Author: Rhys Gregory

Wales’ first national diversity and anti-racist leadership conference determinedly focused on educators in education, childcare and play, took place in the capital today. The Welsh Government is committed to creating an anti-racist Wales by 2030, which calls for zero tolerance of racism in all its guises. The event, which took place at the All Nations Centre in Cardiff, united over 250 leaders across education and early years, building on firm foundations already in place, following the roll-out of Diversity and Anti-racist Professional Learning (DARPL) since 2022. DARPL provides practitioners with a high-quality professional learning and fundamental grounding to support anti-racist…

Work starts on UWTSD’s Innovation Matrix in Swansea – a new centre for digital innovation and enterprise Work has commenced on the Innovation Matrix, the next phase in the University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s (UWTSD) Innovation Quarter at SA1 Swansea Waterfront. The Innovation Matrix is central to the University’s ambition in Swansea and will provide a new platform for UWTSD’s research and knowledge exchange to connect with, and support cross-sector MNEs, SMEs, micro-enterprises, entrepreneurs, and investors to stimulate commercial growth for Wales’s expanding digitally empowered economy. Funded through a strategic partnership between the University and the Swansea Bay City…

GIANTS from the world of showjumping and horse racing will appear at this year’s unmissable Bolesworth International. With just days to go until the much-anticipated five-day spectacular – held at the 400,000 sq metre Bolesworth Castle estate, near Chester and Wrexham – a host of star names have been unveiled. Legendary jockey Sir AP McCoy will front a sold-out business networking session next Friday alongside former England and Real Madrid striker Michael Owen, while showjumping Olympians Geoff Billington, Nicola Wilson, Gemma Stevens and defending Bolesworth Grand Prix winner Louise Saywell are to compete in high-class equestrian competitions. Other well-known names from…

Bridgend based Co-directors Oliver Lewis and Paul Ricketts are delighted to announce that Hawkstone Commercials has been shortlisted for the Great British Entrepreneur Awards 2023. After closing out a truly staggering first year of business, Hawkstone Commercials has been shortlisted for the Great British Entrepreneur Awards – Welsh Start-up Entrepreneur of the year. The awards will be held at a star-studded gala ceremony at the Grosvenor House in London this November. Oliver Lewis, Co-director of Hawkstone Commercials said, “When we launched, we had expectations of turning over £150,000 in year 1 and employing 2 full time staff. As we rounded…

Step back in time at Bryn Celli Ddu, near Llanfair PG, on 17 June 2023 for a living history event that seeks to interrogate landscape, ritual, colour, and the celebration of archaeology through creative interpretation. Bryn Celli Ddu is one of the most famous archaeological sites in Britain, the 5,000-year-old tomb was once constructed to protect and pay respect to the remains of ancestors. Between 11–4pm on the 17 of June, an open day celebrating the prehistory of Wales and beyond will take place at the Bryn Celli Ddu with a new twist! This year we are taking a focused…

On Saturday, 3rd June St John Ambulance Cymru held its Commemoration, Rededication and Investiture Service in Llandaff Cathedral. The Priory for Wales of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem is the Welsh branch of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem which traces its origins back to the Knights Hospitallers in the Middle Ages. The Annual Investiture Service acknowledges those who have selflessly given their time to support St John Ambulance Cymru and their local communities. The service marked the first year HM King Charles III has personally sanctioned admissions and promotions within…

Improvements to public transport, more electric vehicle charging infrastructure and new cycling and walking routes are being planned in Swansea. Swansea Council has bid for nearly £13 million of funding from the Welsh Government to develop a number of projects that would boost public transport use and increase sustainable transport within the city as well as improving transport links with neighbouring Authorities. A report to be considered by Cabinet on June 15 includes details of all the bid proposals. More than £4million of funding has been applied for to progress the Swansea Bay & West Wales Metro project – a…

Caerphilly County Borough Council recently approved plans for investment into its housing service for the coming year. The ‘Housing Revenue Account Business Plan 2023 – 24’, endorsed at a recent meeting of full Council, sets out income and expenditure plans for Caerphilly Homes, its housing service, over the next financial year. As well as its business plan, the document also provides detailed narrative outlining Caerphilly Homes’ achievements over the past year, including successful attainment of the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS), over £3.2million savings generated for customers, work with housing association partners to draw down £14.92 million of Welsh Government…

A national effort is needed to support the 1 in 5 children who are regularly missing school, the Minister for Education and Welsh Language, Jeremy Miles has said today. New draft guidance, ‘Belonging, engaging and participating’, has been published for consultation to support schools, pupil referral units, and local authorities in efforts to improve school attendance. Prior to the pandemic, there had been a gradual rise in school attendance, but overall attendance figures have significant dropped since the pandemic.  In the 2018/19 school year overall absenteeism figures stood at 5.7%. Provisional data for the 2022/23 school year to date shows…

The Welsh Government is investing £30m in new programmes that will help Welsh organisations develop and embed new innovative products and services to help improve people’s lives, grow the economy and address the climate and nature emergency, Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething and Climate Change Minister, Julie James have announced today. The SMART Flexible Innovation Support (SMART FIS) Programme, which is now open for applications, will help Welsh businesses, research organisations, academia and public and third sector bodies to innovate, create new products and services, and improve skills, helping to develop RD&I capability and capacity to support sustainable growth. Investment will…