Salford's primary schools are performing better than the national average in Maths and are the eighth most improved area in the country for Science results.
Exams taken by the country's ten and 11-year-olds show that Salford's test results for Maths and Science are up by one per cent this year, with 80 per cent and 88 per cent of children achieving the expected standard in the subjects respectively.
As well as being within the top six per cent of areas in England that have improved the most in Science - the results make Salford the 23rd most improved area in the country out of the 152 tested in Key Stage 2 Maths.
Tests for English show that 80 per cent of youngsters are performing at the nationally required standard for the subject .
In Maths, Salford's youngsters achieving a higher level of results than expected is up by two per cent on last year's performance.
Councillor John Warmisham, Salford City Council's lead member for children's services said: "This has been another great year for test results in Salford which are getting better each time.
"This year in particular, we've shown that performance in our primary schools in among some of the highest in the country with our achievements in Maths and Science and it's a tribute to the hard work of our pupils and staff.
"I'm delighted with the results and it's reassurance that children in Salford are starting our high schools with a brilliant primary education behind them."
Wednesday, 5 August 2009
Tuesday, 4 August 2009
Survivor of two world wars faces biggest battle
Saw this in the Times, thought it was a good analysis.
The Scott Trust will defend the Guardian at all costs. We've seen what has happened to the Salford Advertiser with possible worse to come in the future as advertising moves more and more online as well as easy access to news & sport coverage.
Young people don't read newspapers, they get their info through the internet and in future on their mobile phone. Newspapers may die out and be replaced by weekly news magazines. We're entering a new era, but what future for journalists?
Survivor of two world wars faces biggest battle
Dan Sabbagh: Analysis
It may have survived the Napoleonic wars, as well as the First and Second, but so serious is the advertising downturn, and the migration of advertising online, that The Observer, which is 218 years old, may not last much longer. The collapse in revenue is affecting every publisher and they must now rely on the size of their balance sheets for support.
Data collected by the Newspaper Marketing Association illustrate the gravity of the problem. Its figures are based on actual returns from publishers. Display advertising at quality dailies was down by 23 per cent in the four months to April and classified, once a stream of pure profit, was down 33 per cent. But if that sounds vicious, consider the figures for the Sundays, where the declines are 32 per cent and 42 per cent respectively.
Consumers have less shopping time available on a Sunday — so an under-pressure advertiser is more likely to concentrate its spending on a Saturday newspaper, when there is a whole weekend of shopping possibilities ahead. No wonder then that both The Observer and The Sunday Telegraph have been partly integrated into their daily sisters.
The recession is so severe though, that the initial cost savings have proven to be not enough. None of Britain’s quality titles are making a profit in the current environment, but the pressure is greatest on The Independent titles, with a parent company that is weighed down by €1.4 billion (£1.2 billion) of debt. The Observer had been thought to be relatively immune, because its parent company, Guardian Media Group (GMG), has about £280 million of cash available. But with losses of £61 million, and profits tied up in paying down debt in other investments, there is little cash coming in.
Unless there is another motive. A warning that The Observer could close will help to concentrate minds at the heavily unionised GMG, perhaps helping to make dramatic savings that will stop venerable Sundays coming to a full stop.
The Scott Trust will defend the Guardian at all costs. We've seen what has happened to the Salford Advertiser with possible worse to come in the future as advertising moves more and more online as well as easy access to news & sport coverage.
Young people don't read newspapers, they get their info through the internet and in future on their mobile phone. Newspapers may die out and be replaced by weekly news magazines. We're entering a new era, but what future for journalists?
Survivor of two world wars faces biggest battle
Dan Sabbagh: Analysis
It may have survived the Napoleonic wars, as well as the First and Second, but so serious is the advertising downturn, and the migration of advertising online, that The Observer, which is 218 years old, may not last much longer. The collapse in revenue is affecting every publisher and they must now rely on the size of their balance sheets for support.
Data collected by the Newspaper Marketing Association illustrate the gravity of the problem. Its figures are based on actual returns from publishers. Display advertising at quality dailies was down by 23 per cent in the four months to April and classified, once a stream of pure profit, was down 33 per cent. But if that sounds vicious, consider the figures for the Sundays, where the declines are 32 per cent and 42 per cent respectively.
Consumers have less shopping time available on a Sunday — so an under-pressure advertiser is more likely to concentrate its spending on a Saturday newspaper, when there is a whole weekend of shopping possibilities ahead. No wonder then that both The Observer and The Sunday Telegraph have been partly integrated into their daily sisters.
The recession is so severe though, that the initial cost savings have proven to be not enough. None of Britain’s quality titles are making a profit in the current environment, but the pressure is greatest on The Independent titles, with a parent company that is weighed down by €1.4 billion (£1.2 billion) of debt. The Observer had been thought to be relatively immune, because its parent company, Guardian Media Group (GMG), has about £280 million of cash available. But with losses of £61 million, and profits tied up in paying down debt in other investments, there is little cash coming in.
Unless there is another motive. A warning that The Observer could close will help to concentrate minds at the heavily unionised GMG, perhaps helping to make dramatic savings that will stop venerable Sundays coming to a full stop.
Friday, 17 July 2009
Stiff penalty for unlicensed property
A Salford landlord who failed to obtain a licence for a property he rented in Highfield Road, Langworthy, was faced with a bill for £627.83 after appearing before Salford magistrates on Tuesday 7 July.
Adrian Petticrew, of Lentworth Drive, Worsley, pleaded guilty to failing to sign up to Salford Council's Selective Licensing Scheme, which operates in the Langworthy regeneration area.
The scheme was introduced two years ago to secure improved standards of property management and to tackle problems of low demand and anti social behaviour in the locality.
Licences are granted only if landlords provide information about their management arrangements and pass a "fit and proper" person test.
Mr Petticrew was fined £210 and ordered to pay costs totalling £417.83. The court heard that the council sent him a licence application form in July 2007 and issued several reminders when he failed to reply.
He later claimed he could not afford a licence whilst investing in improvements to the property. In court he said he disagreed with the scheme and thought it was "another tax" but now realised it was a legal requirement.
Councillor Peter Connor, lead member for housing, said: "We wish to support all landlords through the licensing scheme so that we can raise standards in the private sector. But we will continue to prosecute those who fail to take it seriously or just ignore it."
More information on landlord licensing in Salford.
Adrian Petticrew, of Lentworth Drive, Worsley, pleaded guilty to failing to sign up to Salford Council's Selective Licensing Scheme, which operates in the Langworthy regeneration area.
The scheme was introduced two years ago to secure improved standards of property management and to tackle problems of low demand and anti social behaviour in the locality.
Licences are granted only if landlords provide information about their management arrangements and pass a "fit and proper" person test.
Mr Petticrew was fined £210 and ordered to pay costs totalling £417.83. The court heard that the council sent him a licence application form in July 2007 and issued several reminders when he failed to reply.
He later claimed he could not afford a licence whilst investing in improvements to the property. In court he said he disagreed with the scheme and thought it was "another tax" but now realised it was a legal requirement.
Councillor Peter Connor, lead member for housing, said: "We wish to support all landlords through the licensing scheme so that we can raise standards in the private sector. But we will continue to prosecute those who fail to take it seriously or just ignore it."
More information on landlord licensing in Salford.
Wednesday, 15 July 2009
Council notice of motion on Bees.
I was happy at council to support the below notice of motion. It is a serious issue and we shouldn't take it lightly. Read Benjamin & McCallum book A World Without Bees.
"That this Council expresses its concern about the decline of the British Bee population. That it will consider and implement the necessary and appropriate environmental steps to implement and promote measures to protect and increase the local bee population. Bees are essential to the food supply not just in the UK but worldwide, the total loss of bees would be catastrophic for our planet. And further that this motion be sent to AGMA Authorities''
"That this Council expresses its concern about the decline of the British Bee population. That it will consider and implement the necessary and appropriate environmental steps to implement and promote measures to protect and increase the local bee population. Bees are essential to the food supply not just in the UK but worldwide, the total loss of bees would be catastrophic for our planet. And further that this motion be sent to AGMA Authorities''
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
CHEK WHYTE THIRTY MILLION POUND DEBT
Thanks to the Salford Star for bringing this to light.
CHEK WHYTE THIRTY MILLION POUND DEBT
A Salford Star Exclusive
Star Date: 13th July 2009
`The only cheek Chek Whyte's turned is his backside to us and Salford.'
HELL FOR LOCAL BUILDERS AS SECRET MILLIONAIRE OWES THOUSANDS FROM SALFORD CHURCH PROJECT…
Chek Whyte rode into Salford in 2007 as the Secret Millionaire, promising good deeds, even `rescuing' the ailing £6million Emmanuel Church project in Langworthy last year. Now his various enterprises have `aggregate liabilities' of over £30million, and sub contractors who worked on the church are owed thousands of pounds which they fear they'll never see…
The man from PDW - the consultants overseeing the £6 million Langworthy Road church and community scheme - confirms that yes, Chek Whyte has been paid by the Church for building work on the scheme…that, yes, Chek Whyte has been paid public money from the £1,550,000 pot for the 22 affordable flats within the development…
When it comes to asking where all that money has gone, he's less committal. When asked about the morality of taking money from a church and public funds, and not paying people in full, he's totally non committal… "It's been a difficult project" he sighs.
The contractors who are owed thousands of pounds have no such qualms about Chek Whyte and his Building For God sign… "Turn the other cheek?" sneers one "The only cheek Chek Whyte's turned is his backside to us and Salford."
Over at the insolvency company, Begbies Traynor, Richard Saville is currently trying to work out Chek Whyte's total liabilities. He reels off what he knows…"Secured creditors around £26million, mainly banks…Trade and unsecured creditors, that's mainly sub-contractors, around £5million…Inland Revenue, anywhere between £1.25million and £2million. Let's just say upwards of £30million" he decides "We're working out the best way to get a return for the creditors and are trying to get an Individual Voluntary Agreement (IVA) where he offers to pay `x' in the pound to his creditors. If we don't get that agreement he'll be made bankrupt."
Which means no-one will see a cent.
Chek Whyte first arrived on national screens as `The Secret Millionaire' in November 2007, pretending to look for work in Salford while secretly looking to flash his cash at deserving community projects. Described by Channel 4 as `one of the richest men in England' he was seen, away from Salford, flaunting his wealth which included a yacht and a manor house where leather bound books were bought `by the yard' for decoration.
Soon after the programme aired, Chek Whyte bought two tower blocks in the area, Rosehill and Churchill Court. And in issue 8 of the Salford Star we revealed that the planning application for the towerblocks' conversion was sent to the council in the name of Chek Whyte Industries, for which the last filed accounts showed only £1 cash at bank and in hand. We also revealed that Chek Whyte wasn't a director of Chek Whyte Industries as he'd been banned by the courts for being "unfit".
Earlier this year, one of the towerblocks, now named Madison Court, was sold and is now in the hands of Wrightchoice Developments. Two weeks ago, Wrightchoice, a Salford based company, also took over the contract for the Emmanuel Church project in Langworthy, after originally working as sub contractors on the development, and say that the scheme will now be completed on time…
"The Church asked us to take over and we were very happy to help out" says the company's Paul Wright "But our contract is just from the date we took over and we don't know anything about paying people who are owed money by Chek Whyte."
The man from PDW would only say that "Chek Whyte offered us the opportunity to reassign the contract…his programme of work was changing and the completion made less sense to him. It was all approved and signed off."
But public money appears to have been handed to Chek Whyte, who hasn't paid his sub contractors and workers in full. Many are now facing even more hardship in the midst of a major building recession.
We spoke to Rev Ken Stokes, of Emmanuel Developments Ltd, who didn't want to comment on Chek Whyte's ethics, or anything else. This is the second time the project has been in potential jeopardy after the original contractors, Gleesons, left the site derelict following a row over costs. Some are asking why a publicly funded contract for the 22 flats didn't go out to formal tender again once Gleesons pulled out.
We tried to speak to someone from Great Places (formerly Manchester Methodist Housing) about how much money from its £1.5million Housing Corporation (now HCA) grant for the flats was paid to Chek Whyte, and the morality of him leaving sub contractors probably high and dry. But no-one got back to us. We asked Salford City Council for a comment about Chek Whyte but no-one got back to us. We asked the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) for a comment but they put us on to Great Places. And we spoke to Chek Whyte's office who threatened to sue us if we quoted anything other than "People will be paid"…
They didn't say how much though…
"I couldn't believe the way people treated me in Salford and I'll never forget it" sighed Chek Whyte during a Secret Millionaire press interview. We don't think those who stand to lose money from his Salford venture will ever forget the way they have been treated by him either…
* A meeting will take place on August 17th with Chek Whyte's creditors to decide what to do next…
CHEK WHYTE THIRTY MILLION POUND DEBT
A Salford Star Exclusive
Star Date: 13th July 2009
`The only cheek Chek Whyte's turned is his backside to us and Salford.'
HELL FOR LOCAL BUILDERS AS SECRET MILLIONAIRE OWES THOUSANDS FROM SALFORD CHURCH PROJECT…
Chek Whyte rode into Salford in 2007 as the Secret Millionaire, promising good deeds, even `rescuing' the ailing £6million Emmanuel Church project in Langworthy last year. Now his various enterprises have `aggregate liabilities' of over £30million, and sub contractors who worked on the church are owed thousands of pounds which they fear they'll never see…
The man from PDW - the consultants overseeing the £6 million Langworthy Road church and community scheme - confirms that yes, Chek Whyte has been paid by the Church for building work on the scheme…that, yes, Chek Whyte has been paid public money from the £1,550,000 pot for the 22 affordable flats within the development…
When it comes to asking where all that money has gone, he's less committal. When asked about the morality of taking money from a church and public funds, and not paying people in full, he's totally non committal… "It's been a difficult project" he sighs.
The contractors who are owed thousands of pounds have no such qualms about Chek Whyte and his Building For God sign… "Turn the other cheek?" sneers one "The only cheek Chek Whyte's turned is his backside to us and Salford."
Over at the insolvency company, Begbies Traynor, Richard Saville is currently trying to work out Chek Whyte's total liabilities. He reels off what he knows…"Secured creditors around £26million, mainly banks…Trade and unsecured creditors, that's mainly sub-contractors, around £5million…Inland Revenue, anywhere between £1.25million and £2million. Let's just say upwards of £30million" he decides "We're working out the best way to get a return for the creditors and are trying to get an Individual Voluntary Agreement (IVA) where he offers to pay `x' in the pound to his creditors. If we don't get that agreement he'll be made bankrupt."
Which means no-one will see a cent.
Chek Whyte first arrived on national screens as `The Secret Millionaire' in November 2007, pretending to look for work in Salford while secretly looking to flash his cash at deserving community projects. Described by Channel 4 as `one of the richest men in England' he was seen, away from Salford, flaunting his wealth which included a yacht and a manor house where leather bound books were bought `by the yard' for decoration.
Soon after the programme aired, Chek Whyte bought two tower blocks in the area, Rosehill and Churchill Court. And in issue 8 of the Salford Star we revealed that the planning application for the towerblocks' conversion was sent to the council in the name of Chek Whyte Industries, for which the last filed accounts showed only £1 cash at bank and in hand. We also revealed that Chek Whyte wasn't a director of Chek Whyte Industries as he'd been banned by the courts for being "unfit".
Earlier this year, one of the towerblocks, now named Madison Court, was sold and is now in the hands of Wrightchoice Developments. Two weeks ago, Wrightchoice, a Salford based company, also took over the contract for the Emmanuel Church project in Langworthy, after originally working as sub contractors on the development, and say that the scheme will now be completed on time…
"The Church asked us to take over and we were very happy to help out" says the company's Paul Wright "But our contract is just from the date we took over and we don't know anything about paying people who are owed money by Chek Whyte."
The man from PDW would only say that "Chek Whyte offered us the opportunity to reassign the contract…his programme of work was changing and the completion made less sense to him. It was all approved and signed off."
But public money appears to have been handed to Chek Whyte, who hasn't paid his sub contractors and workers in full. Many are now facing even more hardship in the midst of a major building recession.
We spoke to Rev Ken Stokes, of Emmanuel Developments Ltd, who didn't want to comment on Chek Whyte's ethics, or anything else. This is the second time the project has been in potential jeopardy after the original contractors, Gleesons, left the site derelict following a row over costs. Some are asking why a publicly funded contract for the 22 flats didn't go out to formal tender again once Gleesons pulled out.
We tried to speak to someone from Great Places (formerly Manchester Methodist Housing) about how much money from its £1.5million Housing Corporation (now HCA) grant for the flats was paid to Chek Whyte, and the morality of him leaving sub contractors probably high and dry. But no-one got back to us. We asked Salford City Council for a comment about Chek Whyte but no-one got back to us. We asked the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) for a comment but they put us on to Great Places. And we spoke to Chek Whyte's office who threatened to sue us if we quoted anything other than "People will be paid"…
They didn't say how much though…
"I couldn't believe the way people treated me in Salford and I'll never forget it" sighed Chek Whyte during a Secret Millionaire press interview. We don't think those who stand to lose money from his Salford venture will ever forget the way they have been treated by him either…
* A meeting will take place on August 17th with Chek Whyte's creditors to decide what to do next…
Friday, 26 June 2009
Statement – Serious Case Review, June 2009
Statement – Serious Case Review, June 2009
Councillor John Merry, leader of Salford City Council said: “The death of any child is a dreadful thing to happen and my heartfelt sympathies are with the family.
“I was anxious that this serious case review was robust enough to draw out where we could do better. I am satisfied it does that, highlighting a number of child protection concerns.
“I do not want to make excuses: it is rightly critical and we should all have done better, but the report’s sad conclusion is that this tragedy could not have been foreseen and it could not have been prevented.
“Child protection in Salford has been under intense scrutiny for a number of months and I am confident that the city council’s service today is significantly better than it was when Ofsted delivered its judgment in December 2007.
“We have improved our processes and made changes to our structures as part of a major programme of change and the issues highlighted in the serious case review were already being addressed in that programme.
“We are a year on from these terrible events and we have had a year of improvements. The city council’s safeguarding team has so far delivered all that has been asked of it by this improvement programme and by Ofsted. Making that change has involved a great deal of hard work and commitment.
“Any professional in the field of child protection absolutely understands the importance of what they do. They have chosen to carry out an incredibly difficult and demanding role which places immense responsibility on their shoulders.
“There will always be improvements that can be made to any service and this is even more important in child protection. I can reassure our residents that I will do everything I need to to ensure that children are safe in Salford.”
Councillor John Merry, leader of Salford City Council said: “The death of any child is a dreadful thing to happen and my heartfelt sympathies are with the family.
“I was anxious that this serious case review was robust enough to draw out where we could do better. I am satisfied it does that, highlighting a number of child protection concerns.
“I do not want to make excuses: it is rightly critical and we should all have done better, but the report’s sad conclusion is that this tragedy could not have been foreseen and it could not have been prevented.
“Child protection in Salford has been under intense scrutiny for a number of months and I am confident that the city council’s service today is significantly better than it was when Ofsted delivered its judgment in December 2007.
“We have improved our processes and made changes to our structures as part of a major programme of change and the issues highlighted in the serious case review were already being addressed in that programme.
“We are a year on from these terrible events and we have had a year of improvements. The city council’s safeguarding team has so far delivered all that has been asked of it by this improvement programme and by Ofsted. Making that change has involved a great deal of hard work and commitment.
“Any professional in the field of child protection absolutely understands the importance of what they do. They have chosen to carry out an incredibly difficult and demanding role which places immense responsibility on their shoulders.
“There will always be improvements that can be made to any service and this is even more important in child protection. I can reassure our residents that I will do everything I need to to ensure that children are safe in Salford.”
Saturday, 13 June 2009
JEWISH TELEGRAPH
Felt I had to publish this opinion column from the Jewish Telegraph.
Bad dream comes true
BNP leader Nick Griffin must still be pinching himself as he comes to terms with the fact that he is now a member of the European Parliament. Not only that but that his colleague Andrew Brons, a man with a criminal record, also gained a seat, representing Humberside. Griffin, of course, would have us believe that he is a changed man; that his own conviction in 1998 for incitement to racial hatred for publishing material denying the Holocaust was all the result of a big mistake - someone had shown him figures which downplayed the scale of the genocide.
He does, however, confess that there are BNP members who still hold antisemitic views. We wonder if he is referring to Brons who, in 1984, was arrested as a member of the National Front for marching through the streets of Leeds chanting "white power" and "death to Jews". This polished gentleman, as a 17-year-old, also signed up for the National Socialist Movement whose members were responsible for an arson campaign against Jewish property and synagogues at that time.
Griffin insists that Jews are welcome to join the BNP - presumably as long as they espouse the party's doctrine entirely, which would include barring Israelis or Jews from any other part of the world wishing to settle in this country.
It is not just Griffin who must still be in a state of disbelief at the naivete of the British electorate, but those voters who understand the reality of returning people like Griffin and and Brons. People like Holocaust survivors who have seen it all before; the knee-jerk reaction to apparent nationalists who blame all the economic ills of a nation on a minority of the population. The name Hitler continually comes to mind.
Those who believe it could not happen here need look no further than the European election results here and in Hungary - and think again. We are perhaps less than 12 months from a General Election. The BNP will be buoyed by its success and is certain to field as many candidates as it can in the belief that it can achieve a real voice at Westminster. The Euro election turnout was poor, allowing the BNP to gain seats by default. It must not happen again.
Bad dream comes true
BNP leader Nick Griffin must still be pinching himself as he comes to terms with the fact that he is now a member of the European Parliament. Not only that but that his colleague Andrew Brons, a man with a criminal record, also gained a seat, representing Humberside. Griffin, of course, would have us believe that he is a changed man; that his own conviction in 1998 for incitement to racial hatred for publishing material denying the Holocaust was all the result of a big mistake - someone had shown him figures which downplayed the scale of the genocide.
He does, however, confess that there are BNP members who still hold antisemitic views. We wonder if he is referring to Brons who, in 1984, was arrested as a member of the National Front for marching through the streets of Leeds chanting "white power" and "death to Jews". This polished gentleman, as a 17-year-old, also signed up for the National Socialist Movement whose members were responsible for an arson campaign against Jewish property and synagogues at that time.
Griffin insists that Jews are welcome to join the BNP - presumably as long as they espouse the party's doctrine entirely, which would include barring Israelis or Jews from any other part of the world wishing to settle in this country.
It is not just Griffin who must still be in a state of disbelief at the naivete of the British electorate, but those voters who understand the reality of returning people like Griffin and and Brons. People like Holocaust survivors who have seen it all before; the knee-jerk reaction to apparent nationalists who blame all the economic ills of a nation on a minority of the population. The name Hitler continually comes to mind.
Those who believe it could not happen here need look no further than the European election results here and in Hungary - and think again. We are perhaps less than 12 months from a General Election. The BNP will be buoyed by its success and is certain to field as many candidates as it can in the belief that it can achieve a real voice at Westminster. The Euro election turnout was poor, allowing the BNP to gain seats by default. It must not happen again.
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