Bracknell Forest Council News

Civic service at Wellington College

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:56:00 GMT

This year's Bracknell Forest Civic Service was held in the chapel at Wellington College on Sunday, November 1. The Mayor, Cllr Bob Wade, invited more than 200 guests, including Dr Christina Hill Williams DL, High Sheriff of the Royal County of Berkshire, John Nike OBE Deputy Lieutenant of the Royal County of Berkshire, the Leader of the council �Cllr Paul Bettison, the chief executive Timothy Wheadon and Mayors from neighbouring boroughs. The service was conducted by the Mayor's chaplain, The Reverend Father Tim Novis. The retiring collection was in aid of the Mayor’s charity, the Royal National Lifeboat Institute, Bembridge Lifeboat Station Appeal, and raised more than �550. Following the service, guests were invited to join Cllr Wade and the Mayoress Maggie Wade for coffee and refreshments in the Old Hall at the school. Cllr Wade said: "The service was held in the splendid surroundings of the Wellington College Chapel. The congregation, led by 60 voices of the combined choirs from four local churches, enjoyed some rousing traditional hymns and the two anthems. The Chaplain preached a thought provoking sermon on the theme of All Saints Day."

Flawless to turn on Christmas lights

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:39:00 GMT

One of the country’s top dance acts will be welcomed to Bracknell this month to help turn on the Christmas lights in the town centre. Flawless, finalists in this year’s Britain’s Got Talent, will be performing in Charles Square on Sunday, November 29, to celebrate the lights being officially switched on for Christmas. The Flawless performance, incorporating elements of street dance and hip hop, will headline a whole weekend full of family fun, leading up to the lights going on. The festivities will begin on Saturday, November 28, at 10.30am when Santa will be pulled in his sleigh by live reindeer through the town, from Broadway to Princess Square, to open his grotto. This year, the grotto will again be located on the first floor of Princess Square with all proceeds being split between local charities, Sebastian’s Action Trust and the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance. There will be plenty of free activities to entertain the family throughout the day, including face painting, puppet shows and balloon modelling. On Sunday, November 29, younger shoppers will have the chance to meet costumed animal characters, including penguins and a snowman. They will also be able to get their faces painted for free and to watch puppet shows and get their own specially modelled balloon. In addition, on that Sunday, Artemis dance studio in Charles Square, will be offering free Petite Street (street dancing for children) and Street Cheer dance classes in their studio on the gallery of Charles Square. There will be workshops taking place from 12.30pm until 1.30pm and then from 2.45pm until 3.45pm, both ending with a performance on the stage in Charles Square. Following the light’s going on, there will be activities in Bracknell every Saturday and for late night shopping on Thursdays. For more information on these events visit www.bracknell.com

St Michael's Easthampstead is a good, happy and successful school

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:00:00 GMT

St Michael's Easthampstead C of E Primary has been judged a good school with outstanding features by Ofsted inspectors who visited at the end of September. The Bracknell Forest Council-run school, in Crowthorne Road, was awarded an overall rating of two - good. In a letter to the pupils after the visit, lead Ofsted inspector Anna Sketchley, said: "Thank you for the friendly welcome you gave us and for spending time talking to us, especially at lunchtimes. We really enjoyed meeting you. "You all learn well and make good progress. You enjoy coming to school, attend well and have a zest for life because you know how to keep healthy. You are taught well and there are lots of activities in which you enjoy taking part. "You behave well and get on really well together. You are well cared for and told us you feel happy and safe in school. Your headteacher, all other teachers and teaching assistants and governors want you to achieve well and do your very best, they lead your school well." The report also found that: * a strength of the school is its reception class and early years foundation stage; *children make good progress especially in their personal, social and emotional development; communication; language and literacy; and in problem solving, reasoning and numeracy; *this encourages positive attitudes and behaviour and is a good basis on which to build future skills; and *the older children at the school achieved above average standards and the high attainers did particularly well. As with all reports, Ofsted also points to areas for improvement. In the case of St Michael's Easthampstead it higlighted maths and presentation. Headteacher Steve Litson said: "We are thrilled with the report. The children have a really great attitude towards each other and their work. It reflects the dedication of our teaching and support staff and the Christian ethos threaded through all our work. "We are already addressing the areas for improvement to make the school even better." Cllr Alan Kendall, executive member for education, said: "Well done to Steve, his team and the pupils at St Michael's Easthampstead, for such a good result. This Ofsted report shows this a successful and happy school where pupils enjoy learning."

Sports centre staff race ahead to raise charity cash

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:56:00 GMT

Staff at the Time Out Cafe at Edgbarrow Sports Centre are under starter's orders to raise funds for the Help for Heroes charity. The Bracknell Forest Council employees have organised a family Race Night at the cafe on Saturday, November 14 starting at 7.30pm. Tickets cost just �7.50 which includes a choice of home cooked food such as curry, cottage pie and chilli. Half the winnings from every race will be donated to the charity which supports wounded servicemen and women, and the other half will be collected by the lucky punters. Michael Soane, who manages the cafe, said: "There are many people in the local community and working for the council who have relatives in Afghanistan and Iraq. "With Remembrance Day coming up, our servicemen and women are very much in our thoughts and we wanted to do something to help those who have been wounded because they are sometimes forgotten. We hope lots of people will support the event as it is for such a good cause." Five races will be shown on the giant plasma screen at the centre for punters to place some fun bets. Cllr Iain McCracken, executive member for culture, said: "The staff at the cafe are to be congratulated on their efforts and I hope that people will support them by coming along to the Race Night. "The Edgbarrow Sports Centre has excellent facilities and we hope this event will encourage more people to make use of them, especially at the weekends." Crowthorne councillor Jim Finnie, who also chairs the Sandhurst and Edgbarrow joint management committee, said: "I hope this event is very well attended and raises money for a very good cause. "I'm very grateful to the cafe staff for �organising this. They have worked hard and I'm sure it will be very enjoyable evening."

Council quickens the pace of bill paying

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:43:00 GMT

Businesses that deal with Bracknell Forest Council can rest assured their bills will be paid on time. The authority has recently been accredited to the Prompt Payment Code which commits it to pay suppliers on time; give clear guidance to suppliers on the council’s payment procedures and on how to deal with complaints or disputes; encourage good practice by asking businesses to adopt the code themselves. In addition, the council has introduced a practical measure where suppliers can choose to be paid by the Government Procurement Card if they are Visa enabled. �This means that they will receive payment for their goods or services within four working days. Leader of the council Paul Bettison said: "This payment method is initially being offered to businesses within Berkshire and will go some way towards relieving cash flow problems for small and medium sized businesses in particular. "We recognise the current strain on all businesses in the borough and elsewhere. "The council has always been a prompt payer with more than 90 per cent of all invoices paid within 30 days. "The accreditation recognises the good work the council has done in the past and is committed to doing in the future. The code gives suppliers extra confidence that the council manages its affairs in a professional way."

Sandhurst students welcome Muslim theatre group

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:39:00 GMT

Students at Sandhurst School will be the first in Bracknell Forest to see a special drama production aimed at steering vulnerable young people away from the path of racial and religious intolerance. The Khayaal Theatre group is coming to the school on Wednesday, November 4, to perform Hearts & Minds, a play about identity and and how a young person might become drawn into violence. Its central character is Asif, a Muslim teenager in the UK whose views of the world are challenged by events around him and who finds he has tough choices to make about what he believes. Sam Hunt, assistant headteacher at the school, said: "I hope the play, which forms part of the citizenship curriculum, will give the year 10 students something to think about and discuss." The play, which was specially commissioned by Reading-based Berkshire Forum against Extremism and the Muslim Education Forum in Luton, supports the Government's PREVENT strategy which is being rolled out to schools across the UK. Ms Hunt, said: "We arranged for the play to be performed at the school because we wanted the debate to be far wider than just Islamic extremism. We want to tackle Islamaphobia which appears to be growing in this country. "The play and the subsequent discussions among pupils will go a long way towards dispelling myths and misunderstandings about Islam. It offers some insight into basic tenets of the faith that counter representations of Islam as a religion that encourages violence and revenge. "We also plan to discuss other forms of extremism such as neo-nazism and animal rights activism. The play is designed to spark debate about how positive protest to change society is a better option than disaffection and violence." Local Bracknell Forest ward councillors and members of the Bracknell Islamic Cultural Society have been invited to see the play. Cllr Iain McCracken, executive member for public protection, said: "We are fortunate to live in an area where racial tensions are not a major problem. But it is important to open a dialogue about these issues, both in schools and in the wider community. "This is an excellent play and there is an opportunity and funding for other schools and community groups to invite the theatre company to perform it."