staffordshire

The efforts of Staffordshire social workers are being praised ahead of World Social Work Day next Tuesday, March 16. The annual awareness day draws attention to the contribution social workers make to society, often in exceptionally challenging circumstances. Social workers help people who, for all sorts of reasons, need support to live their lives. Social work is about building relationships with people and helping them to take control of their personal situation.

Staffordshire Libraries have taken a leap into the 21st century after the recent installation of new self service technology. Customers will now be able to make use of state of the art equipment installed in seven Staffordshire libraries, allowing users to carry out a range of transactions electronically including cash payments, borrowing and returning items, and accessing individual library accounts. County Councillor Ben Adams, Cabinet Member for Communities and Culture said:

Wednesday 3rd of March 2010 saw the Big A Debate take place at the Potteries Museum Hanley. Some high profile names had agreed to be on the Panel and PitsnPots caught up with them before the event. As well as the video's we also have photographs and a full audio transcript on the way. (*Please note the video shown here is fairly low quality due to a technical issue we had importing it. The HD versions will be available soon via youtube and will replace these videos.).

Parents applying for school places in Staffordshire will have good reason to celebrate today, since 95 per cent of applicants have been allocated their first choice of Staffordshire secondary school and 98 per cent have been allocated one of their top three preferred schools.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council has approved its 2010/11 budget at a meeting today. The increase in council tax will be 2.89 per cent and will mean residents of Stoke-on-Trent continue to pay the lowest council tax in Staffordshire. Council tax for Band A homes, which make up 61 per cent of properties in the city, will be £925.87 a year, including the contributions towards the costs of the police and fire service. The increase will be 41p a week for Band A properties.

The report into Stafford Hospital by Robert Francis QC has reflected concerns raised by Staffordshire County Council’s administration. Matthew Ellis, the county council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care said: [quote]“Robert Francis has today delivered an in-depth and robust report into failings at the hospital. The report, for the first time, nails the reasons for these failings. We must however never lose sight of the fact that people lost loved ones which is a very personal tragedy.

Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Archive Service’s Annual Day School next month will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the joining of the six pottery towns of Tunstall, Burslem, Hanley, Stoke-upon-Trent, Fenton and Longton to form the new borough of Stoke-on-Trent. The popular Day School, now in its 12th year will take place on Saturday March 6 at Staffordshire University’s Stoke Campus from 10am to 4pm. A fascinating programme has been planned with a range of popular speakers.

Today, after months of frantic voting, Staffordshire’s top six teenage book titles can be revealed and young people are now being encouraged to vote for a winner. Since October last year, young people in Staffordshire aged between 11-14 years have been nominating their favourite book of the year as part of Staffordshire Library Service’s Young Teen Fiction (YTF) Award. Designed to encourage young people to enjoy books and share their enthusiasm with their peers, the award is now in its sixth yea

A campaign to encourage motorists to park responsibly and legally outside a Newcastle school is set to be launched. Parents and teachers have joined forces to tackle the problems which have plagued the area around Langdale Primary School for some time. Staffordshire County Council’s road safety unit already runs a successful walking bus at the Langdale Road school and is supporting the initiative.