www.sebastiansactiontrust.org   E-mail  fundraising@sebastiansactiontrust.org

Pictured Above: James Sunderland, Bracknell MP,  Jane Gates OBE, CEO of Sebastian’s Action Trust, Adam Afriyie – Windsor MP, Mark Courage, Sebastian’s Action Trust Chair of Trustees

Sebastian’s Action Trust launches its Plugging the Gaps report at the House of Commons | Sebastian’s Action Trust hosted a reception at the Houses of Commons on Wednesday (Jan 22^nd) for the launch of its independently commissioned report that highlights the critical role of social palliative care in supporting families in need.

Sebastian’s Action Trust is a Berkshire charity that provides emotional, social and practical support to more than 600 families whose children have life-limiting or life-threatening conditions or who have sadly died.

The Trust commissioned Dr Katrin Bain, an academic at Royal Holloway, University of London, to evaluate the range of bespoke services it offers to families with the aim of demonstrating how, in many situations, these services compliment and redress the gaps in NHS provision and palliative care.

www.ascot.co.uk

CLICK HERE to see the 2020 Royal Ascot Style Guide

Ascot is delighted to present the 2020 Royal Ascot Style Guide in association with Cunard.

Royal Ascot is synonymous with sartorial elegance, style woven into the very fabric of our history. This is upheld by the Royal Ascot Dress Code, which invites guests to contribute to an occasion heralded as a major fashion event in its own right. The Royal Ascot Style Guide was designed to advise and inspire guests with what to wear to the Royal Meeting.

CLICK HERE to see  details of Royal Borough's vote to scrap residents' parking discount.

Chartered town planner and local Ascot resident Christian Leigh has recently published two books on town planning, aimed at providing advice for the general public. Christian has worked for 25 years as a planning consultant advising householders, local businesses, multinational companies across England, as well as work for local and national Government. He is also a visiting lecturer in planning law at the University of Reading.

The two books are user-friendly guides, written in a non-technical style, and cover two topics which can commonly affect people: objecting to a planning application or appeal, or lodging your own planning appeal. They provide a step-by-step guide to getting involved in the planning system.

They are now published and available to buy on Amazon, with a link to the books and more information at his website:  www.town-planning-know-how.co.uk

The books have been well-received by the development profession, with sales already taking the books into the Amazon bestsellers for legal guides for the layperson. Both books are now in the top 10 bestseller lists, including in the wide category of consumer guides !

Christian can also be followed on twitter @townplanningkn1 and to find out more about his private practice visit www.christianleigh.co.uk

Pictured Above: Casual Dining Awards: L to R :Nick Procter (CEO Amber Energy) ,  Peter Borg-Neal (CEO Oakman Inns) Host - Tom Allen

A: London Road, Ascot, SL5 8DR | T: 01344 596480  W: www.theroyalforesters.co.uk | Insta:  /theroyalforesters | FB: /theroyalforesters

Oakman Inns rated top multi-site pub company in Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For and wins Casual Dining Awards’ Sustainable Pub Operator of the Year

The year has started well for pub group, Oakman Inns, which owns and operates the Royal Foresters in Ascot, and which picked up two awards on Thursday night (20^th February). Ranked for a fifth year in the top 30 of the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For List 2020, the company is this year’s highest rated multi-site pub company with the top accolade of three stars.

Oakman Inns which employs over 1,000 people who work across its 24 establishments in Southern England and the West Midlands, is a progressive, people-oriented company that truly believes in team engagement and has a strong desire to allow each team member to be the best they can be. At the heart of their development programme is 'Oakmanology', an award-winning learning and skills hub which was designed in-house by Oakman’s HR team, and which takes employees through both craft and leadership development, using a mix of online micro-learning opportunities including fact sheets, quizzes, eLearning, face to face training, videos and assessments. In the Best Companies survey, staff regard their training as being of great personal benefit, scoring 80%, team members see plenty of opportunities to learn and grow (75%) and they say the operation does its bit for the environment (77%).

The awards continued to flow at annual The Casual Dining Awards, where Oakman won the annual Sustainable Operator Award for their non-stop effort to become environmentally better in everything they do. The company was also Highly Recommended in The Best Pub or Bar Brand of the Year, a recognition of the results of an effective, well-trained, and highly motivated team and a desire to be the best can have on a business.

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Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead’s Children’s Services rated GOOD by Ofsted

The Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead’s Children’s Services have been rated ‘GOOD’ following an inspection by Ofsted in January 2020. 

Inspectors commented on the significant improvements that Achieving for Children (AfC), the council’s children's service provider, has made since the last inspection in 2015.

The two week inspection took place between 13 and 24 January 2020 during which inspectors visited many services across the directorate.

Under the new framework, services are assessed against four key areas: AfC was judged good for their overall effectiveness, good for impact of leaders on social work practice with children and families and good for the experiences and progress of children who need help and protection. A requires improvement to be good rating was given for the experiences and progress of children in care and care leavers.

Some of the highlights of Ofsted’s report published on 24 February were:

• Children in the Royal Borough have a strong voice.
• The children in care council, Kickback, is proactive and well run.
• There are strong interventions available where domestic abuse is a concern.
• Social workers know their children well and talk knowledgeably about their experiences. Skilled and thoughtful direct work is conducted at the right pace for children; social workers use a variety of tools to help them understand children's experiences and views.
• Early help services in the Royal Borough are a real strength. An impressive breadth of targeted interventions and services rapidly address the difficulties, needs and challenging circumstances of children and their families. 
• The large majority of children in care live in safe, secure and stables homes that meet their needs. 
• Children in care are attending school more regularly and are achieving more than they were before.
• There has been an increase in the number of care leavers engaged in good employment and education opportunities. They are well supported to attend university and college if they wish.
• Leaders and managers are committed to improving outcomes for children by listening to what they, and their families have to say.