Hounslow: Budget cuts could mean loss of six community teachers

Anger is brewing over council proposals to cut funding for six valuable community teachers working in Hounslow schools - reports the Richmond & Twickenham Times.

The community outreach officers currently help organise activities - including fun trips, adult education classes and evening clubs - at the Beavers Community, Green Dragon, Berkeley, William Hogarth and Edward Pauling primary schools, as well as Sparrow Farm Infants school.

But, as part of £1.3million cuts to be made to next year's children's services and life long learning budget, Hounslow Council has proposed cutting funding for the officers in a bid to save £350,000 over three years.

It is believed that alternative funds might be available to allow these workers to carry on their work, but some teachers and parents said they still feared the worst.

Kim Osborne, whose eight-year-old daughter Broghan attends Beavers Community, has written to all the parents at the school asking them to support her fight to keep the funding.

In her letter, Mrs Osborne writes: "Without our valuable community teacher, school funds will dwindle, families will not get the opportunity to socialise, our children will not be able to continue taking part in fantastic educational events, the PTA may fold and teachers may not get as much vital support as they would like from parents. The school will never be the same again.

"We cannot allow this to happen."

A petition has been placed at The Hub community centre and in shops around Hounslow by Mrs Osborne.

Mrs Christine Haflam, acting headteacher at Berkeley Primary, said her school would "lose out a great deal" if community outreach officer Stephanie Collis had to leave.

"I think we would either be working really hard to maintain the work that Stephanie does, or some of these services might not happen," she said.

In its report on the proposed cuts, the council recognised that "these community officers are based in some of the most deprived areas of the borough and perform a valuable role in involving parents with education".

A final decision on the fate of the teachers could be made as late as March 2007 when the council sets its final budget for the next year.

At the time of going to press, Hounslow Council could not be reached for comment.

Other possible changes proposed in the Children's Services and Lifelong Learning report:

1) Increasing school meals by 10p from 2007, raising an extra £100,000 per year for the Hounslow council's coffers.

But a council report warned there was "the risk of a reduced take-up of meals if prices are increased".

2) Grants for voluntary language classes could be cut to save £33,000 a year.

The classes help residents to learn English.

A report examining all possible budget cuts said that "opportunities for ethnic- minority communities would be reduced at some cost to the council's policies for social cohesion" if the classes were stopped.

3) The Ride children's home in Brentford could be closed to cut £200,000 a year from the budget.

Cared-for kids would be placed in other facilities and staff would be made redundant, the council's report said.

The under-utilised home is in a prime residential area, the council noted, and could be sold to generate a "significant" amount of money.

Mr Valery Agborsangaya, manager of The Ride, did not wish to comment on the proposed closure.

Keen MPs help victims of Farepak

Husband and wife MPs Ann and Alan Keen have visited Feltham residents hit by the collapse of Christmas hamper company Farepak – reports the Brentford, Chiswick & Isleworth Times.

The MPs visited Burns Avenue neighbours said to be worst affected in the borough, after losing £30,000.

The government introduced a Farepak Response Fund after the company went bust last month and Ann Keen has confirmed that she supports the idea.

"Seeing people on such low incomes being exploited really turns you inside. I am doing everything I can to support my constituents who are affected.", she said.

Adding: "On this occasion I can also confirm that Alan Keen MP will be following suit."

Alan Keen MP said: "The top priority is to get the best financial settlement possible for those families affected before Christmas, and every contribution no matter how small will help towards that."

However, the Response Fund, welcome though it is, can only hope to repay a fraction of the amount people have lost.

The fund currently stands at £4m, whereas the total loss to Farepak customers in the UK is estimated at between £60m - £80m.

Yet meanwhile, both Ann and Alan Keen intend to vote to approve paying an extra £2.5bn a year to the EU – a 60% ‘raise’ over the billions we already pay.

That’s money that could relieve the victims of the Farepak collapse at a stroke, if Ann and Alan Keen were really prepared to do "everything" they can.

What would the EU do with the money instead? No-one knows for sure how the EU spends the money we give it. Auditors haven’t been able to sign off the EU’s accounts as accurate for twelve years in row.