North East Lincolnshire Council’s Library Service is supporting a national campaign by The Collections Trust, and backed by the BBC and Google, to produce a complete database of all libraries across the country. It will enable visitors to use GPS technology to find library locations and the services that they offer. The more smartphone users that go to a library and ‘put it on the map’, the more accurate the information will be.

Smartphone users are asked to stand inside or by the door of their local library and open up http://www.findalibrary.org.uk on their phone. Then all they need to do is click ‘Use my location’ and ‘Put library on the map’ before enjoying the services available at the library.

By putting your library on the map you will be showing your support for your local library and helping other people find services.

In only takes a few minutes to put your library on the map, and once you are there, why not go in and enjoy some of the services on offer.

Commenting on today’s UCAS applications figures, which show the proportion of English school leavers applying to university this year is greater than ever before, barring last year, and that applications from people from the most disadvantaged backgrounds remain strong, Advocate for Access to Education and Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader, Simon Hughes said:

“Today’s figures show that on the whole young people have not been put off by the changes in the student finance system.

“This is due in no small part to the serious effort put in by the Coalition Government and many others in making sure that each young person and their parents knew all the facts about funding higher education.

“In particular, many families clearly now understand that all graduates will pay less each month towards the cost of their university education than they did before.

“There has been a larger drop in the number of older students applying to university. The Government will have to take a serious look at why this has happened, particularly as mature students for the first time also do not have to pay for their university education in advance.

“However, because mature students have more flexibility in when they apply, there are still good opportunities for people looking to start university this year to put in an application.”

Activities for children, young people and families for February to April are here!

Welcome to your new holiday activity guide. There have been some changes to the way activities are advertised. You can download a copy of the booklet in pdf format on this page below along with the parental consent form which is needed for all activities.

The booklet is now split into 2 sections. The front of the booklet (Access All Areas) has activities for children aged 13 – 19 and at the back is the School’s Out section for 0 – 12s. To make all the activities quick and easy to find they are arranged by holiday and in date order.

There are 2 opening times to book your activities:

February Half term activities: 9.00am on Wednesday 8 February
Easter Holidays: 9:00am on Wednesday 28 March
All other activities: 9.00am on Wednesday 8 February.

A link will appear here on Wednesday 8 February so you can book your activities online. Alternatively you can call the booking line on 01472 323344 to make your bookings. Make sure you book early to avoid disappointment.

If you wish to pay by card for your activities, please call 01472 325481 after you have made your booking between 10.00am and 2.00pm Monday to Friday and our advisor will be happy to help. Alternatively you can take your cash or cheque payments to your local library up to 3 days before the date of the activity.

If you have any feedback on the activities listed or the type of activities you would like to see in the future please download the feedback form below and email back to emily.hill@nelincs.gov.uk

Hope you find something great to do this Spring!

The Government today published its annual grant letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).
Secretary of State for Business Vince Cable said:

“It is important that we deliver a stable and sustainable funding environment for universities as our reforms bed in. This grant letter confirms the funding levels we signalled last year.

“This year also sees the introduction of the new National Scholarship Programme. This will play a critical role in ensuring our universities attract a more diverse range of students.”

Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts said:

“Our universities play a vital role building the skills and knowledge Britain needs to grow. That is why we have protected HEFCE funding for research and why, despite difficult public finances, we expect the total funding available to the sector could increase by 10% in cash terms as a result of our reforms.

“We are increasing the total funding available to the sector – with a projected rise from £9.3 billion in 2011-12 to £9.8 billion in 2013-14 – and our reforms will enable successful universities to expand if they wish to do so. However it is also essential that the sector works collaboratively to lower their costs. Changes to the VAT treatment of shared services, lowering the cost of procurement and work to reduce the burden of data collection give universities the chance to prioritise more of their resources for teaching and research.”

With the deadline for university applications through the UCAS system fast approaching, former X-factor contestant Ashley John Baptiste and Liberal Democrat MP and government Education Access Advocate, Simon Hughes, are teaming up to make sure all young people consider applying to university and are not put off by any misinformation about the costs.

Ashley, who grew up in care and went on to study at Cambridge after doing his A-Levels at Bacon’s College in south London, is reminding people that January 15th is the last day to apply through the UCAS system, and that no matter background you come from, university should be an option.

Ashley John Baptiste said:

“Too many people still think that university is not for people like them, but my story should tell everybody that university is open to all with a desire to work hard and learn.

“Money can be a worry, but help is available and no one will pay anything up front. Support is also available for living costs and rent and no matter what your personal circumstances university is affordable.”

Simon Hughes MP said:

“With the UCAS applications deadline now so near, I hope that everyone who has ever thought about applying to go to university this year will put in an application so that they give themselves every opportunity to make the right choice for them.

“I have travelled the country over the last year speaking to young people, teachers and parents about university and the changes to the university finance system. Without exception when people know the full facts about the student finance system, for example that graduates will only pay back the cost of university as a small proportion of their income when they are in work and earning over £21,000, they are much more willing to consider applying to university.

“I urge anyone of any age who is still concerned about the costs to look straightaway at any of the good and independent sources of information about the costs and the benefits of a university education.”

Notes:

1. Increased grants and loans for living costs, scholarships and bursaries are available for eligible students beginning study from September 2012. For the first time, eligible part-time students will also be able to apply for tuition loans.

2. You don’t have to pay your tuition fee loan and your living cost loan back until you are earning over £21,000 a year. You repay your loans back at a rate of nine pence in every pound of your income earned over £21,000. So, for example, if your salary is £25,000 a year, you pay nine per cent of £4,000, which is £6.92 a week.

3. UCAS’ top tips on ensuring your application is received on time are available at www.ucas.ac.uk/news/december/students15jan
4. For further information and eligibility criteria visit www.direct.gov.uk/yourfuture

A high profile national campaign to teach schoolchildren skills which could save lives has been backed by Cambridge MP, Julian Huppert.

Julian visited the British Heart Foundation shop in Burleigh Street yesterday (Monday, January 9) to show his support for the charity’s campaign to teach Emergency Life Support.

Hard man actor, Vinnie Jones features in the television advertising for the campaign which urges people, worried about giving the kiss of life to forget it and go for chest compressions (CPR) instead to the beat of the Bee Gees’ classic, Stayin’ Alive.

The BHF, working with the Resuscitation Council UK, is calling for youngsters to be taught CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and to learn how to deal with serious bleeding and choking.

Julian, who used to volunteer with Cambridge’s St John Ambulance, said: “Teaching our children these basic skills would put hundreds of thousands of potential lifesavers out on the streets every year.

“This is a very straight forward procedure but, when someone collapses with a suspected heart attack people are often afraid to act; hesitating could literally mean the difference between life and death.”

According to a BHF survey 40 per cent of youngsters in the South East feel powerless to help someone who has collapsed in the street despite more than two-thirds wanting to be able to help.

“Teaching our children what to do in an emergency such as this would give them a life-long skill which could help save lives,” added Julian.

Interim figures released by the University and College Admissions Service suggest that school leavers have not been put off applying to university by the introduction of higher tuition fees this year, although this might not apply to older students.

From October, English universities will be allowed to charge undergraduates from the UK and European Union up to £9,000 a year to, compared to the previous limmit of £3,375. The increase caused widespread concern that poorer students in particular would be discouraged from applying for university.

The Ucas figures show that the number of British 18-year-olds who have already applied to university for 2012 is 2.4% lower than the figure for last year, but according to official population projections, this figure is roughly equal to the demographic fall in the number of people in that age bracket.

The interim Ucas figures account for the number of applications received by mid-December and they should improve by January 15, which is the deadline for most courses.

Mary Curnock Cook, Ucas chief executive, said:

“Evidence of a late surge … is now emerging.”

“Applicants are taking longer to research their choices but the applications flow has speeded up, as these statistics show. It remains too early to make predictions about the final year on year figures but we will be able to get a clearer picture after the deadline has passed.”

Previous rises in the level of fees have not had a long term effect on the number of application, with prospective students continuing to apply in increasing numbers.

While the application rate for younger students appears to be stable, the number of applications from mature students from the UK and abroad has fallen by 13%. This has reduced the overall volume of applications by 6.4%, and the number of non-EU applicants, who are not affected by the new rates of fees, is 13.3%.

Les Ebdon, chair of the Million+ universities think-tank, and vice-chancellor of Bedfordshire university, said:

“Ministers need to launch a campaign to ensure that older students understand the [student] loan system and the opportunities available.”

“A failure to do so will overshadow the success the government has had in persuading younger applicants that university remains one of the best career moves that they can make.”

North East Lincolnshire Council is dedicated to making this process as straightforward for families as possible. With this in mind the local authority is consulting on the proposed school admission arrangements for the 2013-2014 school year for admission into:

o the Reception Year at all primary and infant schools and academies;
o Year 3 in all junior schools and academies; and
o Year 7 in all secondary schools and academies

The council is the admission authority for the community and voluntary controlled primary schools in its area. Primary, secondary schools and academies are their own admission authorities, but the council will also be consulting on their behalf.

Copies of the proposed school admission arrangements for 2013-2014 are available to view at:

Directorate of People and Communities,
Access and Education Welfare Services,
Western Site,
Cambridge Road,
GRIMSBY,
North East Lincolnshire,
DN34 5TD

and on the council’s website here.

Responses to the consultation can be made by February 29 2012 in writing to the above address or by e-mail to schooladmissions@nelincs.gov.uk. for community and voluntary controlled schools and in writing or by e-mail directly to those schools and academies that are their own admission authorities.

North East Lincolnshire Council would like to make sure that everyone has an opportunity to respond to this consultation. All children and young people should be able to access education fairly and we aim to ensure that this is possible, so your views are important to us.

The following article by Nick Thornsby origially appeared on the Liberal Democrat Voice:

Following Manchester Labour’s extraordinary attack on the pupil premium – describing the policy as a “sham” – news reaches The Voice via Lib Dem councillor Steve Beasant that a Labour cabinet member on North East Lincolnshire Council has joined his Manchester colleagues in their criticism.

As Paul Walter reported earlier, Nick Clegg was asked about the comments of Manchester’s Labour councillors at Tuesday’s Deputy Prime Minister’s Questions by Lib Dem MP Duncan Hames. Here’s the full exchange:

Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD): Wiltshire schools have long felt short-changed by funding allocations for education, so they will welcome the doubling of pupil premium moneys for our schools in Wiltshire to more than £5 million next year. Now that Labour councillors in Manchester have voted for the pupil premium to be scrapped, will the Deputy Prime Minister consider giving our schools next year some of the more than £80 million of pupil premium that their council has rejected?

Deputy Prime Minister: The pupil premium, which by the end of this Parliament will be £2.5 billion of extra money to help schools that are educating children from the most challenging backgrounds, is a very powerful, progressive policy, and I am very proud that we have delivered it, as a coalition Government. We have been searching in vain for months to find out what the Labour party would actually cut in public expenditure. Now, we have the answer: Labour councillors want to cut the pupil premium that benefits some of the most deprived children in this country. That is progressive politics for you!

The government is set to announce that up to half a million more children from disadvantaged backgrounds will benefit from the pupil premium.

The premium of £488 per child is given to schools in addition to their main funding.

At present the pupil premium only applies to children who are currently receiving free school meals, but in future anyone who has been registered for free meals in the past six years will be eligible.

The children’s minister said it would help schools tackle inequality.

The pupil premium was a key part of the Liberal Democrats’ last general election manifesto, and was adopted by the Conservatives when they entered coalition.

The government said it was increasing the availability because research shows that children who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in their school career had consistently lower educational attainment than those who never have been eligible.

It also said secondary school pupils were less likely than those at primary level to be registered for free meals even when they were eligible, and those children would be picked up by the new approach.

Children’s Minister Sarah Teather said:

“In a fair society, it is the government’s responsibility to close the gulf in achievement, where the poorest children are less likely to leave school with five good GCSEs than their less-deprived classmates.

“[The pupil premium] will help schools tackle the inequalities that have been a part of our state system for far too long. Thousands of children will finally be getting the extra support they need to succeed.”

Ms Teather will also tell Parliament on Monday how much the pupil premium will be increased to in 2012-13 as well as the total amount that will be allocated.

Total funding for the scheme in 2011-12 is £625m and is due to rise to £2.5bn a year by 2014-15.