WBC News - Autumn 2012

Autumn 2012

Wokingham Borough

NEWS Your magazine from Wokingham Borough Council

In this issue...

Health service changes page 12

des ste u l c In wa s a stm tion i r h C ollec c ar d n e cal

Let’s talk rubbish and recycling page 15-18

www.wokingham.gov.uk

Safer Christmas page 28

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Keeping in touch with us Phone: (0118) 974 6000 Fax: (0118) 978 9078 Email: wokinghamdirect@wokingham.gov.uk Text/SMS message: 07786 200 974 Website including webchat: www.wokingham.gov.uk

Welcome

Visit us Monday to Friday between 8.30am and 5pm at the Civic Offices, Shute End, Wokingham RG40 1BN. Social networking sites:

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Email and text updates – Register at: www.wokingham.gov.uk/register Information kiosks – Available at Woodley and Lower Earley libraries and the Civic Offices.

Looking Local – Access local information and services using your digital television remote control. www.wokingham.gov.uk/lookinglocal

We’d like to hear what you think of Wokingham Borough News, and in particular if you would like to contribute to future editions.

Please also give your views on our social networking sites and what else you would like to use them for – send us a message on Facebook or an email to: communications@wokingham.gov.uk Editorial: Communications Team at Wokingham Borough Council.

Print: Printed by Herald Graphics on Horizon Offset 80gsm FSCM. Cost: 14p per person/ 28p per copy.

Last month (October), I was delighted to see three of our towns and villages nationally recognised as great places to raise a family.

Wokingham topped a national study commissioned by Family Investments after the financial firm examined factors including exam results, quality of schools, childcare provision, affordability of living and low crime levels. Coming a close second in the study was Woodley, whilst Twyford also made the top 20 (placed 17th). In particular, Woodley residents said this recognition is down to it’s vibrant community spirit.

Despite being the worst funded unitary authority in the country, we have excellent schools, low crime rates and access to high quality facilities like our libraries and country parks. Many of these things you can read more about in this magazine.

Employment rates are high, thanks to a strong and vibrant local economy with good transport links. Our plans for the development of new homes, and a regenerated town centre for Wokingham will bring further improvements to our Borough (see page 11) – Wokingham is just the start and is the stepping stone for the rest of the Borough. It's great to see

the quality of our towns recognised in this way. We are excited about our future and truly believe that together we can make Wokingham Borough an even better place to live.

The summer saw many of us swept along with Olympic fever and it was great to meet many local people who played their part in making it a success (page 8). And, this winter we’ll be planting 60 mature oaks in conjunction with Wokingham District Veteran Tree Association to mark the Queen’s Jubilee (page 6).

Of course there is much more to read about. You will find information on what we’re doing to address pressures for primary school places (page 4 and 5) as well as letting you know more about changes coming to the health service (page 12 and 13).

Please get in touch if you have any ideas how we can improve things for you. Drop me an email at: david.lee@wokingham.gov.uk Cllr David Lee Leader

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Celebrating our London 2012 stars Local athletes, torchbearers, Games Makers, and young ambassadors were all stars during the Olympic and Paralympic Games this year.

To celebrate their achievements and hard work we held a special civic reception in their honour, in partnership with Wokingham Town Council.

Rowing Gold medallist Anna Watkins was joined by other local athletes including Paralympian Simon Goodall and GB Team Manager Dawn Newbury, torchbearers and Games Makers.

Young ambassadors from local secondary schools were also at the event following their success at the Berkshire Schools Games.

To support future champions, we are doubling our sports sponsorship funding for the next three years, from £3,500 to £7,000.

These grants help young people aged under 18, who live in the Borough and play to at least county level in their chosen sport.

More information (0118) 974 6264 sportsdevelopment@wokingham.gov.uk www.wokingham.gov.uk/sports/sportfunding Turn to page 8 to hear from our very own London 2012 golden girls.

Game, set and match

In this edition

President of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) Peter Bretherton headed to Shinfield in September to officially open the new facilities at Shinfield Tennis Club.

Primary school place review. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/5 Help for younger people with dementia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

We’ve joined forces with the LTA, Sport England and Shinfield Parish Council to fund the new facilities including four new floodlit courts and a clubhouse.

The golden girls . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Shinfield Tennis Club is Clubmark accredited – a Sport England accreditation programme that recognises clubs which deliver quality tennis programmes in line with best practice. The club also has more than 220 members and continues to grow and boasts more than 100 juniors on the coaching programme, thanks to the numerous school and community links that are in place.

More information www.shinfieldtennisclub.co.uk

(0118) 979 7855

Changes to health services. . 12/13 Let’s talk rubbish and recycling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15–18 Community forums . . . . . . . . . 20 Putting customers first. . . 22/23 Job opportunities and employment support . . . . . . . 25 Safer Christmas . . . . . . . . . 28/29 What’s on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

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School places how you want them There’s been lots of talk and media coverage about our Primary School Places Review. What exactly does this mean for Wokingham Borough’s children and parents?

Why are we doing this?

School places in the Wokingham Borough are under increasing pressure from rising birth rates, which are both a local and a national problem.

Like many local authorities across the country, we must create more primary school places, quickly and effectively, taking tough decisions and thinking creatively.

We need to provide 150 additional primary school places in the Borough, ready for the next academic year 2013/14, with further places required for the following three years.

Deciding where and how we create these additional places is a major decision with effects that will last decades. That is why it is so crucial that we get it right for the schools, the children, their parents and the schools’ surrounding communities.

We adopted a Primary Education Strategy at the end of October to ensure provision for September 2013. This strategy sets out exactly how we will secure these additional primary school places from now until 2016.

We embarked on the review in August to allow enough time for a full and thorough consultation to be carried out. It was our goal to ensure that as many parents, residents and interested parties as possible were able to take part – their feedback has shaped and informed our new strategy.

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What have we been doing?

More than 900 residents took the time to attend one of the many public engagement meetings we organised during the review and a further 300 commented via our website consultation.

In addition we talked directly to schools, town and parish councils and community groups; listening to and considering everyone’s views and concerns.

At the start of the review we identified ‘hotspot’ areas in the Borough suffering the greatest pressure on school places: • The North (Twyford and Charvil) • Wokingham Town (Wokingham Town West, Woosehill and Winnersh) • The South West (Shinfield, Spencers Wood and Swallowfield) In each of these areas we presented options to consider including brand new schools already identified in the Strategic Development Locations (SDLs); expanding existing schools by building new accommodation on nearby sites (split schools); and Free Schools.

What happens next?

For each area, different options were developed and proposed for consideration, reflecting specific local issues such as transport, availability of sites and existing educational provision. There was no one simple solution for all.

We will start consultation on any changes to our admissions arrangements for 2014/15 for community and voluntary controlled schools towards the end of 2012.

During the next few months we will be deciding the final sites for the additional places, as well as how they will be run and by whom.

More information You can keep up to date with this via our website: www.wokingham.gov.uk/schoolplacesreview or Facebook page Wokingham Borough Schools

Admissions advice We would like to thank all those who took the time to take part in this review. Many of the options, including potential sites, that were initially put forward have been altered or put aside thanks to the active input of the Borough’s residents.

(0118) 974 6245 / (0118) 974 6225 schooladmissions@wokingham.gov.uk www.wokingham.gov.uk/schools/admissions

There will also be more opportunities to talk about plans as they develop. There will be further consultations such as public events, social media, and online surveys during the coming months.

Executive view

What you told us . . .

“Wokingham Borough’s schools are renowned throughout the country, both for their academic prowess and for the rich childhood experience that every pupil takes with them on their journey in life.

You told us that when choosing a school you wanted a consistent minimum standard of quality of teaching and Ofsted rating. The availability of early years and wrap-around care are also important.

Some parents have told us they would prefer to walk their children to school. We hope to address this in our new strategy.

Other parents say they are concerned that siblings living outside catchment areas are not given high enough priority in admissions policy. This issue is particularly complex and we are carrying out further work to analyse the potential impact of any changes in this regard.

Cllr Charlotte Haitham Taylor, Executive Member for Children’s Services

“An independent survey in October 2012 named Wokingham and Woodley as the nation’s two top places in which to raise a family.

Twyford also appeared in the top 20 – an amazing result and also a reminder that we need to continue building upon our unique strengths.”

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60 new oak trees coming soon!

You may recall we’ve teamed up with Wokingham District Veteran Tree Association (WDVTA) to plant 60 English oak trees across the Borough to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

Many of you got in touch with suggestions for sites and more than 50 requests were put forward for consideration by our Trees and Landscape Team and the WDVTA. And following careful assessment of each site, the trees will be planted on 40 sites within the Wokingham Borough, including public open spaces, churchyards, roadside verges and school grounds.

We bought trees from a nursery back in June and they have been making good progress ever since. The trees are aged between five and seven-years-old and will be almost four-metres tall when many of them are planted during National Tree Week (November 24 to December 2).

Each tree (or group of trees) will have a commemorative plaque to display and will be recorded in the Woodland Trust’s Royal Record.

Barbara Stagles from WDVTA said: “WDVTA members are delighted that so many lovely sites across the Borough have been found where these young oaks will have plenty of room to grow to their full glory. These trees should give pleasure to the people of Wokingham Borough for decades, perhaps even centuries, to come.

Update on Eustace Crescent The regeneration of Eustace Crescent in Wokingham is continuing and so far we’ve successfully re-housed nearly half of the residents in Borough Council flats and maisonettes.

For a number of years residents have raised concerns with us about the general condition of communal areas and state of repairs to properties and surrounding areas. And following a consultation last year on its future, residents overwhelmingly supported plans to demolish the blocks.

Once all properties are vacant, demolition of the blocks will begin and we’re working hard to ensure all residents are rehoused by next October (2013).

Work is going on behind the scenes to develop a range of regeneration options. We’re currently carrying out a feasibility study to look at how the site can be used in the future and we will know later this year what the options are. We’ll update you further in the next edition of Wokingham Borough News.

Trees at the nursery prior to being delivered to us

“They will help remind everyone of the Borough’s history as part of Windsor Forest and replace many of the old oaks that are declining. We expect that, towards the end of this year, planting ceremonies will be organised at the selected sites by different community groups and we plan to keep photos and records of all these events.”

For up-to-date information about the tree planting and ceremonies please visit the association’s website.

More information: www.wdvta.org.uk

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Help for younger people with dementia In the UK there’s an estimated 18,000 people aged under 65 with dementia. That’s about one in every thousand people. In Berkshire alone almost 500 people and their families could be suffering from dementia with limited support.

The needs of younger people with dementia and their families differ from those over 65. For example, they are more likely to: • Still be working or have partners who still work • Have dependent children or other family members • Have financial commitments like mortgages, pensions and loans • Be more active with different interests to older people with dementia • Have more acute forms of dementia that progress quicker or are rarer The charity YPWD (Young People with Dementia) aims to work closely with local health, community and care services to help provide community support workers with specialist training, run support groups, provide education and social evenings, and support therapeutic projects such as gardening, walking and theatre trips.

More information: www.ypwd.info

Help shape your Ambulance service We caught up with Gary Clark, who told us about his role as a Public Governor in the newly formed South Central Ambulance Foundation NHS Trust. Gary is also a Community Responder in Swallowfield.

What is a Foundation Trust?

Foundation Trusts are part of the NHS, have thousands of members and a Council of Governors forming an integral part of the governance structure.

NHS Foundation Trusts: • Are free from direct central government control and can decide how to improve services • Retain surpluses they generate to invest in new services, and are able to borrow money to support these investments

Speaking up for yourself Just Advocacy is our new adults’ advocacy service. The service is available to any adult who may find it hard to speak up for themselves because they have a disability or illness. It is provided free of charge.

The role of an advocate is to support and enable people to have their voices heard. This might be in relation to getting services from us or things like transport issues. However, the service doesn’t cover NHS services as these have their own advocacy provision.

Jennifer Kelsey, Chief Executive of Just Advocacy, said: “The Just Advocacy Team is looking forward to working with people in Wokingham and the surrounding areas. We have already begun making contacts in the area and if you would like to know more about our service, or if you belong to a group and would like us to come and give a brief description of our work, please contact us.”

• Are accountable to their local communities This means they can shape our ambulance service for local needs and priorities.

As a public governor, I am here to listen to your views and take them forward to the Board so your voices are heard in shaping the Trust. The Foundation Trust is accountable to all key stakeholders and that most definitely includes you – the public.

Contact: We are keen to hear your views and questions regarding the service.

We can be contacted via: FAO Company Secretary, South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, 7-8 Talisman Business Centre, Talisman Road, Bicester, Oxfordshire, OX26 6HR. Please put the Governor’s name in the correspondence to ensure a timely response. You can also email me directly at gary.scasft@gmail.com Foundation Trusts need members why not join?

More information:

More information:

(01276) 28 515 staff@justadvocacy.org.uk txt: 07966 278404

www.southcentralambulance.nhs.uk/foundationtrust/becomeamember.ashx

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Anna joins local Games Makers at our celebration event

The golden girls We talk to rowing Gold medallist Anna Watkins from Wokingham, as well as Helene Raynsford from Woodley; London 2012 LOCOG member and Beijing Paralympic Gold medallist.

Anna . . .

Helene . . .

“At school I didn’t have talent in a particular sport and played netball and hockey. When I started at university I wanted to try something new. I took up rowing socially, and didn’t realise how suited I’d be to it. In my third year I started to train properly, found a club, and fitted it all in around my studies.

“I took a three-month secondment this summer as a member of LOCOG, helping to run the Games regatta at Dorney Lake.

“Since 2005 I’ve been training full-time, doing 15 sessions a week, two or three times a day – plus one on Sunday. I spend a lot of time on the water but also use rowing machines and weights. My rowing partner Katherine [Grainger] and I have worked out that we’ve taken part in 3,000 sessions, and rowed 10,000 miles – that’s nearly the same distance from London to Rio! “The atmosphere at Dorney Lake this summer was stupendous.

We’d been slightly worried the home crowd might be a distraction. However, the cheering was wonderful!

“Nothing compares to standing on the podium. I was overwhelmed. I kept thinking I was dreaming and would wake up to find it was 6am and time to go out on my practice row.

Katherine pinched me a couple of times so I knew it was real.”

“When I was an athlete I had been totally focused on taking part and racing.

Like all athletes, we had no comprehension of what went on behind-the-scenes at the events.

“So it was a real eye-opener to be involved in the planning – to see how every aspect and every detail was carefully looked at.

Everything from working with the builders on site – I became very fond of my hard hat – to making sure the correct mobility aids were ready at the podiums for the winning athletes.

“It was really nice to have the time to catch up with the athletes and their team managers I had known when I was competing.

“And I made a brand new friend; a guide dog called Briggs who would sit under my desk every day while his owner was training/competing.”

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Superfast broadband campaign at the click of a button If you’d like superfast internet broadband in Wokingham Borough, simply register your support with a click of a button.

A new campaign has been launched to persuade service internet providers to invest in superfast broadband across the Borough.

Statistics show that 5,200 homes and businesses across the Borough’s rural areas still don’t have superfast broadband or experience very slow internet speeds.

The technology that makes surfing the web so much more efficient and productive is taken for granted by most people in urban areas, but internet service providers still fall short by failing to install it in rural locations.

Households increasingly have more than one device connected to the internet. With laptops, iPads, and smart phones all wanting bandwidth at the same time, faster broadband is now essential.

WBC is passionate about this campaign. To support it, residents and businesses are being asked to go to: www.superfastberkshire.org.uk and ‘register’ – without any commitment to sign up – that they want superfast broadband to be available for all.

Economic Development Officer Andy Nicholls said: “Businesses and residents have been demanding better broadband for some time, which is why we are joint funding this project with local authorities across Berkshire and central government.

“The benefits impact positively across the whole of our economy – whether this is through greater scope for home-working, which reduces pressure on the transport network and lowers carbon emissions, or better delivery of public services – such as remote education services.”

The government has allocated Berkshire £1.43million to help roll-out the new technology needed for superfast broadband.

The Borough Council and the other Berkshire unitary authorities are match-funding this amount.

The missing investment is from internet providers who need to upgrade local telecoms cabinets with fibre optic connections so that the faster broadband will work.

Anyone keen to be a parish or village digital champion for the cause should contact us.

More information: (0118) 974 6018

Water mains upgrade latest . . .

South East Water thanks everyone in Wokingham for their patience and co-operation while work continues to upgrade 7.1km of water mains in the town.

Construction began in July and the £2million programme is due to finish in the spring.

As well as installing new pipes to reduce the number of bursts on Wokingham’s network, the company is also upsizing many of its water mains to cope with demand as the population of the town increases.

The company apologises for any disruption but hopes the community understands the long term benefits this scheme will deliver.

More Information:

www.southeastwater.co.uk/wokingham 24 hour leak line – 0333 000 3330

andrew.nicholls@wokingham.gov.uk

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Council tax benefit is changing Council tax benefit is currently a national means-tested benefit administered by local councils. From April, this won’t be the case – it will be down to us to have our own council tax reduction scheme.

Government is also changing funding arrangements for covering the costs of the tax reductions that are granted. It will result in us losing up to £600,000 in grant each year, and we will award around £5million in council tax benefit in 2012/13 helping around 5,500 households.

Executive view Cllr Anthony Pollock, Executive Member for Finance “There needs to be balance for all our residents. We can’t afford to absorb this cost but we have to find an affordable system so we do not have to increase council tax charges for all residents. We feel that the right way to cover this grant loss is to make some changes to the current rules in setting a local scheme as well as making changes to empty property charges.”

Supporting with confidence Back in the summer, the first care providers in Wokingham Borough became accredited to the Support with Confidence Scheme.

The scheme aims to provide public confidence when seeking the services of a new care and support provider including personal care and other domestic help such as home maintenance or gardening services. Support with Confidence also gives assurance that the provider they have chosen has undergone the appropriate training and has had all the relevant background checks.

Why not watch our YouTube video at: http://youtu.be/KKpaZM5ATBQ More information supportwithconfidence@westberks.gov.uk (01635) 519 930 www.supportwithconfidence.co.uk

We’ve been working hard to create a new scheme. Pensioners are fully protected from these changes and won’t see any difference in the way that any help is calculated. By making these changes we are protecting our most vulnerable.

For all other claimants there will be some changes that may see some reductions in the amount of help given. These changes are designed to save around 20 per cent of the £600,000 grant loss each year. At the same time we will make some changes to council tax charges for empty properties. This would make up the balance of savings (80 per cent) required to cover the full £600,000.

We’ve consulted throughout the summer and Council will consider proposals on a local council tax reduction scheme later this year.

For updates, please visit the website between now and April 2013.

More information (0118) 974 6000 www.wokingham.gov.uk/taxconsultation

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Local people speak Thanks to everyone who came along to the Wokingham regeneration consultation event held on Elms Field in July.

Peach Place Plaza

Around 1,200 people took the time to see our latest plans and many of you welcomed the need for investment and redevelopment to secure the town’s long term future. Whilst concerns remain over some elements of the plans around Elms Field and the inclusion of a foodstore, proposals for the refurbishment of Peach Place and the further redevelopment to create a new public plaza and a more pleasant environment were widely supported.

So what’s been happening in recent months?

This area would be a retail area with cafes facing onto the plaza. It would be an intimate square, with landscaping at the edges, and buildings with mixtures of height and render and brickwork.

Elms Field Following consultations, we’ve been looking at design options for Elms Field. The open space area is 100metres wide and would be framed with residential and retail units including a foodstore.

Under proposals, the foodstore’s café would face onto the open space, overlooking a play area, events area, fountains and community meadow. Of course, all our plans are subject to planning approval and you will have the opportunity to comment during the statutory consultation.

Some 113 homes, a mixture of apartments and houses, would be built on the site and each of these would fit in with the character of the town centre.

At the time of going to press, we were busy putting the finishing touches to the full scheme planning applications, including Peach Place Plaza and Elms Field and waiting to hear whether planning permission has been granted for the Peach Place refurbishment.

Things are moving at pace, so check out our website for all the latest developments on planning applications and much, much more!

More information (0118) 974 6000 www.wokinghamregeneration.co.uk info@wokinghamregeneration.co.uk Follow us on twitter: @wokinghamregen

Executive view Cllr Alistair Corrie, Executive Member for Regeneration and Affordable Housing “It was good to see so many people saying the scheme responds effectively to Wokingham’s character as a market town and support the drive for improved shopping facilities and a better use of the open space.

It’s an exciting time for Wokingham as we begin to deliver this ambitious project.”

Elms Field Residential

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Changes to he Under new legislation changes will affect you.

From April 2013, we will have a leading role in delivering local health services, with significant new responsibilities.

These include: • Establishing a Health and Wellbeing Board as a committee of the Council. The Board and its member will be responsible for leading on the improvement of health across the Borough and for identifying and reducing inequalities in health within the population • Taking on responsibility for public health services • Creating a local HealthWatch organisation to help residents influence and shape the planning of services and support them in accessing and making choices about their care • Working with the GP-led Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to bring about better health care in the Wokingham Borough.

Stephen Madgwick, Clinical Lead, Wokingham CCG “We are delighted to be working with the Borough Council and public health in our common effort to help people in the Borough live healthy and fulfilled lives.”

Executive view Cllr Julian McGhee-Sumner, Executive Member for Health and Wellbeing “For many years we’ve worked in partnership across health and social care and with our new responsbilities for public health it will strengthen these existing relationships to help us improve health inequalities within the Borough. One of the underpinning values in our vision is to improve the health, wellbeing and quality of lives and public health services will be crucial to achieve this.”

Dignity in Care Campaign The Dignity in Care Campaign aims to put dignity and respect at the heart of adult care services, by: • Raising awareness of dignity in care • Inspiring local people to take action • Sharing good practice and give impetus to positive innovation • Transforming services by supporting people and organisations in providing dignified services • Recognising those people who make a difference and go that extra mile We’ve supported the national campaign since 2006 and are in the process of starting a local campaign. We’ll update you more in the next edition of Wokingham Borough News.

More information: www.dignityincare.org.uk

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alth services are coming to the NHS which

Keeping you healthy In the summer edition of Wokingham Borough News we told you more about Clinical Commissioning Groups, which will see local GPs being responsible for buying and paying for health services in the Wokingham Borough from April.

There’s also a change coming to public health and we have a key role to play.

to public health such as social care, housing, parks and open spaces, exercise, healthy eating and campaigns around antismoking, obesity and responsible drinking. The transfer of NHS public health to councils will enable greater co-ordination of all these services.

We will establish our own Public Health Teams to focus on four key areas: • Improving the wider determinants of health

Under the Health and Social Care Act 2012, Public Health functions, resources and commissioning responsibilities will move from the NHS into the Borough Council from April. At a national level this will be supported by Public Health England.

It will require us to do business differently. We are ideally placed to lead public health services because of our close links to our communities and ability to influence a range of factors which affect health, such as housing and social care.

• Health improvement • Health protection • Healthcare, public health and preventing premature deaths To lead this work a Strategic Director of Public Health (SDPH) for Berkshire will be appointed jointly by the six Berkshire unitary authorities. The SDPH, together with their core team, will be hosted by Bracknell Forest Borough Council. This process is underway and is anticipated to be completed during early 2013.

A small number of NHS staff will transfer to the Borough Council.

In Wokingham Borough, we’ve already set up a shadow Health and Wellbeing Board. Key leaders from health and social care are on the board which will improve health and wellbeing of the local population and tackle health inequalities.

You may wonder what public health is. In simplistic terms it’s about services and initiatives to prevent people from getting ill rather than treating sickness.

Watch out for more details on NHS changes in the next edition of Wokingham Borough News and on our website.

We already provide and promote a range of services that relate

More information: www.wokingham.gov.uk

Keeping our children safe Keeping children safe in the Wokingham Borough is everyone’s business – including yours.

If you have concerns about whether a child or young person is not being properly cared for or you are worried they may be physically, emotionally or sexually abused, or neglected, get in touch with our Referral and Assessment Team. Children and their parents may need help urgently.

If you do not feel comfortable about telling us, or you are not sure if you are right, you can also speak to a police officer, teacher, health visitor, doctor or the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000. The most important thing is to tell someone who can help.

If you believe a child is in immediate danger you should call the police on 999.

More information (0118) 908 8002 R&AT@wokingham.gov.uk www.wokingham.gov.uk/family/childsafeguarding

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Investing in quality education We are investing £12million in our school buildings this year to create the best quality learning environments for pupils and staff.

Designs for a £6million building programme at The Bulmershe School in Woodley are being drawn up and a feasibility study carried out. It’s hoped the planning application will be submitted next spring.

The building programme includes priority work on some existing buildings, a refurbished post-16 learning centre, a re-modelled library and information centre, and a separate dining facility.

The Coombes CE Primary School in Arborfield started this autumn with a £2million revamp including new classrooms, a junior library, a dedicated room for the extended services of the breakfast club and after-school club, a staff and training room, and administration area.

Some 20 schools across the Borough have had solar PV panels installed on their roofs which will not only save energy bills – allowing the money to be used elsewhere in school – but assist learning about sustainable energies in the National Curriculum.

A new science block is being built at St Crispin’s in Wokingham and projects continue next year at The Colleton in Twyford and Hawkedon in Lower Earley.

Works have also recently finished at Bearwood and St Nicholas CE primary schools.

Changing lives for the better • Children are missing school

There are more than 100 families in the Borough experiencing one or more of these issues. Having to juggle all these extra burdens can make it very hard for these families to start resolving their own problems.

• Young people are committing crime

Our programme puts each family first. We plan to:

• Family members are involved in anti-social behaviour

• Work with families to help them make permanent improvements in their lives

Family First is a special programme helping local families where: • No adult in the family is working

• Engage 100 plus families over three years so they can make the positive changes so important to them • Transform the way we work with families with multiple problems to focus on restorative principles and practices • Make our services better at meeting the needs of local families who face multiple problems, such as providing help at an earlier stage • Change the way we work in partnership with other organisations and agencies in the Borough to become better at supporting families to resolve problems before they escalate More information (0118) 974 6000 andrea.king@wokingham.gov.uk

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Let’s talk rubbish and recycling

Increase in recycling by 24 per cent, reduction in landfill by 22 per cent

Include Christm s a collect s ion details

Six months in and we’re already seeing the benefits of the waste and recycling scheme compared to this time last year. With kerbside recycling increasing by over 1,000 tonnes over the first six months – equivalent to nearly 70 double-decker buses, and the amount of landfill waste collected at kerbside reduced by over 3,000 tonnes. That’s equivalent to 200 double-decker buses.

This is all down to your hard work and efforts and we’d like to say thank you!

It’s really important you know why we brought these changes in.

Although we had a very good level of recycling, we still sent around 11,000 tonnes of waste to landfill last year. The biodegradable element of this waste produces methane – a greenhouse gas. In order to control the use of landfill successive governments have increased the level of landfill taxes.

We’ve also been set a target to reduce the annual amount of waste sent to landfill by a maximum of 7,000 tonnes by 20192020. We will not get any extra allowance for the properties expected to be built by then, so we have to work even harder.

If we fail to achieve this target we will be hit by severe financial penalties which will cost millions of pounds and reduce our ability to fund key frontline services.

Executive view Cllr Angus Ross, Executive Member for Environment “By your efforts we’ve been able to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and continue to make savings which can be put back into frontline services. You’ve told us you want to keep a weekly bin collection which we have done, adding weekly recycling as well. For household waste, our scheme provides you with the same capacity as councils operating a fortnightly wheeled-bin collection.

“I’d like to thank those who have shared their views and comments with us about the current scheme. Please keep up the good work by recycling as much as you can and considering home composting for garden waste.

“I can assure you that we will further improve the service from next April.”

Your views count We asked for your views on the scheme during August and September. Nearly 2,000 of you completed a questionnaire or took the opportunity to talk to us at one of our drop-in roadshows.

We’ve listened and as a result of the feedback we will be asking the Executive to consider changes to the scheme at their meeting on November 29. Full details of the proposed changes can be found on our website at: www.wokingham.gov.uk/meetings.

Please remember storing your blue bag in a dustbin is the best way to prevent animal damage and we will collect from a standard dustbin. Unfortunately we cannot collect rubbish which is left in a wheeled-bin.

More information www.wokingham.gov.uk/rubbishchange (0118) 974 6000 wokinghamdirect@wokingham.gov.uk

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We get the low down from Woodley resident Dominique Pollard We caught up with Dominique to find out how her family is getting on with the scheme.

How have you found the new scheme?

Really good. I think it’s always difficult to bring changes to refuse collections without upsetting someone, but I think all residents should give it a go and always look for ways to bring changes to lessen the amount of waste. We do have to reduce the amount of refuse per household as the world can’t keep up with the amount we throw away.

Do you find the new scheme encourages you to recycle?

What measures have you taken to reduce your waste?

We have always actively recycled, but it does make you think about products that you purchase.

We buy less pre-packed food and have two composters to use for green waste. We use these for fruit and veg that are not cooked.

We also try not to waste food and cook the right amount for that days meal or use leftovers the next day.

Do you think 80 bags are sufficient?

For us, 80 bags are enough, as we only use on average a bag a week. I'm sure that over the year we will have some weeks that we will need to use more that one bag a week but we will have enough until April when we get the new batch.

What tips do you have to cut down on food waste?

• Plan your menus for the week, take a list to the shop and stick to it • Try to cook from fresh produce as this generally has less packaging • Buy your fruit and vegetables loose and only take what you need • Avoid excess packaging and opt for refills where possible • Keep uncooked food in the fridge to use again the next day • Buy a composter to use for your uncooked fruit and veg

Did you know?

• Every day the UK throws away seven million slices of bread costing us £360million each year • Just over a million sausages are thrown away each day in the UK. That’s worth £60million a year • Every year more than 27,000 tonnes of rice and 22,000 tonnes of pasta are leftover and thrown away in the UK • We throw away around one third of the food we buy in the UK • Every year on average UK households will buy, but not eat, £420 of food. If they have children, it’s £610

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Reminder about the scheme What goes in your kerbside recycling box remember there is no need to sort • Paper, magazines, junk mail, envelopes • All food cans and drinks cans • Plastic bottles, but no lids • Aerosols • Wrapping paper and cards without foil or glitter

No thanks • Glass and Tetra Pack (waxed paper containers) – take these to your local recycling bank • Carrier bags – collection points in some supermarkets • Plastic tubs, pots and trays (yoghurt pots, meat trays, etc)

Why can’t we recycle other plastics?

It’s because there are no UK markets for non-bottle plastics.

We’re not in favour of collecting these other plastics and sending them to undefined destinations abroad, without any certainty on where it ends up. This is why our current advice is to place them in your blue bags along with other non-recyclables where they will most likely end up being sent to energy from waste at Colnbrook. Under the re3 partnership, 25,000 tonnes of our waste is used to generate electricity and is put back into the National Grid.

Remember . . .

If you put items which cannot be recycled in your box we may not empty it. We will collect it next time if the items are removed.

Garden Waste Garden waste is best composted at home, but we will collect it for what it costs us to do so. A number of options are available to you.

• Home composting The most environmentally friendly way to deal with garden waste is to compost at home.

See the back page advert of this magazine for the latest offer on home composters

• Subscribe to our opt-in garden waste service We will provide you with a brown-wheeled bin and collect every fortnight for an annual fee. To sign up, call Veolia on (0118) 909 9360 or email wokingham.enquiries@veolia.co.uk. Remember households can share a bin with neighbours. The annual charge is reduced if you join later in the year.

• Buy compostable sacks These are available from the Civic Offices at Shute End, Borough libraries, and Earley and Woodley Town Councils and Wokingham Without Parish Council. £1 per sack.

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www.wokingham.gov.uk

Christmas and New Year Collections 2012/13 There will be some changes to our waste collection service over Christmas and New Year.

Please make sure you place your waste outside the night before as collections may be earlier than normal.

Normal Collection Day*

Will Be Collected On

Delay

Monday

December 24

Monday

December 24

No change

Tuesday

December 25

Thursday

December 27

2 days

Wednesday

December 26

Friday

December 28

2 days

Thursday

December 27

Saturday

December 29

2 days

Friday

December 28

Monday

December 31

3 days

Monday

December 31

Wednesday

January 2

2 days

Tuesday

January 1

Thursday

January 3

2 days

Wednesday

January 2

Friday

January 4

2 days

Thursday

January 3

Saturday

January 5

2 days

Friday

January 4

Monday

January 7

3 days

Monday

January 7

Tuesday

January 8

1 day

Tuesday

January 8

Wednesday

January 9

1 day

Wednesday

January 9

Thursday

January 10

1 day

Thursday

January 10

Friday

January 11

1 day

Friday

January 11

Saturday

January 12

1 day

Monday

January 14

Monday

January 14

No Change

✁

Green waste – *Green collections will coincide with the above schedule.

Christmas Trees

Wrapping paper

If you are part of the garden waste collection scheme, you can cut up your tree and place in the brown-wheeled bin or compostable sacks and put out as normal. Otherwise you can take your trees to the Household Waste Recycling Centres at Longshot Lane, Bracknell or Smallmead, Reading.

Christmas wrapping paper can be put in your kerbside recycling black box. Metallic or plastic wrapping must be put in the blue bags with your normal waste, as it can’t be recycled.

Christmas cards Many charities collect these for fundraising but cards made of paper can be put into your recycling box.

Community Vehicle During the Christmas period there is no service and it restarts on January 19.

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www.wokingham.gov.uk

Take your place on new Community Forums Great opportunities are coming to the Wokingham Borough as we deliver the new homes needed to ensure a thriving economy and vibrant community.

More than 13,000 new homes will be built across the Borough by 2026, with the majority to come in four major developments (around Arborfield; an area South of the M4 near Shinfield; to the north and the south of Wokingham town).

And we are determined these developments will not just be a collection of buildings; they will be sustainable neighbourhoods that complement our existing towns and villages.

To help make this happen, we have set up Community Forums for each of the major development areas, plus an additional forum in Woodley. These will bring

together local people, town and parish councils, community groups, the Borough Council, developers and landowners.

Get ed v Invol

Head of Sustainable Communities Josie Wragg said: “These forums will focus on creating great places to live for tomorrow’s local people and on how we make sure we maintain, and enhance, the high quality of life that existing communities enjoy.”

The forums will meet four times a year and will discuss issues such as planning and highways proposals, schools, community development, leisure facilities and parks.

More information Sue Roberts on (0118) 974 6016 sdl.forums@wokingham.gov.uk

Buckhurst Farm: much more than building houses

One of the first of the major projects to gain planning approval within the four development areas is at Buckhurst Farm off London Road, south of Wokingham.

It will see 650 new homes built – homes that will provide much-needed accommodation for future generations, employees who will help our local economy thrive and for families struggling to buy property in Wokingham.

But the homes are only part of the story because with these will come the improvements in local services and infrastructure needed to ensure the development complements the existing community.

Through an agreement with us, developer David Wilson Homes will be paying for, or contributing to, a catalogue of improvements. These will include a new primary school, the opening up of a new country park for walkers to enjoy, new allotments and a community orchard, specialist housing for those in need of support, play parks and a community centre.

And Buckhurst Farm is not an isolated example - we will continue to work with developers to make sure all the major developments bring with them the necessary infrastructure and community improvements.

Executive view Cllr Keith Baker, Executive Member for Highways and Planning “It’s absolutely essential our residents have the opportunity to comment about the major developments in both the housing and highways arena. Traditionally this has been carried out through paper-based consultations but we considered this was not good enough for such a massive house building project.

I firmly believe that the innovative community forums are a great opportunity to have those vital face to face discussions.”

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Wokingham Station and Link Road scheme moving along Major plans to improve Wokingham railway station and reduce town centre traffic congestion will begin to take physical shape during the coming months.

We are working with Network Rail and South West Trains in the multimillion pound scheme to construct a new station building and link road between the station forecourt and A329 Reading Road.

Network Rail’s contractor Spencer Group is putting the finishing touches to the detailed design, planning and mobilisation work for the station rebuild.

Some of the building work could start at the end of this month (November) although the bulk is not expected to begin until early January. It is hoped the rebuild will be completed next summer.

Plans to replace the existing station platform footbridge are also moving along. This part of the scheme is being led by South West Trains and includes new lifts.

The planning application for the Station Link Road (SLR) was submitted during the summer.

Public feedback from the planning consultation saw changes made to the proposals.

Four vulnerable adults living at a Reading Road property scheduled for demolition under the scheme are due to be moved to a new home in Woodley.

A decision on the planning application is expected by the end of the year. Not Construction could to Scale start early January although most of the works are earmarked to begin late summer.

V

More information (0118) 974 6000 slr@wokingham.gov.uk www.wokingham.gov.uk/stationlinkroad

• The new station will create a modern travelling experience fit for the 21st Century including a new bus interchange, cycle and taxi facilities, and a more accessible and attractive station area • The government is funding the station rebuild via the National Station Improvement Programme. We are contributing £1.5million to the scheme • The SLR and new station will create a gateway into the town centre, as well as tackle congestion. This is part of our Core Planning Strategy and Vision

Better ways to travel State-of-the-art traffic lights and improvements at the Three Tuns junction on the A329, personalised travel plans for Wokingham Borough residents and businesses, and improvements to bus services.

These form the first phase of a new investment programme being rolled out across Wokingham Borough this month (November) following our successful £2.75million bid to the Department for Transport under the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF).

The programme hopes to reduce car usage and increase patronage on public transport services along the A329 transport corridor.

We are working with neighbouring local authorities, transport operators and the Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership.

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Putting customers first Improving our customers’ experience when accessing our services is one of the underpinning principles of our Vision.

We take pride in our customer services and are committed to providing you with a responsive, flexible and consistent service that gives you confidence that your council tax is being spent wisely.

Top 50 success For the fourth year running Wokingham Direct has been named as one of the Top 50 UK Contact Centres for Customer Service.

There is strict judging criteria testing how knowledgeable staff are, whether they are able to resolve the enquiry and how quickly and efficiently the call or email has been handled. Wokingham Direct was recognised as the fourth best organisation in the UK for email service and once again the best public sector and local authority.

Wokingham Direct is committed to providing excellent customer service to the Borough's residents and this recognition is a great indication that they are working hard to achieve it.

For the full list of how to contact us, please see page 2.

Renewing your bus pass If you currently have a free bus pass you may have noticed it expires on March 31, 2013. Plans are being made to replace them before this date. We’ll write to you in early 2013 with more details. If you are disabled and receive the alternative cash allowance instead of the bus pass, we will write to you in February 2013 with instructions on how to re-claim for 2013/14.

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Making a payment We’ve been making changes to the way you pay your bills including council tax.

The easiest, quickest and cheapest way to pay is by direct debit.

You complete one mandate, which comes with the direct debit guarantee, and each year we simply tell you about any change in your payment amounts. You don’t have to do anything with your bank as we do that for you.

We recently launched a paperless direct debit for council tax and business rates. This means you can sign up for direct debit through a simple phone call without the need to complete a paper form. We will be looking to expand this paperless option to other areas in the coming months.

If you don’t want to pay by direct debit there are plenty of other ways you can pay including: • Bank standing order • Personal internet banking • Credit / debit card payments via our website including our information kiosks at Earley and Woodley libraries • Credit / debit card payments via our 24/7 automated telephone payment line • Credit / debit card payments when dealing with our staff face-to-face or by telephone • Cheque via the post • Payments via a Post Office or PayZone outlet using a bar-coded payment card • Credit / debit card and cash payments via a payment kiosk at the Civic Offices Bar Codes also appear on the back of our council tax bills and will be added to other paper bills over the coming months. These can be used when making payments at the Post Office, PayZone outlets or when using the payment kiosk at the Civic Offices.

By improving our payment options, it means eventually we will close the cashiers point at the Civic Offices.

How to contact us We’re developing a self-service system allowing you to access your council tax account online, look up your payment details and what discounts you have.

It will also allow you to tell us of any changes to occupancy and apply for discounts and exemptions. This new service is scheduled to start from April 2013, so look out for more details nearer the time.

In the meantime we are looking to make it easier for you to contact us. The quickest way to contact us is either by telephone or by email. It’s much quicker than by letter or fax.

To ensure we can update your council tax account as quickly as possible drop us an email or give us a call.

More information (0118) 974 6022/6629 ctax@wokingham.gov.uk www.wokingham.gov.uk/counciltax

Benefit changes A number of changes are being introduced nationally to benefit claims from April 2013. These include: • Benefit cap – This means that if you don’t work the most you can get in benefits will be £350 per week for single adults and £500 per week for couples / lone parents • Local Housing Allowance (LHA) increasing by Consumer Price Index (CPI) – This means the LHA rates used will be set every April, will only increase by the CPI rate and will stand until April 2014 • Local Welfare Assistance – Social Fund payments for crisis loans and community care grants will be administered by us rather than the Department of Works and Pensions • Under Occupancy in the social sector – This means working age claimants will see a reduction in their housing benefit award if they occupy properties that have more bedrooms than they need • Direct payment in the social sector – will see payment of housing benefit made to the tenant rather than the landlord • Other changes to come in 2013 include universal credit and personal independence payments. Visit www.direct.gov.uk for more details Up-to-date information, including more details about the changes, can be found on our website.

More information www.wokingham.gov.uk/counciltax/benefits

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www.wokingham.gov.uk

Keeping everyone active There are many ways that busy mums, families, young people, office workers and older adults can build physical activity into their lives.

Being physically active is easier than you think, especially if you make activity part of your daily routine.

Read on to find out more about some of the activities on offer in the Wokingham Borough.

More information www.wokingham.gov.uk/sports

Rebounding with therapy

Keeping a Steady Step Steady Steps is a Falls Prevention Exercise Programme for anyone aged over 60 who has fallen or are at risk of falling. You can be referred via your GP or health professional.

The specialist exercise sessions aim to improve balance, co-ordination, muscle strength, confidence and wellbeing.

Steady Steps participant, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: “I thoroughly enjoyed the Steady Steps course and had more confidence afterwards to take part in other activities provided by the Council like SHINE. I get the impression that my age group appreciates and really enjoys these activites. It’s in no small measure due to the helpful and encouraging support we get.”

Claire Osler, Steady Steps Co-ordinator, said: “Slips, trips and falls can often lead to injuries that need hospital treatment and even hospital stays which can lead to loss of confidence and independence. However these sorts of accidents are avoidable and the Steady Steps classes are a good place to learn how to prevent them.”

More information (0118) 974 6265 steady.steps@wokingham.gov.uk

Nikk Brown (pictured below) was referred to the Activise programme in March to improve his physical and mental health. He was originally referred for swimming but within six months he’s now doing Nordic walking, trampolining and multisports sessions.

As part of our range of summer sports events, Nikk volunteered to help at three of the events and is now assisting the coaches with Nordic walking and multi-sports sessions on a regular basis. He is also a keen artist, so has designed the new Activise logo set to be used for the relaunch of the programme.

Nikk said: “I am really enjoying my time at Activise. It has helped my mental health issues and my general well-being so much. The staff are always very friendly and welcoming.

They make keeping fit fun and I look forward to coming every week.”

Activise is a physical activity programme for adults (18+) experiencing a variety of health conditions. There are a variety of groups and activities throughout the week. As well as discounted rates to the gym and court bookings for independent use.

More information (0118) 974 3729 adam.godwin@wokingham.gov.uk

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Mayor’s View The success of this summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games was by and large down to the many volunteers who supported the events.

Here in the Borough, many local people grabbed the gauntlet and eagerly volunteered for this once in a lifetime opportunity and it was wonderful to hear about their experiences at our celebration event in October. Many had never volunteered before and I hope this has given them the enthusiasm to continue.

Wokingham Borough is filled with volunteers who use their many skills and talents to support all types of care and need locally. I often wonder what we would do without them. My chosen charity this year is The Link Visiting Scheme, whose own volunteers give so much of their time and friendship to isolated and lonely elderly residents in the Borough.

On behalf of the Borough, I would like to thank all our volunteers for their time and devotion to the many worthy causes that exist. But we always need more, so if you have a few hours a week, or even more that you can spare, why not think about volunteering?

I look forward to meeting many more of you during the coming months.

Cllr Bob Wyatt, Wokingham Borough Mayor

Mayor Cllr Bob Wyatt with Marjie Walker (right) and Heather Woods of The Link Visiting Scheme

More information mayor@wokingham.gov.uk (0118) 974 6004 www.linkvisiting.org (0118) 979 8019

Creating job opportunities for you Job opportunities are on their way to the Wokingham Borough, helping to ensure the area remains an economic success despite the difficult financial situation.

Among the larger companies moving into the area are:

Executive view Cllr Rob Stanton, Deputy Leader “It’s great to see global organisations moving into the area and creating a wealth of job opportunities for our residents. Currently our employment rates are high despite the current difficult financial situation and it’s thanks to our strong and vibrant local economy. These new positions are a great stepping stone for our extended communities that will bring lots of job opportunities. We also want to be business friendly and of course work closely with the Local Enterprise Partnership.”

Tesco

Ikea

brakesgroup

1,000 new jobs in a distribution centre, recruitment starting January 2013.

400 jobs, opening spring 2013 with recruitment starting in January.

400 jobs in a new distribution centre, centre opened in March and jobs are still available at: www.brakesgroup.com/ careers

The centre will ring-fence 75 jobs for the most ‘hard to reach’ unemployed and aims to deliver a minimum 10 apprentices.

For help getting into work; such as course to update IT skills, improve English and maths, sharpen CV writing and interview techniques, as well as confidence building are available from:

The Crescent Centre, Warbler Drive, Lower Earley www.earleycrescent.org earleycrescent@btconnect.com (0118) 921 0555

Bracknell and Wokingham College www.bracknell.ac.uk study@bracknell.ac.uk 0845 330 3343 or (01344) 766 200

Wokingham Job Support Centre, The Cornerstone, Norreys Avenue, Wokingham www.wjscadvisors.org.uk jobsearch@wjsc.org.uk (0118) 977 0517

Supported Employment Service, 52 Reading Road, Wokingham Supports those with a disability into employment www.optalis.org (0118) 989 0500 employmentservice@optalis.org

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www.wokingham.gov.uk

Look out for benefit fraud Protecting your money and making sure it goes to the right people and services drives the work of our specialist Business Assurance Investigations Team.

• In 2011/12, £414,000 of overpaid benefits was identified by the team • As a result of successful benefit fraud investigations, we issued eight cautions, 15 administrative penalties (fine of 30 per cent of the housing and/or council tax benefit overpayment) and 12 prosecutions • If you suspect anyone of committing benefit fraud, please call the confidential hotline on 0800 454 240 or report it online at: www.wokingham.gov.uk/fraud. Any reports or allegations can be anonymous • We are committed to the highest possible standards of openness, honesty and accountability.

This means we encourage members of the public or employees with serious concerns about how we conduct our business to come forward and voice these concerns You can report suspected misconduct or malpractice on the confidential whistleblowing hotline: (0118) 974 6550 or by emailing: confidential.whistleblowing@wokingham.gov.uk

Meet our Home Library and Reminiscence Service Some 300 people in nursing and residential homes, sheltered housing, day centres and supported housing across the Borough enjoy visits from the ‘Library Ladies’ in their van every year.

Wokingham Borough’s Home Library and Reminiscence Service is based at Woodley Library, and staff there deliver a highly personal service, taking time to meet every resident to find out what they like to read or listen to, their favourite authors and interests; before choosing items especially for them.

The same members of staff visit every time, getting to know their customers well by becoming more than a library service – but friends as well.

The service also provides book collections enabling homes to have a small library in a communal area; a reminiscence collection of books, plus DVDs, games and quizzes.

There are also Forget-Me-Not memory boxes containing items from the 40s to the 70s which help to trigger memories and discussions, particularly where there are instances of memory loss and dementia.

If you have items to donate, Woodley Library would love to hear from you.

Woodley Library also hosts a monthly drop-in reminiscence club providing an opportunity for people to meet and share their memories.

More information (0118) 969 9847 joanne.briggs@wokingham.gov.uk

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Looking after your eyes Sight is the sense people fear losing the most yet many of us do not know the best way to look after our eyes.

To mark National Eye Care Week, Optalis’ Visual Impairment Team recently went out and about in the Borough to encourage people to have regular sight tests and look after their eyes.

Not only is a sight test a vital check on the health of our eyes, it can also detect other health conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes.

Optalis is our adult care and support services provider.

More information (0118) 974 6896 visualimpairment@optalis.org

Help at your fingertips Everything you need to know about services, support, organisations and activities for families and adults is available from the Wokingham Information Network.

It’s divided into two sections: the Family Services Directory and Adult Information Directory.

More Information: www.wokingham.gov.uk/win

The Me2 Club

From Excluded to Patrol Leader Aged seven Polly was asked to leave Brownies when behaviour triggered by frustration, confusion and anxiety meant the leaders didn’t know how to involve her.

Unfortunately, they felt exclusion was the only option, increasing the isolation caused by her Autism.

Polly is now 14, and is a valued member of her local Guides, a Patrol Leader and friend to all her fellow Guiders. The excluded seven-year-old is a distant memory and it’s thanks to the Me2 Club.

The Me2 Club is one of the many organisations you will find in the Family Services Directory. A local charity, it supports any child or young person aged five to 19 with additional needs living in the Borough, to take part in a mainstream leisure activity of their choice.

Me2 Club enables children and young people, like Polly, who have additional needs and disabilities, to attend mainstream leisure activities like Guides, sports and youth clubs. They do this by recruiting volunteers who work one-to-one with a child each week at their activity, supporting them to take part, make friends and have fun!

Three full-time members of staff now work to support more than 80 children in activities each year and recruit, train and support 100 volunteers.

They also run a free training project; any leaders in the Wokingham Borough are eligible to attend a variety of interesting inclusion and disability training courses, providing them with the knowledge and skills to run inclusive groups.

More information (0118) 969 6369 info@me2club.org.uk www.me2club.org.uk Facebook: Me2ClubCharity Twitter: @Me2club

Volunteer Janine, said: “I’ve seen Polly grow more and more confident. Every week we rose to a new challenge together and had lots of fun along the way.” Polly added: “Janine always helps me. She is kind and funny. She looks after me at Guides and I enjoy it because she is there.”

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www.wokingham.gov.uk

Safer Chris tmas

At C go out hristmas ma ny more o ften an of us visit f ri d spen d more ends and fa Here a mily money re som than u , e tips on m sual. posses sions s aking you a tay sa fe . . . nd your

Safety tips . . . s Keep an eye out for fake good

h as designer clothing, Counterfeit and fake goods suc s may seem appealing but . . . perfumes, alcohol, toys and DVD in relation to cosmetics, • They are often substandard and e a serious risk to health electrical goods, alcohol, can pos t sales but are often sold • They aren't just sold at car boo ps sho il reta in online and can appear rfeit sales often finds its way • The money raised from counte back into serious crime that goods may be There are a number of indications counterfeit including . . . le, cash being insisted upon • Payment methods, for examp and no receipt good to be true it almost • Price – If something looks too certainly is y signs such as spelling • Fake goods often have give awa quality printing mistakes on packaging or poor D straighteners are only sold • The source, for example GH through authorised distributors More Information (01635) 519 930 tsadvice@westberks.gov.uk

Executive view Cllr Pauline Jorgenson, Executive Member for Internal Services “People need to be extremely careful when buying goods over the internet – particularly cheap, branded goods from overseas. This is when things can go wrong as it can be difficult for the buyer to sort things out. These fakes can potentially be unsafe too.

“If you think you have been sold counterfeit goods, or if you suspect somebody is selling fake goods you should get in touch with us.”

• Make sure your doors and windows are locked when you leave the house • Your door bell might ring more often over the holidays so check ID on callers to your home • Don’t leave valuables or gifts on display in your car • Protect your identity by shredding receipts and personal paperwork • Keep your curtains, drapes and window blinds closed at night, making sure valuable items are out of sight • If you're going away be sure to cancel any newspaper or milk subscriptions

Choosing the right toy for a child Below is

a checklist to use when shop toys . . . ping for • Buy from re putable and re cognised retaile • Make sure to rs ys feature the C.E. Mark, whi should indicate ch that they com ply with Europe standards. Als o look out for an safety the Lion Mark that a product which proves has passed safe ty the British Toy and Hobby Ass checks carried out by ociation • Always chec k for age warni ngs on toys – for very good they are there reasons. It’s no t sa play with toys designed for ol fe for youngsters to der children • Check the na me and addres s of the manuf importer is su acturer or pplied with th e toy as it’s re law. Keep this quired by information al ong with instru safety warning ctions and s • Avoid toys w ith sharp edge s, rough edges check for risks or points and that may trap fingers • Avoid toys w ith small deta chable parts w for young child hen buying ren • Make sure th at seams on so ft to features, such as eyes, cannot ys are secure and facial be easily remov • Check toys ed regularly for da mage that may to the child pose a risk More Informat ion (01635) 5199 30 tsadvice@wes tberks.gov.uk

Keeping W

ar m a n d W

Autumn 2012

ell this win

The Warm and Well p rogramme this winter. aims

29

ter

to keep ev eryone safe and

An informa well tion leafle t, giving pe about keep ople usefu ing warm a l informati nd well is a around the on and adv vailable at Borough a ice key inform n d from doct cold weath ation poin ors’ surgeri er this win ts es. In the ter, cold w essential it event of se eather pack ems to help vere s w il l be distrib vulnerable uted conta people kee ining p warm.

Tips . . .

• Try to ke ep the tem perature a • Never use bove 18°C (65°F) in y hot water our bedroo bottles in blanket is the same b m overnigh switched o ed as an ele t ff ctric blank • Keep curt et, even if ains drawn the and doors • Fit draug closed to b ht-proofin lock out dra g to seal a ughts • Wear ple ny gaps aro nty of thin und windo w la s y ers, rather and doors scarf, glov than one th es and warm ick one an shoes or b • Look out d make su oots when for elderly re you wea you go outs friends and r a coat, ha ide Make sure t, neighbours they're wa . Check the rm enough so they do y 'r e , sa e sp fe and well n't need to ecially at n through th go out duri ight, and h • If you’re e winter. ave stocks ng very co aged over ld o f w fo e od and me a th 6 5 or have a er your seaso dicines chronic me nal flu jab dical cond it For round ion make su the clock h re you’ve h ealth advic ad e, call NHS Direct on 0845 4647

Keeping in touch Our services don’t stop just because it’s the festive period.

Office hours may differ slightly but our out-of-hours emergency team can be contacted on 0800 212 111, or social services emergencies on (01344) 786 543.

You can also find out about services, pay bills or report issues via our website at: www.wokingham.gov.uk

f

Free rking e pa and village estiv g n

tow fferin wned will be o rday o l i c Coun car parks y on Satu e da 2. centr rking all and 2 g 5 1 a , p free cember 8 ar parkin De et, c lso t forg ough is a Don’ r o s B y! e in th on Sunda free

Celebrating

Christma

s safely With Christm as approachi ng, the Wokingham Borough Com munity Safe ensure peopl ty Partnershi e are safe w p continues hen they go and ourselves to out for the ev often get mo en ing. The Polic re and people be calls regardin e ing drunk an g anti-social d disorderly. behaviour takes away va R espo luable time an d resources fr nding to these calls crime. om tackling other types of If you are pl anning to go out please re and act in an spect other pe appropriate ople around manner to no you t cause offen • Be aware o ce. f your alcoho l consumptio and can redu n – it impair ce your safe s your judgm ty ent • On a night out always ke ep an eye on drinks from your drink an strangers d don't acce pt • Make sure you plan in ad vance how yo The ideal plan u are going to is to book yo get home. ur taxi in ad of a licensed vance or, ha taxi company ve the numbe with you r • If using pu blic transport , make sure the last train/ you’re aware bus and have of your ticket, change read pass or y in your hand so that your wallet is out of sight.

30

www.wokingham.gov.uk

Walking the Wokingham way With a total of 56 picturesque miles, broken down to between four and seven mile routes, there is no excuse for walkers not to enjoy the Wokingham Way! Initiated by the Loddon Valley Ramblers, The Wokingham Way gives walkers the chance to follow the Wokingham Borough boundary as it winds its way along the Thames and through some ancient lanes and byways. The route weaves across open fields and through the grounds of Culham Court to the enclosed deer park and then across the Thames by the weir above Hambleden Lock where you can see the beautiful clapboard mill.

Sponsored by Rohan, makers of outdoor gear, the footpaths have all been walked to check for good access and all are clearly marked. The Wokingham Way is divided into sections and can be downloaded from Loddon Valley Ramblers website along with points of interest.

More Information: www.lvra.org.uk

Leisure trust picks up the pace Improved leisure facilities, more people getting sporty and a fresh way for you to give us feedback about Wokingham Borough’s leisure centres.

These are just some of changes taking place now that community sports and leisure trust C-Salt has taken over the day-to-day management of our centres.

The Trust is a registered charity encouraging more people to enjoy sport and leisure activities.

It will also be able to access new forms of funding to help modernise our centres.

Any profits made from our centres will be reinvested by the Trust to pay for improved facilities and services.

A new leisure forum is also being set up to give people using the centres and local stakeholders a real say in the future of the service, as well provide feedback about existing activities and how the centres are run.

Working with C-Salt and other Borough partners, we continue to promote healthier lifestyles and life choices. The range of activities and courses provided in our leisure centres will underpin this.

We want to build upon the huge success of the Olympics and Paralympics ensuring all Wokingham Borough residents have the support and information they need to get sporty and enjoy the benefits this brings.

Our leisure centres are Loddon Valley Leisure Centre, St Crispin’s Leisure Centre and the Carnival Pool.

Autumn 2012

31

What’s n?

Lots to see and do this winter in Wokingham Borough

. . . in the countryside

. . . your local library

December 3, 2012 A Date with Nature: Join the Wokingham and Bracknell branch of the RSPB on a monthly walk around Dinton Pastures.

Suitable for beginners to experienced bird watchers.

November 29, 2012 Weaving Workshop: Peg loom and weaving sticks.

10.30am to 12.30pm at Wokingham Library. £5 charge (plus cost of materials)

9am to 12.30pm.

Costs £1. Accompanied children free

December 1, 2012

December 8, 2012 Dinton Discoverers: Sailing, island bushcraft, wildlife paddle and climbing activities for children at Dinton Pastures.

Christmas Arts Market: Buy unique handmade art and crafts made by local artists and designers: paintings, woodwork, jewellery, pottery, stained glass, textiles, etc.

10am to 4pm at Wokingham Library

10.30am to 12.30pm. £7

December 2, 2012

December 9, 2012 Friends of Lavell’s Lake Bird Walk: Experience the lake’s rich bird life in this family day out.

9am to 12noon (approx). £1.50 per person donation towards conservation. £2 for families

Woodley Winter Extravaganza: School choir, winter stories, seasonal music from members of The Reading Symphony Orchestra and craft activities for families.

11am to 3.30pm at Woodley Library

December 8, 2012

December 16, 2012 Friends of Lavell’s Lake Local Nature Reserve Work Party: Tasks are not all hard work and everyone is welcome to join our very friendly and sociable group. Wellies recommended!

Aladdin and the Library Genie by Woodley Library storytent with crafts and refreshments.

4.30pm at Woodley Library. £4

On a date convenient for you

10am until lunchtime (refreshments provided at tea break!)

Multi-sensory storytelling at our libraries, for children with learning disabilities. To organise a session or find out more contact Woodley Library on (0118) 969 0304.

December 20 to 23, 2012 Santa’s Grotto at California Country Park: Visit Santa in his natural woodland grotto and let him know what you would like for Christmas. Every child visiting Santa gets a special gift. Children must be supervised.

12 to 3pm (December 20 and 21), 11.30am to 3pm (December 22 and 23). £4 per child

Other events . . .

December 21, 2012 Carols in the Mall: Join the Borough Mayor Cllr Bob Wyatt for carols around the Christmas tree, with a glass of mulled wine and mince pie at the Civic Offices, Shute End, Wokingham. All are welcome.

4pm to 5.30pm

For details of these events and more, see www.wokingham.gov.uk www.wokingham.gov.uk/childrenscentres www.facebook.com/wokinghamboroughcouncil www.facebook.com/wokinghamboroughlibraries www.twitter.com/wokinghambc