Tree Sculpture unveiled at Brampton Park, Staffordshire Children’s Services

A  tree sculpture was unveilled at Brampton Park yesterday commemorating the 80^th anniversary of the D-Day Landings.  The carving has been done by local sculptor Anthony Hammond who some time ago created another tree carving at Brampton Park, of Wolstanton war hero Tom Brown Tivey. Both pieces are situated close to the metal sculpture of the war nurse and author Vera Brittain.  Also recently, a time capsule was buried at Brampton Park – containing memorabilia from the borough’s year-long 850^th anniversary celebrations –.

Newcastle-under-Lyme played its part in the national 80^th anniversary commemoration of the D-Day landings last night when a beacon was lit in Queens Gardens, one of many across the nation, to mark the Allied landings in Normandy in 1944.

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Work prioritising improvements to Staffordshire children’s services is progressing quickly as changes at Staffordshire County Council are being introduced during the spring and summer following an Ofsted inspection in November 2023.  An additional £5 million was allocated towards a series of practical measures to boost oversight, increase support and reduce workloads.

After a decade of being rated as ‘Good’, an Ofsted inspection of children’s services published in January found that the service ‘required improvement to be good’.

Five months later a new report details the improvements being implemented this summer ….  Including  ….. management monitoring and recording of staff supervision …. the updating of children’s plans in a timely way …..  the random sampling of cases marked ‘no further action’…. And support with digital literacy, driving lessons, apprenticeships and access to suitable accommodation for those leaving care.

Staffordshire County Council is currently supporting 5,042 children, of which 1,345 are in care, and has seen its budget rise by 152 per cent since 2009 to £146 million for 2024/25.