Coronavirus York updates; 10th November 2020

Deaths and test results

One additional care home death has been registered (3/11)

The total York death toll (occurrences) is now 178.

No additional York Hospital Trust deaths have been announced today

35 (THIRTY FIVE) new cases were announced today bringing the total to 4228. Todays figure is the lowest since September. The 7 day rate figure at 179.48 is the lowest since the beginning of October and is further evidence that the epidemic is slowly declining in the City.

Some neighbourhoods are still showing a small increase in case numbers

Overall the City remains below the county, regional and national infection rate averages.

Council Q & A on COVID response including health and Education

Join the next live #AskTheLeaders Live Coronavirus Q&A on the council’s Facebook page this Wednesday 11 November at 5.30-6.30pm.

The panel will be discussing your questions and comments about emotional health, wellbeing, what we can do to support each other, education and the city’s response to Coronavirus.

Residents are invited to watch live on Facebook to hear from panellists including:

  • Cllr Keith Aspden, Leader of City of York Council
  • Cllr Carol Runciman, Executive Member for Health and Adult Social Care
  • Sharon Stoltz, Director for Public Health
  • Maxine Squire, Assistant Director for Education and Skills
  • Naomi Lonergan, Director of Operations for North Yorkshire and York, Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV)
  • Katherine Davies, Consultant Clinical Psychologist at Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV).

Residents can interact with the session by either submitting questions in advance by emailing them to YourQuestions@york.gov.uk or commenting on the live video on Facebook where leaders will read out questions and respond. Questions may be answered by theme rather than individually, so that the conversation covers as many topics as possible.

Cllr Keith Aspden, Leader of City of York Council, said:

2020 has been an exceptionally tough year for us all, which is why it is important that we all come together to help each other through these difficult times. We have a panel for this live Q&A session that will help give us information on how to look after our own and others health and wellbeing.

“We will also be answering your questions on the latest information on our response, with schools and the public health measures that have been put into place across the city.”

Cllr Carol Runciman, Executive Member for Health and Adult Social Care, said:

As we once again find ourselves in a national lockdown it is vital that we look out for one another during this extremely difficult time. There are some simple steps that we can all take to help each other, a phone call or a text can make a huge difference to someone’s day.

“It’s important to remember that it’s okay to not be okay during this time and that there is help and support ready and waiting whether your problem is big or small. Residents can comment live on Facebook or submit their questions beforehand to YourQuestions@york.gov.uk.”

For the latest York updates on service changes, online support and how you can get involved in supporting your community visit www.york.gov.uk/Coronavirus

Council works to ensure children don’t go hungry this half-term

Good Job GIFs | Tenor

City of York Council has today approved funding to provide more than 2850 children with food vouchers to support them this half-term.

The council is providing almost £43,000 of emergency funding to continue supporting children with free school meals, for children who normally receive free school meals during term-time. This is on top of the £9000 previously spent on free school meals from the emergency fund set up to support individuals and  families during the pandemic.

The council has put in place emergency funding for October half-term and will be seeking support from the Government and bringing forward proposals for further support during Christmas, February half-term and Easter.

Schools will be in touch with the families of those children that are eligible to ensure they can get their £15 voucher.

Councillor Keith Aspden, Leader of City of York Council said: “This has been a difficult year for everyone and as a council, we have been doing everything we can to support local residents.

“We want to ensure that children who receive Free School Meals don’t go hungry this half-term. Nearly 3,000 children can access this support, with vouchers of £15 per child provided to all who are eligible for free school meals.

“Staff at the city’s schools have been incredible in supporting children and families and once again they are stepping up to help administer this programme. I am incredibly grateful for all they are doing.”
 

9,700 local children to take part in Walk to School Week 2020

Almost two thirds of York’s primary schools will take part in Walk to School Week 2020, which runs from 5 to 9 October during International Walk to School Month.

The annual awareness-raising event aims to encourage children and their families to walk, cycle or scoot to and from school, rather than travelling by car.

Locally, around 9,700 students from 31 different schools will get involved. City of York Council’s iTravel team will present the Jack Archer Award to the school with the highest proportion of its students walking, cycling or scooting throughout the week, as well as cash to spend on sports equipment. The Jack Archer Award is now in its seventeenth year and Age UK has supported the competition since it was first launched as part of its intergenerational work to encourage children to be more active.

School improvements on hold in York

It seems the York Council has decided to shelve some schemes in its school maintenance and improvements programme.

In total around £4 million of works are being slipped into next year.

Schemes which are expected to be carried out in this financial year are located at Dringhouses and Ralph Butterfield Primaries.

A start on a major extension of Fulford school is also expect to start before the end of the financial year.

The delays are blamed on COVID-19 restrictions.

Work on a replacement library at Haxby will also not now start until 2021 at the earliest.

Council support for key stage 4 (GCSE) students

Exam Results GIFs | Tenor

With Key Stage 4 results day fast approaching, City of York Council is reminding young people across the city of the support available at this challenging time.

This year’s Key stage 4 results (GCSE level) will be based on grades predicted by teachers, as students were unable to take formal examinations because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Support is available for school leavers who are seeking an apprenticeship or employment opportunity, wanting to move into full time education in York or who are concerned about their personal circumstances acting as a barrier to accessing education, employment or training.

People can find support in York from:

  • Their school. Teaching staff will be able to support pupils with their next steps.
  • Careers Advisers employed by our schools
  • Admissions teams at York College and Askham Bryan College
  • City of York Council Learning and Work Advisers in our Young People’s Service at 30 Clarence Street; pre booked appointment slots are available and advisers can support with searching for vacancies, developing your CV, completing applications and preparing for interviews. Tel: 01904 555400
  • National Careers Service – for local employment and training opportunities; or call the national help-line 0800 100 900
  • Council-led ‘York Apprenticeship Hub’ – find us on Facebook @ York Apprenticeships; email us at York.apprenticeships@york.gov.uk; www.york.gov.uk/yorkapprenticeships for local apprenticeship vacancies. There are still around 50 opportunities in the city and many more in Leeds across a range of sectors and job roles and we can sign post you to agencies and training providers.

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Adult learning in York must face up to COVID challenge

Shine programme

The Council will consider an update report tomorrow on how well its York Learning (further education) service is performing. Not surprisingly, courses have been interrupted with many of the venues used by the service not being available for hire.

The Council produced a “Shine” booklet recently outlining what was available this summer. Mainly aimed at families, it can be accessed by clicking here

Much of the York Learning’s £3 million budget is spent on providing educational opportunities for disadvantaged groups.

Some performance information has now been published click

It reveals that events such as “job fairs” have been shelved in the wake of the health scare. Given the likely increase in unemployment in the City, providing services like this must have a high priority even if they have to be established initially on a “virtual” basis.

Reskilling the workforce will be a challenge as the City – and country – tries to emerge from recession. Judging by the published report, York Learning has yet to adapt its priorities to address that challenge.

The report reveals a decline in student numbers – including refugees – undertaking English language courses. This is partly explained by the lower number of inward migrants to the area. Some courses are also now available on line using “zoom”.

The report to the meeting acknowledges that during recent months some residents have become more isolated than they needed to be because of lack of IT skills. Many services were only available “on line” during the crisis and libraries were closed.

Filling that skills gap is a top priority for the service

The learning team have been criticised in the past for being slightly remote from local communities. Residents Associations rarely receive any information about upcoming local activities.

The Council will need to engage more effectively in the future if those in greatest need of skills training are to receive  the support that they need.

York Learning Summer Festival

Adult Learning: February 2014

York Learning (part of City of York Council) is hosting their first ever Summer Festival, offering residents a variety of fun and uplifting activities for the whole family.

Taking place throughout August, residents will have the opportunity to perfect their skills or learn new skills with a series of classes ranging from foreign language to mask-making; painting to dancing; or BBQ cooking to photography.

This year, the festival will have a special focus on supporting local resident’s wellbeing. York Learning will be offering Pilates, Yoga, Tai Chi, Dancefit workshops and mindfulness classes designed to help people come to terms with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

There will also be the chance to prepare fun ways to get your kids ready for school, perfect your writing skills and enjoy fun-filled family activities. All Summer Festival courses and workshops are available to pre-book online at www.yorklearning.org.uk.

York Learning has been offering an extended range of online classes for all to enjoy during the coronavirus outbreak, and will continue during the summer holiday period.

To see all the Summer Festival workshops and courses, visit www.yorklearning.org.uk and keep an eye on the York Learning and Family Learning Facebook pages, Instagram, and Twitter.

Vulnerable children and young people in York to receive laptops

3,000 Newcastle families to get free laptops and internet access ...

Over 450 children and young people across the city will have access to their own laptops this summer, as part of a national scheme to help vulnerable young people during the Coronavirus pandemic.

The laptops will be distributed by children’s social workers to children and young people they’re working with who don’t currently have internet access, as well as recent care leavers.

Several Councils been given laptops to distribute under a government programme covering children with a social worker, those who are leaving the care system, and Year 10 students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

It is understood that the move is aimed a ensuring that no child falls behind with their home work as a result of COVID restrictions.

The Council has yet to confirm that the equipment will remain the property of the local authority or what maintenance and insurance arrangements have been put in place.

Primary School admissions announced for York

Primary school admission figures for entry in September show that 94.2% of York children have been given their first preference of school.

City of York Council’s figures published today (16 April) show that 98.6% of pupils got one of their first three preferences.

The percentage of children getting their first preference fell slightly on last year’s figures, by 1.7% overall. Those getting their second preference increased by 0.4% overall compared to last year’s data.

In 2020 all children within the local authority area have secured a primary school place. The majority of children got one of their first three preferences; with the number of children whose preferences were not able to be met increasing from 10 to 19. Most of these 19 applications only provided 1 school preference which was not their catchment school. The children have been allocated a place at their catchment school where spaces are available.

The total size of the cohort starting school in September 2020 is 1860 pupils, compared to 1,837 last year.

This year all parents will receive a letter to advise them of their child’s school allocation.

Parents are also able to log in to their parent portal account at www.york.gov.uk/parentportal.

Due to the current Covid 19 restrictions the Admissions Team is unable to answer queries by telephone. Parents are being asked to email education@york.gov.uk, using ‘Primary School Allocation’ as the subject if they have any queries about the allocation.

York’s adult learning service rated ‘good

York’s adult learning service – York Learning – has been rated ‘good’ by independent inspectors Ofsted.

The service currently providers education and training for over 5,000 local residents, many of whom study courses in English, maths, ICT or English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)

The inspectors praised the welcoming atmosphere created by course tutors and the high-quality curriculum which focuses on improving learners’ knowledge and skills.

They also highlighted how much learners enjoy their programmes and develop their confidence and resilience as a result.

Areas for improvement included setting clear goals for learners on community learning courses and ensuring that changes in the teaching and assessment of maths lead to improvements in apprentices’ ability to pass their exams.

The service’s last inspection was in 2011 when it was also rated ‘good’.