Funded education and childcare up for debate

The roll-out of funded education and childcare in Wales will come under the spotlight of Denbighshire councillors today (Thursday).

In 2017 the Welsh Government (WG) pledged to offer 30 hours a week of funded early education and childcare to eligible working parents of three and four year olds, for 48 weeks of the year by September 2020.

The government have confirmed that Denbighshire County Council can begin to deliver the Childcare Offer to families from April 2019 and have agreed to work with the council with the aim of making the offer available across the county at the same time, rather than on a phased ward by ward approach.

Children will be eligible to access the offer from the beginning of the term following their third birthday until the September following their fourth birthday.

Eligible children will be entitled to up to 20 free hours of childcare during term time in addition to the 10 hours already provided by the Foundation Phase. During the school holidays, when there is no early education, the offer will provide 30 hours a week of childcare for up to nine weeks.

Parents are able to choose any registered childcare setting that suits their personal and family circumstance, whether inside or outside of county, in agreement with the provider and the local authority.

At their meeting today members of the Communities Scrutiny Committee will be asked to endorse the proposed cross-county delivery plan with Flintshire County Council being the authority delivering the scheme on behalf of Denbighshire.

Councillor Huw Hilditch-Roberts, Cabinet Lead Member for Education, Children, Young People and the Welsh Language, said: “The aim of the Childcare Offer is to allow eligible parents to have more employment choices, increase their disposable income to help counteract poverty for those in low paid jobs and ensure that quality early education and childcare is provided to promote child development and school readiness.

“The Childcare Offer is not means tested and will be available to all working parents who reside permanently in Wales and earn the equivalent of at least 16 hours at national living wage or national minimum wage.

"Denbighshire will have the role of ‘Engagement Authority’ with responsibility for promoting the offer to parents and childcare providers within the County, training staff to deal with enquiries on the Offer and providing Flintshire with information they require to process applications and administer the offer. Denbighshire will receive specific grant funding to deliver this function.

“We have already expressed concern that Denbighshire was not included in the last round of the roll-out of the scheme and have held constructive talks with the Welsh Government to ensure that Denbighshire families are not disadvantaged by the offer. The matter will now go before the Scrutiny Committee for further discussion."

Special event sounds out ideas for Llan's future

People are being invited to a special two-day event next week at which they can share their views on Llangollen's future.

The Story Studio is a welcoming creative space where the community can tell, listen to and exchange stories – a place to have conversations and generate ideas about the future of the community and the town.

Being staged on Friday and Saturday, September 14 and 15, Love Llangollen is based in the former CiCi clothing shop in Castle Street and is part of the Rural Futures programme funded by the Big Lottery.

The programme is:

10am-4pm both days

Story Studio open for drop in activities including a range of maps and activities for you to add your ideas, thoughts and memories. Photo space – bring your photos of Llangollen along. Postcards from Llangollen - “If Llangollen could speak what would it say? ”

Friday September 14

10am: Shape My Town Workshop. Bringing together the community, local groups and businesses to discuss the challenges facing the town and ideas and initiatives to create a positive future for the town and its surroundings. Hosted by the newly-formed Shape My Llangollen.

2pm: Traffic & travel. Drop-in session hosted by Arcadis. You can contribute to future thinking about traffic and travel in and around the town.

Saturday September 15

Walk-shops. A series of guided walks exploring Llangollen in the past, present and future. Approximately one hour maximum. Ten people. Meet at the story studio.

10am: History & Heritage. Explore the fascinating heritage of the town and how it can be seen in the town today.

12pm: Working walk. How people work in the town in the past, present and future and its impact on the town.

2pm: From town to around. Explore the connections between town and landscape.

4pm: Ideas walk-shop. Discussing ideas from the story studio sessions.

Splash centre shortlisted for national award

* From left,  Ken Skates AM, Splash Community Trust Secretary Stella Matthews, Mark Drakeford AM, General Manager Denise Chadwick and Mark Tami MP.

Supporters have congratulated staff and volunteers at a thriving leisure centre used by people from Llangollen after it was nominated for a national award.

Wrexham Council closed Plas Madoc down in 2014, but a small band of dedicated supporters worked tirelessly to reopen the much-loved facility as a social enterprise.

Now the volunteer-led Splash Community Trust, which runs the centre, has been shortlisted for this year’s Social Business Wales Awards, which take place in Cardiff on September 26.

Local Assembly Member Ken Skates, who helped co-found the group, visited Plas Madoc on Saturday with fellow AM Mark Drakeford to congratulate the team in person.

Mr Skates said: “Plas Madoc is an amazing local success story and I’m incredibly proud of where it is today, with improvements being made all the time and visitor numbers increasing. 

“Last year a Welsh Government grant of £500,000 helped fund key structural work including a replacement roof, fixing wiring and insulation, replacing pool plant equipment and upgrading the centre’s CCTV and fire alarm, and now a new conference space and spin studio is being created. The main sports hall has also been given a makeover. Improvements are being made constantly and it’s fantastic to see the centre thriving like we knew it could.”

Mr Skates added: “It’s impossible to describe just how much credit the Splash Community Trust and the staff here deserve. They’ve done an incredible job.”

Splash Community Trust secretary Stella Matthews said the centre now employs more than 40 people and has become a thriving community hub.

Mr Drakeford said: “Ken has told me a lot about Plas Madoc and the amazing turnaround in the past few years. I have wanted to visit for some time and it was wonderful to meet the staff and volunteers and to see the centre so busy and bustling on a Saturday morning.

“I wish the trust the best of luck at the awards and for the future.”

Bus service information for route 64

Denbighshire County Council has issued the following information about the 64 bus service which runs through Llangollen:

The operator for service 64 changes on Monday September 10th from Easy Coach to Tanat Valley Coaches.

Tanat Valley had previously undertaken the service before Easy Coach.

There is a minor timetable change for journeys from the Llanarmon/Glyn Ceiriog direction only.

Those from Llangollen remain the same and the times of all journeys to and from Pengwern are also the same as now.

Free business advice sessions on offer

Denbighshire businesses are being given the chance to get free one-to-one expert advice. 

Denbighshire County Council is providing eight day-long sessions throughout the county giving traders the chance for personalised one-hour advice sessions from retail and marketing expert Helen Hodgkinson.

Helen is a business trainer and owner of Indie Business Training and has experience of developing and delivering training sessions and workshops covering areas such as digital opportunities, social media, retail and selling.

Cllr Hugh Evans OBE, leader of Denbighshire County Council, said: “These free sessions will allow businesses to get tailored advice to help build knowledge, skills and confidence, generate ideas and provide assurance and support.

“Supporting businesses and creating resilient communities is part of our work to increase economic prosperity in Denbighshire and providing free training sessions to our businesses helps us achieve this.

“I would encourage businesses in the county to take advantage of this support.”  

The coaching sessions can help get your message to the right customer, offer help with social media as well as visual merchandising, store layout, how to improve sales, customer service, staffing and product range.

* Sessions will be held in Rhyl (September 18); Prestatyn ( 19th); Denbigh (20th); Ruthin (25th); Llangollen (26th); Corwen (27th); Rhuddlan (October 2); St Asaph (3rd) and you can book at www.denbighshire.gov.uk/businessevents

Stamp out this vandalism and crime now

* The broken windows at Proadventure in Castle Street.

llanblogger comment

Llangollen has seen a spate of vandalism and crime over the past week of the sort it does not normally witness.

First, on Thursday, what appeared to be a huge slab of concrete was used to smash the two glass front doors of Proadventure in Castle Street.

The next morning people out early in Castle Street saw that, just a few yards away, a large and heavy planter had to been moved from its position outside the front doors of the Town Hall and then smashed into pieces with its contents being strewn across the pavement.

This morning, Sunday, a resident of Church Street (pictured above) posted on Facebook that they had woken up to find that a window at their home had been broken overnight.

Also this morning we learn from Facebook that the Chainbridge Hotel had been broken into during the early hours.

Its post said: “WARNING TO ALL IN THE LLANGOLLEN AREA - we have been broken into overnight. Three males, in hoods, at 1.00am. If you have any information please pass it on. Please also be vigilant. They left the hotel in a dark hatchback, heading towards Llangollen. The hotel will be open to the public as normal today. Thank you”.

* The vandalised planter in Castle Street.

The incidents on Thursday and Friday is Castle Street – our main thoroughfare and a showcase for the town to visitors – immediately set alarm bells ringing and a number of town councillors rightly called for swift action to nip such undesirable actions in the bud.

There are now likely to be calls for extra police vigilance which llanblogger believes must be heeded.

It is a well-known fact that police resources are under extreme pressure and that, in the general scheme of things, Lllangollen is identified as a low-crime area.

However, that does not take away from the fact that we have a right to receive adequate policing and that these incidents should be thoroughly examined and action taken to see avoid a pattern of lawlessness being established as it has in other areas not too far from here.  

Eisteddfod on the lookout for 2019 competitors

Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod is looking for dancers, singers and instrumentalists from across the globe to enter its group competitions next year.

Successful entrants will compete for a range of prestigious titles including Dance Champions of the World and Choir of the World at the 2019 festival, from July 2-7.

This will also see the return of the Acapella Group, Senior Children’s Choirs, Open Choirs and Traditional Folk Dance Group.

The Eisteddfod's best-known categories include choral, ensemble, dance and non-competitive participation.

The festival is also appealing for female choirs to come forward and showcase their talent on the Royal International Pavilion stage with the chance to win an international medal and cash prizes of up to £3,000 if they progress to the Choir of the World final.

Following the departure of Vicky Yannoula, Edward-Rhys Harry will be stepping into the role of music director.

He has previously been artistic director at both the International Voces Volgograd in Russia and the London Welsh Festival of Male Choirs. 

Entries for all choral, ensemble and dance competitions will close on Friday November 23, while solo applications will open in early December.

Applications to follow in the footsteps of non-competitive acts and perform on one of the International Eisteddfod’s outside stages are also open, with the entries also closing on November 23.

Eisteddfod chairman Dr Rhys Davies said: “Every year, those who take part in the Eisteddfod come away with an unforgettable experience that stays with them forever.

“With the unique opportunity for performers from across the globe to compete on an international stage in a variety of 20 competitions, alongside such talented musicians and dancers, whilst making life-long friendships is something truly special." 

* For more information on all the competitions or to apply through the Eisteddfod participants’ website visit: http://eisteddfodcompetitions.co.uk/

For more information about the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod visit: www.Llangollen.ne