Latest news with #SurreyCountyCouncil
BBC News
14 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Surrey County Council SEND provision to get extra £4.9m funding
An extra £4.9m is to be invested in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) education in County Council's (SCC) cabinet approved the funding on Wednesday, with the money being used to recruit more staff and speed up authority said despite the extra investment, more funding and reform of the whole system was needed from national Department for Education has been approached for comment. The extra money will be used to pay for 30 assessment officers, who will work directly with parents as part of a new education, health and care needs assessment team working directly with families and schools will increase from 81 to is hoped a new mediation and dispute resolution team will cut the number of families needing to go to a tribunal by the changes have been fully implemented, the council said it will have 231 staff in total working in its statutory SEND service. Council insolvent due to SEND, leader saysCouncil facing growing debt due to SEND servicesSchools given £740m to adapt buildings for SEND pupils The council has been criticised by Surrey MPs and parents, who say they have been let down by the authority, with its leader issuing a public apology in council said there were about 46,000 children in Surrey with SEND needs, with 16,871 having an education, health and care plan, more than double the number in 2018, and up 10.5% on 2024. Jonathan Hulley, cabinet member for children, families and lifelong learning, said: "Provision and support for children with additional needs is a systemic issue that councils up and down the country are grappling with."We welcome urgent government reform of the SEND system and we have made it clear to ministers that, alongside these extensive and positive steps we are taking locally, national SEND reform and additional funding is needed urgently."
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
Sara Sharif: Date set for inquest into death of 10-year-old girl
An inquest into the death of 10-year-old Sara Sharif will not take place until at least autumn 2026, a senior coroner has a pre-inquest review, senior Surrey coroner Richard Travers said he needed to receive documents from Surrey County Council to "really know" what he was dealing father Urfan Sharif and stepmother Beinash Batool were jailed for life in December after being found guilty of her was hooded, burned and beaten during a two-year period before her body was found at the family home in Woking in 2023. Her uncle, Faisal Malik, who was living with the family at the time of her death, was convicted of causing or allowing the death of a child. 'Tip of the iceberg' Sara's mother Olga Domin told the pre-inquest review hearing that her daughter was "the most adorable and beautiful little girl".Ms Domin said she was determined to honour Sara's memory by "establishing why she ended up in a situation where her life was taken from her in the cruellest of ways".Matthew Turner, Ms Domin's barrister, said Surrey County Council social services and Sara's school, St Mary's Primary School in Byfleet, may need legal representation at the inquest."Teachers from the school saw injuries to Sara and made a safeguarding referral or referrals. That might be the tip of the iceberg," he said. In December, the BBC revealed that Sara was in foster care twice by the age of Turner said the inquest would touch upon the home schooling framework, which he said was of "national importance".It was revealed during the criminal trial that Sara began wearing a hijab to hide her injuries in January 2023 after her school noticed bruises on her was later withdrawn from mainstream education and home-schooled. Mr Turner said Batool also sent messages to her sisters about what Sara's father was doing to her."The question arises – what was known by the wider Batool family and what they did about it, if anything? They could be the subject of some criticism," he said.
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Empty properties sought for firefighter training in Surrey
A fire service is seeking support from property owners and developers to provide access to empty properties to conduct training in a "realistic environment".Surrey Fire & Rescue Service (SFRS) said it aimed to ensure crews were fully prepared to respond to emergencies and operate in hazardous buildings could used to safely carry out breathing apparatus training, it commander for learning and development, Adrian Willard, said: "Having a realistic training environment helps to mimic real incidents, without putting lives or property at risk. "The smoke used in our training exercises is cosmetic and does not cause any lasting damage to properties."Crews took part in simulating a fire in a disused care home in Cranleigh provided by Surrey County Council last exercise included a live casualty, support South East Coast Ambulance Service, Hazardous Area Response Team and the Salvation Army."This regular training in varied environments ensures firefighters use effective search techniques and decision making, rather than a fire house they are used to working in," Mr Willard added.
BBC News
5 days ago
- Climate
- BBC News
Surrey residents engage in climate change delivery plan
Residents in Surrey are being invited to help shape the county's next five-year climate change delivery plan will set out priority areas to tackle climate change and initiatives that "will benefit residents' everyday lives", a Surrey County Council spokesperson include increasing the thermal efficiency of homes, reducing energy bills through grants and bulk purchasing schemes and building resilience to threats to personal property and the local Heath, cabinet member for environment, said: "We know many residents are already seeing the impacts of climate change through flooding and disruption to road and rail services." She said it was "really important the council listens to what is most important to residents and design a plan that will help us tackle climate change in Surrey now, and for future generations to come".A workshop is set to take place at Denbies Wine Estate in Dorking on 26 July. The engagement phase of the climate change delivery plan is being co-designed with residents, businesses, schools and community groups. The county council has already conducted in-person workshops across the county with schools, parishes and residents. It said it had also undertaken polling and online engagement to "ensure a wide range of views and demographics are heard".
BBC News
6 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Surrey Pride loses active support of Surrey County Council
Surrey County Council (SCC) has withdrawn its official support for the county's Pride a statement, the authority said it did not believe Pride In Surrey to be "truly representative" of the whole LGBTQ+ community, after it said "concerns" had been means the council's employees and services, including Surrey Fire and Rescue, will not be officially attending the event on 6 Watts, chief executive of Surrey Pride, described the decision as "confusing" and as part of a "troubling" trend. Terence Herbert, chief executive of SCC, said: "While we continue to wholeheartedly support the LGBTQ+ community in Surrey, there have been concerns raised about Pride in Surrey as an organisation."At this time we do not believe Pride in Surrey to be truly representative of the whole LGBTQ+ community," he said. "This decision does not change our ongoing commitment to LGBTQ+ people, and we firmly believe everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression."Mr Herbert said: "We will continue to work with other representative organisations across the county to champion the rights of protected groups, and we continue to be a strong advocate of our LGBTQ+ staff network who we are engaging with fully on this issue."The county council has not actively sponsored the event since 2021. In June the former founder of Surrey Pride, Stephen Ireland, was jailed for raping a 12-year-old BBC understands this was a factor in the authority's Watts said the news of Mr Ireland's arrest had broken in June 2024, at which point he was removed from the organisation, and prior to Pride in Surrey said: "As far as we are aware, Surrey County Council has not publicly stated the Stephen Ireland court case as a factor in their decision to remove "support" from Pride in Surrey."The news of Mr Ireland's arrest broke prior to Pride in Surrey 2024, at which point he was no longer part of the organisation. Surrey County Council were happy to attend the event."Since last year's event, Pride in Surrey's structure has not significantly changed, nor have SCC raised any concerns about our organisation before this decision. As such, we find the reasoning behind this decision confusing."Pride in Surrey is concerned that their decision not to attend this year's event may indicate a wider shift within the organisation to withdraw support from LGBTQ+ organisations."At a time where Pride organisations across the country are facing increased attacks, particularly amongst our trans community, this trend is troubling," Mr Watts said. "All SCC staff are still welcome to attend and enjoy the day in their personal time. "SCC claim Pride in Surrey is not truly representing the whole LGBTQ+ community is something we reject completely, and one they have provided no evidence for," he said. "We work tirelessly year round to celebrate and represent everyone within our community and we pride ourselves on creating a welcoming event that brings together Surrey's LGBTQ+ community."We do not believe it is the place of councils to tell queer organisations whether they are representative or not, and believe this sets a worrying precedent."
