We’ve changed our approach to how we deal with referrals to children’s services to ensure the child is kept at the heart of the assessments made.
We now do more to understand the child’s circumstances and what they want. As well as recognising the strengths and capabilities of their family.
The Children’s Single Point of Access team has also been made bigger. This team is the first point of contact for anyone making a new referral to children’s services – including partner agencies and members of the public.
The team now includes a police community support officer, with a youth justice social worker, an education social worker and a health visitor set to join in 2017.
With a little bit of help families can often meet their own needs and don’t always need Social Services. But if we believe a child is at risk, we will act without delay to safeguard their welfare.
We have out-performed every council in Wales so we’re going to keep monitoring how we are doing and how our service will keep the child at the heart of the matter.
“…a child is at the heart of our assessment”
Cllr Bill Baldwin, Lead Member for Children’s Services, said: “Understanding how a young person feels is crucial in meeting their needs, and the needs of their family.
“That’s why seeing and talking with a child is at the heart of our assessment process.”
This article has been taken from the Annual Directors of Social Services Report, which is available here.
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Wrexham’s economy has received a boost thanks to a successful partnership between the council and a local business.
RW Hough & Sons Ltd is carrying out improvement work to Wrexham Council’s housing stock.
It’s part of the council’s extensive modernisation project to ensure properties achieve the Welsh Government’s Welsh Housing Quality Standard by 2020.
Contractors who carry out housing improvement work for the council are required to commit to community benefit schemes, ensuring the local area benefits from the investment.
“A long standing and successful relationship…”
Director Ian Nash explains how their partnership with the council has benefitted Wrexham…
“We have a long-standing and successful relationship with Wrexham Council, and are currently carrying out external wall insulation and re-roofing work to properties in Acton and Coedpoeth.
“We’re also plastering new kitchens and bathrooms.
“During the Coedpoeth phase of work, we rented office-space at Plas Pentwyn Community Centre and encouraged use of the excellent community facilities – purchasing supplies from local businesses and using local shops, petrol stations and so on.”
Mr Nash adds: “We employ around 50 people, all of whom live in the county borough.
“We’ve also taken on a modern apprentice who studies at Coleg Cambria, and we’ve given work experience to two other students from the college.
“As well as these economic benefits, our partnership with Wrexham Council has led to a number of successful community projects.
“We’ve helped refurbish the activity garden at Tapley Children’s House in Acton, and helped improve the Flying Starts building in Caia Park.
“We’ve organised community open days in Coedpoeth and Acton, offering local tenants a chance to come and discuss the work being carried out to their properties.
“Contributing something positive back into the communities we are working in has been a priority for us, and we’re very proud of what we’ve achieved thanks to our partnership with Wrexham Council.”
RW Hough & Sons staff: Somyot Khankaeo, Matthew Smullen, Chloe Nash (Modern Apprentice), Geraint W. Jones, Geraint O Jones, Martin Hough
Record investment in housing improvements
The council is investing a record £54m on housing improvement work in 2017/18.
This includes a £7.5m Major Repairs Allowance grant – awarded by the Welsh Government to help us achieve the Welsh Housing Quality Standard.
The investment has led a number of successful community benefit schemes. Over 60 apprentices have been taken on by council contractors and over 70 staff have been given full or part-time employment.
And more than £63,000 has been donated as cash or in-kind to organisations or projects within Wales.
Lead Member for Housing, Cllr David Griffiths, said: “This is the third year in a row we’ve broken the record for investment on improving our social housing stock.
“We’re modernising tenants’ homes across the county borough and it is vital that as much of this investment as possible is pumped back into our local economy and communities.
“It’s encouraging to see that we’ve been able to develop successful partnerships with a number of local businesses, and that career opportunities and community facilities have been able to benefit as a result.”
You can find out more about Community Benefits and the Welsh Housing Quality Standard on the council website.
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Cllr David A Bithell, Lead Member for the Environment and Transport, said: “I am very pleased we have been able to offer free car parking again for this very popular town centre event.
“Play Day sees thousands of young people taking part in free activities throughout the day and I hope free car parking is a help to many parents and carers at the start of the busy summer holiday period.”
Play Day takes place on Wednesday, August 2 between 12noon and 4pm and traditionally sees young people take over the town centre with free activities organised by our Play Team.
They usually go home tired, wet and messy…but very, very happy.
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In Wrexham the MacMillan end of life care facilitation team, BCUHB and Wrexham Council have facilitated a health led education programme, The Six Steps Palliative and End of Life Care Education Programme, for staff in Nursing Homes.
It is important that individuals in care homes are able to have a say in their care choices and this education programme empowers staff to support individuals with dignity, sensitivity and compassion.
The Care Homes involved received their certificates for their organisations at a ceremony at the Guildhall recently.
Nursing homes play a vital role in the care of older people at the end of their life. they provide palliative care for 16% of the population, increasing to 30% of those aged over 85 years. It is therefore very important that the workforce is trained to deliver high quality evidence based care to patients who are coming to the end of their life.
“comfort and support”
Cllr Joan Lowe, Lead Member for Health and Adult Social Care, said:
“Sadly, we all must prepare at some point for the death of a loved one. To be able to talk with carers who are specially trained in this subject will be a comfort and support to those involved. I would like to thank those who delivered this programme for their dedication and sensitivity surrounding this very difficult subject and to the care homes that are embracing this education initiative.”
At the centre of the Six Steps programme is the nomination of staff in each care setting who will champion palliative and end of life care.
Life Care Champions award ceremony at Wrexham Guildhall
Care homes in Wrexham who took part in the training were Plas Rhosnesni, Cae Bryn, Highfield/Bryn Bella, Llangollen Fechan, Bodlondeb and Gwastad Hall.
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We’ve also found plastic garden chairs. Again, not great composting material (you won’t see Monty Don feeding his tomatoes with shredded PVuC).
Other weird finds include fencing, bricks and concrete. All of these things are big no-no’s and if we spot them, we won’t empty that bin – we just can’t compost that stuff.
But the good news is…
Most Wrexham residents do a great job of filling their green bins, and last year you helped us produce 6,800 tonnes of compost (and our total recycling figure was a whopping 68% of household waste).
But we have to admit it’s easy to sometimes make a genuine mistake, so here’s a quick reminder of what you should and shouldn’t put in your green bin.
Yes please…
Grass cuttings
Hedge and shrub prunings
Dead flowers
Weeds
No thanks…
Soil
Wood
Bricks
Japanese Knotweed
Pet and animal faeces
Any type of cardboard
Cllr David A Bithell, lead member for environment, said: “When it comes to recycling and composting, people in Wrexham do an amazing job.
“It’s true we find some unusual items! But most people do a smashing job, and I’d like to thank everyone who puts their garden waste in their green bin.”
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Have you or your children started learning Welsh recently?
If so, maybe you’ve used what has become an incredibly popular app?
Magi Ann a’i Ffrindiau (Magi Ann and her Friends) is a series of apps designed to help children and adults alike learn Welsh – put together by Menter Iaith Fflint a Wrecsam and launched in late 2014.
They are now in the running for a national award, having made the shortlist for the Education Category in the 2017 National Lottery Awards.
The project reached the final shortlist after competing against more than 1,300 applicants across the United Kingdom.
More than 99,000 downloads
The apps, which tell the story of the character Magi Ann and her friends, have helped people throughout the world learn to read in Welsh, with the apps downloaded more than 99,000 times.
“As in the aims set out by our Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP), we as a council want to do all we can to encourage more people, of any age, to take just a little more time out of their day to learn Welsh – and apps such as Magi Ann a’i Ffrindiau have proven incredibly popular in helping people to pick up Welsh during their day-to-day lives.
“We wish Menter Iaith every success, and hope Magi Ann takes the award.”
“Excited to reach the finals”
Gill Stephen, Chief Officer at Menter Iaith Fflint a Wrecsam, said: “I’m excited that we have reached the finals of the National Lottery Awards out of 1,300 nominations – this is excellent news, and recognition of the importance of this work.
“These apps are important resources for children learning to read in Welsh, be they first language Welsh-speakers, or Welsh learners.
“There is an obvious demand for the apps in Wales, but we also know of families that are benefiting from using the apps across the world – from Japan to Patagonia, from America to Sweden!”
The nationwide Green Flag Award scheme began in 1997, with the aim of promoting well-kept and attractive country parks, open spaces and gardens across Britain and rewarding those where volunteers and local authorities have been hard at work maintaining them.
Community Green Flag Awards
The other sites in the county borough which took the coveted Community Green Flag Award, which awards public spaces maintained by organisations such as churches, schools, community groups and others, are:
Plas Pentwyn, Coedpoeth
Maes y Pant, Marford Quarry
St Mary’s Churchyard, Chirk
The Wrexham Incredible Edible Project
“Fantastic open spaces in Wrexham”
Cllr David A Bithell, Lead Member for Environment and Transport, said: “I was very pleased last year when Acton Park joined the list of our Green Flag-awarded parks, and it’s always a pleasure to see our parks have retained the award for another successive year.
“We have some fantastic open spaces here in Wrexham with some dedicated teams behind them – volunteers and rangers alike – ensuring that they remain impressive and attractive places for the public to visit, so it’s good to see their efforts recognised.
“Congratulations to all those sites taking the Green Flag Community Award as well – it’s an excellent commendation.
“I’d recommend that anyone who gets some free time in the sunshine to get out and enjoy our open spaces and country parks – they all offer a fantastic day out.”
Plas Pentwyn, Coedpoeth, has taken an award for the second year running.
“Looking forward to next 12 months” at Plas Pentwyn
The volunteers at Plas Pentwyn work hard to keep the garden maintained, and have received help from nearby Penygelli Primary School, who visited the garden every week with a small group of children in a bid to teach them practical gardening skills.
The volunteers have also worked on developing a community orchard, in which people of the local community will eventually be able to pick healthy fruit off the trees.
Stacey Deere, Centre Development Manager, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be awarded the Green Flag Community Award for the second year.
“Every year the garden improves thanks to the volunteers who love and cherish this green scape. The intergeneration work they have been doing with the school is fantastic and we are very much looking forward to seeing what the next 12 months will bring!”
Cllr Bithell added: “I would like to congratulate Plas Pentwyn on their success and I hope to see many more of these awards being given to the people of Wrexham in the future.”
Plas Pentwyn is an Enterprise & Lifelong Learning Centre run by Wrexham Council’s Economic Development team, and can be found on Castle Road in Coedpoeth.
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A community skip day has helped council tenants tidy their local area.
The clean up event, held at Gwenfro, Caia Park in Wrexham, was arranged by Wrexham Council’s Caia Estate Office.
Skips were placed on an accessible part of land and tenants were able to get rid of bulky rubbish and other unwanted items.
Council staff from Streetscene, Caia Estate Office and tenant volunteers were on hand to help dispose of the items, which included everything from televisions to bicycles.
Local councillor for Gwenfro, Cllr Carrie Harper, came along to help the team of volunteers.
She said: “It’s been a hugely successful day. Tenants from all around the area have been bringing out all their unwanted items and rubbish.
“We’ve managed to fill three skips so this is great for the local community as it’s allowed us to remove the rubbish from people’s homes and gardens.
“Many thanks to Streetscene, the tenant volunteers and to the caretakers and staff from the Caia, Plas Madoc and Wrexham Central estate offices for organizing the event and for coming to help out.
“It’s been great to see so many tenants taking advantage of this great scheme.”
Upcoming skip days on your estate…
Lead councillor for Housing, Cllr David Griffiths, said: “I’m delighted that this event has been such a success.
“Our estate offices hold skip days like this around the county borough – particularly in the summer months – and they’re always popular.
“They are a great opportunity for tenants to dispose of bulky items without having to travel far from their homes.”
Council tenants can find out more about upcoming skip day events on their estate by following Wrexham Council’s Housing Facebook page.
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