Westfield school
The Council has published a list of schools which may be closed tomorrow because of a strike by one of the teachers unions.
Those affected include Hob Moor and Westfield.
York High and Millthorpe will be “partially open”.
Dringhouses and Woodthorpe are expected to remain open.
Change4Life and Disney are partnering on a major new campaign – 10 Minute Shake Up – to help encourage the city’s children to get active this summer.
The 10 Minute Shake Up campaign uses a bit of Disney magic to inspire children to reach the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity per day, with fun, manageable 10 minute bursts of exercise with an aim of getting children across the country moving for an extra 100 million minutes this summer.
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The event, which will take place from 4.30pm-7.30pm at the Hilton Hotel, will showcase exciting Apprenticeship opportunities from both large and small to medium-sized York employers.
The recruitment event comes after the success of the York Apprenticeship Challenge which saw 104 local businesses pledge to create 162 Apprenticeship vacancies in the city.
Young people aged 16-24 and their parents will have the chance to meet with recruiting employers as well as find out about alternative routes to Level 3 qualifications and university.
20 employers and 10 training providers will be advertising over 250 Apprenticeship vacancies covering a range of sectors including; business and finance, construction, creative and cultural, digital marketing and social media, engineering, I.T, health and more. Employers attending the event include City of York Council, NHS, Barratt Homes, Nestle, Garbutt and Elliott Solicitors, GIA Architects, Purenet, McDonalds, York Cocoa House, Meltons Restaurant and many more.
Connexions advisors will be available at 29 Castlegate alongside the event to support young people with their next-level options, including Apprenticeships, plus CV and Job Application workshops.
For more information on the event contact york.apprenticeships@york.gov.uk or visit www.facebook.com/yorkapprenticeships.
The school project, organised by the council’s sport and active leisure team, has a theme of ‘Tour de France: What path will you take?’ and will see 110 white canvas banners decorated by school children.
The banners will be returned to the school that made them after the event as a memento of the day. The schools taking part are Badger Hill Primary School, Carr Infant School, Dringhouses Primary School, Elvington CE Primary School, Fishergate Primary School, Headlands Primary School, Heworth Primary School, Hob Moor Community Primary School, Huntington Primary School, Knavesmire Primary School, New Earswick Primary School, Osbaldwick Primary School, Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Roman Catholic Primary, Ralph Butterfield Primary School, Robert Wilkinson Primary School, Rufforth Primary School, St Aelred’s Roman Catholic Primary School, St Lawrence’s Church of England Primary School, Tang Hall Primary School, Westfield Primary Community School, Wigginton Primary School and Woodthorpe Primary School.
The Sport Activation Zone at York Racecourse Spectator Hub is open to everyone who has a ticket. They will be able to find out more about cycling, sport and health opportunities in the city. Visitors will be able to try different sports, pick up healthy living information and enter free, fun activity challenges.
A competition for young people to win exciting prizes by making a difference in their community has been launched for the second year running.
The Lifestyle competition is open to school children aged between 10 and 16 across York and North Yorkshire who want to do something positive for their community during the summer holidays.
In return for helping their community, contestants will get the chance to win a host of prizes including PLG adventure holidays and mountain bikes.
Last year’s winners include Team Community Spirit who raised funds for their local boxing club in Acomb, The Green Team who launched a campaign to re-use and recycle in York, Team Ice who organised the clean up of their local park in Sherburn in Elmet and Eastfield Youth Council from the Scarborough area who cleaned up The Dell and devised a campaign to encourage people not to drop litter.
This year’s project was launched at Westfield Primary School in York with the help of Minster FM’s presenter “Griffo”.
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Following the tragic incident in Leeds recently the York Council has published details of the number of attacks by pupils on teachers over the last 5 years.
They say that 16 instances were reported to the Local Authority
13 incidents resulted in cuts/bruises/grazes. 2 injuries were due to bites. 1 resulted in a broken thumb
Only one incident resulted in a teacher having to go to hospital
The locations for the attacks were recorded as
Pupils at Burton Green Primary School are boosting their learning thanks to 80 new Learn Pad tablets, which have been provided by The Little Society Charity and City of York Council.
Access to the Learn Pads for all children from Nursery to Year 6 will improve the pupils literacy and numeracy skills by making learning more fun and interactive, as well as helping their parents practise their own skills, as part of regular pupil-parent joint learning workshops.
A ten year old at the school, said: “I enjoyed the workshop because I was able to experience the activities on the Learnpad, and because I could play games with my Mum.”
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Figures released by DfE last week show school absence in York are amongst the lowest in the country.
In York, absence in primary schools for the 2013 autumn term fell to 3.4 per cent, a figure bettered in only three of the other 150 local authorities.
Similarly, absence in secondary schools fell to 4.4 per cent – the best ever figure for a term in York secondary schools – bettered by only 11 of the 150 other Local Authorities.
Absence figures in York’s secondary schools are also reducing at a faster rate than the national trend.
Where there are barriers or challenges to a child attending regularly, schools work with families to support them in resolving the issues.
Parents of toddlers in York are being urged to check out whether they’re eligible for free childcare.
From 1 September over 600 two-year-olds in York – double last year’s figure – are eligible for up to 15 hours of free childcare a week at a playgroup, day nursery or with a childminder as part of a national initiative.
Parents, who earn no more than £16,190 a year and receive Working Tax Credits, Child Tax Credit or Income Support, could be eligible for a free childcare place. Two-year-olds, who are looked after by the council or have a Child Protection Plan, automatically qualify for a place.
From 1st September children with special educational needs, those who have been adopted or with a residency/special guardianship order will also qualify for a place.
The free places are available to children who are two years of age and whose parents fulfil the criteria. The places can be taken up the term after the child’s second birthday.
Parents can apply on line at www.yor-ok.org.uk/childcare or to find out more call the Family Information Service on 01904 554444 or text ‘’free place’ to 07624 802244.
The York Council has admitted that it will need to find school places for at least an additional 800 primary age children by 2016.
These are children who will move to the City to occupy houses built on (mainly) green field sites around the City.
The number is in addition to a forecast increase of 1359 primary pupils resulting from natural changes to birth rates and new developments already scheduled to take place.
The number of primary school pupils stands at 12513. This will increase to over 14,000 by September 2016.
The Council says that it has identified between 13 and 15 schools which will need to be expanded, with “one or two” additional schools being built.
The Council accepts that most of the expansion – the costs and source of funding for which are not yet known – will be built on existing playgrounds and playing fields.
With “lead in” times for new school buildings in excess of 2 years, it is likely that the City will see greater use being made of temporary classrooms over the next few years.
The revelations come at a time when the Council is starting to consult on proposals to include still more – mainly green field – land in its development plans..
The draft Local Plan published by the Labour led Council 12 months ago proposed that the City should increase in size by 22,000 homes (25%).
Following the highest number of objections ever received for a city-wide consultation in York, theCouncil is moving closer to adopting a Local Plan for the city. The new proposals change some of the sites and add in others.
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