Holywell School, New Entrant 2020 - Reception Class Open Sessions

Stella Poulter

Secretary - Holywell Primary School

Tel: 01634 388416

Email: office@holywell.kent.sch.uk

Website: www.holywell.kent.sch.uk

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New Voucher Scheme for Faster Broadband in Rural Communities

A new voucher scheme to help rural communities benefit from up to £2,500 for faster broadband has been launched in Kent.

Kent County Council has made up to £2.8 million of additional funding available to ‘top-up’ the Rural Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme in partnership with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS).

It means homeowners, who apply as part of a group of two or more, can get broadband connection vouchers worth up to £2,500 instead of the standard £1,500 available elsewhere in the country.

For more information, visit: www.kent.gov.uk/broadband

Upchurch Matters

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Macmillan World's Biggest Coffee Morning at Holywell School

Everybody welcome

Challenger Class (Year 6) and PFHS invite you to their 'Macmillan World's Biggest Coffee Morning' in Holywell School hall on Friday 27th September at 9:00am.

The school welcomes your cake donations, and if you can’t make it on the morning but would still like to donate, please drop your cakes (nut free please) to the school office on Thursday 26th.

The Coffee Morning is open to everyone, not just parents.

Please come along and support this very worthy cause.

Thank you

Why Macmillan do it

The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning is Macmillan’s biggest fundraising event. People all over the UK host their own Coffee Mornings and donations on the day are made to Macmillan.

Please join in on 27th September to help Macmillan raise vital dough-nations so they can be right there for more people living with cancer.

Having a Coffee Morning is the perfect chance to catch up over a cuppa and a slice of something delicious for a great cause.

The money raised will help everyone with cancer to live life as fully as they can.

In 2018 you raised an incredible £26,914,382 and Macmillan is aiming to top that this year!

Find out more about Macmillan Cancer Support at: www.macmillan.org.uk

Upchurch Matters

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Swale Borough Council - More Support for Rough Sleepers

Swale council has secured space to get up to 12 additional people sleeping rough off the streets and help them find suitable long-term accommodation.

Merlin House, Sittingbourne, will be used as supported accommodation for people sleeping rough, where they can then be helped by the council and homeless charity Porchlight.

Once off the streets, people will be assessed and referred to specialist support to help them find more suitable permanent accommodation.

The move is the latest part of the council’s new proactive approach to helping get homeless people off the streets and into suitable accommodation.

A new rough sleeping coordinator is working alongside Porchlight to help people sleeping rough into suitable housing.

Plans are also being put together with local voluntary groups to provide a night shelter in winter to make sure anyone sleeping rough will have a safe warm place to stay on the coldest nights.

So far, five rough sleepers have been housed in Merlin House, in addition to 10 being placed in temporary accommodation and two moved to long term permanent accommodation since July.

Cllr Ben Martin, cabinet member for housing at the council, said:

"We are determined to do all we can to get people off the streets and into appropriate accommodation.

We heard these units were going to be available, and the chance to use them to help get people somewhere warm and safe, was too good to miss.

These aren’t permanent solutions for the people who use them, but they give them somewhere to stay whilst we work with other agencies to get them the support they need to sustain permanent accommodation.”

Cllr Ghlin Whelan, deputy cabinet member for housing, said:

“Our additional investment in the service means we have been able to increase the amount of outreach work we do.

This gives us a much better chance of helping the most difficult cases get the support they need to find - and maintain - permanent and safe accommodation.

We know there’s still a lot of work we need to do, but this is another step we’re taking to tackle the issues of homelessness in Swale.”

Anyone sleeping rough in Swale should contact the council on: 01795 417485.

If you’ve seen someone rough sleeping and you think they’re in immediate danger or in need of urgent medical help, call: 999.

If you’ve seen someone rough sleeping and you’d like to tell someone you can contact Porchlight on: 0800 567 7699 or via their website: www.porchlight.org.uk/tell-us

For more information and advice about rough sleeping and homelessness, visit: www.swale.gov.uk/homelessness-prevention

Swale Borough Council 

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Newington History Group - Heritage Open Days

This weekend brings a unique opportunity to meet archaeologists responsible for excavating a Roman small town at Newington.

They will be at ‘Newington Uncovered’, a Heritage Open Days event organised by Newington History Group, that brings to life 2000 years of village history.

This year’s event includes the first public exhibition of the recently excavated Roman settlement in the heart of the village. Archaeologists who worked on the site will bring artefacts and talk about the significance of the excavation.

‘Newington Uncovered’ is also an opportunity to discover the secrets of Newington’s medieval church and find out about the village’s history through displays, activities and talking with volunteer researchers.

Entrance is FREE and there are activities for adults and children. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the WWI Peace celebrations of 1919, you can even use ‘People Power’ to send a message into the future!

‘Newington Uncovered’ is at St. Mary’s Church, Church Lane, Newington on Saturday, September 14th and Sunday, September 15th, 2:00pm - 5:00pm both days.

For further information, Email: newingtonhistorygroup@outlook.com or message Newington History Group via their Facebook or Twitter pages.

Sue Flipping - Newington History Group

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Swale Borough Council - Area Committee Consultation

Swale council wants to know if people would support area committees in different parts of the borough.

The council is currently looking at ways to spread power among councillors and improve public engagement in decision-making.

As part of a constitutional review, the council is the currently looking into whether it should set up three or more area committees across Swale.

Area committees can give residents an opportunity to see and take part in the council’s decision-making.

The council want to know what residents think about this idea and, if they were set up, what form they should take and what powers they should have.

Cllr Mike Baldock, deputy leader of the council who is leading on the constitutional review, said:

“We want people to be more involved in the decisions we make that affect their lives.

Area committees could be a good way to do this, but we want to ask if it’s something people would support, and what they would like them to do.

Is three the right number, or would more be better? What decisions could they take? How could non-councillors get involved?

We genuinely want to know what people think so it can help shape what we do going forward to help reconnect people with their council.”

Area committees can take many forms and can be made up of different people such as borough councillors, members of the public and representatives from other public bodies such as parish and town councils.

Their role could be to:
• make strategic action plans for the relevant areas

• advise and respond to consultations on behalf of the local community

• make decisions that allocate resources to projects

To take part in the survey, visit: www.swale.gov.uk/area-committees-consultation or pick up a paper copy from Swale House reception or Sheerness Gateway and respond by Friday, 1st November.

Swale Borough Council

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