01/05/2014 BBC Wales Today

pressure for change. That's all from us. Now

Good evening. There are calls for a nursing home in Powys to be

investigated after an elderly resident was verbally abused and

neglected. The poor treatment of Veronica Teal came to light after

her family put a camera in her room. They've told this programme that

they're horrified at their mother's treatment at the home owned by the

Pentecostal Hope Church. India Pollock has this exclusive report.

This is 72-year-old Veronica Teal, her picture taken last week in a new

nursing home. Compare it to a few months ago, lying in her bed

sobbing. She was living in Newtown, her family installed a camera in her

room because they were worried. What they found shocked them.

It is horrible. I tried to block it. I did not watch as much. It broke my

heart. It is my mum. I wouldn't treat anyone like that and my mum

has never been treated like that, which adds to my naivete. Veronica

Teal had a stroke 20 years ago, she cannot use her legs and can only use

one arm. She also has difficulty with her speech. In November last

year, Mrs Teal and her family decided she needed full-time care.

Her daughter chose this nursing home because it was church-run,

independent and purpose-built. While she can understand everything, she

cannot always respond the way she would like. Her care plan says she

will only use one word. Using yes and no answers but not always

appropriately. The plan says everyone working with her needs to

give her time and assistance to respond. Mrs Teal's son gave me the

footage and I have watched 168 hours of it. What I have seen is

distressing and far from the dignified care you would expect for

your loved ones. On one occasion she was left for 26 hours without her

catheter bag being emptied. Her care plan also says she needs

encouragement to eat. I spoke to the manager of the home

and Reverend Alan Hewitt, the chair of Trustees and pastor of the

church. They declined my request for an interview but gave me a

statement. The trustees regret an isolated incident of verbal abuse

was brought to their attention. The member of staff involved has been

disciplined and is undergoing further training. The trustees are

confident the residents continue to receive excellent care. Social

services says it has been investigating and will share the

outcome of the investigation tomorrow. I saw Veronica Teal last

week, she is much happier and has settled into her new home.

It is his number one priority and a real game changer, that's how a new

flagship policy has been described by the education minister, Huw

Lewis. Schools Challenge Cymru will cost ?20 million a year and aims to

raise standards in under performing schools. Similar schemes have been

running successfully in London and Manchester for nearly a decade.

Here's our Education Correspondent, Arwyn Jones. Too many schools in

Wales don't measure up. Many in our poorer areas are set to get a boost.

Here at Willows in Cardiff they have seen an improvement in their results

over the past two years and as part as Schools Challenge Cymru, they

will get extra help. They will draw up a plan looking at the school's

weaknesses and needs. All the support they need will be paid for

out of the ?20 million fund. I would expect for the challenge adviser to

be aware of the fact that as a headteacher, we know the school and

we know where the gaps are with our pupils. We know what to do to make

those gaps appropriate and ensure we are held to account for putting

those gaps right. In February I visited schools in London who have

been part of a similar scheme launched ten years ago. It was a

huge success and enabled schools to build on what they had. They did

bring in consultants and experts who worked alongside my teachers to get

them to focus on the things that were critical, to develop the

teaching so the learning of the children improved. The scheme in

London was funded for nine years, which is less than what has been

promised by the education minister here. I can guarantee that this

programme will be here for the next two years. We will have to evaluate

it, and I would like us to move on to a second phase of Schools

Challenge Cymru. But those involved say it is not about money, but

making sure the schools work together. After criticisms of the

Welsh government for lacking strategy, the hope now is that this

policy will stay the course. I really sense there is a hunger for

this, most importantly in the schools themselves. Teachers and

head teachers want to know there is a policy to get behind. I'm hoping

this will signal that that is what is in place now. The Welsh

government has been criticised for its handling of education. The idea

here is, by raising the standards of our most challenging schools, they

will raise the standards for everyone.

Three people have been stabbed at a house in Caerphilly. It's thought

three men forced their way in to the home in Lansbury Park last night and

attacked a woman and two men, who are all in their twenties. They were

treated in hospital for stab wounds. One of the men is in a serious but

stable condition. There's been a significant increase

in cases of the sexually transmitted disease syphilis in north Wales. In

the last year, 39 cases were reported to Public Health Wales.

Normally there are around seven. The rise was first seen on Anglesey but

has now spread across the region. Labour has launched its campaign for

the European elections with a set of key pledges. The party urged voters

to send a message to the UK government about the cost of living,

and to reject the UK Independence Party. Rugby, and it was last-minute

heartache for the ospreys this evening, ending their hopes of

making the play-offs. Let's get the weather forecast now. How is it

looking? Not bad at all, mostly fine and subtle but that is not the full

story. The heavy showers will Peter out, with mist patches, cooler than

last night with temperatures dropping to six Celsius. There will

be hill fog in the Brecon Beacons, some showers in places, but an

improving story. Largely dry and bright in Northern Ireland and much

of England, cloud breaking, sunny spells and some showers in the

south-east but not the downpours of today. It will be cooler along the

north sea coasts with those breezes coming from the sea. Some cloud

around but plenty of sunny spells, with light winds and top

temperatures of 14 Celsius. Tomorrow night, most of Wales stays dry, but

under those clear skies of risk of ground frost in rural Wales.

Cloudier in the west so less cold here. On Saturday, high pressure

over the UK, but a warm front pushing in from the west. Saturday

itself, generally dry and bright. More cloud in the west, still some

uncertainty. On Sunday, some spots of drizzle in the west, more cloud

here with the best of the sunshine in the south-east. At the moment

bank holiday Monday looks dry and probably the warmest day of the bank

holiday weekend. Not wall-to-wall sunshine but lots of dry, an settled

weather. Next week there could be some rain on the way. That is Wales

Today. We will have updates from around 6:25am in the morning. Good

night.