As you may be aware, Dv8 Sussex was recently inspected by Ofsted, and received a final grading of Inadequate, despite our best ever year of results in 17/18. We published a statement detailing our response to the inspection on 18th January (see link below). The Ofsted inspection report can be downloaded at https://bit.ly/2WyzeBa. Our response statement can be downloaded at https://bit.ly/2Sle3mU The Inadequate grading has now however triggered a process within the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) that has led to an immediate suspension of student recruitment within this year and our 2019/20 contract being placed on hold, pending review. There are currently around 25 students planned to join Dv8 programmes in February and March this year that will now not be able to do so and over 100 current applicants to date for September’s courses. We urgently need the support of parents, students, stakeholders and partner agencies to help us make our case that we are a unique provision locally that cannot easily be replaced and that our contract should be reinstated as soon as possible. If Dv8 were not to deliver in Sussex next year, there would be around 200 students having to find an alternative college in September to meet their needs. Around 100 students would be in the middle of two-year courses, around 20 High-Needs students who are settled and supported at Dv8 would need to find an alternative college. There is a real risk that a number of our students would not find suitable provision and may become disengaged from education completely. There is an excellent range of provision on offer locally through larger colleges, however our students are often looking for something different. Our students join Dv8 due to the unique kind of provision we offer; not just a creative college, but with small class sizes, a highly supportive and inclusive environment, where young people are nurtured to develop confidence, achieve and progress. Young people and parents tell us that Dv8 was the only place that they have ever felt comfortable and able to achieve. The majority of our young people progress back into further education at the end of their course, ready to move on and to have successful lives. Many of our students simply do not thrive in larger educational environments and may not have achieved previously in school, or in the larger main colleges. We do not feel that there is any like for like provision locally that offers something similar. Our learner numbers have grown by 20% each year over the last four years. For the last two years the ESFA have approved contract growth at Dv8 to meet local need, based partly on the closure of other local independent providers such as Access to Music and Nacro in Brighton. There is a real need and demand for the sort of provision that Dv8 offers and the positive impact we have on young people’s lives. We want to hear your stories so that we can provide this evidence to the ESFA to help them make the right decision to enable Dv8 to bounce back from this most challenging period and become the Good or Outstanding provider that we have always strived to become. If you are a parent of a young person who has succeeded at Dv8, if you studied with us and went on to a successful career or just that we made a positive impact on your life, please get in touch and leave your story. If you have worked with us and were inspired by the work that we do, please leave a message of support. If you just know of us and want to support us in our mission to “enable creative thinkers to be successful in work and life”, then please sign this petition. If you are a current student or parent / carer of a current student or someone that has applied to join us in September please leave a message of support highlighting why you chose / are choosing Dv8. It would be helpful if you could leave your name, if happy for us to use this, and also if you could state if you are an ex or current student, parent or other interested party. We aim to send hundreds of responses to the ESFA by next Wednesday so please leave messages this week if you can. Please show your support not only for our current and future students who could be left extremely disappointed but for the future of Dv8 and to protect one of the last truly independent providers in the region. Your help and support is very much appreciated. Some supportive messages we have already received: “Dv8 has changed me so much! They have built up my confidence and improved my skills and all of my family and friends have noticed the positive changes in me.” Ex Dv8 Student “Since doing the Level 1 course at Dv8 I have progressed to a Level 3 Music Production course. Learning in a small class was brilliant and really allowed me to find the things I was best at” Ex Dv8 student “I was moved to email you following the release of Ofsted's report and express my solidarity with you as educators, and gratitude for all the work you put in. You have made an enormous difference to my daughter who has struggled to engage with formal education throughout her school career. It might not look like it but her engagement with your staff and your course is the single most positive learning experience she has had.” Current Dv8 Parent “This ofsted decision is so so wrong. My son was at Dv8 for 2 years and came out with a distinction. He is autistic. And found when we were looking for a college it was his favourite. The staff are amazing and very supportive not just to my son but to me too. How can a college be classed as inadequate when they believed in my son and his dream. They could see his ability and worked with him to develop it and improve it. Giving him confidence and belief in himself. Which his school didn't, if anything they stripped it away. My son wouldn't of been able to move onto a bigger college if it hadn't been for DV8” Dv8 parent of Ex student

Staff at Queen Margaret University are in dispute with the university over proposed cuts (40 FTE posts). This makes up nearly 10% of QMU posts and, if carried out risks serious damage to the university, its staff, students and the wider community. This is in order to save £1.65m over the next two years, which is primarily needed to meet commitments to the bank. UCU argue that such devastating cuts will impact on the university’s ability to continue to run high quality courses and train tomorrow’s public sector staff, including the NHS. The university also has a creditable record on widening access; 36.6% of students are the first in their family to study at university and 37.6% are mature students; 12.4% of our students come from 20% of the most deprived backgrounds in Scotland, whilst 28.9% of our students come from the lowest 40%. Uniquely, 79% of our students are female, thus making our university a vital asset in the alleviation of gender inequality in wider society. The staff at QMU are committed to maintaining and improving our record on providing education for those who otherwise may not have the opportunity. The proposed cuts risks all of this. The University Court (the governing body) has said that there is no alternative. We believe this to be false. There are a large number of courses and modules that have been suspended with little justification. There are also many ideas amongst the staff for growth. There is a large contrast between what could be carried out at QMU and what is being carried out. Lack of communication, bureaucracy, and a senior management/top heavy structure are stifling potential growth. The unions have been conducting an alternative portfolio review, and an alterative manifesto for the university. Growth can only be achieved through the work of the staff, which is why we call on university management, in conjunction with QMU trade unions and the students union, to seriously explore alternative proposals. We call on MPs, MSPs, councillors, trade unions and the wider public to support staff at QMU. Please sign the petition to show your support.

Some councillors and local lobbyists have persistently blocked school children from their own playing fields, resulting in Cotham School paying over £100,000 in legal fees and still not having their own useable pitches. It has to stop. School staff and workers must be protected against harassment from deep-pocketed and time-rich local lobbyists, and be left in peace to carry out the work of running a highly successful and popular secondary school.

Only two years after the last round of devastating cuts to our children's centres, many children in Lambeth are in danger of losing out on essential early years support. The Council have announced plans for a borough-wide restructure, which threatens five centres with closure. Another seven centres will have their provision cut in half under these proposals, and many staff are faced with losing their jobs. Children's Centres are a vital service for parents and their children in our local area. They combat isolation and loneliness which many of us experience when on maternity leave or looking after early years children. They provide support and guidance from professionals as well as a chance to mix with a range of families you didn't know before.

Kent County Council are planning to cut the opening hours at 99 libraries. Libraries are a vital source of learning and education. They are a vital public good we cannot do without. People of all ages can enjoy borrowing and reading books, DVDs and CDs, using the internet, reading newspapers and speaking and spending time with others. The plans could mean large numbers of libraries opening for less time. Library chiefs have already drawn up suggested opening hours and some could see big reductions. For more information on the libraries facing cut in opening hours across Kent, see this article: All the Kent libraries facing a cut in their opening hours in cost-cutting move: https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/kent-libraries-facing-cut-opening-2260765#r3z-addoor

a large percentage of the worlds population are deaf or hard of hearing. Many of them learn BSL as there first language however are not able to communicate with non deaf people without a struggle.

School Streets are roads next to schools where traffic is restricted during the times of the day when children are arriving or leaving school. Sheffield has 25 schools in areas of high, sometimes illegal, air pollution. High air pollution levels exacerbate respiratory illnesses like asthma and recent studies have shown that children exposed to high pollution levels have reduced lung capacity that can affect them for the rest of their lives. Sheffield has a clean air strategy that already recognises the need to take action on poor air quality, especially around schools. 20mph and anti-idling initiatives are great but will not make enough of a difference. Edinburgh, Southwark, Hackney and Solihull have already implemented School Streets to protect children from traffic and traffic related pollution at the school gate. School Streets encourages active travel, improves air quality in the classroom, and reduces traffic congestion for everyone.

The County Council wish to relocate the library to the museum, which is half the size and result in the downgrading of both services. Welshpool Library is purpose built in a central location which is convenient for all. It has parking spaces and is instantly recognisable. In the proposed location, it would house less than half the current bookstock, and there is very little space for children's storytimes and activities. The Museum would be squeezed into an upstairs space and jobs would be lost.

So many societal problems could be avoided if we treat the new and younger generation well and nurture them through the Education System and into adulthood. But this requires adequate funding. Why do Britain's roads deserve vastly more money in the Budget than our schools?

Students are struggling to cope with such a lengthy exam and it is impacting their results. One of my students collapsed from exhaustion in the middle of their exam (it was their second exam that day and they had been writing for over 5 hours). We urge you to consider dividing the exam into 2 separate exams. This will help students to improve their ability to focus and will also prevent students with access arrangements for extra time from suffering almost 4 hours in a drama exam. We should be testing their knowledge not their stamina!

Children have been hit by speeding cars at the crossing on College Road on more than one occasion. We want to prevent a loss of life or a serious accident.

Is important to give something back to the people of St Helens and surrounding areas, this show was something to look forward to each year and now its gone and we have nothing