Consultation on provision for young people with additional support needs

Consultation on provision for young people with additional support needs

Virtual public meetings have been organised as part of Stirling Council’s consultation on the expansion of secondary specialist provision for young people with additional support needs (ASN).

The consultation, which started on 19 April, will ensure the Council can support the growing number of children and young people with ASN.  In Stirling, this has risen from 2,817 in 2013 to 3,528 in 2019. Improved assessment and recording is one factor behind this trend which is also mirrored nationally.

The first virtual public event will take place on Thursday (13 May) on the Council’s Engage Stirling platform and will be hosted on Microsoft Teams. It will get underway at 6.30pm and will finish at 8.30pm.  A second session will be held via the same means on Monday, 17 May, between 2pm and 4pm.

Convener of Stirling Council’s Children and Young People Committee, Cllr Susan McGill said: “This is a really important issue for many families across Stirling and I would encourage as many people as possible to come along to the virtual meetings, hear about the proposals and provide feedback.  Carrying out this consultation now allows us to plan ahead and ensure continuity of this high-quality provision for pupils in the years to come.”

Around 95% of children with ASN in Stirling are educated in mainstream schools, with 5% requiring smaller class groups with specialist staffing.  Projections suggest the current availability of places is not sufficient, with 10 new classes required within the next 10 years.

Three options have been proposed to address this issue:

  • Support young people in mainstream schools and use external placements
  • One additional central school to meet the increase in need for secondary specialist placements
  • Establish additional secondary specialist provision within or alongside current school buildings.

Vice Convener, Cllr Christine Simpson said: “We believe that developing specialist educational settings close to children’s own communities is the best way to achieve additional capacity and meet the needs of pupils with ASN.  The online sessions are an opportunity for families to hear more details about the proposals and ask staff any questions so please drop in if you can.”

The consultation is live on the Council’s Engage Stirling platform for people to view, take part in a survey and leave comments until 4 June

Waste special uplift service resuming from May 17th

Waste special uplift service resuming from May 17th

Stirling Council’s Special Uplift Service will resume from 17 May.

From 11 May, households will be able to request an uplift of bulky items of household waste online or by calling 01786 404040.

As before, residents can makes a request via the online form they will receive a call back within 48 hours to confirm the collection date and to make the payment.  The special uplift service was suspended at Christmas due to the national Covid restrictions.

As the service has been unavailable for a number of months, we anticipate increased demand. Uplifts will restart from 17 May but bookings can be made from 11 May.  All booked items should be presented on the kerbside outside your property as waste crews will not enter a property to collect items.

Further details on items that can be uplifted, concessions and other key information can be found on the Council website.

Please note that if you or a member of your household have COVID-19 symptoms, you should not request an uplift. Households must wait 72 hours after a household is clear from isolating prior to making a request.  If you have requested an uplift and you or anyone within the household develop COVID-19 symptoms, please telephone 01786 404040 to rearrange your request.

Community Response Bulletin

Community Response Bulletin

The latest Stirling Council Community Response Bulletin is now available here: https://www.stirling.gov.uk/communityresponse
 
This issue includes
 
😷 Lateral Flow Testing
📚 Library Service Reopening
😕 Mental Health Support for Young People
📱Check In Scotland for Businesses
🤓Training Opportunities
Cycling and Walking Stories

Cycling and Walking Stories

Many have enjoyed walking, wheeling and cycling for work, school and leisure over the past year. Stirling Council would like to capture some of these positive walking, wheeling and cycling stories in a report that’s being produced this year. If you know someone that has a positive story to tell, please do get in touch with Andrew Scoles (scolesa@stirling.gov.uk) by Wednesday 12th May for more information.

Sustrans’ project, currently known as Bike Life, is a big-picture report into walking and cycling in 18 cities across the UK. Formerly with a primary focus on cycling, the project is expanding in 2021 to include more information on what it’s like to be a pedestrian or wheelchair user in the city too.

They are looking for

  • Anyone with a personal story and/or a lot to say around active travel in Stirling and BofA
  • Someone who engages in a reasonable amount of active travel in Stirling and BofA. This may be for work or volunteering purposes, to encourage others within the community to cycle, or as a fundamental way to get around as part of their daily life
  • Someone with an inspiring story about how active travel helped them improve part of their life
  • We especially encourage participation by people from ethnic minorities, those from diverse racial backgrounds, those who have a disability, those on lower incomes, people with protected characteristics and those who wouldn‘t class themselves a  stereotypical” cyclist or walker for any reason.

You will be asked to give some time to tell your story and get your photo taken.  Get in touch with Andrew Scoles (scolesa@stirling.gov.uk) by Wednesday 12th May for more information.

Cornton road closed April 30th- May 10th

Cornton road closed April 30th- May 10th

From the 30th April – 10th May Cornton Road at the level crossing will be closed to vehicles and pedestrians to allow Network Rail to carry out works relating to removing the old barrier and installing the new one.  See the diversion routes here and background information from Network Rail here.

This closure is during the election day May 6th, so think about this when planning your journey to your polling station.  Particularly those in Forth Park and Vale Grove when traveling to the Allan Centre.

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