The chair of the Somerset Association of Secondary Heads says national funding for schools needs to be "re-prioritised" towards rural areas like Somerset. Nurses in Somerset have voted for strike action in their dispute over pay. Firefighters were called out to nearly 1,000 local outdoor incidents during this summer’s exceptionally hot weather. A stretch of the A303 in South Somerset will close tonight for work to remove a temporary bridge...and more.
The chair of the Somerset Association of Secondary Heads says national funding for schools needs to be "re-prioritised" towards rural areas like Somerset. Mark Woodlock was responding to a county council report which says Somerset is now "clearly one of the weakest areas nationally" for its educational outcomes, from early years right through to GCSE results. In response, the Department for Education says it understands the challenges facing schools, driven by high inflation. It's providing schools with almost £54 billion this year in core funding, including a cash increase of £4 billion for this financial year. This is a 7% per pupil increase in cash terms across schools and for the provision of higher-needs education.
Nurses in Somerset have voted for strike action in their dispute over pay. Walkouts at local hospitals and community teams are expected to take place before the end of the year - but emergency care won't be affected. Lucy Muchina is the regional director of the Royal College of Nurses for the South West. The government says it has given a pay rise to nurses in line with the independent NHS Pay Review body’s recommendation.
Firefighters were called out to nearly 1,000 local outdoor incidents during this summer’s exceptionally hot weather. The exact number of call-outs was 974, which compares to the fire service attending 395 similar incidents in the same period last year. The summer of 2022 was recorded as the sixth driest ever in Somerset.
A stretch of the A303 in South Somerset will close tonight for work to remove a temporary bridge. The road will shut at 10 pm tonight between the Hazlegrove and Podimore roundabouts and not re-open until 5 am on Monday. Diversions will be in operation along the A359 and the A37.
Police are investigating an alleged assault on a woman near Ilchester. They say it happened last Thursday during the afternoon in Limington. Anyone with information is asked to call the non-emergency number 101.
A new website has been launched to support people in Somerset with mental health issues. One of Yeovil’s oldest pubs has been sold. Artwork on the theme of aviation produced by students at Yeovil College has gone on display at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil.A pupil at Tatworth Primary School near Chard has won a prize in a national competition for writing a book review...and more
Work laying a gas main on the A37 Dorchester Road near the Quicksilver Mail roundabout in Yeovil is to continue for a further two months. Somerset Council says the public toilets in Yeovil bus station will close at the end of the month but the waiting room will stay open temporarily. Former Yeovil Town Captain, Josh Staunton, has set up in business as a professional gardener...and more.
Somerset Council seeking to save £40 million by cutting one thousand jobs says 201 employees have so far applied to leave the authority based on voluntary redundancy. East Somerset Railway near Shepton Mallet has been used for filming the TV adaptation of Jilly Cooper's novel Rivals. An old-style red phone box in Castle Cary is being turned into Somerset's smallest museum...and more
Somerset's Chief Medical Officer says GP surgeries using healthcare professionals alongside doctors to provide treatments has freed up GP appointments. A farmer has been fined £15,000 for polluting a household water supply. Avon and Somerset’s new Police and Crime Commissioner has officially started work in the role. Chard Post Office is closed today for the handover of the business to new owners...and more.
Health inspectors have criticised Somerset's maternity services, including those at Yeovil Hospital. Somerset Council says re-opening Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre in its original form could cost up to £200,000 if a multi-million-pound upgrade of the building falls through. A film made by a Yeovil man on a budget of just five thousand pounds was screened at the prestigious British Independent Film Festival...and more.
The Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard says it needs an immediate injection of £100,000 to keep going. Yeovil’s Marlie Packer has returned to Yeovil Rugby Club where she began her rugby career 20 years ago. Twenty-five Town criers from across the South will be in Ilminster tomorrow competing in the annual Ilminster Town Criers' Competition...and more.
Train services through Somerset are again being disrupted today due to continued strike action by the train driver’s union ALSEF. A campaign has been launched in Somerset aimed at stopping people overdosing on opioids. A Somerset business is raising a smile with its name.‘Top Of The Clops’, a tack shop near Taunton has won a place in the top ten of the UK’s funniest business names...and more.
A woman driver has been told she faces a prison term for causing the deaths of two people in a crash on the A303. The AA says there are more potholes than ever on Somerset’s motorway network, leading to an increase in damage to vehicles. The new cancer treatment unit at Yeovil Hospital should be open before the end of the year...and more.
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