Latest news with #FlintshireCountyCouncil
Leader Live
15 hours ago
- General
- Leader Live
'Perfect storm' as Flintshire schools face ALN and funding pressure
That was the fear expressed by Hawarden, Ewloe councillor Dave Mackie at Thursday's meeting of Flintshire County Council's Education, Youth & Culture Overview & Scrutiny Committee. They were discussing a report on funding for specialist provision and additional learning needs (ALN). There was widespread praise for the creative work being done by schools and headteachers to deliver support for the increasing number of pupils presenting with ALN and the increasing complexity of their support needs. But the committee had serious concerns that funding pressures could soon force schools to prioritise support for those most in need. It was also revealed that there is, for the first time, a waiting list for out of county provision for those pupils with requiring the most specialist support, as all available places are now full. "We are experiencing a perfect storm of cuts in school funding, problems from Covid which you can't ignore, reduction in school rolls and the need to for ALN provision,"said Cllr Mackie. "This could lead to some very very serious problems. We know schools have had to reduce their staff and the point about specific individual care is it requires staff. "We must acknowledge the scale of the financial pressures in order to make suitable provision. "Clearly we are in a perfect storm not of our own making and we are expecting schools to cope. I think we are expecting too much." Jeanette Rock, Flintshire's senior manager for inclusion and progression, said that in 15 years she had never seen so much legitimate demand for additional educational support. "We really are seeing increased levels of need and complexity," she said. "I've worked in this role for 15 years and never seen this level of legitimate need. "Out of county provision is full. We have a challenge to find suitable places for our children and we have a waiting list for the first time. "A number of our children are struggling to engage with larger school buildings and it's fair to say that our primary sector are feeling the pinch." There was tentatively good news in the report. A feasibility study in 2018 identified the council needed to invest £38m in specialist facilities for pupils with specific needs. That bid has been submitted to the Welsh Government's Sustainable Communities Fund and is being reviewed to ensure planned works are still fit for purpose. But concerns over operational funding led to a recommendation that the committee ask full council to requisition the £1.2m of additional funding given to the authority as part of the Welsh Local Government Settlement to further support ALN provision in the county. "I have noted we are in a red risk area for funding," said Buckley Bistre West Cllr Carolyn Preece. "Where will the money come from to support this. "The Welsh Government seriously needs to recognise we are still feeling the effect of Covid. We need more provision, more funding for this specialist educational delivery that is a mandatory statutory provision because the outcome of good ALN support is amazing, it enriches people's lives. I would like to recommend that we request that £1.2m of additional money received by the council in the budget be given to the education budget because our schools really need this." The committee supported the recommendation.
North Wales Live
2 days ago
- North Wales Live
Social worker told Ethan Ives-Griffiths was asleep on visit in weeks before death, court hears
A social worker who tried to see a toddler in the weeks before he was allegedly murdered by his grandparents was told the child was having a nap, a court has heard. Two-year-old Ethan Ives-Griffiths died in hospital on August 16 2021, two days after an ambulance was called to the North Wales home of his grandparents Kerry Ives, 46, and Michael Ives, 47, where he was living along with his mother Shannon Ives, 28. A trial at Mold Crown Court has heard Ethan suffered 'catastrophic head injuries' and was severely underweight when he died. Social worker Michael Cornish, from Flintshire County Council, said he first visited Shannon Ives on July 22, 2021 at her parents' home in Garden City in Deeside. The court heard the mother moved back in with her parents after she 'fled' her home in Mold due to domestic violence. Mr Cornish said Ethan was on the child protection register, which meant he had to be seen every 10 days. He said on his first visit he saw Ethan in the back garden of the property and described him as 'a small two-year-old boy who was quite shy'. He said Michael Ives, who stood with his daughter as he spoke to her, said words to the effect of: 'He's the quiet one, he doesn't say anything.' Mr Cornish told the court he contacted Shannon Ives to arrange another visit on August 5 but, following a conversation about isolating due to Covid, he only saw her on the doorstep and was told Ethan and one of his siblings were 'having a nap'. The court heard his visit lasted almost 45 minutes. Mr Cornish said: 'During the visit I asked to see the children again but they were still asleep.' Join the North Wales Live WhatsApp community group where you can get the latest stories delivered straight to your phone He said it was either Shannon Ives or her mother Kerry Ives who told him Ethan was asleep. He added: 'This was a time when it was Covid. 'It was very difficult, we had to be very careful with entering properties. For whatever reason I accepted those children were still asleep.' On August 12 he said he arranged with health visitor Ellie Jones to go to the house for another visit but there was no answer at the door. He tried to phone Shannon Ives the following day but there was no answer, the court heard. Mr Cornish said he then went on leave, but emailed his manager to provide an update on the case and to say somebody needed to see the children. Michael and Kerry Ives, of Kingsley Road, Garden City, deny murder, an alternative count of causing or allowing the death of a child and cruelty to a person under 16. Shannon Ives, of Nant Garmon, Mold, denies causing or allowing the death of a child and cruelty to a person under 16.
Western Telegraph
2 days ago
- Western Telegraph
Social worker told toddler was asleep on visit in weeks before death, court hears
Two-year-old Ethan Ives-Griffiths died in hospital on August 16 2021, two days after an ambulance was called to the North Wales home of his grandparents Kerry Ives, 46, and Michael Ives, 47, where he was living along with his mother Shannon Ives, 28. A trial at Mold Crown Court has heard Ethan suffered 'catastrophic head injuries' and was severely underweight when he died. Social worker Michael Cornish, from Flintshire County Council, said he first visited Shannon Ives on July 22 2021 at her parents' home in Garden City in Deeside, Flintshire. The court heard the mother moved back in with her parents after she 'fled' her home in Mold due to domestic violence. Ethan Ives-Griffiths (North West Police/PA) Mr Cornish said Ethan was on the child protection register, which meant he had to be seen every 10 days. He said on his first visit he saw Ethan in the back garden of the property and described him as 'a small two-year-old boy who was quite shy'. He said Michael Ives, who stood with his daughter as he spoke to her, said words to the effect of: 'He's the quiet one, he doesn't say anything.' Mr Cornish told the court he contacted Shannon Ives to arrange another visit on August 5 but, following a conversation about isolating due to Covid, he only saw her on the doorstep and was told Ethan and one of his siblings were 'having a nap'. The court heard his visit lasted almost 45 minutes. Mr Cornish said: 'During the visit I asked to see the children again but they were still asleep.' He said it was either Shannon Ives or her mother Kerry Ives who told him Ethan was asleep. He added: 'This was a time when it was Covid. 'It was very difficult, we had to be very careful with entering properties. 'For whatever reason I accepted those children were still asleep.' On August 12 he said he arranged with health visitor Ellie Jones to go to the house for another visit but there was no answer at the door. He tried to phone Shannon Ives the following day but there was no answer, the court heard. Mr Cornish said he then went on leave, but emailed his manager to provide an update on the case and to say somebody needed to see the children. Michael and Kerry Ives, of Kingsley Road, Garden City, deny murder, an alternative count of causing or allowing the death of a child and cruelty to a person under 16. Shannon Ives, of Nant Garmon, Mold, denies causing or allowing the death of a child and cruelty to a person under 16. The trial will continue on Thursday.
Leader Live
3 days ago
- Health
- Leader Live
Flintshire Council warns hospital discharge support won't solve issues
Following an inquiry into patient flow at Welsh hospitals, local authorities across Wales are currently working on bids for a share of the fund to try to get patients out of hospital and back into their homes or community care faster. But Flintshire's Chief Officer for Social Services Craig Macleod told the authority's Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that the fund was not a silver bullet to cure the NHS of bed-blocking delays. "We have had formal notification that there will be a recurring grant to support timely hospital discharge from the Welsh Government, " he said. "We are currently working on a plan as to how we will use that funding. "We recommend that cabinet welcomes the grant as a step towards supporting discharge, however it will not resolve the issues relating to hospital discharge." One of the criticisms of the Welsh Government approach by Flintshire County Council was its inquiry focused on patient flow rather than patient outcomes. Deputy leader of Flintshire County Council Cllr Richard Jones said: "When you read the report from the ADSS (Association of the Director of Social Services Cymru) they say: 'We believe the terms of reference of the enquiry reflect an overly narrow perspective on the issue - one which prioritises hospital process over the fundamental goal of enabling individuals to live well within the community. "We believe there should be a greater emphasis on patient outcomes rather than just patient flow. That is the same approach we have towards care as an authority." Cabinet supported the work to capitalise on the additional funding and the review of the state of discharge services, which see residents continue to face significant challenges at all three general district hospitals serving Flintshire - Ysbyty Gwynedd, Wrexham Maelor and the Countess of Chester. "Hospital discharge delays should be viewed in terms of causes and context ensuring there is no loss of focus on the individual," said Cllr Christine Jones, Deputy Leader of Flintshire Council and Cabinet Member for Social Services and Wellbeing. "The reality is being in a hospital bed when there is no clinical need is not only contributing to the complex pressures within the NHS but it is also not in the best interests of the patient. "The regional partnership board will now take a lead role in producing a North Wales update to the original Audit Wales recommendations around hospital discharge. Flintshire will feed into that report in an effort to deliver improvements to discharge processes for all."
Leader Live
7 days ago
- General
- Leader Live
Flintshire mould issues almost double due to housing improvement works
A report to the authority's Community and Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee this week revealed that in 2022 the council received 450 complaints relating to mould and condensation in tenants' homes. Last year the number was over 850. According to Flintshire County Council's Housing Services Manager Sean O'Donnell, the problem of mould and condensation is being made worse by upgrades to the energy efficiency of social housing under the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS). By ensuring older homes retain more heat, by default they also retain more moisture making ventilation vital to preventing mould issues. "Mould and condensation continues to be a serious concern for us as a landlord,"said Mr O'Donnell. "We're doing more and more to our tenants homes to make them more thermally efficient in terms of heat retention and that's where ventilation and heating is critical. "The housing stock we have in Flintshire - and across Wales - is the oldest in the UK. In this authority we have 7,400 houses that all have unique characteristics that we need to overcome. "We go above WHQS where we can afford to but the more we undertake improvement works - and this is a concern we've raised with Welsh Government - they're going to create other problems for us. "We understand why we need to get these properties up to an A rating, but we're going to be talking about mould and condensation more and more." Flintshire has allocated a budget of £500,000 to survey, clean and make minor minor repairs linked to mould and condensation issues. "That cost is probably only going to go up," said Mr O'Donnell. "Tenants can help, by keeping an eye out for leaks, drying clothes in ventilated areas, using extraction fans where they are installed. "They can also air the properties regularly, even when cold, to get that dry air in and by keeping on top of cleaning." "We want to work with our tenants, so we would urge them all if they see an issue in their home, report it to us and we can action it."
