Latest news with #JonHubbard
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Free summer swimming lessons for 6,000 children
More than 6,000 children across Wiltshire will be eligible for free swimming lessons this summer as part of a pilot scheme. The lessons have been made available to children who are part of Wiltshire Council's FUEL programme, as well as pupils in secondary schools who received free school meals. Up to 10 lessons will be provided at council-run leisure centres with a pool, such as Marlborough Leisure Centre and Calne Community Campus. Councillor Jon Hubbard, cabinet member for education at Wiltshire Council, said "a few pennies behind the sofa" helped pay for the scheme. More news stories for Wiltshire Listen to the latest news for Wiltshire Mr Hubbard told BBC Radio Wiltshire the extra money for the swimming lessons cost £45,000, and money had been used from Public Health England funding and the children's services budget. "For some of our young people who have six or seven weeks at home without school, having these positive and fun activities for them to go and take part in is a really important thing we offer", he said. "I want them to have fun. I want them to have positive activities to be able to look back on and say, 'that was a really cracking time we've had'. "And to have made new friendships, had a positive experience and something they can build happy memories." He said schools would have told parents whether they were eligible, and sent out an invitation for the FUEL programme. Parents of children eligible for free school meals needed to show proof of the entitlement at a pool. A full list of the swimming pools at which the lessons will be held can be found here: Bradford on Avon Calne Community Campus Devizes Leisure Centre Durrington Swimming and Fitness Centre Five Rivers Health and Wellbeing Centre Lime Kiln Leisure Centre, Royal Wootton Bassett Marlborough Leisure Centre Melksham Community Campus Olympiad Leisure Centre, Chippenham Springfield Community Campus, Corsham The Activity Zone, Malmesbury The Vale Community Campus, Pewsey Tidworth Leisure Centre Trowbridge Sports Centre Warminster Sports Centre Westbury Pool Wiltshire Council said the scheme would be reviewed in autumn after it finished. Follow BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. More on this story Health Hydro pool work is almost completed Soldiers beat choppy waters in Channel swim Nature reserve to be 'transformed' with £100k boost Related Internet Links Wiltshire Council
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Free summer swimming lessons for 6,000 Wiltshire children
More than 6,000 children across Wiltshire will be eligible for free swimming lessons this summer as part of a pilot lessons have been made available to children who are part of Wiltshire Council's FUEL programme, as well as pupils in secondary schools who received free school to 10 lessons will be provided at council-run leisure centres with a pool, such as Marlborough Leisure Centre and Calne Community Jon Hubbard, cabinet member for education at Wiltshire Council, said "a few pennies behind the sofa" helped pay for the scheme. Mr Hubbard told BBC Radio Wiltshire the extra money for the swimming lessons cost £45,000, and money had been used from Public Health England funding and the children's services budget."For some of our young people who have six or seven weeks at home without school, having these positive and fun activities for them to go and take part in is a really important thing we offer", he said."I want them to have fun. I want them to have positive activities to be able to look back on and say, 'that was a really cracking time we've had'. "And to have made new friendships, had a positive experience and something they can build happy memories."He said schools would have told parents whether they were eligible, and sent out an invitation for the FUEL of children eligible for free school meals needed to show proof of the entitlement at a pool.A full list of the swimming pools at which the lessons will be held can be found here:Bradford on AvonCalne Community CampusDevizes Leisure CentreDurrington Swimming and Fitness CentreFive Rivers Health and Wellbeing CentreLime Kiln Leisure Centre, Royal Wootton BassettMarlborough Leisure CentreMelksham Community CampusOlympiad Leisure Centre, ChippenhamSpringfield Community Campus, CorshamThe Activity Zone, MalmesburyThe Vale Community Campus, PewseyTidworth Leisure CentreTrowbridge Sports CentreWarminster Sports CentreWestbury Pool Wiltshire Council said the scheme would be reviewed in autumn after it finished.
BBC News
11-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Boost in SEND school places after Ludgershall school approved
An additional 120 school spaces for children with special educational needs (SEND) are set to become available after the approval for a new satellite by the Department of Education, the school will be located in a former boarding house on the grounds of Wellington Academy in Exeter House Wellington, the school for four to 19-year-olds will include sensory and soft play spaces, 12 classrooms, plus a specialist classroom for food technology and life satellite school is linked to Exeter House in Salisbury, a school which works across three different locations in the city and which is run by Brunel Academies Trust. Wiltshire councillor Jon Hubbard said the school "will make a huge difference" for pupils and families in the county."We want all our children and young people to have the choice to be educated in Wiltshire," he said."We have long term plans to create more SEND spaces and this latest satellite school is helping us achieve this." The boarding school was closed down by Wellington Academy in July 2024 and the new school is expected to open in autumn Fieldwick, CEO of Brunel Academies Trust, said: "This fabulous collaboration with Wiltshire Council will provide excellent opportunities for children and young people in the Tidworth and surrounding areas to be successful and happy."She said the provision would allow local children and young people with additional needs to be supported in their communities.
BBC News
13-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Wiltshire Council reaffirms its commitment to special needs
A council has reaffirmed its commitment to resolve a growing hole in special needs funding ahead of a government-mandated deadline. At a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Wiltshire councillors were told that the deficit from the cost of supporting children with special educational needs (SEN) , which currently stands at £61m, is forecast to be around £96m by March next council has permission to run up a ring-fenced deficit – known as a 'statutory override' – to meet its statutory requirements around SEN funding until that Department for Education recently told the council that ministers are "not considering any extensions to agreements." according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. At the first meeting of Wiltshire Council's new Liberal Democrat-run cabinet, councillor Jon Hubbard, cabinet member for children's services, told colleagues that since 2018, the pressure on the council's SEN funding had increased dramatically, while contributions from the government had failed to keep number of children supported by an Education, Health and Care Plan – EHCPs – increased by 51% between 2018-19 and 2022-23 and demands increased by 46% over the same the money supplied by the government over the same period increased by just 36%. Safety valve Promising "not to sugar coat" the situation, Councillor Hubbard said: "The critical issue facing us is the statutory override that expires in April 2026."Without clarity from the government about how the £96m deficit will be managed, this remains our single biggest financial risk."We simply cannot absorb this level of debt within our existing reserves."In March 2024, the council signed a bailout agreement known as a 'safety valve' with the Department for Education (DfE).The DfE committed to give the council an additional £67m over five years for SEN funding, on the condition that the council balanced its Dedicated Schools Grant with the number of EHCPs "continuing to exceed forecasted levels," the council is not on track to meet its Gavin Grant said: "The safety valve is one of the most serious threats to this council."Council leader Ian Thorn agreed, saying it was "the one thing that keeps us all awake at night."
BBC News
07-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Who will run Wiltshire Council when there's no majority?
Who will run a council with no majority? 10 minutes ago Share Save Dan O'Brien Senior Political Reporter, Wiltshire Sophie Parker BBC News, Wiltshire Share Save BBC Ian Thorn is leader of the Liberal Democrats on Wiltshire Council The Liberal Democrats say they "intend to lead Wiltshire moving forward", despite not having a majority. For the first time, the Lib Dems became the biggest party in last week's local elections, but fell short of the 50 seats needed to control the chamber. The Conservatives say it is premature for the Liberal Democrats to already be forming their cabinet as there is no guarantee of how the new administration will function. The key Wiltshire Council meeting to appoint a new leader, where any power sharing deals are first tested, takes place on Tuesday 20 May. The Liberal Democrats in Wiltshire even had a visit from national leader Sir Ed Davey at the weekend after the result - he played cricket with the county's Lib Dem leader, Ian Thorn. "We won the popular vote. We think it's absolutely right that the Liberal Democrats should lead any administration in Wiltshire going forward," said Mr Thorn. He is very insistent his party will lead the council and said he does not see discussing a cabinet as premature, but instead wants to show that the party is "determined" and make it clear there is a "first class team to take us forward". That would appear to include inviting an independent councillor Jon Hubbard to join their ruling cabinet, Mr Thorn suggested on social media. PA Media Sir Ed Davey congratulated Ian Thorn after the election results Analysis: Dan O'Brien, Wiltshire political reporter It's an obvious fact that suddenly becomes important - if you want to get something done in a council chamber, you need to persuade the majority of councillors to vote in your favour. At County Hall, that means persuading at least 50 of the 98 councillors to pick your side. The Liberal Democrats, now the largest party, have 43. They strongly believe that with the most councillors, and winning the popular vote, they now deserve to run the show - but there are no guarantees for how this will all play out. They're promising to listen to all sides, but it is hard to envisage the Conservatives or Reform UK's councillors backing too many Lib Dem ideas. So the way things are heading, they'll push to persuade the independent group and the one remaining Labour councillor to team up - only just getting them over the line. Whether we see a formal coalition or something less official, we don't yet know - but the Lib Dems have already published their hopes for an independent councillor to take a seat on the cabinet. It's possible this leads to a more collaborative form of politics and decision making - that's what the Lib Dem leader is hoping for and there are plenty of councils across the land who make this sort of setup work. The election count last week was tense as it was became clear that there would be no clear winner Mr Thorn has reiterated the desire for working collaboratively with other parties. "I think it's a really good thing that politicians for different parties are being made to work together, which is exactly what's happening here," he said. But with Reform being elected in 10 seats, Mr Thorn acknowledged there a lot of different political views in the county and the council. "I think there is clearly a large number of people who are disaffected from party politics and I don't blame them for that," he said. He added that as the main opposition in the council chamber for a long time, the Lib Dems felt ignored, and he does not want that to happen in the future. "We've had far too much tribalism," he said. "The opportunities are there for every adult in the room who wishes to contribute. I want to hear from those people and want to work with them moving forward."
