Author Archives: D Porter
Somerset’s foster care recruitment campaign “Highly Commended” in national awards
Somerset County Council’s foster care recruitment campaign ‘Theo’s Story’ was highly commended last night (20 July) at a prestigious national awards ceremony. Theo’s Story was recognised in the ‘Campaign of the Year’ category at the Local Government Chronicle Awards, with judges describing the entry as ‘incredibly creative, passionate and hard to criticise’. The focus of […]
Young people help shape future Somerset Children’s Services
Young people across the county have helped shaped Somerset’s new Children and Young People’s Plan, setting out how key issues such as mental health, climate change, sexual health, harassment and more will affect young people. Approved by Somerset County Council’s Executive on Monday 11 July, the Children’s and Young People Plan 2022-24 has been developed […]
Government advisers hear of ‘significant developments’ in children’s services
Improvements, investment and innovation in Somerset’s Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) services are continuing at pace with Government advisers endorsing progress. Government advisers from NHS England and the Department for Education met with Somerset SEND leaders recently (21 September) for the third time. Their report concluded ‘SEND leaders continue to provide robust oversight, with […]
Assisted rapid testing for people without symptoms of covid-19 now available in local pharmacies
People in Somerset will have access to assisted covid-19 testing from today (Saturday 1 May) as the county takes another important step in the roadmap out of lockdown. Somerset’s Director of Public Health is encouraging everyone to access free, regular, rapid Covid-19 testing. This regular testing is for people who do not have symptoms of […]
More groups urged to get Covid-19 tested
Free Coronavirus community testing is now available for even more groups of Somerset residents to help break chains of transmission and keep communities safe. Around one in three people with Coronavirus do not have symptoms. Community testing, using lateral flow devices, is a fast and simple way to test people who do not have symptoms, […]
SEND improvements benefit children and families
Improvements in the way SEND services are delivered across Somerset are already bringing benefits to children, young people and families, Somerset’s latest Health and Wellbeing Board heard. Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group and Somerset County Council are working closely together and investing heavily in their shared commitment to improve the lives of children and young people […]
Director of Public Health encourages all households with school age children to regularly COVID-19 test
Trudi Grant, Director of Public Health at Somerset County Council, urges all Somerset families and households with children to start to take a free Covid-test twice every week. Each person in a Somerset household with primary, secondary and college age children, including childcare and support bubbles, are encouraged to test themselves at home twice every […]
Record number of secondary school places allocated
A record number of Somerset young people waking up today (1 March) will discover which secondary school they’ll attend from this September – with 98 per cent offered a place at one of their top three choices. Despite the largest number of secondary school applications ever received (4654 this year compared to 4512 in 2020), […]
Somerset COVID-19 vaccination milestone and now open to next priority groups
Thanks to the efforts of hundreds of GPs, nurses, vaccinators, administrators, marshals and volunteers, the Somerset COVID-19 vaccination programme has offered a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to the most vulnerable residents in across Somerset. Across the UK, figures released show that 15 million people have been vaccinated. In Somerset the latest published figures […]
Fast-track programme offers rewarding careers in child and family social work for talented graduates
Graduates and career changers to child and family social work will be given hands-on training to become the next generation of social workers. This is part of the UK Government’s Plan for Jobs which is protecting, supporting and creating jobs across the country. Somerset County Council is opening the recruitment round for 58 aspiring social […]
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