:00:00. > :00:00.Adebowale show nod remorse. That is all from us. Now we join our news
:00:00. > :00:12.teams This is East Midlands Today with
:00:13. > :00:17.Quentin Rayner and me, Geeta Pendse. Tonight: must do better, much
:00:18. > :00:17.better. Almost half 0
:00:18. > :00:20.better. Almost half of a city 's secondary
:00:21. > :00:26.schools are placed in special measures. The issues have got to be
:00:27. > :00:30.rigourously addressed. Plus, it has some of the worst
:00:31. > :00:32.waiting times in the country but how is Lester's 0
:00:33. > :00:36.waiting times in the country but how is Lester's emergency department
:00:37. > :00:41.coping this Christmas? Also: Good news for homeowners as
:00:42. > :00:45.prices are forecast to rise by 10%. And happy to be shown the red card,
:00:46. > :00:46.the 0 And happy to be shown the red card,
:00:47. > :00:56.the Derby footballers getting stuck into Christmas with the kids.
:00:57. > :01:02.Good evening. The biggest shake`up to schools in a generation in
:01:03. > :01:05.Nottingham is on the cards tonight. That's after six out of its 14
:01:06. > :01:08.secondary schools were put in special measures. And a seventh has
:01:09. > :01:12.been identified as having serious weaknesses.
:01:13. > :01:12.The decision was made by Ofsted, the Office 0
:01:13. > :01:15.The decision was made by Ofsted, the Office for Standards in Education,
:01:16. > :01:19.after unannounced inspections of the schools last month.
:01:20. > :01:22.In a moment, we'll hear from the Nottingham politician responsible
:01:23. > :01:29.for setting local education policy. But first, this report from our
:01:30. > :01:36.Political Editor John Hess. Pupils arriving at this college this
:01:37. > :01:40.morning, as news emerged that it is one of six secondary schools now in
:01:41. > :01:44.special measures, judged by Ofsted not to be good enough. My daughters
:01:45. > :01:47.are both doing well. The teachers and tutors have always been really
:01:48. > :01:51.good whenever I've been in school, or if they've ever had a problem.
:01:52. > :01:52.They've always seemed to have dealt with it well. I was a bit shocked
:01:53. > :01:55.when we did get the 0 with it well. I was a bit shocked
:01:56. > :02:00.when we did get the letter through saying they were having issues.
:02:01. > :02:08.There is concern that standards are not as good as it should be. Are you
:02:09. > :02:09.concerned? Yes, definitely. I think it 0
:02:10. > :02:15.concerned? Yes, definitely. I think it is possibly a good decision. I've
:02:16. > :02:19.thought about moving my children. Ofsted's action means these schools
:02:20. > :02:24.now going to special measures. Three academies, the others are run by the
:02:25. > :02:30.council. Escaping special measures, Ellis Gilford was judged to have
:02:31. > :02:34.serious weaknesses. Nottingham girls Academy was praised for its good
:02:35. > :02:37.leadership and management. We have been particularly concerned about
:02:38. > :02:41.the outcomes for young people in our secondary schools in the city and we
:02:42. > :02:44.are also very concerned about things like the very poor rates of
:02:45. > :02:50.attendance. Some of the lowest in the country. Special measures means
:02:51. > :02:59.headteachers like Andy Pope `` Andy Gill Patrick will have two submit an
:03:00. > :03:03.action plan to improve GCSE passes. We have to regard this visitation
:03:04. > :03:07.something positive. It is a wake`up call for the city, to say issues of
:03:08. > :03:11.underperformance and underachievement have got to be
:03:12. > :03:14.rigourously addressed. There are far too many parts of the country where
:03:15. > :03:23.standards are not high enough. Michael Gove giving evidence to MPs.
:03:24. > :03:27.We need to get our young children school ready, both at four years of
:03:28. > :03:31.age and 11 years of age. If they do that, we will have a long`term
:03:32. > :03:35.answer, rather than Ofsted coming back next year and the year after
:03:36. > :03:39.and the year after that. This Academy, another of the Nottingham
:03:40. > :03:42.six schools in special measures. But should headteachers also take some
:03:43. > :03:46.of the blame? Headteachers on their own cannot be held responsible. They
:03:47. > :03:49.need the support of the local authority, they need the support of
:03:50. > :03:53.the wider school community. Sadly, at the moment, we are seeing people
:03:54. > :03:56.stepping back from that responsibility. Services are being
:03:57. > :04:02.slashed. The situation is becoming more difficult. The Nottingham six,
:04:03. > :04:03.those schools in special measures, now have two years to turn things
:04:04. > :04:07.around. Let's get more on this from our
:04:08. > :04:11.Political Editor John Hess, who's at Loxley House, the headquarters of
:04:12. > :04:18.Nottingham City Council. Good evening.
:04:19. > :04:22.Parents, pupils and headteachers from some of Nottingham's best`known
:04:23. > :04:26.schools are now having to come to terms with the idea of their school
:04:27. > :04:32.being in special measures. How has it come to this? How has it
:04:33. > :04:36.happened? Let's get some answers from a politician who is responsible
:04:37. > :04:43.for children's services. David Mellor, six secondary schools in
:04:44. > :04:47.special measures, that is a huge indictment on the standards and
:04:48. > :04:52.policy in the city. It is not a good day for education in our city. This
:04:53. > :04:55.is really concerning, particularly for the families in Nottingham who
:04:56. > :05:00.should have the right to send their children to a good school. And that
:05:01. > :05:05.long`term decline has happened on your watch. It is concerning and
:05:06. > :05:09.yes, it has happened while we've been a local authority, although
:05:10. > :05:14.some of these schools are responsible to government as
:05:15. > :05:18.academies. A lot of this predates the academies programme, doesn't
:05:19. > :05:20.it? Surely, Nottingham Labour have a lot to answer for. 0
:05:21. > :05:22.it? Surely, Nottingham Labour have a lot to answer for. Nottingham Labour
:05:23. > :05:25.have seen an improvement in standards. We've improved standards
:05:26. > :05:35.considerably over 15 years we've been in charge. The rate of
:05:36. > :05:38.improvement has slowed. We are seeing gaps whitening and we need to
:05:39. > :05:43.do something about it. Some parents tonight will be thinking, who
:05:44. > :05:47.carries the cam, who takes responsibility and should head roll?
:05:48. > :05:51.Should your head roll? The problem is that it is not clear for parents.
:05:52. > :05:59.The council has some responsibilities. What is clear is
:06:00. > :06:03.good schools are not to do with the governments form. There are about
:06:04. > :06:08.good leadership, good teaching. You are a former teacher yourself. I
:06:09. > :06:12.am, yes. Should teachers carry the can? Teachers share responsible at
:06:13. > :06:15.it, along with governors, as does government. Some of the reports talk
:06:16. > :06:18.a lot about poor attendance and obviously parents have the biggest
:06:19. > :06:22.responsibility about getting their children to school. Thank you very
:06:23. > :06:26.much indeed. In our later programme, after the main Ten O'Clock News,
:06:27. > :06:26.what is the way ahead? We will be hearing from the leader 0
:06:27. > :06:31.what is the way ahead? We will be hearing from the leader of
:06:32. > :06:35.Nottingham City Council. Plenty more to look forward to on
:06:36. > :06:40.the programme as we unravel the real meaning behind some of our festive
:06:41. > :06:43.traditions. And it involves Carol exploring the horticultural side of
:06:44. > :06:46.Christmas. It is one of the major sites of
:06:47. > :06:50.Christmas but it is not the only evergreen that we use at this time
:06:51. > :06:51.of year. Find out which other plans also play a part in festive
:06:52. > :07:01.celebrations. `` plants. Leicester's accident and emergency
:07:02. > :07:05.department is among the worst in the country for waiting times. New
:07:06. > :07:08.figures from NHS England show that in the first week of this month only
:07:09. > :07:11.73% of patients were seen within four hours.
:07:12. > :07:14.The target is 95%. Our reporter Eleanor Garnier has been given rare
:07:15. > :07:26.access to the department, where doctors told her there isn't the
:07:27. > :07:30.space to cope with demand. It is nonstop here, at Lester's
:07:31. > :07:37.emergency department. 540 patients came in yesterday alone. 71`year`old
:07:38. > :07:41.Sylvia is feeling faint and she has done the right thing. Rather than
:07:42. > :07:44.coming straight to accident and emergency this morning, she went to
:07:45. > :07:51.the drop`in centre first. Doctors then sent her here for further
:07:52. > :07:55.tests. Surprised really. I've got to go to hospital and have hours and
:07:56. > :08:01.hours of waiting. I am now waiting to go on to the ward. It's very
:08:02. > :08:02.good. But Sylvia is one of the lucky ones. 0
:08:03. > :08:02.good. But Sylvia is one of the lucky ones. Waiting 0
:08:03. > :08:07.good. But Sylvia is one of the lucky ones. Waiting times here are among
:08:08. > :08:11.the worst in the country. We are seeing huge forelimbs of patients
:08:12. > :08:16.attending in blocks out of hours. It is very difficult to reliably
:08:17. > :08:21.predict how that is going to happen and staff for it. You cannot staff
:08:22. > :08:27.for 100% predicted attendance. It is hard. Lester's emergency department
:08:28. > :08:33.was designed for around 100,000 patients. In fact, 160,000 people
:08:34. > :08:38.are brought through these doors every year. And now, to help cope
:08:39. > :08:44.with rising patient numbers, they are building a new emergency
:08:45. > :08:48.department that will open in 2015. In three years time, we will be in a
:08:49. > :08:52.much better position. What we need to do this year and next is
:08:53. > :08:57.concentrate on short term actions, recruiting more doctors. We have
:08:58. > :09:01.recruited 200 more nurses. We also need to ensure that the internal
:09:02. > :09:07.processes more more effectively. That involves working
:09:08. > :09:11.collaboratively with GPs and seeing whether it is suitable for patients
:09:12. > :09:16.to be discharged earlier. I think the system needs a major overhaul.
:09:17. > :09:18.We clearly are not treating patients effectively. More people are coming
:09:19. > :09:23.to hospital than they should be. More people are staying in hospital
:09:24. > :09:26.longer than they should do. Waiting times here have improved over the
:09:27. > :09:32.last week. The question all patients will be asking, canned trend
:09:33. > :09:36.continue? An inquiry's underway into the death
:09:37. > :09:39.of a Derby man who was about to leave prison to go to court. 0
:09:40. > :09:40.of a Derby man who was about to leave prison to go to court. The
:09:41. > :09:44.Ministry of Justice says 46`year`old Wayne Moore was due to be taken from
:09:45. > :09:48.Nottingham prison to a court in Derby, when he fell ill in the back
:09:49. > :09:55.of a prison van on Monday morning. He was taken to hospital but died.
:09:56. > :09:57.The Independent Prisons and Probation Ombudsman is
:09:58. > :10:01.investigating. Leicester City Council is to give
:10:02. > :10:04.more than a thousand of its lowest paid workers an extra 20 pence an
:10:05. > :10:07.hour in line with the so`called Living Wage. Last month it was
:10:08. > :10:11.announced in Nottingham that the Living Wage, which is not enforced
:10:12. > :10:14.by law, would go up to seven pounds 65 an hour. Leicester City Council
:10:15. > :10:18.says it hopes other employers in the city will follow its lead in
:10:19. > :10:21.adopting it. The pay rises will cost the authority ?80,000 a year.
:10:22. > :10:24.Next tonight, experts have been suggesting for some time there's
:10:25. > :10:28.evidence of a strong recovery taking place in the region's housing
:10:29. > :10:33.market. Construction of new homes is booming and sales surging.
:10:34. > :10:37.Now, a survey predicts that house prices could rise by a massive 10%
:10:38. > :10:46.in the next year in the East Midlands. That's the biggest
:10:47. > :10:51.increase outside London. This estate agent's window sums up
:10:52. > :10:57.the housing market. Demand is there, the supply isn't. Inevitably, prices
:10:58. > :10:59.will go up. This estate agent in Nottingham says sales have been so
:11:00. > :11:01.strong, 0 Nottingham says sales have been so
:11:02. > :11:05.strong, there is not enough houses left on the market for buyers.
:11:06. > :11:08.According to the Royal institution of chartered surveyors, the East
:11:09. > :11:14.Midlands could experience the biggest boom outside of London next
:11:15. > :11:16.year. It is true to say that we have traditionally been slightly cheaper
:11:17. > :11:23.in the market so we are starting from a lower base. We are playing
:11:24. > :11:28.catch`up to a degree. It depends... People feel more secure in their
:11:29. > :11:32.jobs. It is long overdue, I think. It is predicted that house prices
:11:33. > :11:41.could rise by 10% over the next year. At the moment the average
:11:42. > :11:47.house price in England is ?250,000. In the East Midlands, it is 176,000.
:11:48. > :11:52.In the last year, we've seen that grow by ?5,000. But if the 10% rise
:11:53. > :11:53.does happen, it could see the cost of an average East 0
:11:54. > :11:57.does happen, it could see the cost of an average East Midlands home
:11:58. > :12:02.increase to around ?193,000 by this time next year. So, who would that
:12:03. > :12:07.be good for? Hopefully, if it goes up and we sell ours, it would be
:12:08. > :12:11.beneficial to us. For my son and daughter, it will affect them
:12:12. > :12:15.putting a deposit down for theirs. Definitely not going to be able to
:12:16. > :12:21.afford to buy a house, and I? How to stay in private rented. There is no
:12:22. > :12:26.chance that I can buy in the future. It's horrible. Sellers will make
:12:27. > :12:29.more money but like all buyers, they will have to find more to buy
:12:30. > :12:33.another property. Although first`time buyers could benefit if
:12:34. > :12:39.they snap up a property sooner rather than later. They are having
:12:40. > :12:43.to find bigger mortgages at a time when deposits are still hard to save
:12:44. > :12:48.for. I think prices have levelled off and are showing signs of rising,
:12:49. > :12:51.now is the time they should be committing themselves to a purchase.
:12:52. > :12:55.Even with new construction of private homes taking place, there is
:12:56. > :13:03.still a belief that demand will outstrip supply for months to come.
:13:04. > :13:06.Derby City Council's decision to charge people for brown bin
:13:07. > :13:09.collections has been branded a disaster by opposition councillors,
:13:10. > :13:11.after just 3% of the city's households signed up. The Labour`run
:13:12. > :13:14.authority has introduced a ?40 charge for any garden waste
:13:15. > :13:26.collected from April next year. It hopes the move will save it a
:13:27. > :13:30.million pounds. But Conservative councillors say the low take`up
:13:31. > :13:33.shows the plan is unsustainable. The government's to give an extra
:13:34. > :13:37.?60 million to provide free childcare for young children in the
:13:38. > :13:39.East Midlands. It hopes the money will nearly double the number of
:13:40. > :13:42.two`year`olds with access to free care, from 12,000 to 23,000. From
:13:43. > :13:46.September next year, councils will be urged to use existing facilities
:13:47. > :13:51.to provide childcare from 8am till 6pm. The government will also give
:13:52. > :13:56.?10 million to help schools provide free meals to all infants.
:13:57. > :13:59.More people are expected to fly out of East Midlands Airport this
:14:00. > :14:02.Christmas than at this time last year. Airport officials say 110,000
:14:03. > :14:10.passengers could travel over the festive period. That's a 5% increase
:14:11. > :14:12.on 2012. The top destinations include Tenerife