Local authorities across south Essex are working together to support the training of over 1,600 local people for jobs in the construction industry by 2020.
 
This follows a successful bid for £1m of funding from the Construction Skills Fund, led by Southend Council and put together by local authorities across south Essex, including Basildon, Castle Point, Thurrock and Rochford Councils.
 
Plans have been put in place for three construction hubs to be set up in locations across south Essex at the Airport Business Park Southend, Basildon town centre, and Thurrock. These hubs, located on or adjacent to construction sites will be central to training people up for these construction positions.
 
Councils will be working closely with the construction companies and the sub-contractors to identify which skills they need on site and what roles they are recruiting for so individuals can be trained to match these needs.
 
The news comes as the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) announced that they would be setting up the Construction Skills Fund (CSF), which is backed and funded by the Department for Education. This programme is designed to enhance the construction industry as the government aims to build 1 million homes in the UK by 2020.
 
Cllr James Courtenay, cabinet member for Growth at Southend Council, said: “This funding opportunity is fantastic news not only for Southend-on-Sea, but for the whole of south Essex. Locally, we will be working with over 40 different construction companies, all of whom will benefit through the provision of work and site ready applicants for their construction vacancies.
 
“We have worked closely with agencies and organisations across the borough including HARP, local schools and colleges and also our partnering authorities. We are excited at this news and we look forward to creating a sustainable construction industry here in south Essex.”
 
Rochford District Council’s portfolio holder for Enterprise, Cllr George Ioannou, said: “This funding will make a huge difference to the lives of 1600 people who will be trained locally for jobs in the construction industry, as well as to the families they support.
 
“I am delighted that this opportunity will be offered on our doorstep at the Airport Business Park, a game-changing prime employment space which is set to provide new economic opportunities for south Essex.”
 
Sarah Beale, Chief Executive of CITB, said: “The Construction Skills Fund can be a genuine game-changer for both the construction industry and the individuals being trained. We have a massive need for homegrown talent and these projects will bring thousands of new people into our sector, giving them the crucial onsite experience they need to start a career in construction. These 26 hubs will be based at some of the most innovative sites in the UK, and CITB will be working hard to make sure they deliver the skills our industry critically needs.”
 
For more information about the Construction Skills Fund, please visit www.citb.co.uk/.

An exhibition of posters, postcards and letters, designed by local school children in the Southend 2050 competition opened at the Focal Point Gallery this week.
 
The competition focused on how young people see our borough in the future, with the task of creating a poster promoting Southend to tourists in 2050, or designing and writing a futuristic message on a postcard from the same time. Children of secondary school age were set the task of writing a letter from their future selves. The fruits of this imaginative competition will be available for the public to view in an exhibition at the Focal Point Gallery until Monday 12 November.
 
Over 350 creative and aspirational entries were received. A shortlist was drawn up, and 64 top entries were chosen to go on display. The grand winners in each category were announced at the opening of the exhibition last night, which was attended by over 150 children and parents. The Worshipful The Mayor Cllr Derek Jarvis, Southend-on-Sea Youth Council Mayor and Deputy Mayor Marco Mann and Amy Burdett announced and congratulated the winners and officially opened the exhibition.
 
The winning designs in each category were:
 

•          Letter for my future self – Henry Bagnell
•          Southend 2050 poster – Joseph Murphy
•          Southend 2050 postcard – Jack Shepherd

 
Cllr John Lamb, leader of the council, said: “We were staggered by the number and quality of the entries to the Southend 2050 competition. The Children who entered the competition will be between 37 and 50 years old in 2050!
 
“The postcards, letters and posters were inspiring, imaginative, creative and demonstrated very clearly the pride our young people have for the borough in which they live, study and play, and what they want and expect for their future.
 
“I would like to thank all who submitted entries, and congratulate those who were shortlisted. You have given the people of Southend a vibrant and inspiring exhibition to visit.”

Southend Council is set to campaign for an outer relief road to the east of the borough, another river crossing to the east of the Lower Thames Crossing, and for the Crossrail line to be extended to Southend.
 
The ambitious demands form part of a draft five-year plan (2019-2023) which will be discussed by the council’s cabinet on November 6th.
 
The draft plan has been drawn up on the back of a major public engagement programme called ‘Southend 2050 – be part of the conversation’ that started in spring 2018.
 
Over 35,000 people were reached through the work, with 4,000 people actively taking part and 55 events taking place.
 
This work has identified the sort of place residents and stakeholders want Southend-on-Sea to be, and the work needed now and over the next five years (to 2023) to help make that happen. The roadmap also identifies key milestones and projects that will be delivered up to 2023.

Other milestones in the draft plan include the first tenant moving into Airport Business Park Southend by 2020, the start of the Better Queensway regeneration scheme in the same year, the opening of the new Pier pavilion in 2021, and the completion of the Airport Business Park by 2023.
 
The milestones also highlight that a renewed partnership with the voluntary and community sector is a key aspiration for 2019, as is working with schools and academy trusts to secure improvements in underperforming schools.
 
Cllr James Courtenay, Deputy Leader of the Council, says: “Our draft five-year plan for the borough demonstrates a clear ambition and clear direction of what we want to do and what we want to achieve as a council and also as a place.
 
“We know that Southend-on-Sea, and south Essex as a whole, are going to grow in the future, and we are working with councils across south Essex on that.  It will bring numerous economic and social benefits to the area. 
 
“However, we are also adamant that this must be infrastructure led and that is why we are planning to campaign for a road to the east and aim to secure funding for it by 2023, call for Crossrail to be extended to Southend-on-Sea and also help make the case for a further river crossing to the east of the proposed Lower Thames Crossing.”
 
Cllr John Lamb, Leader of the Council, added: “I am delighted to present this plan for the future of our Borough. This is truly a resident and stakeholder led piece of work, and I want to thank each and every person who has got involved.
 
“Our ambition for the Borough and our draft five-year plan has come directly from what local people, businesses and stakeholders have told us they want.
 
“I want to be clear that this isn’t about the year 2050, but it is about planning for the future whilst also dealing with the challenges and issues we face today, tomorrow and over the next five years.
 
“Planning ahead and having an ambition is an essential part of any successful business or place.
 
“Our draft ambition and five-year roadmap has emerged from detailed engagement with a cross section of the community and helped us to identify what we want to achieve as a place, and how we deliver that collectively with our public sector partners, local residents and businesses.
 
“It has told us clearly what is important to local people and it is already helping us to deal with the here and now too.
 
“The excellent and extensive engagement work we have done has helped us to clearly focus on what needs to be done now and into the future to ensure that we achieve our outcomes for the community.”
 
Cabinet are being asked to approve the draft documents and refer them to all three November scrutiny committees for further comments before consideration by a special cabinet on 4th December and then Full Council on 13th December.
 
The draft documents can be read here (agenda item 4).

Finishing touches are being carried out at a new 50-place nursery on the site of the former Friar’s Library and former Renown pupil referral unit in Shoeburyness.
 
The new permanent home for Friar’s Centre Playgroup – to be operated in future under the name of Sweet Peas Nursery – is another development by the Council’s development company PSP Southend LLP, established in partnership with Public Sector Plc.
 
This project follows on from the completion of the regeneration of the former Hinguar Primary School and Saxon Lodge sites in Shoeburyness to convert the sites into new housing, which included the sale of nine affordable units and a further six units to Moat Housing Association.
 
The nursery is set to open in October and will help meet the increased demand for nursery places in the Borough since the Government introduced its 30 hours free childcare scheme last year.
 
Completion of the nursery development will be swiftly followed by the construction of nine new homes, which will help to finance the scheme.
 
As part of the project, the Council successfully secured £331,837 from the Department for Education to enable the new nursery to create 24 new places and extend its current 26 places from part-time to full-time.
 
Councillor Helen Boyd, cabinet member for children and learning, said: “The completion of the nursery and new family housing in a sustainable location will be a very welcome development for hard-working parents in the area, who will be able to benefit from the new places and the national 30 hours’ free childcare funding made available by the Government.”
 
Cllr James Courtenay, cabinet member for growth, said: “This was an underused and partially vacant brownfield site, so it is great to see it put to good use for the community.
Delivering the project through the Council’s development company, has ensured best value for money to the council and local taxpayers and has enabled the nursery to be built in advance of the housing.”
 
David Samson, Regional Director, Public Sector Plc said: “This project, completed on budget and to programme, has created a much needed new community facility and is a great example of   public/private sector partnerships, creating value from assets to achieve exciting and positive outcomes for the local community.”

Students and schools across Southend are celebrating yet another impressive set of provisional GCSE results.

Over 2,000 young people were entered into GCSE’s at schools in Southend-on-Sea, with pupils performing above the national average in English and maths measures.
 
Last year the Government introduced rigorous new GCSE’s in English and maths, graded on a new numerical (9 to 1) system, with 20 further subjects being reformed this year.
 
Provisional results indicate that 71.9% of students in Southend-on-Sea achieved grade 4 or above in English & maths combined, an improvement of 1% on 2017. Grade 4 is the threshold considered to be a ‘standard pass’ by the Department for Education and the bottom of this grade aligns with the bottom of the previous C grade.
 
Provisional data from 10 schools suggests 60.5% of Southend-on-Sea students achieved a grade 5 in English and maths, which is considered a ‘strong pass’ by the Department for Education. This is above the 2017 figure of 54.1%.
 
Southend-on-Sea results were also above the national average for 16-year-olds in English and maths subjects.  According to the Department for Education*, 71.8% of pupils in England achieved a grade 4 in English, compared to 82.4% in Southend and 71% achieved this standard in maths compared to 72.3% in Southend (based on results from 10 schools).
 
Councillor Helen Boyd, cabinet member for children and learning, said: “Very well done to all pupils for this excellent set of provisional results. You should be rightly proud of your achievements. This early set of results indicates that schools in Southend-on-Sea are continuing to improve in maths and English, which are so important for work, training or further education, and our results continue to be above national averages.
 
“There is always work to do, and through our education board, we will continue to support and challenge schools to ensure that every child has a the opportunity of a good education in this Borough.”
 
*https://www.gov.uk/government/news/gcse-pupils-gaining-knowledge-and-skills-for-future-success

Southend students are celebrating today after achieving A-level results well above the national average. 
 
Figures from eight out of the borough’s ten schools indicate the number of A*/A grades and A* to E grades were both above the national average.
                                                                                    
Around 1,000 students at Southend sixth forms took A-level exams, with indicative results back so far showing that 99.4% achieved A*- E grades, compared to a national average of 97.6%.
 
Of these indicative results, 11.1% of entries were A* compared to the national average of 8%. Furthermore, 35.9% of entries achieved A* or A grades, compared to national figures of 26.2%.
 
The figures do not include results from Belfairs Academy or Cecil Jones Academy, who had not provided their results as yet.
 
Cllr Helen Boyd, cabinet member for children and learning at Southend Council, said: “Southend students can be rightly proud of another set of excellent A-level results. Once again it appears that the borough is likely to have achieved above the national average and continue its general trend of improvement. 
 
“I would like to wish our young people the very best as they now prepare for the next stage in their life, be it with further education, training or in the workplace.
           
“For those who did not achieve the results they hoped for, I am confident that they will be supported in their search and in finding a course that is right for them.
 
“We are as committed as ever to providing our schools with the support needed to give pupils the best possible education and we will continue to work as hard as we can with local schools and colleges to ensure that we continue to achieve that.”

Nearly nine in ten Southend-on-Sea children will start primary school in September 2018 at their first choice primary school, and almost all at one of their top three preferences.

The data on primary school allocations has been announced by the Council as part of ‘national offer day’, with parents and children finding out what school their children will be starting in September.

Out of 2147 applications, 1914 (89%) received an offer for their first preference, 141 (7%) their second preference, and 26 (1%) an offer for their third choice. Sixty-four (3%) received an alternative offer.

Brin Martin, Director of Learning at Southend-on-Sea Borough Council, said: “I am delighted that 89% of local primary school children will be attending their first choice primary school come September, with 97% gaining entry to one of their top three choices. We received 62 more applications (2147) than in 2017 (2085), which was a low birth year. We have still managed to offer 89% of parents their first choice school.

“I am conscious that there are a small number of disappointed families who did not receive any of their top three choices. However the Council remains committed to supporting and continually improving all of our schools across the Borough which will help to ensure that there are sufficient places offering good quality and choice to local parents and carers.”

The council recently embarked on a multi-million pound primary school expansion programme to deliver new pupil places by September 2014 and September 2015 and is now planning a secondary school expansion programme to deliver 10 to 11 new forms of entry in total by September 2019, with 5-6 by September 2018.

Statistics published yesterday by the Department for Education (DfE) confirmed Southend-on-Sea as an overall area performed well above the national* average under the Government’s new GCSE measures, coming 16th out of 151 local authority areas for the new Attainment 8 measure, and 13th for students achieving Grade 5 or above in English and maths combined (54.1% compared to 42.6% nationally).
 
Grade 5 is now the threshold considered to be a ‘strong pass’ by the DfE.
 
Students also performed above the national average in Attainment 8, ranking us 16th in the country, with a score of 50.4 compared to the national of 46.3. In the Progress 8 measure Southend-on-Sea is ranked 40th with a score of 0.06 (2016 -0.01) compared to national score of -0.03.
 
Revised results also show that 70.9% (ranked 19th out of 151) of students in Southend-on-Sea achieved grade 4 or above in English & maths combined compared to 63.9% nationally. Grade 4 is the threshold considered to be a ‘standard pass’ by the DfE and the bottom of this grade aligns with the bottom of the previous C grade. In 2016, 69% of students achieved C or above in both English and maths compared to 63% nationally.
 
Cllr James Courtenay, Executive Councillor for Children and Learning, said: “These are yet again outstanding overall results for the Borough and I am very pleased that the hard work and commitment of students, teachers and their families are paying dividends. They should all be rightly proud of their achievements. The results show how our schools are continuing to improve in maths and English, which are so important for work, training or further education.
 
“We will continue to work hard with all local schools, parents and pupils to support them and build on these achievements long into the future. This commitment also extends to constructive partnership working and discussions through the Education Board with those local schools and academy trusts that do face challenges.”
 
Data also showed that 38.4 % of students entered all components of the English Baccalaureate with 30% of all students achieving all components and a ‘strong pass’ in English & Maths. This is compared to 38.2% of all students nationally entering and 21.3% achieving the measure.

Notes
*National Figures based on all state-funded schools.
Measures referring to grade 5 or ‘strong pass’ cannot be compared to 2016 as there is no equivalent.

The council has unveiled its draft capital budget for April 2018 onwards, with around £20m proposed for new and existing projects up to March 2020.

This additional investment means that, if approved, some £185m of capital investments will made into the Borough over the next four years.

It is also proposed that a further £2.7m of council capital funding is set aside towards developing ‘The Forum II’, an educational, cultural and business space for the digital, cultural and creative industries. This extension to The Forum will, subject to relevant approvals, be majority-funded by Local Growth Funding and South Essex College.

The capital budget, which is separate to the council’s reducing revenue budget, is a rolling budget used to make one-off investments in things like regeneration and housing projects, and to carry out essential improvements to leisure and cultural facilities and ICT systems for example. Funding is raised from a mix of external funding, reserves and borrowing.

Proposed new investment includes:

• Adding a further £10m to the current budget for investment in commercial property. As central Government funding reduces, councils must become financially self-sustaining. Continuing to build a commercial investment portfolio will help build long-term income streams to help fund services. The fund will also be used to secure housing for temporary accommodation. The funds will only be spent if and when appropriate opportunities arise.
• £3.7m on highways schemes, including:

£2.25m for flood prevention works, with half of this coming from external sources – this will see new underground tanks, bunding and increased gulley capacity created on the central seafront to deal with surface water flooding that runs from Queensway down to the central seafront in heavy rainfall. A pumping station and tank storage will also be created to pump out trunk sewers around Hartington Road against high tides, reducing flood risk in the area.

£350,000 to improve the condition of pavements around existing trees.

£325,000 to stabilise an area of emerging cliff slip close to Manor Road, to protect the public footway, coastal road and support of private properties.

£300,000 to undertake improvements to Shoebury Common North, including the creation of a new children’s play area, new paths, new seating and outdoor fitness equipment.

£250,000 to create coach parking and drop-off facilities to accommodate visitors to the seafront.

£200,000 to develop and improve car parking signage for the whole Borough and introduce new signage for the seafront car parks and potential park and ride sites.

• £1m for fire improvement works that become necessary due to any national changes to building regulations and compliance, and £500,000 for planned refurbishment to council property.
• £925,000 for essential works at our theatres and leisure centres.
• £875,000 to convert the former Beecroft Art Gallery in Station Road, Westcliff-on-Sea to 20 artist studios for rent. The building is owned by the Beecroft Art Trust and this project will largely be funded through £575,000 from Arts Council England and other external funding.
• £400,000 to create a small number of local residential care places for children.  This will enable children to stay near their communities, improve their life chances and reduce the number of costly out of borough placements saving £80,000 per year.
• £750,000 to get the Better Queensway project to the next stage of development.
• £500,000 to implement security measures required due to current national threat levels, focused on high footfall areas such as the seafront.

Cllr John Lamb, Leader of the Council, says: “Whilst it may seem unusual to see major investments at the same time as we are highlighting our ever reducing central funding and revenue budgets, we must remain bold, ambitious and invest in our Borough to ensure that we advance and prosper into the future.

“Capital and revenue budgets are two separate things, and we must continue to fund essential things like secondary school places, ensuring that our famous Pier is safeguarded, maintained and improved and investing in plans to look after our elderly and vulnerable through developing new facilities which we are already doing through money already allocated.

“These new projects will allow us to do things like build a commercial property portfolio to give us long-term income streams in the future, carry out important flood prevention works in the central seafront area, carry out fire improvement works where necessary and keep all our buildings up to the standard that local people rightly expect.

“We are also proposing significant new investment in a number of highways projects, and ensuring that we remain a modern business and workforce, by investing in ICT and software improvements.

“Wherever possible these projects will bring income into the council or just must be done.  Despite the austere times this gives us an impressive capital budget to make a difference to important local facilities and infrastructure and shows that we are open for business and here to do the very best for local people and businesses.”
​
The new investment would take the approved capital programme for 2018/19 to 2021/22 to £185m of which the level of external funding to support this investment will be £72m. For 2018/19 alone, the investment in the Borough will be £88m.

Southend Council's cabinet are to consider budgeting £2.7m towards a four-year programme to realise ambitions to deliver the second phase of development at The Forum on Elmer Square.

The contribution would help fund a £19m expansion of The Forum - the country’s first combined academic and public library - on the area in front of the award-winning building.

The proposal is part of the council’s draft budget proposals for 2018/19 being discussed by Cabinet next week (Thursday 18 January).
Always intended as a two-phase development, it would be the second stage to the successful Forum on Elmer Square and would be a joint venture between Southend-on-Sea Borough Council and South Essex College.

The two partners have commissioned a detailed feasibility report, which considered a number of options for the development and identified an option that would provide around 5,000m2 of development space, subject to detailed design. If it secures funding and gains planning consent, the building will have a focus on digital, creative and cultural industries – an area of growth for Southend’s economy and skill base, underpinned by the Economic Growth, Tourism and Digital strategies adopted by the Council last year.

Although plans are at an early stage – and funding contributions from the College and other external parties are yet to be confirmed - it is anticipated that the Council contribution would help facilitate contemporary and community art gallery space and associated office, shop, café and project space to expand the existing gallery offer at the Forum as well as digital workspace for creative digital industries.
 
The Digital Workspace aims to deliver affordable workspace for local creative and digital businesses, provide affordable access to the latest digital arts equipment and will include co-working space, meeting pods, workstations, an editing suite and a seminar room.

For the college, the new building would house a public and teaching restaurant, performance studios, music rehearsal and performance space including computer music suites and teaching rooms increasing opportunities for students to gain skills in the sector.

Cllr Ann Holland, Executive Councillor for Culture, Tourism and The Economy, said: “Following the success of the Forum, which has attracted over 1.75m visitors since it opened in 2013, officers have begun exploring the second phase of the development with partners and funders. Discussion with partners has identified a significant need for additional and reconfigured space by South Essex College who remain committed to the project.

“The mix of accommodation would, we believe, create a vibrant and lively environment that should enhance the town’s burgeoning educational quarter and also encourage the public and students to visit and use Elmer Square more.”

Anthony McGarel, Deputy Principal and Chief Executive of South Essex College, said: “We’re extremely excited about the proposed new development. It would allow us to increase our popular Digital, Media, Music and Performing Arts offer in Southend plus provide the town with a new restaurant, benefitting students and the local communities we serve.”

The Council are still in discussions with South Essex College and external funding bodies to confirm funding contributions that would bring the project forward.

Design for the new building would need to go out to tender once funding has been confirmed. However, the partners are targeting completion of the building in advance of the academic year commencing September 2021.

Southend schools have once again soared up the national performance tables, coming 28th out of 151 local authorities for reading, writing and maths at Key Stage 2. This is a rise of 22 places from 2016.
 
The results released today show that 66% of local pupils reached the expected standards in reading, writing and maths, a major 10% increase from 2016 and 5% above the national average. Eleven per cent of pupils also reached the higher standard, again above national and regional averages.
 

• 75% reached the expected standard in reading, an increase of 8% compared to 2016. The national figure is 72%, an increase of 6% compared to 2016.
• 79% reached the expected standard in writing teacher assessments which remains the same as 2016. The national figure is 76%, an increase of 2% compared to 2016.
• 77% reached the expected standard in Maths, an increase of 6% compared to 2016. The national figure is 75%, an increase of 5% compared to 2016.
• 80% reached the expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling, an increase of 7% compared to 2016. The national figure is 77%, an increase of 4% compared to 2016.
• Southend were above the national average in all subjects in terms of achieving the higher standard
• For pupils with special educational needs, 17% of Southend pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, an increase from 9% last year. 
• 10% of pupils with a statement or Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, compared to 8% nationally.
• 50% of disadvantaged pupils in Southend reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, an increase from 40% last year.  This compares to a national average of 48%.  This puts Southend 43rd out of all local authorities nationally.

Cllr James Courtenay, Executive Councillor for Children and Learning, says: “This is great news and everyone involved in achieving this should be delighted. The council is committed to supporting every child and school in the Borough to be the best it can be, and to see increases in all areas is testament to the hard work of all teachers, governors, pupils, parents and the council.
 
“I am particularly pleased to see that 50% of disadvantaged pupils in Southend-on-Sea reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, a major increase from 40% last year.  This is also above the national average and shows that our commitment to close the attainment gap is starting to bear fruit.
 
“We will continue to work hard through the Education Board for example to improve standards and outcomes further.  Well done to all those who have been involved in achieving these results. It is great to end the year and look forward to 2018 on such a positive note.”

Plans to deliver increased secondary school places from 2018 onwards are set to be fully delivered through expansions at existing secondary schools, rather than the building of a new school.
 
Eight local secondary schools have confirmed to the council that they are willing to expand to create 13 new forms of entry (FE) between them by 2020.
 
An additional 5 FE are needed from 2018, a further 6 FE in 2019 and a further 2 FE in 2020.  As previously discussed at the September 2017 Cabinet, Southend Council has been working on a combined plan of secondary school expansion and the building of a new free school on land adjacent to St Laurence Park.
 
Cllr James Courtenay, Executive Councillor for Children and Learning, says: “I would like to thank all Southend-on-Sea secondary schools that are supporting the shortage of pupil places from 2018 onwards by confirming their agreement to expand their schools.

“I am very grateful to our secondary schools who have worked with the Council to come to this solution which offers a secure way forward for the young people of Southend-on-Sea.
 
“I now intend to present a paper to the January 2018 Cabinet outlining the schools commitment, proposing that we no longer require a free school to meet the 2019 and 2020 places need, and recommending that the shortfall is met through expansions, which was always our preferred option.
 
"Whilst no longer needing to pursue a free school at this stage, we will continue our drive to improve science, technology, engineering and manufacturing (the STEM agenda), as well as links with the airport and other local businesses, with our existing schools and colleges in Southend to ensure our pupils are best prepared for the future workplace.”
 
The table below identifies the commitments from Southend-on-Sea schools: