Author: Rhys Gregory

Additional support will be made available to improve wellbeing and mental health as we cautiously welcome the new year, thanks to more than £3.4 million National Lottery funding announced today. Rose’s Way Foundation, based in Caerphilly, is one of 68 Welsh groups receiving awards from The National Lottery Community Fund. They will use £10,000 to deliver mental health sessions for children in schools across Wales using tools such as worry wizard books and wellbeing bears. Catherine Coundley-Jeans and Andrew Jeans co-founded the charity to support children and families, after sadly losing their baby girl, Rose, in February last year after…

EE announced today it has switched on its new 5G service in Neath, allowing customers in the town to receive the latest mobile network technology. Neath is the third location in Wales to be connected to EE’s 5G network. Cardiff was one of the first cities in the UK to receive 5G when it was launched there in May 2019 alongside London, Belfast, Edinburgh and Birmingham. Porthcawl became the second location in Wales connected to EE’s 5G when it was launched there in October last year. Neath is among 13 new towns announced today by EE to receive the new…

An eight-week course of classes combining drama, dance, cookery and more aims to keep the nation’s children learning through lockdown. Tiny Toes Ballet, a Swansea-headquartered school for learning through dance, is offering the classes to help support parents and teachers who are home schooling due to lockdown. The Free Lockdown Programme provides online weekly activities aimed at children aged seven and under. These include dance, drama, cookery and Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) activities, supported by downloadable educational resources for parents. All classes and resources are free for all children in the UK. Emma Morgan, the founder of Tiny Toes…

With COVID restrictions remaining in place at the current time, fundraisers are continuing to explore innovative ways for the public to support good causes, and Hywel Dda Health Charities is proud to launch a fun, eco-friendly, virtual challenge everyone can get involved in. It takes place from St Valentine’s Day, Sunday 14th February, and starts in Paris, the city of romance! Tara Nickerson, Fundraising Manager for Hywel Dda Health Charities said, “We’re always looking at new and alternative options for our supporters who want to give back and show their appreciation for the NHS – whether it’s their way of…

Welsh schoolchildren and budding rap stars are being given the chance to show off their rhymes for a hip hop competition that can be entered from home, launched to coincide with 2021’s Welsh Language Music Day – Dydd Miwsig Cymru. Wales and the world will celebrate the sixth annual Welsh Language Music Day – Dydd Miwsig Cymru – on Friday 5thFebruary 2021, with a range of materials- from playlists to lyric explainers- set to be made available to help parents and grandparents learn Welsh with their children through music. Dydd Miwsig Cymru aims to inspire people who don’t speak the…

For most school leaders and classroom teachers the last twelve months have probably been the most difficult of their careers. They have had to get to grips with new and often complex ways of working and teaching remotely, and when they have been able to return to the classroom they have had to implement strict new rules on sanitation and social distancing. In simply trying to do their jobs they have faced unprecedented pressures and at times risked their own health and safety. And yet when these educators or their representatives have spoken out about their concerns of returning to…

The RSPCA has welcomed new guidance from the UK Government which will make it easier for people in England to walk and exercise their dogs amid ongoing lockdown restrictions. Advice for pet owners in England was updated yesterday (13 January), and now outlines that people with dogs can go out more often than once a day to exercise their canine companion if necessary. However, people are still advised by the UK Government to “limit this where possible”. The new advice for dog walkers in England can be found on the UK Government website. England has been under a national lockdown…

38 finalists, aged between 11 and 17, will be competing in the last round of the Matrix Challenge this weekend.   Created and organised by the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Cyber Crime Unit (YHRCCU), the Matrix Challenge is a national cyber security competition for young people. Split into two age groups – 11 to 14, and 15 to 17 – the competition is designed to test digital skills, and to encourage the development of abilities which could lead to a future career in the cyber-security industry. The first round took place back in January and February 2020, and tested participant’s…

More than £4m has been invested in Swansea’s schools to boost digital technology helping to improve online teaching and learning during the current pandemic. In the last year 8,124 new devices including laptops, Chromebooks, iPads have been delivered to schools in the city and a further 1,866 are currently being prepared. Another 2,000 devices are expected from suppliers in the coming months. It means pupils who have been identified as digitally excluded due to a lack of a suitable device have been offered one during the crisis to help them work from home. Despite the pandemic 80% of schools have…

Work has begun on building a new community recycling centre in the west of Bridgend county borough. Groundworks have started at the council-owned site on Village Farm Industrial Estate in Pyle with the recycling centre expected to open this summer. There are also plans to establish a re-use shop, similar to the one at Maesteg community recycling centre run by Wastesavers in partnership with Bridgend County Borough Council and Kier, where household items that are in good condition can be sold on. As part of the development, works to improve the junction with the A48 are due to be carried…