Wokingham

Wokingham Borough Council joined four other local authorities in the south east region to take part in Child Employment Week (August 6 to 13) and found that a number of young people were working illegally in the borough.

During the week, the Wokingham council’s child employment officer Joanne Booth made extra visits to employers to make sure that children and young people working during the summer holidays were doing so safely and within the law. She visited 59 employers and found that of the 37 children working at them, 32 of those were doing so illegally.

There are a number of rules that apply to children and young people working before they reach school leaving age. A child employment permit is needed and an application form needs to be signed by parents or carers and the employer before a child or young person can start work.

During Wokingham Child Employment Week, it was found that the majority of the 32 cases were deemed illegal as child employment cards had not been sought, mainly due to people not being aware of the legislation. Of these, nine cases need further investigation, whilst the other children now have employment cards. The council will continue to make regular spot checks on employers and follow up the cases of illegal employment, in order to protect the safety and well being of the children employed.

Joanne Booth, child employment officer at Wokingham Borough Council, said: “The child employment permits are one way in which the council can be aware that a child is being employed. The council is therefore able to monitor the hours they work and check that the work they do is not prohibited.

“The number of children being employed illegally in the Wokingham Borough was surprising. Child Employment Week clearly shows there is a need to further educate employers in the Borough of the rules around child employment. There is a need for strict compliance and the council will continue to raise awareness of the legislation with local companies.”

This year, Wokingham Child Employment Week aimed to identify where children and young people are working during the school holidays and to give employers appropriate information regarding the laws affecting the employment of schoolchildren as set out in the Children and Young Person’s Act 1933 to 1996 (as amended) and the Education Act 1944 to 1996.

Children and young people are permitted to work during the school holidays but they must not exceed working 35 hours a week. For those aged between 15 and 16, they can work eight hours a day (except Sundays) and for those aged 13 and 14, they can work up to five hours a day (except Sundays). On Sundays, children and young people can work no more than two hours between 7am and 7pm.

John Terry, head of safeguarding at Wokingham Borough Council, said: “This latest campaign is not about stopping children and young people from working, but making sure they do so within the law and safely. It is very important that local employers understand the law and what is expected of them. I am sure that many parents and carers will join the council in supporting this campaign.”

Wokingham Borough Council

Step in and Step Up - Wokingham Youth Centre’s Performing Arts Group, the Step Up Academy, is hosting an open day on September 10.

The group is getting ready to recruit fresh new young talent to join their team, with an open event from 7pm until 9.30pm providing a friendly opportunity for any young Wokingham people interested in dance, drama, singing, DJ-ing and other musical skills to find out more about the Academy.

The Step Up Academy project, which runs on a Monday evening at Wokingham Youth Centre, is organised by young people for young people aged 13 to 18 years and is supported by Wokingham Borough Council’s youth service. Membership is £1.50 for the year, and for just 50p a week members can receive training and learn new skills in almost all areas of the performing arts.

Drama is taught by Lori Tingay, an experienced drama and voice coach. Street dance is coached by Gaston Nicholas-Ford and Becci Wild, who are currently training as professional dance teachers, and their class is proving a very popular choice. DJ-ing skills are taught by Olli Parris and Co, who are UK scratching champions and second in the world – perhaps giving Wokingham youngsters the best possible example of how to become UK champions on the decks in the future!

Wokingham Young people involved in the project can gain nationally recognised certificates in youth arts, and even youth achievement awards.

Youth worker Cyril Sansum said: “We already put on regular performances but we’d like to build the Academy even bigger. At the open evening there will be demonstrations, and there will also be plenty of time for new people to meet us all and see what we are about.”

Champion for youth and leisure Wokingham Cllr Malcolm Bryant said: “The arts group is getting more confident by the week, and some of them have just visited Ireland to perform with another group in an exchange arrangement, which has been a real confidence boost for many of them. It just goes to show that many young people do spend their time doing something creative and I am glad the council has been able to help them to do this. I do hope many new youngsters will visit the open evening and give it a try – it’s an opportunity not to be missed!”

For more information on the open evening and the Step Up Academy please contact Cyril Sansum at Wokingham Youth Centre, 35 Reading Road, Wokingham on (0118) 978 3610.

Wokingham Borough Council

The Manga workshops held at Wokingham Library last week proved a huge success.

Organised as part of Wokingham Borough Council’s Big Wild Read summer reading challenge, the Manga workshops, on August 16, were run by professional Manga artists Sonia Leong and Emma Vieceli, who have recently been involved in a project to produce Manga versions of Shakespeare plays. Manga is a style of cartoon drawing that originated in Japan and has become popular in the UK in recent years.

On feedback forms filled in after the sessions, all the teenagers attending rated the workshops as very good – and half of them were new library members.

Wokingham Borough Council reader development officer for young people and families, Elizabeth McDonald said: “Teenage boys are notoriously difficult to get into libraries so events such as this are really important. It was fantastic to see 35 of them enjoying themselves in Wokingham Library – the Manga artwork that was produced looked great and we have lots of new library members who will hopefully be back again.”

Joining Wokingham borough libraries is free and easy and anybody who lives, studies or works in the borough or holds a valid membership for any other Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire or Surrey library can join. To join, residents need to fill in an application form and produce one form of identification showing name and current address - a driving licence or bank statement accompanied by a bank card would be appropriate. Those under 18 will also need a signature from a parent or guardian or any other adult member of the library to join.

The Big Wild Read is free to join at all the Wokingham borough’s libraries and, on joining, children receive a free Big Wild Read pack including tips on which books to read and advice on how to help protect the environment. Those taking part will also be given stickers for each book they read so they can track their progress through the reading challenge. If they read six books, participants will get a medal, a certificate and a prize.

The Big Wild Read will run until Sunday September 16 and is open to library members aged five to 12.

Wokingham Borough Council

Wokingham Borough Council trading standards officers are targeting traders who sell alcohol to underage drinkers.

The council’s trading standards team, in partnership with Thames Valley Police, recently carried out test purchasing of alcohol, using underage volunteers, at 22 premises in the Wokingham Borough.

The Wokingham project, called Tackling Underage Sales of Alcohol Campaign and was part of a national campaign aimed at eliminating underage sales of alcohol.

Between May 11 and June 22, Wokingham officers visited off-licence premises and attempts were made by the 15 and 16-year-old volunteers to purchase alcohol. Altogether 22 visits were carried out resulting in three sales being made. Trading standards officers, accompanied by a police officer, then returned to the shops and explained to the seller that they had sold alcohol to a person under the age of 18 years. In all three cases a Fixed Penalty Notice for £80 was issued to the seller.

Trading standards officers are considering the most appropriate action to be taken against the licence holders of the premises concerned. Sanctions range from an informal caution to revocation of the liquor licence.

Wokingham Borough Council’s principal trading standards officer Pauline McWilliams said: “Test purchasing is a valuable tool in our fight to stop retailers selling alcohol to underage drinkers. It is the responsibility of both the seller and the licence holder to ensure no alcohol is sold to those under 18 and we will be carrying out further tests in the future.”

The results of this exercise will combine with other intelligence to plan future test purchasing exercises in the area. Wokingham Borough Trading Standards officers regularly provide guidance to licence holders to minimise the risk of breaking the law on underage sale.

Executive member for community safety Cllr Barrie Patman said: “It is important that people who are underage do not get alcohol, both for their own health and because of the antisocial behaviour that drinking leads to. Test purchasing is a good way to catch retailers who are not taking their responsibilities seriously and is part of our efforts to cut down on this problem.”

Wokingham Borough Council

Wokingham Borough Council and Thames Valley Police have joined forces to launch the True Vision campaign to tackle hate crime.

Hate crime is a crime or harassment motivated by hatred of another person simply because of their race, sexuality, religion, disability or gender. Historically they have often been under-reported, but the police and borough council hope to change that in the Wokingham borough.

True Vision is a national initiative to make it easier for people to report hate crimes and it is being launched in the Wokingham borough with a family fun day in Market Place, Wokingham from 10am to 3pm on Friday August 31. True Vision has a dedicated website that provides information on hate crimes and which will also allow residents to report hate crimes online. At the launch event, police officers will be on hand to discuss True Vision, to provide general crime reduction advice and hand out information packs about how to stay safe.

But the serious message will be mixed with fun and those attending will have the chance to win some fantastic prizes in a lucky draw – including a round of golf for four at Wokefield Park Golf Club in Mortimer, weekend breaks at one of De Vere’s luxury hotels, a digital camera and mobile phones. Children will also be entertained with a chance to explore a mobile CCTV van, take part in a colouring competition, have their hands painted by henna artists and listen to Indian drummers.

Tesco, De Vere Hotels, Wokefield Park Golf Club, Happy Monsters in Reading Road, Winnersh, WH Smiths in Wokingham and Waitrose in Wokingham have all kindly backed the event.

True Vision will see reporting centres established at locations around the Wokingham borough and at each centre a community champion will be on hand to help anybody report a hate crime. The Wokingham community champions will be trained volunteers who will be able to take the details of the crime and pass these on to the police for investigation without the victim having to speak directly with the police. Victims can remain anonymous, and the police will only investigate crimes with the victim’s consent. This system is known as third party reporting and has been introduced to encourage victims who may be unwilling or unable to reach a police station to come forward. In other parts of the country reporting centres have been set up in venues such as pubs, places of worship and community centres.

Wokingham Borough Council community safety officer Carol-Anne Jennings, who is responsible for reducing hate crime, said: “Hate crime is a serious problem and we need to work together to support victims and bring perpetrators to justice. The True Vision launch will be fun, with plenty of activities to keep children and adults entertained, while we also get this important message across.”

Wokingham Borough Council

There is still time for young Wokingham bookworms to complete their summer reading challenge.

In the Big Wild Read challenge, which has been free to join at all the Wokingham borough’s libraries during the school holiday, children must read six books to win a medal, certificate and prize. But the challenge ends on Sunday September 16 – so get reading!

The theme for this year’s Wokingham Big Wild Read is the environment and, on joining, children received a pack with tips on which books to read and advice on how to go green. Those taking part have also been given stickers for each book they read so they can track their progress through the challenge.

Wokingham Borough Council’s reader development officer for young people and families Elizabeth McDonald said: “The Big Wild Read has been great fun so far and there is still time for young readers to finish their six books and earn their prize. And even if you missed out on this challenge, there is plenty in all our libraries to keep the fun going into the autumn.”

Joining Wokingham borough libraries is free and easy and anybody who lives, studies or works in the borough or holds a valid membership for any other Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire or Surrey library can join. To join, residents need to fill in an application form and produce one form of identification showing their name and current address - a driving licence or bank statement accompanied by a bank card would be appropriate). Those under 18 will also need a signature from a parent or guardian or any other adult member of the library to join.

Wokingham Borough Council

Ideas, comments and concerns are being carefully considered by Wokingham Borough Council after the Key to the Gateway exhibition and consultation closed on Friday August 10.

The six and a half-week exhibition at Wokingham council’s Shute End offices displayed proposed schemes as submitted by six developers. Over 12,000 households were invited to give their comments on the proposals in addition to interested local groups and organisations. Over 300 responses were received and officers are now analysing the responses as they begin to evaluate each of the submitted schemes.

Champion for town centres Wokingham Cllr Chris Bowring said: “I would like to stress that we will look carefully at all of the comments submitted. Thank you to everyone who submitted constructive comments on the proposals – these will assist us as we move forward to assess the schemes in detail.”

Respondents were asked to give their views on various aspects of the proposals, including town centre improvement, open space and outdoor facilities and design. People were also asked to identify which elements of the schemes they liked the most and which they liked the least.

Wokingham Officers and councillors will now be assessing each of the schemes in detail and selecting a final partner to work with on a scheme to take through the planning process. At that stage, people will once again be asked for their views.

Cllr Bowring said: “Although it is disappointing that we didn’t receive more responses on such an important subject, I would like to reassure people that this isn’t the last chance for them to comment. Once we have undertaken further design work and option appraisals, we will again be asking people for their comments before any planning application is submitted. I would encourage everyone to use this next opportunity to comment on the proposals.”

Looking to revitalise the area, the Key to the Wokingham Gateway project is an opportunity to create a must visit place for young and old, drawing them into the town centre. After an initial public consultation last summer, the council asked developers to submit ideas that achieve a balance between:

- providing a new southern gateway to the town centre

- improving the economic viability and social vitality of the town whilst maintaining its character

- providing high quality open space

- improving links between the town centre, Wellington Road leisure area and the railway station

- providing high quality and well-designed development

- considering the opportunities that evening and weekend trading might offer

- ensuring a financially viable scheme.

Wokingham Borough Council

WAAG is a Berkshire based community group who want to improve accessibility to shops and services and public attractions in the Wokingham Borough area, to every one.

WAAG is made up of a small group of private individuals who, because of their own needs or circumstances, have a common interest in improving access to local shops and services in the wokingham borough area.that includes Twyford, Remenham, Woodley, Earley, Shinfield, Swallowfield, Arborfield, Finhampstead, Crowthorne and all the small villages in the borough of wokingham. Plus if other councils would like to join us even better.

We ask the local Wokingham community to help us find these shops offices etc by asking them nominate a shop in the wokingham area they think is doing a good job in helping people access there goods or services,in return we place each individuals nomination form in to the hat, and the nomination that is drawn out first will win £25.00.

Each shop that is nominated will be inspected and then given our award detailing what access they have please go to www.waag.co.uk to see how this is done, waag then gives these shops free advertising and window stickers showing they are accessible by the symbols shown on the window sticker. Waag also campaign on behalf of disabled people and young families with buggies etc, at the moment we are campaigning against, A Boards and other obstructions that clutter our towns and high streets ,which makes it difficult for people, in wheel chairs or on crutches or young mums pushing buggies to negotiate around them in safety, plus its even worse for the blind, as they can not see them and often fall over them, or crash into them, we have challenged the councillors from wokingham council and wokingham borough council to walk the high street with one of our members but so far only one councillor has come forward. We need more members so if you would like to join us.

Please contact me at www.waag.co.uk or E Mail Chairman@waag.co.uk.or write to the old social club,elms road wokingham, rg40-2aa or leave a message on 0118 977 0749

David Gaskin
Chairman
Wokingham Area Access Group

Here is a neighbourhood policing update for the Norreys & Westcott areas of Wokingham from Neighbourhood Specialist Officer (NSO) Caroline Powell:

This month we held our first police surgery which was a great success and was well attended by the local Wokingham community.

We organised for face painters to come from the local play scheme which the children enjoyed, as did some of the staff from the local public house The Norreys Barn!

Woolworths and Tesco’s kindly provided us with sweets, pencils and stickers for the children and Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue came along with the Wokingham fire engine and the adults and children were able to climb aboard.

With the good attendance we were able to ask the residents what their issues are on the area, and completed several surveys which we can feed back into the Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG) and start addressing the problems, with our partners.

The NAG is being re-instated and a pre NAG meeting has been arranged for Monday 8 October. The venue is yet to be confirmed and personal invitations will be sent by the team in due course.

There is an issue involving the Skate Park, London Road, Wokingham which in itself is a great success and a wonderful resource for the local youths.

I suspect that the area is being used as a place to hang out after dark and the people who use it at these time are leaving massive amounts of litter and empty alcohol cans, which the staff at St Crispins Leisure Centre, Wokingham have to clear up every morning.

I would like any local residents to contact the team regarding issues they might be having, if they can identify any particular nights of the week or times of day so we can engage with those responsible.

The next police surgery is being held at the Norreys Church, Norreys Avenue on Wednesday September 5 between 1pm and 5pm.

Members of the public will be able to come and talk with some of the team to discuss local issues and problems.

Thames Valley Police ~ Wokingham

Sunshine Gardening Services, one of the most successful horticultural enterprises in the Wokingham area, announced on Friday that it would expand its business into a franchise. For only £12,500, Sunshine Gardening Services is offering intensive training in horticulture and business, along with the use of its successful branding, a tailor-made website, traditional and internet advertising, accountancy and tax advice, and one-on-one troubleshooting and guidance.

"This is a very exciting time for us," said spokesperson and online marketing director Samantha Monk, whose father, Charles Monk, started Sunshine Gardening Services in 1995. "After years of learning the hard way, Sunshine has developed a formula that really works. Now it's time for us to take the next step and share that knowledge with other aspiring business owners."

The franchise is available immediately throughout southern England. Although the gardening business has some fierce players, Sunshine Gardening is confident that its sensible prices, its emphasis on integrity and professionalism, and its unerring commitment to its customers will set it apart from its competitors. In Wokingham, in any case, that approach has certainly worked.

For those who are interested in learning more, Charles can be reached at info@sunshinegardening.com, or by telephone on 0118 979 2291. The company's address is 22 Thorn Close, Wokingham, Berks, RG41 4SQ.

"The demand for garden services will never dwindle," said Samantha Monk. "If you've got green figures and enjoy the open air, or even if you just enjoy managing people and want join a growing industry, this is an opportunity not to miss."

Sunshine Gardening Services, Wokingham

Two days before the football season kicked off around the country, some 30 young Wokingham people battled it out on the football pitch in the annual Silverdale Cup tournament last Thursday (August 9).

Now in its fourth year, the annual tournament is organised by Wokingham Borough Council’s Silverdale Youth Centre in Earley. Young people from around the borough came together for a day of football and had the chance to test their skills against each other to see who would be triumphant in lifting the Silverdale Cup.

This year, the tournament started with a youth workers versus young people match, which was won by the young people after a penalty shoot-out. This was followed by a league competition running throughout the day with a break for a barbecue at lunchtime.

Following 18 league games, the final was won by team ‘Mandem’ made up of young people from Lower Earley, who beat ‘Mayfair Blues’ from Twyford by two goals to one. Cllr Malcolm Bryant, champion for Wokingham youth and leisure, awarded trophies for fair play to Earley team ‘Musically Inept’, to top scorer Carl Garstang, aged 16, from ‘Mayfair Blues’ and to winning team ‘Mandem’.

Wokingham Youth worker Elaine Wealleans said: “I was very impressed with the sportsmanship displayed throughout the day. Matches were well played, with a spirit of fairness and appreciation of each other’s skills. I would like to thank Junior Edwards who refereed for the third year running.”

Cllr Malcolm Bryant, champion for Wokingham youth and leisure, said: “It was a pleasure to be invited to watch this tournament and present the medals and trophies. Many of the young people have great footballing skills and the games were tightly contested. I was very impressed with this event and it was great to see so young people very enthusiastic about sport. It was a very enjoyable day for everyone involved and is now an annual fixture in the sporting calendar.”

20-year-old captain of ‘Mandem’ Lee Robinson said: “The day was spot on and I would like to say thank you to Elaine Wealleans and Julie Edwards for organising it. As usual everything went well!”

Wokingham Borough Council

Applying for your child’s place at your nearest Wokingham school is now even easier – thanks to an online school admissions scheme from Wokingham Borough Council.

Online application for school places, at www.wokingham.gov.uk/schooladmissions, was made available for the first time last year. It was a great success with over 40% of parents in Wokingham borough choosing to apply online for both the primary to secondary transfer group, and the entry to primary (starting school) group. This far exceeded the government target for online applications of 5 to 10%.

The benefits of applying online are:

•It is quick, easy and secure to fill in the form online
•You can apply from home at any time during the relevant application period
•There is no risk your application will get lost
•You will receive an email to confirm your application has been submitted
•You can change your application right up to the closing date
•You will be able to view the results of your application on the notification date

The Wokingham Council’s online application system ran smoothly during this first year, and those families who used it to apply for school places in the 2007-2008 academic year are about to begin at their new schools.

The system is now being prepared for next year, when applications for the 2008-2009 academic year will be available as follows:

Primary school to secondary school transfer: Applications from September 10, 2007 to October 24, 2007. (Notification of places: March 3, 2008)
Entry to primary school, and infant school to junior school transfer: Applications from December 1, 2007 to January 25, 2008. (Notification of places: March 31, 2008)

Wokingham School admissions lead officer Sue Riddick said: “Online applications have proved a great success. Staff at the council have worked hard to make sure this new system runs smoothly and I am glad we have found a way to take some of the pressure off parents.”

Executive member for Wokingham children’s services Cllr Frank Browne said: “The council is always looking for new ways to make things easier for parents and schools staff. We have one of the highest rates of connectivity to the internet in the country, so this improved service should be accessible to most residents at home. Those that do not have their own computer can use the PCs in one of our libraries.”

Wokingham Borough Council

Fridays nights are offering more activity for Winnersh youngsters – now Wokingham Borough Council has tackled boredom and turned anti-social behaviour into positive action at Bearwood recreation ground.

A dispersal order has been put in place by the Wokingham council and Thames Valley Police in partnership. The order is for Winnersh station and surrounding areas following complaints from residents of youth anti-social behaviour which have been received by both the council and police.

The Wokingham young people feel they have nowhere to go on a Friday night and being aware that the dispersal order would drive the young people to other areas, community safety operations manager Jenny Bennett and Wokingham council’s youth service have organised for the ‘mobile youth provision’, a van with activities that can be taken wherever youth workers think it would best be used, to visit Bearwood recreation ground. The van comes with youth workers, activities and soft drinks and is designed to provide somewhere safe for the young people to gather. It is currently on hand at the recreation ground every Friday evening from 6.30pm until 9pm.

“When we meet the young people we can make them more aware of the borough-wide activities that are available to them, and we can discuss anti-social behaviour,” says Wokingham area youth work manager Richard Ferguson.

Co-ordinated by Wokingham council’s community safety operations manager and youth service, local partners including Thames Valley Police, British Transport Police, South-West Trains and some residents who live near the train station have all been involved in tackling the problem of anti-social behaviour at the station.

Community safety operations manager Jenny Bennett said: “Now there is somewhere for young people to go when they need a safe place for socialising. So far the youth service team has been to the recreation ground three times and met with groups who have been moved on from the station and local young people who have been hanging around the park. This week the fun fair is using the site but the youth service will still be there – it will be an even better opportunity to meet young people and sign post them to summer activities. We can also make them aware of the dispersal order and what it means.”

Wokingham Neighbourhood inspector Lindsey James said: “I fully support the facility. My officers have been promoting it for a number of weeks in an attempt to help young people realise that there are areas where they can socialise safely. I hope that the young people take the opportunity to go and see what it offers. Those who do not wish to visit the van and continue to cause anti social behaviour will be dealt with under the powers of the Dispersal order.”

Executive member for community safety Wokingham Cllr Barrie Patman said: “This is a great way for different agencies, including the police and the train operators to collaborate with us and help young people find a positive outlet for their energy. The youth service has a wealth of activities on offer for teenagers, especially during the summer holidays, and is always keen to join up with partner agencies to help raise awareness of all the opportunities on offer. This new activity on offer is a direct response to the needs of the young people and the community they live in.”

The mobile provision will be attending the recreation ground every Friday until the end of September, when the council will evaluate the success of the initiative in order to decide how to take it forward.

Wokingham Borough Council

Adult learners in the Wokingham borough receive good teaching in good accommodation according to the service’s latest Ofsted report.

The Wokingham council works with partners such as Bracknell and Wokingham College to provide traditional vocational and non-vocational adult education courses and also contracts with community groups to deliver specialised courses targeted at specific needs and geographical areas.

Overall, the report rated the achievement and standards of Wokingham service as good, with inspectors praising the teaching, resources, accommodation, partnership work, retention of learners, management and monitoring of providers’ performance and action planning. Inspectors noted that learners ‘speak highly of their achievements in class and how much they enjoy attending’ and that ‘learners receive good teaching and learning. Learning sessions are well planned, with a wide range of activities and topics. Teachers make good use of information and learning technology and good quality learning resources in learning sessions.’

The way in which the Wokingham borough council works with partners such as the college and voluntary sector organisations was also praised, as was the council’s My Family Matters course, which was developed to help families who were identified by some of the Wokingham borough’s primary schools as needing some additional support. These families were invited to join a series of evening and morning sessions devoted to developing parents’ skills to help them support their families. The report stated that ‘the development of parenting and social skills on the My Family Matters course is excellent’.

The inspectors asked learners what they thought of the Wokingham council’s provision and concluded that they liked the welcoming atmosphere of all centres, the teachers, volunteers and staff, the way the courses are well organised and meet individual needs, the benefits of learning close to home, with family and with friends.

The report also highlighted areas where the service could be improved – and has been working with partners to develop. These are, arrangements to assess and record learners’ progress, development of the skills for life strategy, planning of provision to meet the needs of under-represented groups, observation of teaching and learning and information on how learners can progress.

The report rated Wokingham council’s capacity to improve as good and Wokingham Borough Council is already concentrating on the areas highlighted by the inspection with a quality improvement plan in place, the installation of a new information system, the introduction of tutor training days and expansion of neighbourhood delivery and the family learning service.

Wokingham Borough Council lifelong learning manager Wendy Crosson-Smith said: “It is clear our learners enjoy their courses and appreciated the good teaching and facilities we offer. This report is a real credit to all our staff and volunteers and I am delighted the inspectors have recognised their skill and hard work. One of the main points of these Ofsted reports is to highlight areas that can be worked on and the inspection team confirmed that we are concentrating on the right areas. We are confident we can make the improvements suggested and have already taken steps in line with the recommendations.”

Wokingham Borough Council

Almost half of all burglaries happen when a flat or house is empty and, with the summer holidays here, Thames Valley Police and Wokingham Borough Council are advising home owners to take a few simple steps to protect themselves from burglary.

In about a quarter of break-ins, particularly those that take place in the summer, entry is gained through insecure doors and windows, particularly at the rear. Thieves are experts at identifying homes that are in some way vulnerable and a burglary can be committed in a just few minutes. When going away on holiday, many householders leave telltale signs that the home is temporarily unoccupied, but these can be easily avoided by following these guidelines:

· Set your domestic alarm (if you have one) and give the monitoring station details of the key holder

· Ask a neighbour to keep an eye on your home. For example, ask them to collect your mail or make sure it is pushed through your letterbox. If possible ask them to open and close your curtains and switch lights on occasionally to give the appearance somebody is home. They may even be able to park in your driveway on occasion

· Hide away any financial documents and keys

· Make sure all windows and doors are locked

· Remember to cancel your milk and newspaper deliveries and make use of the Royal Mail’s letter and parcel holding service
· If you want to put identification on your suitcase, do so inside so it is not generally visible.

· Operate a timer switch for lights and possibly a radio or TV

· Make sure no ladders or other equipment that could help burglars are within view or easy reach

· Even cutting the lawn just before you go away can help make it look less obvious that the house is empty

· Lock all jewellery safely away and do not leave cash in the house

Carol-Anne Jennings, community safety officer for crime reduction at Wokingham Borough Council, said: “Residents can take simple steps to avoid becoming a victim of these opportunist thieves. Home security advice is available from the police’s Crime Reduction Officers. We would also strongly recommend that residents join their local Neighbourhood Watch Scheme or, if they don’t have one, getting together and setting one up.”

Wokingham Borough Council

Parents can pick up a free book to enjoy with their children at Wokingham Library as part of a scheme to encourage families to read together.

As part of the Wokingham scheme, which is being run by Learndirect, anybody can get a copy of Where did the river go?, an illustrated book by Peter Corey, with drawings by Charlotte Firmin, that is a perfect book for parents to read to their children. The book has puzzles and questions at the bottom of each page and readers must work out the answer to find which page the story continues on.

Anybody visiting www.wheredidtherivergo.co.uk can download a voucher to get a copy of the book. They can take the voucher to Learndirect’s reception at Wokingham Library and collect their free copy. The website also has information about the importance of reading with children and tips on how to make sure the whole family enjoys books. There is also advice for adults who want to improve their own reading skills.

Alan Bennett, Learndirect manager in Wokingham, said: ”Reading together with your children helps them develop some of the skills that will give them a great start in life. It would be a great shame if parents do not read to their children because they are not confident about reading themselves and Learndirect can help people get over that. We offer literacy courses that can make a huge difference to people lives – and to the lives of their children.”

Learndirect is an e-learning programme that is funded by the Government’s University for Industry programme and is provided in Wokingham by the borough council. It offers a wide range of courses, including computing and business management as well as numeracy and literacy.

Learndirect is based at Wokingham Library and has outreach centres at Whitegrove Library in Bracknell on Mondays, Woodley Library on Tuesdays, Winnersh Library on Wednesdays, Crowthorne Library on Thursdays and Lower Earley Library on Fridays. However copies of Where did the river go? are only available at Wokingham Library.

Anybody interested in finding out more about Learndirect in the Wokingham borough can contact Alan Bennett on 0118 978 8069 or email him at alan.bennett@wokingham.gov.uk. Learndirect’s reception at Wokingham Library is open from 9.30am to 7pm on Mondays and Thursdays, 9.30am to 5pm on Tuesday and Fridays and 9.30am to 1pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Executive member for community development Cllr Dianne King said: “An early introduction to books is a wonderful gift that parents can give to children that will last all their lives. It is also great fun so the more people who take up this offer, the better.”

Wokingham Borough Council

Wokingham Library’s Harry Potter Midnight Launch Party may be over but the summer of activities for children and teenagers at the borough’s libraries continues.

Praise from the guests at the launch party, held on Friday July 20 to celebrate the unveiling of the seventh and final Hogwarts instalment Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has been pouring in, with all of the Wokingham children and parents rating the party as very good or good. Comments received included: ‘fantastic and exciting’, ‘it was very cool’ and ‘great event, very impressed that staff were willing to stay up past midnight’.

But the summer fun is not over and the Wokingham borough’s libraries are all holding events to tempt children and teenagers through their doors. As part of the Big Wild Read summer reading challenge, libraries across the borough are organising events for children and young people and next month these will include a Manga workshop at Wokingham Library. The workshop will be run by professional Manga artists Sonia Leong and Emma Vieceli, who have recently been involved in a project to produce Manga versions of Shakespeare plays. Manga is a style of cartoon drawing that originated in Japan and has become popular in the UK in recent years.

As well as the Manga workshops Wokingham borough’s libraries offer a range of fiction and non-fiction books and magazines for teenagers and Winnersh Library hosts the Winnersh Gaming Club where members can play the popular strategy game Warhammer 40K. The gaming club meets on the first and third Saturdays of each month from 10.30am to 12.30pm and is open to library members aged 11 and over. Sessions cost £1.

Joining Wokingham borough libraries is free and easy and anybody who lives, studies or works in the borough or holds a valid membership for any other Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire or Surrey library can join. To join, residents need to fill in an application form and produce one form of identification showing name and current address - a driving licence or bank statement accompanied by a bank card would be appropriate. Those under 18 will also need a signature from a parent or guardian or any other adult member of the library to join.

Wokingham Borough Council reader development officer for young people and families, Elizabeth McDonald said: “We often have great success attracting young children and their families into the borough’s libraries and that is wonderful, but there is a lot on offer for teenagers as well. Events such as the Manga workshop and regular activities such as the Winnersh Gaming Club offer a fun way for young people to get involved in their local libraries. And, of course, if they take a book out as well then so much the better.”

The Manga Workshops, for children aged 11 and over, will be at Wokingham Library from 10am to 12.30pm and 2pm to 4.30pm on August 16. It is free to go but places must be booked from 0118 978 1368.

Wokingham Borough Council

Local young Wokingham people aged between 16 and 19 will soon have the opportunity to take part in an energetic and innovative programme designed to help them consider and choose career goals thanks to Wokingham Borough Council’s youth service.

This programme has been designed for NEETs – a government term for those young people who are not in education, employment or training – and it will start in mid September. Cllr Malcolm Bryant, champion for Wokingham youth and leisure, said: “There may be many different reasons why a young person is not working or in college or school and often they need some support in finding their niche.

“There are so many choices available to teenagers now and it’s understandable that sometimes it can be an overwhelming deciding on a career path. And, sometimes life just gets in the way.”

And, this is how Wokingham borough council’s ‘NEET Solutions’ can help! The programme is designed to work with young people in supporting and motivating them through the transition from school into employment or training. The project comprises a variety of activities such as team building at Oakwood Youth Challenge in Wokingham, Motorwise vehicle safety, first aid, interview and telephone skills and visits to different workplaces.

The project has been put together by Wokingham neighbourhood youth worker Mike Bennett and it will be based at Wokingham Youth Centre. He said: “We are aiming to help give young people the necessary skills, and most of all, confidence in their own abilities so that they feel able to move on. We are not promising a job at the end of this project, but what we will promise is that they will have a better chance of being employed if they put in 100 per cent.”

Transport to activities is provided by the youth service free of charge and young people attending the programme will receive up to £30 a week if they attend every session. Lunch is provided and the course will run for three to four hours each day for 10 to12 weeks – final details are still being made. Funding for this project has been allocated from the Berkshire Association of Clubs for Young People and it will give young people the chance to learn new skills and meet new people.

Anyone aged between 16 and 18 and interested in taking part should can contact Mike Bennett on (0118) 978 3610 for an application form.

Nigel Shaw, head of Wokingham youth service, said: "Some young people need more support than others in the transition from school to work or further training. Parents often don't realise that finding employment is different now to when they were younger – they possibly found jobs easily even with few qualifications. Young people need to be supported to recognise their strengths and attributes. Courses like these look at building skills that employers are looking for and will help equip young people to find the best possible work or learning opportunities."

Wokingham Borough Council