That was the finding of the latest Department for Education and NHS England review meeting of SEND services in Warwickshire. During the meeting, inspectors acknowledged the continued efforts of Warwickshire County Council and Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board, who have been working together with a range of partners including Warwickshire Parent Carer Voice to make improvements to the SEND system.

Demand for services, inflation, market capacity and an increasing growth in the gap between spending on key services and funding all combine to create the most difficult financial position the Council has faced in over a decade.

Following the quarter one budget forecast, Cabinet considered the forecast position and approved the development of a financial action plan to mitigate against overspending and address how we will balance the books.

Warwickshire County Council commissions domestic abuse accommodation which is equitable and accessible for all

Warwickshire County Council already commissions Refuge to provide emergency accommodation for women and their children fleeing domestic abuse. This new model of dispersed accommodation will build off the already well-established service delivered by Refuge, ensuring victim-survivors who may have previously struggled to access accommodation-based support, now can. Those victim-survivors include male victim-survivors (with and without children), larger families, female victim-survivors with sons over the age of 12, transgender victim-survivors, victim-survivors who have disabilities, victim-survivors with pets and older victim-survivors with mobility needs.

Celebrations for successes of community groups in receipt of grant funding

The groups involved all received grants from Warwickshire County Council via an application process where they evidenced how they would use the funding to support their local communities and the event was a chance to showcase the results.

The event will be livestreamed across the UK on the British Library platform, and will be available to watch at Leamington Spa Library & Information Centre on Tuesday 19 September. Visitors are invited to attend from 6:15pm – 9:30pm and enjoy light refreshments, and the livestream itself will be shown between 6:30 – 8:30pm.

Support for people with dementia

Everybody forgets things from time to time and many people find that their memory becomes less reliable as they get older. For some it could be an early sign of dementia.

September is World Alzheimer’s Month and Warwickshire County Council is raising awareness of the range of support and information available for people diagnosed with dementia, and for people who care for someone with dementia.
Stress, anxiety, depression, certain physical illnesses, infections and vitamin and thyroid deficiencies are just a few of the things that can make memory worse. However, anyone who finds that their memory is getting noticeably worse, or affecting their everyday life, should book an appointment with a GP to find out what help, support and treatment is available.

Warwickshire Fire & Rescue Service team up with EdibleLinks to help families stay safe and well

This innovative partnership aimed to ensure the safety and wellbeing of families across Warwickshire.

Through this initiative, WFRS and EdibleLinks successfully reached out to 235 families through seven events across the county, resulting in significant positive outcomes for the community.

Wildflower Meadow at Ryton Pools Country Park Blooms with Biodiversity

Warwickshire’s Country Parks Service are celebrating the astounding success of the Ryton Pools Wildflower Meadow biodiversity offsetting project, which has undergone a remarkable transformation.

Biodiversity offsetting plays a pivotal role in conservation efforts. It aims to balance the scales between development and nature, ensuring that when development projects have negative effects on local ecosystems, new habitats are created or restored elsewhere to compensate for these losses. Through projects like the Ryton Pools Wildflower Meadow, biodiversity offsetting not only mitigates the impact of development but also enriches our local landscapes, creating thriving ecosystems that support diverse flora and fauna.

You can sign up for the monthly Warwickshire Country Parks newsletter here.

Volunteers will participate in a pilot project to take a photographic survey of the main shopping streets in Nuneaton so the images can be added to the library’s local studies collection.

This week is Business Fire Safety Week and we’re taking the opportunity to hear from the Protection team at Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service and businesses who have benefited from the important work they carry out in our communities.

Today we’re speaking to Matt Pardoe, who has been working on the Protection team since January 2022.

Matt talks about how he took up his current position:

“I moved from Response to Fire Protection in January 2022, so it’s been around 20 months in role. I started as a watch manager team leader in the Fire Protection team but since April of this year I’ve been working as a Station Manager on a project that sits alongside the fire protection team called ‘Integrated Protection’.”

The search for the next Young People Laureate is on! This wonderful initiative is open to anyone aged between 13-17 who lives and is educated in Warwickshire. Our Young Poet Laureate will take part in events and activities across the county and is offered the mentorship of a professional poet. Past Warwickshire Young Poet Laureates have performed on the radio, on film, at festivals and led their own poetry workshops.