Author: Rhys Gregory

Works are now underway to deliver a 21stCentury learning environment for pupils at Ferndale Community School, as part of wider £2m improvements being delivered at the school over the coming months. The Council is investing £85m into Rhondda and Tonyrefail schools in time for the 2018/19 academic year, with support from the Welsh Government’s 21st Century Schools and Education Programme. New ‘all through’ schools are being delivered in Porth, Tonyrefail and Tonypandy, while a number of local schools are benefitting from improvements being made over the summer. Ferndale Community School will benefit from two new ICT suites designed to 21st Century Schools…

A deal has been agreed for RNLI lifeguards to continue patrolling four Porthcawl beaches until the summer of 2021. Coney Beach, Rest Bay, Trecco Bay and Pink Bay will all be covered by the RNLI’s seasonal beach lifeguarding service. The patrols will be jointly funded by Bridgend County Borough Council, Porthcawl Town Council and Parkdean Resorts, with the RNLI covering additional costs through their national and local fund raising activity. The sight of RNLI beach lifeguards on duty is always reassuring for visitors. We’ve been teaming up with the RNLI since the summer of 2016 and are pleased for the…

A proposed new income tax to fund elderly social care would be “throwing good money after bad” unless there’s radical reform of the whole system, it’s been warned. The idea for the tax of between one per cent and three per cent was recommended in a report by top economist Professor Gerard Holtham which was commissioned by the Welsh Government. Mario Kreft MBE, the Chair of Care Forum Wales which represents nearly 500 social care providers, welcomed the report as an “important contribution” to the debate about funding. Whilst the prospect of extra funding would be welcome, Mr Kreft feared…

An event promoting jobs in the domiciliary care sector has been held in Swansea. Organisations running employment support and training programmes have linked-up with care providers to improve the recruitment process. They came together at the event which was organised by Swansea Working and Partner Beyond Bricks and Mortar, an employability service run by Swansea Council and its partners to help people looking for jobs access the support that is most relevant to them. Care providers gave a presentation outlining the work they do and the opportunities that exist so that those running employment programmes could pass on a better…

There are lots of fun things to do and enjoy in and around Neath Port Talbot during the summer holidays – outdoors or indoors and for FREE! If your children prefer indoor fun, encourage them to better their reading skills by participating in the Summer Reading challenge. This year’s Reading Challenge theme is Mischief Makers, which is inspired by the popular children’s tittle Beano in celebration of its 80th Anniversary. Neath Port Talbot libraries are holding a number of activities for this year’s challenge which can be found on the What’s On section of the Council’s website, together with other…

An award-winning bakery have come up with a novel way of launching a recruitment drive for 20 new apprentices. The Village Bakery have turned two of their delivery vans into mobile adverts by wrapping them with a special design to get out the message: “We Knead a hand! The vans’ delivery route takes them around Wrexham and the surrounding villages. [aoa id=”1″] They are looking for young people aged between 16 and 20 to become the next generation of bakers, engineers and admin staff at the family-run firm. The company currently employs more than 400 people at their two bakeries…

A special taskforce born when a virulent batch of the synthetic drug Spice hit the streets of Wrexham in April last year has won a major award. Then authorities in the town ruled enough was enough and decided something had to be done to tackle the worsening problem. That led to the creation of the taskforce which has a particular focus on Wrexham’s homelessness problem and an addiction to the cheaply manufactured Spice and Mamba which so often accompanies it. Now the taskforce has been presented with the Drug Intervention Award by North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones…

A woman from Pontypridd has received a medal from Diabetes UK Cymru for living with diabetes for 50 years. Sandra Spray Hazlehurst, 72, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 18 years old but has never allowed the condition to hold her back. She worked for HTV for 25 years and has for the last 10 years been a Governor on the Board of the University of South Wales. Type 1 diabetes is a lifelong condition that affects around 19,000 adults in Wales. People with the condition don’t produce the hormone insulin, which controls the amount of glucose…

Insole Court, a gothic Victorian mansion and gardens nestled in the leafy suburbs of Llandaff, Cardiff, has opened a brand-new permeant immersive exhibition to the public this month. At last the fascinating story behind the once forgotten house in the leafy suburbs of Llandaff in the Welsh capital can be shared with the public. [aoa id=”1″][/aoa] “This House is a Stage” is an experiential exhibition that brings local history to life in the form of a dramatic rendition of the rise and the fall of the Insole Family, who built and inhabited the mansion, spanning an entire century from their…

Three tech start-ups based at the Welsh Innovation Centre for Enterprise (Welsh ICE) have raised over £1m in investment between them in just 12 months. [aoa id=”1″][/aoa] All three companies were supported by the Campus which has now launched its ICE Space Programme, a scheme where other start-ups and small businesses can receive similar support including a full-time desk or office space, a tailored mentoring programme, creative workshops, one-to-one support and access to potential investors. The three companies that have successfully raised significant investment come from a range of tech-based sectors including healthcare, online trading and retail support. Signum Health…