Hamilton Primary school restructuring: Reject these unfair and damaging proposals. Tomorrow (Tuesday 22 February) the school's governors will meet to make a final decision on their restructuring document which was delivered to staff on the 25th January. The essence of the proposals are in effect jobs loses, changes in staff terms and conditions and pay cuts. It will mean that the school will lose two important part-time teaching posts and face the real possibility that Higher Level Teaching Assistant (unqualified teachers) will be required to deliver regular time-tabled lessons planned by class teachers to whole classes without any preparation time whatsoever. Most disgracefully the school's highly dedicated and motivated Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) will be forced to reapply for a limited number of jobs, most taking a significant cut in hours. Further savings are being sought by withdrawing pay for LSAs' 15 minute morning "break" (invariably spent supporting distressed or confused children, preparing for the next lesson, or on playground duty). These women are currently earning approximately £8.50 per hour! In addition to removing LSA cover for all class teachers in key stages 1 and 2 in the afternoons, (for example, leaving a single adult in charge of 30 5, 6 or 7 year olds all afternoon), further proposed job cuts include reducing the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator's post to one day a week (even though there is an acknowledged increase in the need for SENCO intervention at the school), and slashing the Computer Technicians post by more than a third (despite the heads decision to invest heavily in new computer technology in the classrooms). We urge the Governors to reject these proposals for what they are: an unfair and damaging attempt to push through cuts in the schools budget at the expense of our children's educational needs and pay cuts and worsening of terms and conditions for some of our school's lowest paid staff. Please sign the petition calling on the Governors to reject these proposals. If the Governors give the proposals the go-ahead we need to urgently act to defend our staff and our children's education. - The school's staff unions should call a joint meeting to develop a strategy of oppose and stop any attempts to implement the proposals. - We should call a joint staff and parents public meeting to organise a protest at the school gate demanding that the proposals be withdrawn. Up and down the country similar attacks are taking place - attacks that unfairly attempt to balance a budget at the expense of children's education needs and staff pay and conditions - but they are being resisted by both staff and parents. In Durham teaching assistants have struck to fight off a 40% cut in pay and in Derby TA's recently descended on Derby Councils head office blowing whistles, ringing bells and waving flags and placards to overturn a proposed pay cut.

People are increasingly concerned about the pressures on wildlife. Especially in cities like London, many beloved species, such as hedgehogs, sparrows and bumble bees are all visibly declining.   The 2016 State of Nature report found that 7 per cent of urban wildlife species are nearing extinction. [link: http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/State%20of%20Nature%20UK%20report_%2020%20Sept_tcm9-424984.pdf], and the number of hedgehogs living in London has dropped by half since 2000. [link: https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/at_home_with_nature_-_encouraging_biodiversity_in_new_housing_developments.pdf]   People want to help but can an individual make a difference?    We believe they most certainly can, if this scheme receives the backing of the Mayor of London.   Every month in London thousands of homes are bought and sold. The commissions are considerable, and every home letting involves fees paid to the agents too. But what if a tiny proportion of these commissions were set aside to enable the new householder to buy a bird box, a bat box, bee-friendly plants or something else to encourage wildlife in some way? Its a simple concept - Homes for People - Homes for Wildlife!   The home’s new owner could chose which sort of measure to encourage wildlife would work best for them and gradually a whole new range of safe and secure wildlife homes would spread across the city.   Such a project has national potential but needs someone with the Mayor of London’s credibility to help get the various bodies, like the National Association of Estate Agents on board. They have always been painted as bad guys but we can give them the chance to do some real good with this scheme, by making it simple for people to give homes to nature.   If done in an imaginative way, for example by making the voucher a unique token like a coin, redeemable with companies or organisations that sell wildlife-friendly products, the scheme could be expanded in use. Other companies wanting to help people support wildlife could also buy and give away ‘eco-crowns’ and people could pass them on if they can’t easily use them in their own homes.   We could even have a competition, engaging with schools, to help design and name the ‘eco-crowns’ and another for product designers, to decide on the material (re-cycled plastic?) and ensure that the coins could not be forged.   Before all this, the first step, is to get people like the London Assembly and the Mayor to see the benefits and back the concept, and then win the involvement of national bodies like estate agents as it gains wider support. Please sign the petition and help get my idea off the ground. This campaign was started by Maurice Melzak, a zoology graduate, naturalist and documentary film maker for more than 30 years. He first developed the idea in 2010, for Waterlow Park, where he gained the support of a local estate agent and a nesting box manufacturing company. It was featured on the BBC’s Springwatch. Maurice volunteers at Highgate Cemetery where he keeps honey bees and advises on wildlife issues. He obtained a Biffa landfill grant to purchase over 100 bird and bat boxes for the Cemetery which has made a significant difference to the bird life in the surrounding area. (see pic). With the need to save urban wildlife even more urgent, with a new Mayor and new support from politicians, he hopes this petition will get it off the ground and start to make a difference soon.

Most children that leave school do not know how to approach & open a everyday bank account... Or put together a business idea and cash flow forecast.

This is a dangerous junction at most time and is really bad at the school run time, sometimes the traffic backs up to way past the St. Brendan's Church and beyond. Also can cause a hazard at the Zebra Crossing. Seen many a near miss here as some people turn left then do a u-turn at the right turning a bit further down.

Due to government cuts and unfunded costs to schools. There is a crisis in schools funding. See below Will you help protect your child’s education? Schools are having to make cuts to staffing and resources. This is because schools’ budgets have been cut by 8 – 10% in real terms over the last few years as unfunded pay rises, increased pension and NI costs and “taxes” such as the Apprenticeship Levy have meant schools have less money. This means cuts in other areas of the school to fund these extra costs. The future looks bleak. Next year sees more expenses for schools. Inflation is increasing too. Local Authority cuts means that schools are expected to do more with less. Schools haven’t had an increase to help with extra costs for a number of years. In Sutton, the Local Authority is proposing to cut basic school funding next year to help meet other costs especially higher costs for students with high needs.. We are close to crisis. Schools will have fewer teachers, larger classes, less choice, less support for students and families, fewer opportunities, trips or co-curricular activities. In some areas of the country, schools are already cutting school hours. Others are suggesting a four day week to reduce staffing demand and utility bills. Headteachers are not known for their militancy. However this information, sent to all parents of secondary age children in the London Borough of Sutton, is a cry for help. We need you to help us signal to local and central government that school funding is in crisis. They are not listening to us and we hope they might instead listen to you. • Schools will no longer be hit with unfunded increases in staffing costs • Lobby for an exemption from the Apprenticeship Levy 2. If you feel strongly against the proposed cuts by Sutton Local Authority Funding Cuts in the News • National Audit Office assessment https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Financial-sustainability-of-schools.pdf • How my school is losing the battle with funding cuts https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-views/how-my-school-losing-battle-funding-cuts • Cash strapped schools consider four day week https://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/oct/03/cash-strapped-schools-consider-introducing-four-day-week • Heads Warn of ‘extremely bleak’ funding problems http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-38557843 • West Sussex Governors Threaten Strike http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/

Our schools are already at breaking point and the long term impact would be huge. Not just on education but on the job market, welfare and crime. Let's not give up on our kids

Our education will be compromised if Miss Dellow is not our teacher. She is a teacher who is kind and humane and most importantly she can teach exceptionally well We believe Miss Dellow should remain a teacher at Whickham School; she is the best teacher we have and we believe it will benefit our education and future if she remains as our teacher. She is kind, nice, hilarious and simply has everything a teacher should need and more. She puts in so much effort and simply does everything she can and she is so passionate. If you listen to what some people say about her you will understand how much of a great teacher she is and an asset to Whickham School.

Currently the speed limit outside Haygrove School, Bridgwater is 30mph. I think it would be beneficial to change the speed limit to 20mph. This is a road that needs to be crossed by many students immediately after they leave school. Not only would this ensure students have a safe walk to and from school, it would encourage them to walk which has a positive impact on the environment. However, parents drop children off directly outside school which can become unsafe for other drivers and children.

I have visited Turtle beaches in Northern and Southern Cyprus, and many other countries around the world. I have been very upset in finding rubbish of all sorts floating in the sea. Some of these are dangerously small particles such as broken down plastic, and bottle tops and other types of plastic which break into tiny pieces and get into the eco - system and into the stomachs of marine life around the world, and cause great pain, distress and even death. This is becoming very serious as the particles are so small they are now found in the stomachs of plackton pretty well the smallest form of life in our seas, and is a staple diet of many marine animals including whales. In the long term this will do untold damage not only to the marine life, but it will also get into our food chain with unknown consequences. Turtles are beautiful creatures and live all of their lives out at sea from the moment they hatch. Only one in a thousand will survive out in the oceans, and one of the things that will kill them on a regular basis are plastic bags. They feed on jelly fish, as part of their diet, and when they see a plastic bag they think it's a jellyfish and will eat it with diar and very sad consequences. The sea is the most wonderful enviroment for all of us. Not only providing us with fish to eat, but the most wonderful holidays with swimming, surfing, scenery, sailing, sandy beaches, rock pools the list is endless. Not only that, it helps to control the temperature of our world, and yet we treat it with distain. There is so much pollution and rubbish tipped into the oceas everyday, that more and more marine life is being affected. One of the main culprits is body scrubs and toothpastes. They contain thousands of small plastic beads which find their way into the sea, and then consumed by marine life. So to help please DO NOT buy these products unless the ingredients are peach kernels or sugar instead. More needs to be done in using plastic bags for fruit and vegetables at the supermarkets. It's been a start to pay for plastic carrier bags, but these small plastic bags in the fruit and veg area, are just as dangerous in our countryside and oceans, please encourage the supermarkets to use brown paper bags, which are far better and don't make the fruit and veg sweat, and are recyclable. The government is banning some products but not all, and a great more needs to be done, as there are more products out there which use plastic including cleaning products. If you love our planet, and everything about nature, then PLEASE sign my petition so we can help our beautiful oceans and everything that depends on it to live, including us, and our grandchildren to come. A BIG and heartfelt THANK YOU.

My son has multiple needs and had no home school or any type of education in 2 years 5 special needs schools have refused my son and stats dont no what to do they lied to the press and since my article many parents have come forward with the same problem in the local community y should we fight so hard for our kids to have education my son is 2. Years behind because stats failed

The nurseries are outstanding and a fabric of the local community. Some have been running for over 30 years, with dedicated well trained staff teams. They provide affordable childcare to children with different type of needs i.e special educational needs, deaf children, parents on low -medium income, lone parents, students, residents that may require support. Cutting funding for these nursery's will affect parent’s ability to work and will affect the children's well-being, especially children who are disabled or have other specialised needs. If privatised the cost of these nurseries will go up, meaning that many parents will not be able to afford to send their children. As parents we are concerned that cuts are the driving force of the Tower Hamlets proposals. Value needs to be given to quality of care provision, service user’s experience, rather than who can do it cheaper. Tower Hamlets Council is depriving the vulnerable children the services vital to their development, putting additional stress on parents of Tower Hamlets and communities, destroying long lasting community hubs. Our Tower Hamlets, Our Voice, Our Nurseries.

Currently, in the UK everyone has to pass their maths and English language GCSE, regardless of any disabilities that may prevent them from doing so. Since 2013, all 16 to 18-year-old students who do not already have a grade C in English or maths have to continue studying the subjects. Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw has said: “Inspection evidence shows that, for some students, having to retake their GCSE can be demotivating and that attendance at these lessons is lower.” My mother works in the field of special education and says it is upsetting and unfair to those with learning difficulties who just can't pass. It is obvious that some people are more able than others, and judging everyone by the same standards is unfair and wrong. I know of a 19-year-old resitting his GCSE maths and English for the fourth time this summer, and planning to continue trying for another two years. He is perfectly eloquent, has a job, and plans to join the army. The only thing holding him back is his dyslexia and dyscalculia (number and letter blindness) that means he can't read the test papers and is stopping him continuing with his life. We plan to ask the government to allow people with a diagnosed learning difficulty to stop repeating their GCSE Mathematics and English after they have completed full-time education (at 18) if they and a specialist learning support member both agree they do not wish to continue. The government should then be more flexible with other qualifications and job prospects.