Tory / Lib Dem plans for Bridgend school transport cuts

The above photo was taken last Wednesday outside Bridgend Council when parents from Brackla held a protest against Tory-Lib Dem plans to implement huge cuts in its free school transport provision.

The parents hired a campaign bus to ferry them from Brackla to the Civic Offices where they were met by myself and Mel Nott (Council Labour Group Leader). They handed over a 884 signature strong petition in opposition to the proposals.

I have made my views on this issue clear since the Tories and Lib Dems first made their suggestions public back in December.

These proposed cuts in provision will hit pupils and students across the County Borough. Hundreds of young people in Bridgend depend on subsidised and free transport to get to and from their schools and colleges and if these changes go ahead, many of them will be adversely affected.

Parents whose children will be excluded from the free transport scheme under these plans will be hit with a double whammy if they need to send them to school on the same buses but as paying customers instead. For the average family, with say two children of school age, the Lib Dem/Tory coalition’s proposal to double charges will cost parents an extra couple of hundred pounds per year. It is also likely that if these cuts go ahead then parents will opt to take their kids to school by car instead, creating more pollution and congestion on the town’s roads.

If the council decides to reduce the post-16 transport funding then a lot of young people will be deterred from continuing in education and training which will have important implications for the local economy.

People will also be highly sceptical of their proposals in relation to pupils attending denominational or Welsh medium schools. It is quite clear that they are looking for ways of cutting back expenditure in that area. Families have the right to send their children to these schools and they should not be penalised financially for doing so.

The council was due to discuss the matter at the full council meeting on Wednesday but it was taken off the agenda. That decision was particularly disappointing for all the parents who had made such an effort. However the protest clearly showed the strength of feeling that this has caused and I am sure that they will be back out in force when it comes around again.

Choose the right future

YOUNG people in Bridgend will need better skills for future employment in the growing economy of Wales and Labour will deliver these opportunities if it wins the Assembly elections.

Labour will make new, high quality, vocational courses available to 14- 19 years olds of all abilities in Wales from 2008 and give young people the training that directly relates to their future careers.

New courses in fourteen fields from Engineering and Construction to Hair and Beauty will have the same status as GCSE and A level and will be included in the Welsh Baccalaureate. They will enable our young people to proceed to further/ higher education or employment.

The current take up of vocational courses in schools in Wales is low by European standards. Labour wants to reverse this. The kind of skills that vocational training offers are in demand, that’s why Labour wants to improve the quality of these courses to help young people in Bridgend carve out a career for themselves and realise their full potential.

Giving young people - whatever their ability and wherever they live - the chance to use their talents and find their vocation in life proves our commitment to social justice and to our future.

Raising the quality and the choice of the courses will also raise their status in the eyes of parents and young people – employers are already convinced that vocational training is the best way of matching skills supply with demand.

By 2011, fourteen vocational courses will be available in such fields as Business, Information Technology and the Environment or Social Care, Tourism and creative courses.

Opening of Tremains School Nursery

The week before last I officially opened the new nursery at Tremains School, Brackla.

The nursery will enable the school to offer free nursery places to children at the school where no provision had previously existed. It will also increase the number of nursery places available to families in the Brackla area.

I was delighted to open the new Nursery. Parents and young children in the area need access to good quality education and this development will be of great benefit to the local community.

A huge amount of work has been done to make this possible and it shows the dedication and commitment of everyone involved that the original decision has been made a reality.

I very much enjoyed the ceremony – the children were lively and attentive. Early years education is vital for the development of our children and the investment made at this age range more than pays off in later years.

Labour to deliver world's best workers for Welsh firms

Labour will deliver the best skilled workers for Welsh firms if it wins May's Assembly election.

As part of its mission to help Bridgend meet the challenges of globalisation, Labour is promising to establish Skills Academies, to provide Bridgend’s industries with the access to excellence in training and learning needed to compete in a global economy.

It is essential that we improve the skills and qualifications of the workforce in Wales so that we can keep our economy growing. This will mean building upon links between local employers and skills training.

Labour is committed to ensuring that everyone in Bridgend is able to learn new skills no matter their age or social background.

Workplace learning is vital in boosting the prosperity of our nation. We are lucky in Bridgend that our key employers are progressive - committed not only to creating more wealth, but also in the wellbeing and future of their workers.

Labour wants to harness the very best teaching provision in Wales and match it with the very best in business innovation.

In the global economy, Labour believes it is our duty to face up to modern challenges, seizing them as opportunities, not hiding away from them as threats. In a world where consumers and business can choose to source their goods from anywhere on the planet, firms based in Bridgend must have the ability to compete with the very best. This means competing on skills, not on low wages.

Wales can lead the world on cutting-edge knowledge work, and Labour's innovative Skills Academies will help make our industries more competitive.

Welsh Labour’s mission to build a better, safer, tidy Bridgend

WELSH Labour will build a better, safer, tidy Bridgend.

I very much welcome the party’s early Assembly election pledges, launched at the beginning of the Labour Party Conference here in Llandudno yesterday.

The key message from the Party’s annual get together to the people of Bridgend is that Labour has the ideas to lead Wales after May’s Assembly election with plans to make local communities fairer, safer and more prosperous.

The plans include:

- Organise specialist skills academies which allow people in employment to upgrade their skills
- New high quality vocational courses for 14- 19 year olds in Wales
- Ensure that all people who want an NHS dentist, can have one
- Provide free parking at NHS hospital car parks for patients requiring treatment for chemotherapy, radiotherapy and renal dialysis; and better season ticket arrangements for those who want one
- Continue to provide prescriptions free of charge
- Provide free childcare for two year olds in our most disadvantaged communities
- Introduce a new ‘Tidy Towns’ programme: extra funding and new requirements on councils to keep towns and villages free of litter and graffiti, involving local people in environmental clean-up and increase fines for litter and graffiti
- Provide a £100 million fund for safer local roads
- Provide sprinklers in all new school buildings and extend that provision in existing buildings
- Ensure all children can use a sports or leisure facility or swimming pool free of charge at weekends

These commitments from Welsh Labour will send a clear signal to the people of Bridgend that we stand for fairness in all aspects of society, prosperity at work and communities that are safe and tidy.

People in Bridgend want towns they can be proud of, and Labour is standing by local communities by taking a zero tolerance approach to litter, graffiti and anti-social behaviour.

Welsh Labour stands for fairness and investment in healthcare, support for those most in need and a quality health service available for free and to all. Making sure everyone who wants an NHS dentist gets one will be a real help to people in Bridgend.

Labour stands for the very best jobs for Bridgend workers. We’re helping people to get more and better skills so that we can bring more and better jobs here.

And I am delighted that under a Labour Welsh Assembly Government, children will be able to use local leisure centres for free at the weekends. This is great news for Bridgend families.

The choice for the people of Wales is clear. Only Welsh Labour offers Wales a Tory-free government. The Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru have refused to rule out serving under the Tories. Welsh Labour is the only party that can offer people the safer, prosperous and fairer future they deserve.

Bridgend pupils lead way in new learning

SIXTH FORM students in Bridgend schools are set to be among the first in Wales to take up the new Welsh Baccalaureate qualification.

Education Minister Jane Davidson announced today that the Welsh Bacc will be offered to all Sixth Form students in Bryntirion Comprehensive, Archbishop McGrath Comprehensive and Bridgend College from September this year.

A-levels students in Bridgend will now be able to gain a broader qualification than the traditional A-level and an advantage when they look for University places and enter the job market.

Pupils in Bryntirion Comprehensive, Archbishop McGrath Comprehensive and Bridgend College who opt for the Welsh Bacc will take up a language module, a study of Wales, Europe and the world, a research project, work experience and voluntary work in the community, alongside taking existing qualifications such as A levels, GCSEs or NVQs.

Welsh Labour is transforming Sixth Form learning in Wales, offering higher standards of achievement and motivation for young people in Bridgend. The Welsh Assembly Government is leading the way on new learning. The Welsh Bacc is going to produce students with better skills and a greater understanding of the wider world.

I am proud Welsh Labour has delivered the first ever distinctly Welsh education and skills programme for 16 – 19 year olds in Bridgend.

Extra support for autism

The Welsh Assembly Government has launched a new plan to improve the quality of life for people and children with autism.

The plan is backed up by an extra £1.7m – set aside by Labour - for local authorities like Bridgend over the next two years to have a look at how they can improve services for children with autism.

Health Minister Brian Gibbons and Education Minister Jane Davidson launched the Assembly’s Action Plan for Autism last week, which will now go out for consultation.

This plan is Labour’s commitment to help the most vulnerable people in Bridgend. This Labour Assembly Government wants to make sure that every child in Wales gets the education they deserve.

The extra £1.7m that Labour promised in the Assembly Government’s budget will help Bridgend County Borough Council to assess the learning support autistic children need in local schools and will make sure they get the specialist care and support they need.

I have many constituents who come to me with stories of how hard they fight to get the support they need to cope with autism, which is why I am very pleased that this Labour Assembly Government is recognising how important it is to get this plan right.

The draft document aims to build on a range of other Assembly Government publications, such as Designed for Life, and a series of National Services Frameworks for Children through to Older People. These documents all aim to improve services for people wherever they live in Wales to ensure that they have access to the highest quality care available.

Comments on the consultation should be sent to:Penelope DaviesChildren’s Health and Social Services DirectorateWelsh Assembly GovernmentCathays ParkCardiffCF10 3NQ.

Consultations generally run for a 12-week period but when consulting with people with learning difficulties that is extended to 16 weeks.

School standards higher than ever

Bridgend schools are making progress in just about every area of education and training.

The Annual Report for 2005-06 of the Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales (Estyn) shows that school children and teachers are reaching higher standards than previous years.

Labour Education Minister Jane Davidson welcomed the findings which showed that across Wales the number of primary schools reaching the top two inspection grades increased by 31 per cent and secondary schools were up by 13 per cent.

I am delighted with these results, which are a testimony to the hard work of teachers, support staff and governors in Bridgend schools.

I am particularly pleased for Oldcastle Juniors and Penybont Primary School which have received the top grades and a resounding thumbs up from the Inspectors and everyone involved with these schools should be justly proud.

These results go to show why investing more in our schools helps to drive up standards, and this Labour Assembly Government is making the money available to do exactly that.

Labour is committed to making sure all schoolchildren in Bridgend can benefit from better quality schools. Through the Assembly’s RAISE plan, £32m is being made available to disadvantaged pupils and schools facing particular difficulties.