Sussex Magazines

Becky Shaw is the recommended candidate to become the new Chief Executive of East Sussex County Council.

An all-party panel of county councillors made the decision this week and the appointment will now go to the full County Council meeting on 30 March for final ratification.

If confirmed, Becky will take over from Cheryl Miller who has been Chief Executive of the County Council for the last 16 years.

Becky is currently Director of Policy and Communications at East Sussex County Council. She joined East Sussex in 2000, having previously worked at Westminster City Council and two other London boroughs.

“I am delighted to be the recommended candidate,” said Becky. “Leading the County Council will be an enormous challenge, especially over the next few years. With the help of the Council's excellent staff, corporate management team and councillors, together with the support of partners across East Sussex, it is, however, a challenge that I am thoroughly looking forward to taking on.”

Leader of the County Council and Chairman of the Interview Panel, Peter Jones, said: “The Panel is delighted to recommend Becky Shaw as its chosen candidate. We had a really strong field. The County Council's very good performance and reputation as an authority, together with our location in one of the most beautiful parts of the country, attracted talented and experienced candidates.

“I believe that Becky will be an excellent Chief Executive. I am confident that she will lead us through the huge challenges we face as we aim to make significant savings and review every part of our business to make sure we are working to fulfil our promise to our residents.

“In welcoming Becky to the post, we will also be saying farewell to Cheryl Miller in the coming weeks. Cheryl has done so much for the people of East Sussex, and has been a recognised leader of her profession nationally, and we are all sad to be losing such a dedicated public servant.”

Three new specialist facilities to cater for young people with special needs now look set to be created in mainstream schools in East Sussex.

Following a positive consultation on the proposals, East Sussex County Council has started the process of creating three new facilities at Bexhill High School, Hailsham Community College and Ringmer Community College.

Two of the proposed new facilities, at the new Bexhill High School and Hailsham Community College, would cater for pupils with severe high functioning autism, or Asperger Syndrome. Similar specialist units at Manor Primary School in Uckfield and Heathfield Community College were opened in September last year.

The proposed unit at Bexhill High School would cater for up to 22 young people with autism from September. The facility at Hailsham would also be operational from September and would be for up to 10 young people with autism.

The third new facility, to be based at Ringmer Community College, would build on work already being done at the college supporting pupils with a range of communication and learning difficulties. It will cater for up to 21 young people aged 11–18 with special educational needs relating to significant communication and learning difficulties.

The college has been particularly successful in meeting the needs of young people with particular syndromes which affect their learning, for example Downs Syndrome.

Cllr Meg Stroude, the County Council's Lead Member for Children and Families said: “Promoting greater inclusion in our schools is really very important to us. Wherever possible we want to educate children with special needs within a mainstream school environment but it's obviously vitally important they also get the special support they need to learn.”

“In East Sussex, as across the country, there is a growing number of children with autism. Many of these children have the potential to achieve high academic standards but their severe autism can impact on their ability to take part in every day school life. They need specialist support in order to be able to achieve their full potential at school.”

The work already being done at Bexhill High School, Hailsham Community College and Ringmer Community College in supporting children with special needs meant they were ideal schools for these new specialist facilities, Cllr Stroude added.

The new facilities would support young people to access mainstream education as far as possible whilst ensuring that their particular needs are understood and met. The facilities would not replace special schools but instead would cater for young people who have special educational needs but have mainstream academic abilities.

Following the consultation on the plans which took place in the autumn, councillors have now agreed to publish the statutory notices needed before the facilities can be set up. The notices effectively provide interested parties with a six week period in which they can make representations in respect of the proposals.

For more information about our services, see Children with disabilities and special needs.

Students from across East Sussex will be presented with a prestigious national award for their outstanding contributions to dealing with bullying behaviour in their school and communities.

The Diana Anti-Bullying Award, named in honour of Princess Diana, recognises the work that young people of all ages do to combat the problem of bullying behaviour in and outside of schools.

Students from Priory School (Lewes), All Saints CE Junior School (Hastings), Helenswood School (Hastings), West St Leonards CP School, Bexhill High School, St Richard's Catholic College (Bexhill) and Chailey School will receive the award at a ceremony at Ashburnum Place, Battle, on Thursday 18 March.

They were put forward for the award by their schools to recognise the great work they do in working with their class mates to look at bullying and how it should be dealt with.

Cecy Kemp, headteacher at All Saints school put 18 of her students forward in recognition of their creative ideas in looking at friendship problems and how this can lead to bullying. The school has peer mediators, members of the student body who help their classmates to work through problems together,

Mrs Kemp said: “We are delighted at the ongoing recognition of proactive anti-bullying work at the school. Our peer mediators form part of a team response to reducing conflict and bullying and provide an essential service to all our pupils. The skills they have developed as mediators are lifelong skills that will hopefully impact positively on their secondary schools and their neighbourhoods of the future. The school is already seeking funding to allow new Year 5 pupils to be trained as mediators to carry on this vital work.”

John Khan, Head of the Anti-Bullying Team in East Sussex, said: “These awards provide us with a real opportunity to celebrate the work young people do to address bullying behaviour who are making a real difference to the lives of others.”

Maggie Turner, Chief Executive of the Diana Award, who will be presenting the awards says: “We are delighted to present the Diana Anti-Bullying Award to these young people for their commitment to tackle bullying in schools across East Sussex. The award help shines a light on the positive work young people do to help eradicate bullying. We know that young people carry this lifetime honour with pride and a sense of duty as active citizens for the rest of their lives.”

Councillor David Elkin, the County Council's Lead Member for Learning and School Effectiveness said: “Too often young people don't get the recognition they deserve. The Diana Award provides a real opportunity to focus on their achievements and spurs them on to do even more and everyone who receives the award is an outstanding young person”.

For more about the work the County Council's Anti-Bullying Team does visit our Bullying pages.

Young musicians will be in tune with nature when they embark on a series of special concerts in East Sussex later this month.

Members of the South Downs Youth Orchestra hope to be heralding the arrival of spring with the concerts as they stride out to various churches on the South Downs for a sponsored walk and play event.

Formed back in 1989 and part of the East Sussex Music Service, the orchestra will tour various Downland churches to give performances of music by Mozart, Handel, Beethoven, Schubert and Benjamin Britten – all in one day.

The young musicians aged 12 to 19 come from in and around the area now designated as the South Downs National Park and in their day-long tour of various churches they will also be visiting the oldest tree, the Long Man, and the smallest church.

The performances will culminate in a final concert in Alfriston. This concert will also include 'Three Downland Songs' composed by Dr Tony Biggin, Director of East Sussex Music Service. These have been written to celebrate the designation of the newly formed South Downs National Park.

Admission to the various concerts is free but members of the orchestra will be raising sponsorship funds from their walk and play which will be donated to church funds. Collections will also be held at each event.

The event will take place on Saturday 27 March and will see performances at the following churches:

• Folkington 10am (strings)
• Alciston 10.30am (woodwind and brass)
• Wilimington 11.30am (strings)
• Berwick 12.30pm (woodwind and brass)
• Lullington 2pm (strings)
• Alfriston 3pm (full orchestra).

Councillor John Barnes, Chairman of the Music Service Management Committee said: “This is a really imaginative idea. It will allow the young musicians to make music in some glorious settings and give the people of East Sussex a chance to enjoy their work in the churches of which we are so proud. I hope people will be generous in their sponsorship and come in their hundreds to celebrate a musical coming of spring.”

The orchestra is part of the East Sussex Music Service, a County Council service which provides music tuition and teaching alongside a whole host of concert groups, choirs, wind bands and ensembles.

Further information

The young musicians of South Downs Youth Orchestra come from in and around the area now designated as the South Downs National Park. The orchestra was formed back in 1989 as part of East Sussex Music Service, and are proud to live in the locality of this great natural landscape. Members are aged between 12 and 19 and attend local schools and colleges across the region. They rehearse each Friday evening in Lewes and give concerts across East Sussex and beyond. They have played at prestigious venues such as the Royal Albert Hall and St John's Smith‘s Square in London, and more locally at Glyndebourne Opera House, The Brighton Centre, the Congress Theatre in Eastbourne, the Assembly Halls in Tunbridge Wells, and the Town Hall in Lewes. In 2007 they travelled to Ireland giving successful concerts in Cork, Killarney and Lismore.

The orchestra performs a wide range of classical music including overtures, symphonies and concertos. They have also premiered a number of newly commissioned works specially written for them. In June this year they are performing at Lewes Town Hall, playing Beethoven's EgmontOverture, the famous Grieg Piano Concerto, and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No 6 in B minor 'The Pathetique'.

The strings of the orchestra will perform some of the Simple Symphony by Benjamin Britten, and Percy Grainger's Shepherd's Hey and Molly on the Shore. They will be walking between Folkington, Wilmington and Lullington churches, giving short concerts in each church. They then walk on to give a final concert in Alfriston. The journey for the Woodwinds and Brass will take them from Alciston to Berwick, and then on to join up with the string players in Alfriston. Their concerts will include music by Mozart and Handel.

The final concert at Alfriston Parish Church will include some of the music played in the earlier concerts, and also a movement from Schubert's Unfinished Symphony.

Entry to all the concerts is free, with a collection towards church funds at the end of each concert. The young musicians will also be getting family and friends to sponsor them for the walking. Again, the money raised will go towards church funds.

Councils in East Sussex have taken a significant step towards meeting the Government target of half of all household waste being recycled by 2020.

At the Cabinet meeting on 9 March, Members agreed to launch a new approach to how financial incentives for recycling are paid to districts and boroughs. This will provide them with further incentives to increase recycling rates and ultimately mean less of our waste goes to landfill.

All five district and borough councils have already or will soon be seeking approval from their own respective cabinets to sign up to the new arrangements and it is hoped that all five will be in a position to start the new scheme by 1 April 2010.

The County Council Cabinet heard the new approach is affordable within existing resources and will allow an increase in kerbside recycling up to 50% in the future.

Council Leader Peter Jones said: "This is yet another great example of partnership working that will help all local authorities in East Sussex to manage household waste more sustainably and efficiently.

"We need to see our household waste as a resource. This is another step to reducing our reliance on landfill and will save the council tax payer money.

"The important message for our residents is to keep recycling. We all need to play our part to reduce, reuse and recycle, and best of all it doesn't take a lot of effort. There are loads of ways we can do that, whether it's by composting our food waste, reusing plastic carrier bags or making smarter choices about what we buy when we go shopping."

For more information about how waste is dealt with see our Rubbish and recycling section.

Helping young people with special needs and disabilities face the challenges of growing up will be the focus of a free event later this month.

The information event has been organised by East Sussex County Council's Parentlink service and will bring together under one roof a host of information from a wide range of different groups and organisations.

Councillor Meg Stroude, the County Council's Lead Member for Children and Families said: “There can be big challenges for young people and their families as they grow older, more independent and approach adulthood. The challenges for families where the young person has additional needs or disabilities can be even greater.

“The fact is there is a huge range of support available for families, but knowing where to turn can be a problem. We hope at this event to bring together as many organisations as possible so we can create a one-stop shop of information and support.”

The drop-in event, for all parents across the county, is being held at the Sovereign Harbour Yacht Club in Eastbourne on Wednesday, 24 March from 1pm to 5pm. There will be a wide range of information covering such issues as education, training and employment options, health support services, leisure and social opportunities, and housing and independent living advice.

At the event there will be an opportunity to chat to professionals, to ask for advice, and to take in displays by various groups and support services, both from within the County Council and a range of external organisations. On hand there will also be various experts to help parents relax, for example with an Indian head massage.

Cllr Stroude added: “This is the third event of this kind we've arranged and they've always proved extremely popular and useful. This time the focus will be primarily on the issues that arise for young people with special needs growing up and approaching adulthood because that's what parents have told us will be most useful.”

To find out more about this free event call Parentlink on 01273 481279 or email: parentlink@eastsussex.gov.uk

Carers in East Sussex attended a conference in Hastings yesterday looking at how new plans to support them can be turned into action.

The conference, at Horntye Park Sports Complex in Bohemia Road, was attended by carers throughout the county. It followed the launch of a new five-year joint plan for carers' by the Council and NHS on Carers Rights Day last year (4 December 2009) after extensive consultation.

The main findings showed that carers wanted respite, support and to be treated with respect as equal partners in care.

At the conference carers discussed the way ahead with Councillor Bill Bentley, the County Council Lead Member for Adult Social Care and heard from Charles Everett, the Chair of NHS Hastings & Rother, Marian Barnes, Professor of Social Policy at the University of Brighton and Keith Hinkley, the Council's Director of Adult Social Care.

The outcome was a commitment to set up action groups to look at ways of providing respite and better support for carers to look after their own health. Groups will also be set up to also look at the best ways to provide advice and information and how support can be given to carers if they want to find work.

Progress will be reported back to a county-wide Carers Partnership Board on a regular basis. and Care for the Carers, a local voluntary organisation, will be holding a Carers Forum three times a year in different parts of East Sussex, where carers will have an opportunity to contribute further.

Councillor Bill Bentley said after the conference:

"This has been a really successful conference and I would like to thank everyone who attended but particularly carers who took time out from the busy schedules. We will now put the plans into action. We want to help carers look after themselves and provide them with the support they need in caring for other people. The work of carers in the community is essential but they can only do it if they get the respite, support and respect that they need. We are now taking this forward with the NHS and the voluntary sector and carers themselves to ensure that we to make a positive difference to the lives of those that care for other people".

Charles Everett, chair of NHS Hastings & Rother, said:

"People who are caring for others deserve every support, for example, by helping make sure they get a break and have time to focus on their own health needs and futures. The conference has helped develop ways of achieving this".

For further information on support for carers, and details of the East Sussex Joint Commissioning Strategy for Carers' Services 2010–2015, go to our page on Improving support for carers.

Businesses in East Sussex could find it easier to access loans thanks to an innovative multi-million pound partnership between East Sussex County Council and NatWest.

The County Council has agreed to deposit an additional £20 million pounds of its normal cash flow in NatWest to enable the bank to boost lending opportunities for local businesses as the county starts to climb out of recession.

The additional deposit will be subject to the same security as the Council's other existing deposits with NatWest and other banks but it enables the bank to increase the amount of money available specifically for lending to East Sussex firms.

Council Leader Peter Jones says the decision is a 'win-win' as it does not expose the Council and its taxpayers to any additional risk but is another action that the County Council is taking to help local firms to battle through the current hard economic times.

“This is a fantastic scheme that could potentially help many of our firms and help to boost the local economy,” said Councillor Jones. “It is also a great example of the County Council working with one of its own partners, in this case its own banker, to assist the local community.

“The scheme is a winner not only for businesses but also for the Council and local taxpayers. I hope that this extra funding will help many East Sussex businesses to access funds that could help them through their current economic difficulties. And because this money is part of our normal cash deposits, and subject to our normal bank security requirements, there is no additional risk to the Council or the council taxpayers.”

Robert Clare, Regional Director of Business and Commercial Banking at NatWest in Sussex commented: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with East Sussex County Council assisting local businesses through their current economic difficulties. We are working hard to help our customers access the correct finance solutions for their needs and this is a great example of how we can team up with a reputable body to achieve this.

“This does not represent any additional risk for the County Council and the arrangement supports NatWest's commitment to lend to businesses in the county.”

Councillor Jones says that the new bank arrangement is part of the Council's broader strategy to fight the impacts of the recession. He said: “Last year, we agreed a separate £1m fighting fund that is being used for a number of projects such as employment support, job creation and access to fair credit. Recently, we topped up that recession fund with an additional £250,000 and we'll continue to look at ways that we can help our residents and businesses to help themselves out of this recession.”

Businesses interested in finding more information about the project should contact Robert Clare, Regional Director of Business and Commercial Banking at NatWest on 07713 988440.

The County Council is encouraging drivers to take extra care this spring and watch out near deer warning signs.

There tend to be more deer running across roads around March as food is scarce and they need to go further to look for it. This, combined with the explosion in the deer population in recent years, has lead to an increase in the number of deer and vehicle collisions.

Every year, across the UK, hundreds of traffic collisions take place which injure deer, cause damage to vehicles and can even endanger people's lives. There are a significant number of collisions with deer on the roads in East Sussex, particularly in the Ashdown Forest area where there have been more than 300 collisions with deer each year, for the past three years.

Drivers need to be aware of deer and take extra care during this time. When approaching a deer warning sign, drivers should:

• slow down
• be prepared to stop
• remember, more deer may follow the first one you see
• use your hazard warning lights if you do stop
• do not approach an injured deer – it could be dangerous. Call Sussex Police on 0845 60 70 999.

Councillor Matthew Lock, Lead Member for Transport and Environment said, "Spring is one of the times of year when deer are more likely to be found on the road and so we are asking drivers to take extra care when approaching warning signs and be ‘deer aware'. The best way to ensure the safety of traffic and pedestrians, while keeping the suffering of injured animals to a minimum is to drive carefully and avoid such collisions happening."

For more information please visit our Deer road accidents page.

Further information

The times of most deer movement over the year are in spring, when food is scarce, and in autumn during the rut.

The number of deer casualties on East Sussex roads has trebled since 2002 to more than 300 a year.

To ensure the safety of drivers and walkers, and reduce the suffering of injured animals, East Sussex County Council has set up a deer warden scheme in partnership with Sussex Police and other organisations such as the Deer Initiative and the Conservators of Ashdown Forest.

The newly appointed East Sussex Youth Cabinet found their feet last month as they settled into their new roles with a weekend of team building.

The Youth Cabinet is a collection of 18 young people elected by their peers to represent young people in the county. They campaign on issues such as transport, drugs, the environment, sexual health, bullying and exams. Three members of the cabinet also represent the county at a national level in the UK Youth Parliament.

The cabinet changes every two years and the new cabinet, elected in December, are now ready to start work.

Their first official assignment was a residential weekend for all members which gave them a chance to meet each other, discuss the hot topics they want to focus on and plan for their time as a cabinet. It was also a chance to develop their understanding of the decision-making processes of the County Council.

They will be specifically looking at transport and environment as their two hot topics during their term of office.

As well as the serious campaigning business the weekend included quizzes, ice-breakers and team-building activities including building rafts.

Councillor Meg Stroude, East Sussex County Council's Lead Member for Children and Families, said: “This cabinet has been chosen by their peers to give all young people in the county a voice. In East Sussex we don't want to just be playing lip service to listening to young people, we really want to know what they think – and act upon that. This weekend was a chance for the newly appointed team to get together and thrash out some really important issues.”

East Sussex County Council's participation manager Bev Carter said: “They are energised and committed and look forward to being the representative and authoritative voice of young people in East Sussex for the next two years.”

For more about the Youth Cabinet visit the Connexions 360 – East Sussex Youth Cabinet.