Our City p1 28/6/13 13:19 Page 1 Issue 32 PRIDEPRIDE ININ OurOur CityCity Chelsea Flower Show’s blooming legacy... School’s out: See pages five and eight School’s out: Check out our four-page summer events guide WIN Pages 15, 16, 17 and 18 VIP Tour of Britain start tickets See page 30 See page two Welfare reforms: Support and advice for residents feeling the pinch Page 22 Our City p2 28/6/13 13:46 Page 1 2 Our City SUMMER 2013 New jobs created as city launches £600,000 pothole blitz TOKE-on-Trent City Council has declared Councillor Ruth Rosenau, Cabinet Member for Swar on potholes... Regeneration, Planning and Transportation hated by motorists, joins Joe Knall and Brian Wright of the Highway cyclists and residents Maintenance Team on a repair in Middleport. alike. The authority is investing around £600,000 and recruiting 13 new permanent staff to carry Adam Shaw, 18, who has secured a out highway repairs and full time job after working on the maintenance works. Building Schools for the Future In total there are around programme. 3,000 potholes across the city which are currently identified and the new recruits will be BSF training tasked with fixing the outstanding backlog and those which are additionally reported leads to work – thereby reducing the level of outstanding repairs down to in industry 2010 figures. An active recruitment process THREE apprentices have secured is now underway and once the permanent jobs after completing positions have been filled and their training on the £270million the new staff fully trained, they Building Schools for the Future will begin to carry out repairs. programme to transform our city’s Councillor Ruth Rosenau, high schools. Cabinet Member for Their training was provided in Regeneration, Planning and partnership by the city council and Transportation, said: “We Stoke on Trent College. understand that the condition of Alex Burton, aged 25, has our roads, and potholes in successfully completed 12 months’ particular, is a major concern training in carpentry and joinery. for residents and local He has worked on the Ormiston businesses, and in recent years Sir Stanley Matthews Academy site there have been more potholes reported, due to the effects of at Blurton, as well as the Discovery the recent bad winter seasons Academy in Bentilee for main and prolonged wet spells. contractors Wates. Having completed his See a big difference apprenticeship Alex found a “We’ve listened to what full-time job with Cheshire Building residents have been saying and Developments based in Sandbach. have decided to invest extra Apprentices Adam Shaw, 18, resources to tackle the problem. secured a job with Drayton “We have over 2,500 Beaumont as an electrical kilometres of roads and apprentice and Jordan Seaton, 19, footpaths to maintain in the got a job with Barry Beard Limited, city – almost the equivalent of To report a pothole, based in Bromsgrove. the distance between BSF Strategic Manager Tracy Stoke-on-Trent and Moscow – call 01782 237061 Penrose-Gould said: “This is a very which is an indication of the bring in temporary staff to help deal with potholes which have positive example of a successful task we face in keeping the road us address the immediate already been reported to the between 9am and partnership between the city network running smoothly on a backlog. I expect to see a big council, while the other five will council, our main contractors and daily basis. Not only are we difference in the state of our proactively seek out highway 5pm or email Stoke on Trent College to ensure fixing potholes, we are also roads by the end of this defects which have not been highways.client@ that we have supported young creating 13 full-time jobs for summer, and we will then reported to the council and fix people. As a result of all the local people, which is fantastic continue to maintain a high them. stoke.gov.uk, or profile team of maintenance Councillor Rosenau added: partners’ combined efforts and the news on its own. We will also staff as the winter “Potholes are a problem report them via the hard work of the apprentices they approaches. affecting all parts of the country find a job. “We’ll then closely but this investment will bring Council’s website. “This is a very positive outcome monitor the condition about a definite improvement for the apprenticeship programme of the roads during for Stoke-on-Trent road users. Reports need to and shows that BSF will have a the winter and review It is an on-going commitment lasting employment and skills their condition, which to ensure that the road network include street name, legacy.” will again depend on is fit for purpose and supports exact location and ● To find out more about the kind of weather the local economy. apprenticeship opportunities visit we have.” “We are asking local people to details about the stoke.gov.uk and search for Eight staff will continue to report potholes to apprenticeships. work on a seven-day us, so we know where they are potholes. Job done – one less pothole. shift pattern and will and can repair them.” Live webcast of full council meetings Give us your feedback on this issue of MEETINGS of the full council can now be viewed online.To see and hear Web: stoke.gov.uk Our City by emailing Our City is printed on the debates and decisions which affect life in Stoke-on-Trent, visit recycled paper.When Facebook: facebook.com/ [email protected] stoke.gov.uk and click on webcasting. you have finished with stokeontrent.citycouncil this publication please A list of dates and times of council meetings and committee meetings or write to: help the environment Twitter: @SoTCityCouncil by passing it on to a can be found on our website at stoke.gov.uk/meetingdates FREEPOST Our City. friend or recycling it. twitter.com/SoTCityCouncil Our City p3 28/6/13 13:47 Page 1 SUMMER 2013 Our City 3 City council to give most Samaneh Mehri with her son vulnerable children the Seena. best start in life TOKE-on-Trent is disadvantaged families, but Cabinet Member for to give more evidence shows that Education, said: “This is not vulnerable providing free education can: just about giving children the S ● Improve children’s best start in life in terms of children the best start development including enabling their development in life by providing communication skills to enter education. free early education ● Help them to socialise “It’s also very much about to hundreds of with other children and make giving parents the support two-year-olds. friends they need to help their This year 920 children ● Help them begin to get children move forward could receive early education ready to go to school through education and take to support their families and ● Give them access to new advantage of the opportunities support their development. activities and exciting places created in the city through Next year the figure rises to to play. our Mandate for Change.” ● around 2,100 children. Parents involved At the moment the free Two-year-olds could early education for qualify for 15 hours of free ● Early education can also two-year-olds is for early education at a local give families more time to certain groups. Parents in nursery, private day nursery, spend with younger children, receipt of certain benefits play-group or childminder. take up a college course, or or with an income below Children’s experiences in go back to work. £16,000 per year may be early education strongly Providers will involve eligible and should contact influences their progress in parents in their children’s their local children’s later life, especially in health, learning and enable them to centre, the Family social behaviour, employment support children at home Information Service on and educational achievement. with activities that strengthen 01782 232200 or visit Take-up of early education their development. stoke.gov.uk/beststart to is at its lowest in Councillor Shaun Pender, find out more. Mum sees a big difference in son’s progress SINGLE mum Samaneh Mehri’s little boy was Our City learns how just 11 once so shy he would not leave her side for even a minute. hours a week free nursery Seena used to cry and spoke no English so he provision made a huge would not mix with other children. difference to one mum and That all changed when his mum took him to a singing group at Stoke library and found out her little boy... about Penkhull Children’s Centre. Staff there supported her as they organised Seena, who is now four, come out of his shell 11-hours a week nursery time through the city and he is now in full-time nursery at Stoke council’s offer for two-year-olds and everything Minster Primary School. changed. “Now he does everything for himself. He Samaneh, aged 31, said:“Seena used to hide never cries. He can sing and speak English. He’s a behind me all the time. real chatterbox. He’s really independent. He’s “I couldn’t leave him. He was quite shy, crying perfect”, said Samaneh, who herself is studying and crying. It was upsetting for both of us.” English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) But three months at Small Steps helped at college. Volunteers needed to boost independence Valued VOLUNTEERS are needed to meet the with some people going out for the first Volunteer Nigel demand for a new council-run scheme to time without their parents or carer.