and will be constantly updating and reviewing the website based on feedback. The team want to use the soft launch to gather feedback on using the new website, on what isn’t working and what users would like to see. You will be able to feedback through a series of smiley faces down the side of a webpage – just click and let the team know. If you include your email address as part of the feedback, you will be entered into a prize draw with a first prize of a £50 Amazon voucher. The draw runs from now until 4 January 2024. Councillor Paul Kelly, cabinet member for education and children's services, said: “This is a fantastic, relaunched website for our local residents which aims to provide easy to access information all in one place. There is still time to feedback during the soft launch period to gather information on what residents think. Please do take the time to let us know and we will aim to improve on any areas needed.” -
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Slough choir sings for Children in Need Children from Slough Community Youth Soul Choir were selected to sing for Children in Need this year alongside other choirs from across the country. They are singing ‘You Raise Me Up’, in a performance which was filmed in Slough, as well as other areas of the UK. The children were commended for their positive and professional behaviour as well as beautiful singing voices during the recording. The choir was formed in 2019 by Rebecca Richardson, Head of Slough Music Service, and is supported by local music charity Beat Routes and Slough Music Service. The group meet weekly, term time Mondays at The Curve 5-7pm. There is no cost to joining the choir. To join they only ask for commitment to weekly rehearsals and also performances. If you would like your child to join the choir, the next intake is January 2024. Email: sloughyouthchoir@gmail.com Rebecca Richardson, Head of Slough Music Service said: “We are delighted to have had the opportunity to sing on a national platform and show the talent and commitment our young people in Slough have. I have run the choir for the past four years and it’s been amazing to see young people’s confidence grow in performing. The show is this Friday at 7pm on BBC One, please donate if you can.” Councillor Paul Kelly, lead member for education, children's services, lifelong skills, and governance said: “This was a fantastic opportunity for the choir to showcase some of the talent our children and young people have. A big thank you to Rebecca for founding the choir and helping them flourish under her guidance. I look forward to seeing the choir on BBC One! Well done Slough Community Youth Soul Choir.” -
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Travel made easier by bus route improvements A number of bus routes in Slough have changed since 27 August. Key improvements include more frequent buses on route 4, which is being renumbered route A4, and an extension of Chiltern Hundreds route 103 to Windsor. Cippenham residents now benefit from buses every 15 minutes on First Beeline route A4 along the A4 Bath Road bus lanes, and a new hourly all night service, running to Slough town centre and Heathrow Central Bus Station. Route A4 buses will now serve St Andrew’s Way in both directions, no longer serving Cippenham Lane or Cippenham Green. These improvements are funded by Heathrow Airport and aim to provide more attractive alternative travel options for Heathrow Airport workers affected by the extension to London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) from 29 August. Other improvements funded by Heathrow Airport include more frequent buses on Sundays on First Beeline route 8 and an additional early morning journey on route 7 from Britwell to Slough. Residents in the Farnham Road area now enjoy direct buses to Windsor as well as more buses at peak travel times, thanks to improvements to Chiltern Hundreds route 103 by Carousel Buses. Route 83 has been recombined with route 583 and is now run by Carousel Buses as route 583, with some journeys extending beyond Wexham Park Hospital and Langley to Richings Park, Iver and Uxbridge. Route 583 is supported by Buckinghamshire Council. There are also changes to timetables to improve reliability. Routes which changed on 27 August are: 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12 (eves and Sundays), 15, 83, 103, 106 and 107. More details are available at https://www.slough.gov.uk/buses. Cllr Puja Bedi, lead member for transport, housing, highways, the environment, and environmental services, said: “I very much welcome these improvements to Slough’s extensive and growing bus network. With the climate emergency we need more than ever to travel sustainably, and these improvements make it easier for residents and commuters to get around by bus in the town and to neighbouring areas including Heathrow Airport, and the current £2 maximum single fare on most routes makes bus travel cheaper too. We welcome the continued support of Heathrow Airport, and are working with them and with our bus operator partners to continue to progress our Bus Service Improvement Plan https://www.slough.gov.uk/transport-travel/national-bus-strategy-bus-back-better/3.” Ends -
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A-level results day for thousands of students across Slough Councillor Paul Kelly, lead member for education, children’s services, lifelong skills and governance, said: “I am delighted along with everyone else at the council to congratulate the young people of Slough on their A-level results received today. “Today will have been nerve-wracking for many as these results may determine their next steps, to further education, apprenticeships, or the start of their careers. Whatever path they have chosen to take, we wish them good luck for the future. “We are incredibly grateful to all of our hardworking and dedicated school staff and support staff, who enable our young people to achieve their full potential. They go above and beyond for the borough’s students every year and that effort does not go unnoticed. “Our young people are the future for Slough, and making sure that our students enjoy their educational experience and feel confident about their futures is a top priority for the council.” Ends -
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Slough Borough Council votes to welcome care experience protected characteristic Councillors have unanimously voted to make care experience a protected characteristic. The motion, which was approved on Thursday 27 July, is for anyone who has spent time in care and will protect them in the same way the Equality Act protects characteristics such as race, religion, age, and sexual orientation. This means that SBC will consider care experienced young people alongside other groups with protected characteristics, when making or suggesting any changes to service delivery or policy design. SBC wholly owns Slough Children First (SCF) – a company providing social care and support services directly to children, young people, and families in Slough. Accepting Councillor Qaseem’s motion, Councillor Gill acknowledged that: “Care experienced people face significant barriers that impact them throughout their lives, including discrimination and stigma in accessing services such as housing, education, employment, and criminal justice to name but a few. The Public Sector Equality Duty does not currently treat care experience as a protected characteristic, and as such Slough Borough Council does not include care experience when conducting Equality Impact Assessments of its policies.” It is hoped that this approved motion will be a formal yet big step to providing further opportunities and equality to care leavers in Slough. Sue Butcher, SCF’s Director of Children’s Services/Chief Executive said: “As Corporate Parents, our children in care and our care experienced young people are at the heart of everything we do. Our mission at SCF is that we should all be constantly working together to improve the lives of children and young people by protecting, supporting, and enabling them to thrive. We are delighted that care experience is now a protected characteristic in Slough as this will significantly boost young people’s confidence when applying for roles in whatever career path they choose.” Councillors (in Slough) have also recognised the importance of working with and listening to the voices of its care-experienced people when creating and developing policies about the issue, and to continue to support campaigns that affect them such as the Show Us You Care Too campaign. Councillor Paul Kelly, lead member for education, children's services, lifelong skills, and governance said: “This is a fantastic step forward for our young people in care and care leavers. Care experience being recognised as a protected characteristic in Slough will help our young people in their future aspirations and careers. We couldn’t be prouder of our young people and continue to find ways to support and encourage them to fulfil their potential.” -
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Taxi drivers caught out on surprise inspection A high number of the taxi drivers stopped during a random inspection were found to be failing in their responsibilities. Slough Borough Council licensing officers, in partnership with Thames Valley Police, conducted vehicle stop checks on the borough’s licensed fleet. Of the licensed trade 50% of those checked shockingly had identified issues: 1 vehicle was stopped with an unlicensed and uninsured driver – the vehicle was seized by TVP, and the licence suspended 2 drivers received points on their private hire drivers’ licence for failure to display their badge 1 driver was cautioned by TVP for speeding 1 vehicle was found to be displaying an expired vehicle licence, despite a renewal application being made and a new plate issued. The plate was removed, and the driver was advised to display the correct vehicle licence. Any driver who receives 12 council penalty points will be brought to the Licensing Committee for a decision as to whether they are a fit and proper licensed driver. The minimum expected is that the vehicle is in a roadworthy condition, with the plate always displayed day or night. It is also expected that the driver displays their driver badge. Councillor Puja Bedi, lead member for transport, housing, highways, the environment, and environmental services, said: “It is so disappointing to hear that during these random vehicle stop checks, a high number of the taxis and minicabs stopped had serious issues. It is particularly shocking that one driver was unlicensed and uninsured when people trust these drivers with their safety. Thank you to the licensing team and to Thames Valley Police for their continued hard work to keep our roads safe.” More joint enforcement operations have been scheduled by the licensing team with TVP in the coming months, to ensure the rigorous standards to be a taxi or private hire driver are met. If members of the public see Slough Borough Council licenced drivers not upholding the standards, please report via 01753 457111 (option 6). -
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Council’s travel plans get pupils moving! Slough Borough Council’s BetterBy team is working with schools in the borough to increase the number of children who walk, cycle or scoot to school, and decrease the number of parents who drive their children all the way to the school gate. One tool used to help, is to encourage schools to create effective School Travel Plans. These are vital for a healthier, greener, and safer future, as they promote and enable more sustainable and active modes of travel. There are five levels of School Travel Plan, from Green (Approved) to Platinum (Outstanding). Three Slough schools have made great strides on this journey with two achieving Bronze (Good) and one achieving Silver (Very Good). The best School Travel Plans can win a national prize. James Elliman Academy (Bronze), Slough Central Nursery (Bronze) and Penn Wood School (Silver) all received their certificates recently from Alison Derrick, senior transport planner, at the council. Kellie Carroll, early years practitioner, Slough Central Nursery said: “We try to keep the children as active as possible and are lucky to have plenty of outside space where they can go come rain or shine. It can be hard for parents to walk or cycle if they have other children at other schools. However, our children encourage their parents. For instance, children knew they would get a stamp on the wallchart every time they walked during Walk to School week, and they did everything they could to ensure they did not miss out on that stamp.” Hayley Downer, PE Lead, Penn Wood School, said: “We are very passionate and value the importance of travel at Penn Wood School. We encourage the children to increase levels of travel by ensuring they are aware of the impact on the environment, and the positive effect that it has on the health of the community. We are proud to have achieved the silver award level from Modeshift Stars for our excellent travel plan.” Councillor Puja Bedi, lead member for transport, housing, highways, the environment and environmental services, said: “I am delighted to hear that three of our schools and nurseries have been awarded certificates for their travel plans. Promoting active ways for the children to travel to school and working towards more sustainable travel is so important for our children’s health and the environment. I look forward to hearing of more certificates awarded as the year progresses. Thank you to all our hardworking teachers and students who have worked so hard on achieving these awards.” -
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#OneSlough Awards launched — Time to nominate! After a four-year break, Slough CVS has re-launched the voluntary awards to acknowledge the volunteers who made a difference during Covid and beyond. The #OneSlough initiative was created at the start of the Covid pandemic in March 2020. Bringing together the voluntary and business sectors and faith communities, with Slough Borough Council and statutory sectors, resources and skills were combined, to deliver essential services to Slough residents. The awards are designed to celebrate the successes of all those working to achieve a positive change in Slough, and the prestigious awards evening will be back in November. All those shortlisted will receive a complimentary ticket to the ceremony. There are four categories for nominations, with 16 awards in total, including: • Volunteer of the Year • Public Sector Partnerships Awards • Group of the Year • Charity & Business Support Awards. Ramesh Kukar, CEO, Slough CVS said: “The #OneSlough Awards celebrate the very special people and groups who give so much of themselves to make our community a better place for all. There are some amazing contributions that ordinary residents of Slough make to their families, their neighbours and communities at large and the awards are an excellent opportunity to raise awareness of our groups and volunteers’ achievements.” Councillor Dexter Smith, leader of the council, said: “I am delighted to be a judge at this year’s #OneSlough Awards run by Slough CVS, a vitally important local organisation who play a key role in furthering opportunities for Slough people. “I look forward to taking part in the event and seeing the continued positive impact of volunteering across our town.” Nominate now by going to http://www.voluntarysectorawards.org.uk/home/ All nominations must be submitted by Wednesday 2 August 2023. -
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Posted in: Slough
Slough Carers Support joins Slough Borough Council The carers service, which was provided by Slough CVS, has moved back in-house as the contract expired at the end of June. It was agreed last year at the 21 November Cabinet meeting that carers assessments and some activities run currently by Slough Carers Support will be undertaken by a Carers Co-ordinator who will be part of the adult social care team in the council. They will also link in with carers support groups, and support access to carers groups and activities within the community. The Co-Production Lead will be supporting this role whilst recruitment is underway. Any future changes in the service will be co-designed with carers and the wider voluntary and community sector. Now the service has switched over, the contact number has remained the same: 01753 303428 and emails can be sent to sloughcarers@slough.gov.uk The website will remain in its current form until the end of July. Ramesh Kukar, CEO, Slough Council for Voluntary Service (SCVS) said: “Although the project is coming to an end at Slough CVS, we will continue to offer support to groups working with carers through the #OneSlough Fund, financed by Slough Borough Council via the Better Care Fund and Public Health Slough. Grassroots level organisations supporting those who face inequalities and health and wellbeing issues in Slough, will be able to apply for up to £10,000.” Cllr Anna Wright, lead member for public health, social care and wellbeing, said: “When Slough Carers Support service joins the council on 1 July it will become part of the Adult Social Care team. It will enable the Slough Carers Support service to continue helping and supporting our carers throughout Slough and allowing Adult Social Care to build on the fantastic work that Slough Carers Support have done previously.” -
Posted in: Slough
Cabinet to make decision on recommendations from children’s centres consultation Slough Borough Council’s cabinet members are set to make a decision on the paper containing recommendations from the recent consultation, this Wednesday 24 May. The consultation took place between the 3 February and 17 March this year, and the previously recommended option was to retain three children’s centres. With Chalvey Grove and Romsey Close retaining the early years provision and full services, Penn Road offering services to families with no early year’s provision, and Yew Tree Road remaining for just early year’s provision and no services. Having considered all the data and the information gathered from partners, families, service users, and residents during the consultation, and the updated childcare sufficiency, the recommendation that will be presented to cabinet on Wednesday 24 May has been adapted. It will be recommended to cabinet the council retains Chalvey Grove, Penn Road and Romsey Close Children’s Centres for full children’s centre services and early years provision. Monksfield Way and Yew Tree Road Children’s Centres will remain with early year’s provision and services offered in the centre/community. Councillor Paul Kelly, cabinet member for education, children's services, lifelong skills and governance, said: “The council has listened to all who completed the consultation and developed an adapted plan for our children’s centres which will retain five sites in total, and supports our residents across the borough. “We are committed to ensuring our youngest residents receive the best support and early years education possible, in locations that are local and convenient to their families. I look forward to seeing the development of family hubs which will benefit even more families throughout Slough.” -
Posted in: Slough
Mayor opens newly renovated Slough Station Northern Forecourt Mayor Cllr Dilbagh S. Parmar has opened the Slough Station Northern Forecourt following the completion of the Public Realm improvement work. The project, achieved through the partnership working of Thames Valley, Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership, includes provision of parking spaces together with accessible parking, as well as a turning area to the east. In front of the station there is also a shared space area aimed to enhance the pedestrian experience. The works also comprise new planting and landscaping, street lighting, a new retaining wall along Railway Terrace, and revisions to the existing surface water drainage network. Mayor Cllr Dilbagh S. Parmar, said: “It’s a pleasure to be here to open the renovations of the Northern Forecourt, the space is a fantastic welcome to Slough for all those that commute here, and residents alike.” Savio DeCruz, associate director place operations, Slough Borough Council, said: “I would like to thank all of you for attending this launch of the new Station Forecourt and especially the Mayor and Mayoress. Thanks also to GWR and Network Rail for supporting the team in delivering the project, and a special thank you to Vaishali Shah, our principal engineer, for project managing the scheme in difficult circumstances. “I started developing the scheme designs in 2012 following completion of the Southern Forecourt and so it has been 10 years in its making. The forecourt has been transformed and this could not have been made possible if the Local Enterprise Partnership and Department for Transport had not funded the project. This is a very befitting scheme to celebrate the Elizabeth Line now being in full operation and am sure the area will be well used and welcomed by all who visit Slough.” Tom Pierpoint, GWR Business Development Portfolio Director, said: “GWR is delighted to be working with Slough Borough Council and it is fantastic to see the station forecourt scheme come to fruition. Improving access to stations and making it easy and simple to use rail services supports the switch to sustainable travel. “We are committed to partnership working and to working towards net-zero carbon emissions. It is great to see that at work here in Slough, particularly given that the new timetable from May 21st will see faster GWR services to London and a frequency increase on the Elizabeth line.” Ends -
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Posted in: Slough
A Slough business which fly tipped a freezer the same day previous waste was removed, has been fined £9,000 in court. On 17 August 2022 Slough Borough Council’s Environmental Services attended Grove Parade, Slough and cleared two caged vehicles of fly tipping from the rear service road. This fly tipping was a result of a build up over time of commercial and business waste, from unknown properties, which had been unlawfully deposited on the public highway. This clean-up cost the taxpayer £743 in clean up and waste disposal costs. After clearing this area of all unlawful waste, on the same day, the business Hamza, of 285 High Street, deposited a large industrial freezer onto the public highway. Environmental Services discovered the additional fly tip during their routine rounds and CCTV in the area witnessed the offence which was used in court. Council officers attempted to speak with Hamza representatives regarding the incident, but no one attended the interview or responded to any communication about the issue. Greg Edmond, the council’s principal housing and enforcement officer, said: “Fly tipping on the same day the area was cleared shows a blatant disregard for their waste responsibilities. All businesses have rules to follow regarding waste disposal and fly tipping it isn’t part of the brief. We hope other businesses will look at the fine given and think twice before dumping anything.” The hearing was held at Reading Magistrates’ Court today (Friday). Representatives from Hamza did not attend, neither did they attend at the first hearing on 14 April, so the court proceeded in their absence. The judge found the company guilty and issued a fine of £9,000, a victim surcharge of £2,000 and full costs were awarded. The company has 28 days to pay. -
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Posted in: Slough
Household Support Fund (HSF) applications open Applications for support through the Household Support Fund (HSF) can now be made up until the fund closes on 31 March 2024. The council has been awarded £2,355,383 by the Department for Work and Pensions to help families, pensioners, unpaid carers, care leavers and disabled people, who may be struggling to pay for basic living costs. The grant covers costs such as energy, food, water bills and essential goods, with most of the award given in goods or services by online vouchers. The Fund will also consider supporting households who are struggling to afford wider essentials, including housing costs where existing housing support does not meet this need. A lot of the HSF funding will be used: • to provide £15 food vouchers, per week per child, to households in receipt of Free School Meals during all school holidays, April 2023 – March 2024 • for the direct provision of support to care leavers and other vulnerable families. The remaining funding, which runs until 31 March, or until all the funding is spent, will be provided through an application-based scheme to support families and individuals if they meet the eligibility criteria. Applications are particularly welcomed from groups who didn’t receive any other government support packages. Andy Jeffs, interim head of transactions, revenues, benefits and charges, said: “This funding is essential in supporting those most in need in the town. Last year we made 1,662 awards, which highlights the struggle for families during the cost-of-living crisis. The money is there to help people who have exhausted all other means of support for these basic needs.” Criteria for the application-based scheme includes being over 16, having a settled residence in Slough, having a reduction in income, and not having savings that could be used. Please check the criteria for the application scheme at https://www.slough.gov.uk/benefits-support/household-support-fund/3 For more information and to find the online application form, visit www.slough.gov.uk/hsf Applications close on 31 March 2024 or when all the funding is spent. -
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Posted in: Slough
Slough in Bloom returns for its 29th year This year’s Slough in Bloom gardens and allotments competition has launched! Entries are open until 1 July, with judging taking place from 10 July. Anyone can enter for free and there are 10 different categories to choose from: • Residential front garden • Residential hanging baskets, window boxes and containers (front of property) • Community project • Business/ commercial/hospital • Student project • Public house/restaurant/hotel • Sponsored roundabouts and roadside planting • Best allotment plot • Best allotment newcomer • Environmental project. Bruce Hicks, senior parks improvement officer, said: “Slough in Bloom have been working with new sponsors who have enabled this lovely competition to continue for its 29th year. We are pleased to be able to support the competition which helps to lift the spirits of people who live in and visit Slough by encouraging everyone to brighten the town with flowers.” Margaret Inniss, Chairman of Slough in Bloom, said: “The Slough in Bloom Committee were delighted by the number and quantity of the entries last year, but we still want to see more gardens and allotments entering this free competition. We are looking forward to seeing this year’s entries to see what exciting new ideas have been thought up. Everyone can enter. Even if you only have enough space for a few containers and hanging baskets, it makes all the difference to the appearance of our town, makes you feel good and helps wildlife.” Entries can be posted to the address on the entry form. Paper copies of entry forms are available at the libraries and a downloadable version which can be posted to the address on the form is available at: https://www.slough.gov.uk/downloads/download/1044/slough-in-bloom-application-form You can also email to enter with your contact details to: sloughinbloom@gmail.com Entries close on 1 July, and the winners will be announced in August. -
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Posted in: Slough
Homes for Ukraine New host families are invited to come forward to support families from Ukraine. The government guide includes the following information. • If the Ukrainian household you host has a child, people in the host family will need to be DBS checked (at no cost to the host family). • Make sure you have space to host e.g. will this really be comfortable for a period of six months or more if someone is sleeping on the sofa! • SBC will come and inspect the property to make sure it’s suitable. • If the Ukrainian household has been in the UK for over six months, the host will receive £500 per month. More information can be found at the Homes for Ukraine: sponsor guides - https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/homes-for-ukraine-sponsor-guides There is also information in the Ukraine welcome guide on the council's website - https://www.slough.gov.uk/benefits-support/ukraine-welcome-guide If you're interested in becoming a host, please email Ukraine@slough.gov.uk describing the type of accommodation you can offer (1 room, 2 rooms etc, self-contained annexe etc), household make-up and your contact details. We’ll then be in touch to discuss things further. -
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Posted in: Slough
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