Two Lincoln nurseries could be forced to close if the government fails to provide current funding levels, but they will “continue to fight.”
St Giles Nursery School on Addison Drive and Kingsdown Nursery on Kingsdown Road are both maintained nursery schools which rely on state funding to transform the lives of pupils between two and four-years-old.
Maintained nurseries provide care and support for more than 5,000 children with special education needs and for those from deprived backgrounds.
The government provided £55 million each year in supplementary funding since a new formula was introduced in 2017, but this is set to end in 2019/20.
The extra funding will cease after March 2020, despite Ofsted rating many of the schools very highly.
Funding would drop from £5.93 to £3.84 per hour. Many of the affected nurseries across the country are warning they may be forced to close.
The nurseries have been looking at ways to cut costs many of the headteachers say the level of funding isn’t sustainable. Other nurseries are looking to local government to plug the gap.
St Giles and Kingsdown nurseries. Photo: Google Maps
Amy Stancer, headteacher at St Giles nursery, told The Lincolnite: “We have over 130 children that come to our outstanding nursery.
“We believe we are valued by our community and play an important part within it and so it would be a major loss to the local community if we were forced to close.
“At the moment we can hire staff with early years degrees and a lot of experience, led by experienced teachers. They don’t just see working at the nursery as a job, it’s a vocation for them.
“Many work from 7am until 7pm because they want to make a difference and enjoy their experiences with young children.
“The new funding rate means we just won’t be able to continue to afford the wonderful staff we have who care so much about the children.”
Ofsted recently rated Kingsdown as ‘good’ and St Giles as ‘outstanding’ – the sixth time in a row that St Giles has received the highest such rating.
Schools will “continue to fight”
Some of the maintained nurseries are now looking to local government chiefs to fill the funding gap, while they “continue to fight.”
Kate Marnoch, headteacher at Kingsdown nursery told The Lincolnite: “I think that maintained nurseries are too important of a resource to be closed.
“Early years are crucial in a child’s development so I don’t believe that we will be going anywhere.
“We will continue to fight for our local community.
“We are hopeful that the local authority will provide the same level of funding. We cannot maintain the school with anything less.”
Both nurseries took a petition to the government last week to keep up their funding. It was signed by over 500 people.
Karen Lee MP has been helping the schools to raise the issue in parliament and put pressure on the government.
“I was one of 33 MPs who presented a petition collected by residents calling on the government to guarantee that funding will continue after March 2020, when supplementary funding is set to end.
“However, we shouldn’t be forced to beg the government to keep providing basic services to our children.”
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Lincoln famous Castle and Steep Hill feature in footage for the new Age of Empire IV video game which is due to be released this autumn.
Age of Empires IV is being developed by Relic Entertainment. The game is described as taking players “on a journey through the ages as they command influential leaders, build expansive kingdoms, and fight some of the most critical battles of the Middle Ages”.
At the start of the Norman campaign, which is just one of four in the game, William of Normandy “sets forth on the hard-fought road to conquer England and become its new king”. Lincoln Castle and Steep Hill are shown in the ‘Normal Campaign Reveal’.
Steep Hill appears in footage of the Norman Campaign Reveal. | Screenshot: Age of Empires
Lincoln Castle features in the video game, which is expected to be released in autumn 2021. | Screenshot: Age of Empires
The other civilisations you’ll be able to play in are Chinese, Delhi Sultanate and Mongols.
IGN contributor and Age of Empires superman Leana Hafer got a first look and the game and a chance to talk to the development team at Relic.
She shared her thoughts and what she learned in a video uploaded to YouTube, including about the Norman campaign which shows footage appearing to represent Lincoln.
Marc Jones, incumbent Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), will fight to keep his position to continue his “unfinished business” and challenge four other candidates in the PCC elections on May 6.
The PCC role oversees the strategy and finances of the police force and hires and fires chief constables, who are responsible for the daily policing operations. Mr Jones (Conservatives) was the second elected PCC of Lincolnshire in May 2016, and the role is paid £65,000 per year.
Labour City of Lincoln councillor Rosanne Kirk, David Williams from Lincolnshire Independents, Liberal Democrat Ross Pepper and Reform UK party member Peter Escreet are the other Lincolnshire PCC candidates.
Mr Jones said: “There hasn’t been a single day that I’ve not thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s been endlessly challenging, interesting and it’s unique because not only do you get the responsibility of shaping policy, but you actually have the responsibility of managing the budget.”
His said he is standing again for PCC because he has “unfinished business” and wants to continue his work.
“I have built the local, regional and national connections to make sure Lincolnshire’s voices are heard and equally been successful in bringing in additional funding.”
His plans, if re-elected, include a new £250,000 anti fly-tipping fund and £500,000 rural crime fund to tackle crime in rural areas in Lincolnshire.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, PCC elections were delayed a year, meaning the next term is only three years instead of four. Mr Jones believes this is not a enough time for a new PCC to “get their head around the job.”
“We need three years of absolute delivery to really get the very best out of Lincolnshire Police and the best for Lincolnshire and I honestly think I can deliver that.”
Marc Jones assured that he will continue to have a deputy PCC “because it’s simply too big a job for a single individual to do properly on their own”.
He said: “My personal views are that the morale and safety of officers and staff is paramount” and freeing up officer time to make them better trained is vital as well as having more police.
On the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr Jones said there will be “lasting effects, particularly on our younger population and as partners, we need to really recognise that and get together and really have a plan for what we’re going to do to support our community.”
“It’s absolutely imperative that the next three years build on what we’ve already delivered and I would urge people to do that.
“I am confident that as a resident of Lincolnshire, as somebody who cares passionately about their community, that I’m in this for the right reasons and I want to be able to deliver my plan to keep people safer over the next three years and beyond.”
More on how Marc Jones plans to make Lincolnshire safer can be found on his campaign website.
The RSPCA has released harrowing images after five dogs were left to live among piles of excrement with no food in Lincolnshire, resulting in one being put to sleep.
A 39-year-old man has been banned from keeping animals for the next ten years.
Edward Ernest Lees, of Grange Meadows in Selby, North Yorkshire, was sentenced at Hull Magistrates Court on Thursday, April 8.
He pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering of a Jack Russell Terrier called Sam, as well as failing to meet the medical needs of five dogs.
It came after RSPCA inspector Laura Jones went to visit the property on Saddleback Road, Howdales in Louth on January 22, 2020.
Outside the property it was an absolute mess. | Photo: RSPCA
After asking the owner to contact her and getting no response, Laura contacted police to allow her to gain entry into the property, where two dogs were found in amongst wretched filth.
She said: “When I opened the door to the sitting room where the two dogs were being kept the stench of ammonia hit me instantly and made my eyes water.
Excrement covered the floor and food bags had been ripped open. | Photo: RSPCA
“There was no food or water available in the sitting room for these dogs, I could just see three empty bowls on the floor and two empty 10kg plastic sacks of dog biscuits which were next to a pile of excrement. The floor was also wet with what appeared to be urine.
“This was clearly a totally inadequate environment for these dogs and I was so relieved to be able to take them into our care and bring them to safety to get them the care they needed.”
The dogs were petrified, but were taken in by the RSPCA. | Photo: RSPCA
As well as this, a further three dogs were found living in an outbuilding, in which the entire ground floor was covered in faeces and urine.
A sofa and armchair were found ripped to shreds, as well as stained, and empty packets of dog food were scattered along the floor.
The dog’s ‘water bowl’ was surrounded by faeces, urine and rubbish. | Photo: RSPCA
The five dogs that were found were all crossbreeds, and were called Ewen, Colin, Jessie, Sam and Sheldon, with all but Sheldon surviving the ordeal.
Upon being found, the dogs were taken to a vet for assessments, and Sam was in a bad condition, while Sheldon was put to sleep by vet advice due to his behavioural issues.
The dogs desperately needed veterinary attention. | Photo: RSPCA
The vet report stated: “I feel that Sam was suffering. The suffering included severe dental pain, numerous open wounds, severe dehydration, active infections. His extremely poor body condition meant he was succumbing to organ failure due to lack of any form of nutrition, he had no fat reserves.”
Sam made a miraculous recovery. | Photo: RSPCA
Incredibly, Sam has recovered after fears he may have to be put to sleep, and has since been rehomed. There were also happy endings for Colin, Ewen and Jessie who have found new owners as well.
In mitigation, Edward Ernest Lees said that he had taken control of the dogs after a relative of his had died.
He then said that his financial problems as well as grieving his relative caused him to spiral out of control.
Four of the five dogs have now found new owners. | Photo: RSPCA
Lees has been sentenced to a 12-month community order, with 140 hours of unpaid work, and will also be disqualified from keeping any mammals for 10 years.
As well as this, he was ordered to pay £300 costs and a £95 victim surcharge.
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