Category: Wokingham and West Berkshire Issues

On a call yesterday for MPs with the Secretary of State for Health I raised the issue of GP appointments. I asked that GP surgeries should have a phone and internet booking system which allows a patient to get an on line or face to face consultation as appropriate. I have been getting complaints where a surgery requires someone to ring at a single  specified time each day to see if they can get an appointment that day. In the worst cases there is great difficulty in getting through at all. NHS surgery services should allow forward booking with good phone access as many good practices already offer. I was told this is an issue which senior NHS management is working on. It would be possible for NHS England to require a minimum  standard or to issue New guidance.

I attended a meeting on Sunday to hear the news about the cracks in the Hitachi trains which have led their removal from service pending reports and  repairs. GWR rely on these trains for their longer distance and faster services. There is unlikely to be an early and quick fix. I asked if the old 125s can be brought out of retirement to fill in service gaps. We await details on how these new trains are going to be repaired and when that might happen. In  the meantime  Train users need to check the reduced timetables available. There will be refunds for cancelled services. 

I have had a number of complaints from constituents who have been encountering difficulties with getting a face to face appointment with their GP, or getting any appointment at all. I am taking this up with the surgeries concerned. I also raised the general issue of access to GP appointments at the Friday MPs call with local Health Authorities, who promised to look into it and report back.

As we can see most of the work on converting the M4 Junctions 8/9  to 12 to a four lane smart motorway is now complete.  Asking why it is not open, I have been told that the Highways Agency has decided to introduce additional technology to detect stopped vehicles in a few seconds and to institute safety measures with lane closure and speed restrictions as necessary. There is a pause whilst this work is prepared and completed, when the full motorway will open between Junctions 12 and 8/9. The work from 8/9 to 3 is still underway, with more overnight closures to watch out for.

Some of you have written to me with concerns for local charities brought on by lockdown impeding their usual ways of raising money. The government did set up the Coronavirus Community Support Fund to help smaller charities. They have told me of 7 local charities that have now received some financial help:

Enrych Berkshire CIO
Access Ability Communications Technology
Keep Mobile Community Transport
Society for Horticultural Therapy
Home Start Wokingham District
Younger people with dementia (Berkshire)
Reading Refugee Support Group

All MPs have received the letter beneath from the Schools Minister concerning early years teaching which I will share with you for interest:

Reception Baseline Assessment and Early Years Foundation Stage reforms
I am writing to inform you that we are proceeding with the introduction of the new
Reception Baseline Assessment and the Early Years Foundation Stage reforms on
a statutory basis from the start of the 2021/22 academic year. The necessary
legislation will be laid before Parliament today. I would also like to take this
opportunity to provide a reminder of the purpose and aims of both and why they are
being introduced at this time.
As you will be aware, following the cancellation of primary assessments in summer
2020/21, the Government announced its intention to run a full programme of primary
assessments in the 2021/22 academic year, including the introduction of the
statutory Reception Baseline Assessment. This assessment was due to be
introduced as statutory in September 2020, but due to the impact of the Coronavirus
pandemic on schools, the 2020/21 academic year has instead been an “early
adopter” year. For the Early Years Foundation Stage reforms, academic year
2020/21 was also an early adopter year as planned, ahead of planned statutory
rollout from September 2021.
Reception Baseline Assessment
The purpose of this assessment is to act as the starting point to measure the
progress schools make with their pupils between Reception and the end of primary
school. It will be administered as a short, teacher-mediated, age-appropriate
assessment covering material that many pupils will already be familiar with, and will
be carried out in normal teaching time using materials and guidance provided. The
assessment will assess all children on-entry, accounting for any impact on their
education up to this point. The new progress measure will ensure schools are
recognised for the work they do with their pupils, in particular for those schools with
a challenging intake and those who have been significantly affected by the COVID19 pandemic.
Additionally, the Reception Baseline Assessment itself will provide valuable one-toone time with each child, particularly during those important first weeks. It is also
important to note that its introduction will mean that statutory assessments at the end of year 2 (Key Stage 1) will be made optional, lessening the overall assessment
burden on schools, lightening teacher workload and giving them greater flexibility
on how best to carry out end of year assessments. A factsheet which clears some
common misconceptions regarding the Reception Baseline Assessment is attached
at Annex A.
Early Years Foundation Stage reforms
The Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework sets the standards that all
early years providers must meet. This includes curriculum, assessment and health
and safety requirements.
Following the Government’s response to the Primary Assessment Consultation in
2017, we developed, piloted and consulted on reforms. The two overarching aims
are to improve outcomes for all children at age 5 and to reduce practitioner and
teacher administrative workload so that more time can be spent interacting with
children in their care.
An independent review of the reforms pilot was published by the Education
Endowment Foundation and NatCen in 2018 and the Government then launched a
full public consultation on the proposed changes. The consultation concluded on
31 January 2020 and received 2,452 responses.
The pilot report and consultation responses informed the final reforms, which are
as follows:
• Revisions to the educational programmes, which form the high-level
curriculum for children in the early years.
• Revisions to the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile assessment, which
takes place at the end of Reception year to make the Early Learning Goals
clearer, more specific and easier for teachers to make accurate judgments.
The ‘exceeding’ assessment criteria will also be removed from the Early
Years Foundation Stage Profile to ensure a focus on supporting all children
to reach the expected level before year 1, and there will no longer be a
requirement for local authorities to externally moderate these judgements in
schools to reduce bureaucracy and free teachers up to spend more time
interacting with children.
• A change to the safeguarding and welfare requirements to promote good
oral health.
Over 3,000 early adopter schools have been implementing the reforms since
September 2020. The reforms will serve as an important platform to help children
catch up in key areas such as communication and language and personal, social
and emotional development, which are important now more than ever in the
context of COVID-19.
Preparedness of schools and early years settings
The Department believes that early years settings and schools will be able to
prepare appropriately to implement these two reforms. Extensive preparatory work has been undertaken to enable the reforms to proceed, while the third period of
national Covid-19 restrictions has reduced infection rates, and the parallel
vaccination rollout is progressing well. Schools in England have returned to full
attendance since 8 March.
In addition, in acknowledgement of the impact of disruption on schools and early
years settings up to this point, the Department has announced a range of recovery
support and is developing longer term plans. The Department also recognises the
key role of these reforms in supporting children who have spent extended periods
of time out of their nursery, school or childminder setting this year. The reforms aim
to improve outcomes for all children in early years settings, particularly
disadvantaged children, and to provide a powerful basis for supporting children’s
catch up from the implications of COVID-19. Reception Baseline Assessment
reforms will have a less immediate impact on catch up but remain essential to the
Department’s aim of creating a better progress measure to improve school
performance and reduce attainment gaps in the long-term.
We believe it is the best approach to proceed with the reforms, given the policy goals
of the Department and the momentum built up in the sector. We also believe it is
right to take and communicate a final decision now, in order to give much needed
certainty and ensure early years settings and schools prepare for statutory
implementation. The Department will ensure overall workload demands are
managed, including inputting to wider discussions on burden on schools and early
years settings in 2021/22 to ensure the Department accounts for the introduction of
these reforms.

I have received official confirmation from the government that Emmbrook School will be an Academy from April 1 2021 . A funding agreement has been reached between the government and the School. I wish the school success from its new status.

The government has recently set out its plans for new legislation concerning Police, Sentencing and the courts. This draft legislation contains revision to the law over illegal encampments. As constituents have been asking for changes to the law in this area I reproduce below the Ministerial statement:

“Unauthorised Encampments
While the vast majority of travellers are law-abiding citizens, illegal sites can cause distress and misery to those who live nearby. The Bill will introduce a new criminal offence where a person resides or intends to reside on any public or private land without permission and has caused, or is likely to cause, significant harm, obstruction, or harassment or distress. We have taken steps to ensure that those exercising their rights to enjoy the countryside are not inadvertently impacted by these measures. In addition, the Bill amends the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to broaden the list of harms that can be considered by the police when directing people away from land; and increase the period in which persons directed away from land must not return from three months to 12 months. Amendments to the 1994 Act will in addition allow police to direct trespassers away from land that forms part of a highway.”

On the 22 February, the Department for Education announced that all schools, colleges and further education settings should allow full attendance from 8 March. Furthermore, higher education providers are asked to recommence in-person teaching and learning in a phased manner from the 8 March for students on practical or practice-based (including creative arts) courses who need access to specialist equipment and facilities.

Key messages
• Our shared goal now is to support pupils and students returning to face-to-face education, and to reverse the long-term impact of the pandemic on their education.

• The Government will review, by the end of the Easter holidays, the options for timing of the return of remaining students. This review will take account of the latest data and will be a key part of the wider roadmap steps. Students and providers will be given a week’s notice ahead of any further return.

• Although the public health picture is improving, it remains crucial that steps are taken to reduce and mitigate any risks within education and childcare settings. DfE has worked closely with PHE to develop and refresh the system of controls to reduce the risk of transmission in education and childcare settings, based on scientific rationale.

Key Q&A
Infection rates within the community continue to remain high. Why have you asked schools and colleges to return to full attendance?

• We are committed to getting all pupils and students back as soon as it is possible to do so.

• We are clear that the decision is based on the balance of risk: to the NHS of rising admissions, but also to students and pupils of the continued educational, social and psychological harms of missed education.

• In doing so, the Department for Education will be informed by the scientific and medical experts, where data and evidence is considered regularly including by SAGE, the Joint Biosecurity Centre, Public Health England, and the Chief Medical Officers.

Why are you not asking remaining HE students to return?

• We are committed to getting all students back into university as soon as the public health situation allows, taking into account the spread of the virus in communities and the pressures on the NHS. In doing so, the government has been informed by the scientific and medical experts, where data and evidence is considered regularly including by SAGE, the Joint Biosecurity Centre, Public Health England, and the Chief Medical Officers.

• The Government will review, by the end of the Easter holidays, the options for timing of the return of the remaining students. This review will take account of the latest data and will be a key part of the wider roadmap steps. Students and providers will be given a week’s notice ahead of any further return.

• Until then, we ask universities to continue to provide high-quality remote education, enabling students to access the help that they need to continue learning whilst at home.

What about clinically extremely vulnerable pupils, students and staff?

• People in the highest risk category (the clinically extremely vulnerable) are currently advised by the Government to shield and stay at home as much as possible until further notice, except to exercise or to attend health appointments (including your vaccination appointments). These individuals will know who they are as they will have been written to, informing them that they are on the list.

• CEV children and young people are advised not to attend educational settings and wraparound childcare. Education settings should make appropriate arrangements for them to continue their education remotely.

• CEV staff should not attend their workplace. Staff should talk to their employers about how they will be supported, including to work from home. Schools and colleges should continue to pay clinically extremely vulnerable staff on their usual terms.

• CEV advice applies to individuals, not households. Those individuals who live with someone who is CEV, but who are not CEV themselves, can still attend education and wrapround childcare settings and work (if they are unable to work from home).

Can parents send their children to wraparound childcare or out-of-school settings to support them to work?

Until 8 March, wraparound childcare providers and out-of-school settings should only offer face-to-face provision to children of critical workers and vulnerable children and young people, in line with those children eligible to attend school for onsite provision.

• From 8 March, wraparound childcare providers and out-of-school settings will be able to offer provision to all children, in line with those returning to school. However, parents and carers will only be able to access settings for certain essential purposes. Providers will be able to offer provision to vulnerable children and young people as normal, but other children should only be accessing this provision, where it is: o Reasonably necessary to enable their parents or carers to work, seek work, undertake education or training, or attend a medical appointment or address a medical need.

• Being used by electively home educating parents, as part of their arrangements for their child to receive a suitable full-time education.

• Being used for the purposes of obtaining a regulated qualification, meeting the entry requirements for an education institution, or to undertake exams or assessments.

• Schools should be working to resume all their breakfast and after-school clubs for their pupils, where this provision is necessary to support parents to important for providing enriching activities which support children’s education, vulnerable children’s wellbeing, as well as supporting parents to work, attend education and access medical care, and to support pupil’s wider education and training.

• From the start of the school summer term, it is our ambition that all children will be able to access this provision for both indoor and outdoor activities as normal. This will be no earlier than 12 April and will be confirmed as part of Step 2 of the Government’s Roadmap.