24/01/2014 Look East - West

If you have heard a rumour that things will get colder and sweet,

Recruitment crisis, the search for social workers to help

Southampton's failing services. Also tonight, in the programme. Watching

somebody suffer with cancer is horrible. Absolutely horrible.

Seeking legal action. The family of a teacher who died of

asbestos`related cancer. Later in the programme with Amelia

and me. The rise and fall of Stephen Yaxley`Lennon, founder of the

English Defence League in Luton And Stevenage square up to Premier

League Everton, in the FA Cup. Good evening. First tonight,

Northamptonshire is in urgent need of experienced social workers to

overhaul its failing children's services. In all, 85 permanent staff

are needed ` that's nearly a third of the entire department. The latest

Ofsted report branded child protection in the county as

inadequate and unacceptably poor. In a moment, we'll be hearing from the

council, but first, this report from Stuart Ratcliffe.

The death of a four`week`old Northamptonshire girl led to a

Serious Case Review by the Safeguarding Children Board. She

died apparently of natural causes while sharing a bed with her

parents, who were both drug users. The risks were not fully appreciated

and the the Child Protection Plan rushed. Just three months before

this report, Ofsted rated the children services as inadqeaute in

all five categories it was assessed on, saying management was

consistently poor and staff reported being at tipping point. Now

Northamptonshire is in the middle of its turn`around plan, but for this

to work, it needs more social workers, and permanent ones, not

ones supplied by agencies. Out of 232 social workers, 63 are temporary

agency staff, and of the 50 senior social workers, half of them are

from agencies. But the real issue is money. A social worker who is

employed direct way by the county council costs the local authority

around ?3000 a month. An agency worker costs around 5000. So now the

recruitment drive to get more social workers to relocate to

Northamptonshire is under way, but the question is, will they come

Earlier, I spoke to the head of Children's Services in

Northamptonshire, Alex Hopkins, and asked him just that ` will social

workers want to join a failing service? One of the things that is

really interesting about social workers and people who work in child

protection if they don't do that kind of job for an easy life, they

do it because they want to make a difference. They want to make a

difference to children's lives. So a lot of them are interested in coming

somewhere where it is re`challenging and they can make a real difference.

But how did the service get to this position where so many of your good

people have gone? Is this just a mismanaged service? I don't think it

is fair to say so many good people have gone. There are national issues

in terms of the kind of agency with staff working in social care up and

down the country but having a stable, permanent workforce is

absolutely critical to the improvements I need to make. And

what incentives are you giving people to come to the county? OK, so

we now have very competitive salary rates in terms of basic pay. We are

offering relocation, we are offering very clear up career progression and

they a lot of work we have put into making sure management supervision

is there. All of those are leaky things for those who work in social

work and child protection and those are in place. `` really important

things. We will carry on with this recruitment until we have the number

of staff that we need. It is just so, so critical to what we need to

achieve, so this recruitment will continue until we get there. So

meanwhile, the most vulnerable children are at risk? That is

absolutely not the case. We have workers and A. Compliment but at the

moment, a number of those are agency staff so they are not permanent

members of staff. `` and staff compliment. But I want members who

are committed to this county and to this authority.

A 15`year`old boy has appeared in court accused of the attempted

murder and rape of a 14`year`old girl in Luton. The girl was attacked

in Lewsey Park on Sunday night. She's still in a critical condition

and being treated at Addenbrooke's Hospital.

A woman has received a suspended sentence for causing the death of

her partner's two daughters by dangerous driving. Marie Easter was

driving to the cinema in Peterborough a year ago when she

crashed into a ditch on the A47 at Wisbech. The car flipped over,

killing seven`year`old Jessica and her ten`year`old sister, Tamzin

Marie Easter was given a two`year suspended sentence and disqualified

from driving for four years. The family of a teacher who died

from cancer say she was exposed to asbestos for more than 20 years at a

Luton school. They're now threatening to take the council to

court and they want others who may have been affected to come forward.

Watching somebody suffer with this particular cancer is horrible.

Absolutely horrible. Your brain gets starved of oxygen and you will be

sitting there looking all right but your brain is dying. For Ian, the

past two years have been tough. His wife Hazel died after contracting

and asbestos`related cancer. She spent 20 years teaching at a primary

school in Luton and now her family is convinced she contracted her

illness through her work. The school was built in the late 30s and in the

construction... It kept falling down into the classrooms and you could

see it as well. Quite heavy air currents in the classrooms in the

lofts because in the sunlight, you could see the dust in the air. It is

not unusual for properties built before 1980 to contain asbestos The

council admits many of its buildings contain the toxic material but the

authority says it is unclear when Hazel would have come into contact

with it. In a statement today, it said...

But Ian is now consulting with a lawyer over possible legal action.

We are no closer to reaching a resolution with Luton Borough

Council. I ask them at the back end of 2012 to supply us with documents

about the existence and building including asbestos, but even now,

they have not supplied me with this document and it seems likely legal

proceedings will follow due to their failure to engage. An appeal has

gone out now to other families who may have been affected by asbestos.

Next, to GCSE results, with latest figures for the region showing all

of our local authorities have seen an improvement in grades. Top of the

class is Hertfordshire, with just over 65% of pupils achieving five A

to C grades in core subjects. And here are the others, with Bedford,

Cambridgeshire and Milton Keynes also above the national average But

there's always room for improvement. Part of driving up grades is finding

the new, inspirational headteachers of the future, as Emma Baugh

reports. 20 years in industry and army

service. Now on the education front line. Matthew Van Lier is being

fast`tracked to leadership, a new kind of teacher. I think really

coming from industry, it helps you understand the expectations of

employers, so I am able to say the difference between a great C and a

great D is not just a grade but it can mean the difference between

employment or not. ?? WHITE The two teachers at the St John Fisher

Catholic High are part`funded by the Future Leaders programme, a charity

which aims to raise students' achievements by developing teaching

staff. They have a culture of no excuses in terms of what we do every

day. We have to plan our lessons appropriately for the classes and we

really have to give 100% all of the time for everything we do, not just

in class but also leading across the school. The scheme is to help in

areas seen as deprived but the school says all students benefit. I

think he is much more than just a teacher. He gives us revision

sessions and assemblies. You are not afraid to ask for help because he

understands and can connect with you and can help you on a one`to`one

level. The latest figures show last Year 7 out of ten students left with

five good GCSEs grades compared to four out of ten the previous year.

Making it the most improved school for GCSE results in Peterborough.

Five years ago, the school was in special measures but has now been

turnaround `` turned around. We do employ good teachers but this extra

focus on leadership, especially with those identified with skills to

change schools and make a difference, is something additional

and something we are really benefiting from. You find it sad you

are having to look to a charity like this to bring up standards? It is

not we are having to look to them, it is just something being offered

to schools and it is of huge benefit. More than 500 schools

across the region could sign up for the leadership scheme. The charity

says it could help all students whatever their background.

Council workers in Bedford are to receive a new living wage instead of

the official minimum wage set by the Government. It means low`paid

workers will earn an extra ?40 a week, boosting wages to ?14,000 a

year. It's hoped this will reduce the number of people supplementing

their wages with benefits. have been helped to take up

alternative work or are in training." There will be more on

that story on the Sunday Politics programme BBC One at 11am.

`` still to come, paramedics will be trained from scratch. And

Commonwealth countdown after a disappointing 2013, can Olympic

medallist Robbie Grabarz bounce back in the high jump?

The former leader of the English Defence League has been jailed for

mortgage fraud. Stephen Yaxley`Lennon from Luton was a

co`founder of the far`right organisation in 2009. So what impact

has the EDL had in Luton and beyond? This report is from Debbie Tubby.

Tommy Robredo sin, former leader of the EDL, is again behind bars in

solitary confinement after the court heard his life is in danger. He has

been justly punished by the courts. We think partnerships with our

community are much longer than they were before the EDL and will

continue to be. I am now convinced of that so that really was not the

legacy they had hoped but it is the legacy we are pleased has happened.

Tommy Rowe Benson was the face of the English Defence League, his

protests against Muslim extremists attracted thousands of people. It

began in Luton in 2009 after Muslim protesters shouted insults as the

Royal Anglian Regiment march through the town. But in October last year,

he genetically quit, saying the far right extremism within its ranks. ``

he dramatically quit. When I am saying something, it is me, it is

nobody else within my organisation saying something like something

stupid, throwing bricks. He has now been jailed for mortgage fraud. One

of the properties was here in Luton. This person represents the

contingency group set up in light of the EDL. We macro it will be a good

time for him to sit and reflect on the damage he has caused around

Britain and not only Luton. Him going into prison and all of the

limelight that the EDL has received in the last few days as a result of

this, I think it reinforces the fact that the EDL are long gone and this

is probably the end of them. Many believe the demise of the EDL will

be good for the town full top Luton is very nice to live in still.

Gluten is diverse with many people so it is looking like an EDL Muslim

clash is not good, real or what happens here every day. `` Luton is

diverse. I don't think anybody you speak to seize the EDL as a negative

force. Him being in prison has no affect on the EDL group, he says,

and it will continue the fight he started.

Just to clear up the name, Stephen Yaxley`Lennon actually called

himself Tommy Rowe Benson while he was with the EDL. `` Tommy

Robinson. Ambulance bosses have launched an

ambitious plan to hire 400 staff and train them as paramedics from

scratch. The East of England Ambulance Service has been beset by

difficulties With poor response times and missed targets. But

arguably the biggest problem is recruitment. Last year, the

managers' aim was to take on 149 extra staff. The reality: 40

paramedics left the organisation, 44 joined. A net gain of just four. So

now, new tactics. You will not be a state riveted

paramedic until full completion of the 2.5 year programme so you only

undertake the training `` a state approved paramedic. You will take

time out in the classroom to undertake further development before

you reach the final paramedic stage. So it will be 2.5 years before these

people fill the gaps that you need filling? They can operate as

clinicians during that period as they develop throughout. Soap for

people concerned about the arrival of an amulet is or a paramedic,

nothing has changed? It will clearly increase the numbers quite quickly,

working alongside already qualified staff and developing over those

periods so it will have a significant impact initially in the

numbers of staff we have available to response to our patients. But not

fully qualified staff? They will be working alongside fully qualified

staff while developing and as I said before, they will undertake a period

of initial training so they will have clinical qualifications very

early on in their career to work alongside clinicians. If I am taken

ill, I might not get someone fully qualified to treat me? You might not

get someone who is a qualified paramedic, they will have a student

and a paramedic but they will be working with an already qualified

clinician. Family people have you got to a fully qualified

paramedics? `` how many people? We have got around 1000 staff that we

employ and 900 are qualified paramedics. And when this training

starts, you. Have 900 fully qualified paramedics and 40.5 years

after that you will probably still have 900 fully qualified paramedics

`` and four 2.5 years. That is right but we will be increasing numbers,

they may not be at the paramedic level to reach state registration

but they can still deliver a clinically qualified service working

alongside colleagues. Thank you. Primary schools in Suffolk are

languishing at the bottom of the league tables with nearly one in

three pupils failing standard English and maths tests. And as

we've reported, officials have promised to turn things around.

Today, we were invited to see an example of how they are trying to do

that. It's all about new teaching techniques which have already been

successful in parts of London. We have started to learn this new

method, haven't we ? This teaser seems simple, all we need to work

out... And many children are there in the class? There are doubtless

many ways of working but at this primary School, these nine and

ten`year`olds are using a new technique which has proved a huge

success in schools in London. It is called the primary advantage maths

programme which comes from the schools in Hackney. The children are

using a pictorial and concrete method to increase their conceptual

understanding of maths. These boxes, bars and blocks to break things down

and visualise the relationship between numbers. Emma has 25 toy

cars... Even younger pupils on this table are grasping the concept.

Small blocks are won and big blocks are ten. I experienced this method

and I thought it makes sense. To see that replicated is stunning and it

makes you think however hard it is, it is worthwhile because it will

have an impact. Forging closer partnerships with inner London

schools is the key to driving up levels of attainment. Staff are

being trained at the capital and are now pioneering the plan on this site

and eventually 12 others as well, backed by ?70,000 from a special

challenge fund. Are used to be quite scared about fractions. This makes

it clearer for me. I taught my parents have to do it. They are not

as good as me yet! I suppose the danger is if you are under pressure

and on the spotlight to get better results, you can end up clutching at

straws. The team here believe this new method of teaching maths has so

much to offer in the words of one of them, " we are not reinventing the

wheel, we are simply using the best spokes".

In the football this weekend it's the fourth round of the FA Cup. Our

only survivors are two of our smaller clubs. Stevenage are rock

bottom of League One. They're at home to Everton. But this report

from Tom Williams starts with Southend. Their manager Phil Brown

comes up against his old team Hull City ` for the first time.

For Phil Brown, the Premier League highlights must seem 1 million miles

away. This is what he calls real football, back to basics and a

chance to get his hands and feet dirty. He made his name at Hull, he

is said to rebuild his reputation at Southend. My overriding emotion is

to win the game, progress to the next round, put out our best

performance of the season because we need two and I will shake Stephen's

hand whatever the result and waved to the fans and we will move on. He

remains Hull's most successful ever manager, guiding them to the top

flight for the first time in 104 years. Despite his achievements, he

is often remembered for this, add 4`0 down, he conducted a team time

hitch talk in full view of the people and the crowd. It is what off

a duck 's back. It stays with you. They didn't talk about the win at

Wembley, or the Emirates, or the history, so it is different now and

we are taking Premier League opposition and we will hopefully do

our best foot forward. Do you give your side a chance? Yes, I will be

keeping them out at half`time, regardless at half`time. This is a

chance for a major scalp. Debate has been raging for the importance of

the FA Cup and Middlesbrough have a chance for a serious giant`killing

and so far the competition has been highly lucrative. This year's cup

run has banked them well over a quarter of ?1 million. Stevenage may

be close to the bottom of a league but they have become known in the

cup upset. We must make sure that the FA Cup retains its status, that

the magic does not die, and the money still means everything. When I

left here in round four, when I went up to Preston, the money that was

made that season in the FA Cup literally built the training ground

so there is a massive legacy from what the FA Cup has helped to

create. It is everything it gives you a chance to be, a competitive

league one club. The stadium is a sell`out as is Southend with the

focus firmly on the manager. The country, the world is eyeing an

upset and can either man deliver? It'll great if they could.

The high jumper Robbie Grabarz was one of the surprise success stories

of London 2012 securing a bronze medal with a jump of 2.29 metres.

But 2013 wasn't so good. He could only finish eighth in the World

Championships. So with the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow just

six months away does he still have what it takes? With the indoor

season starting this weekend a chance for us to find out.

If 2012 was a personal highlight for Robbie Grabarz, 2013 was a

shattering experience. The European champion was humbled on the world's

stage, high jumping had just got higher and Robbie could only a ``

matches Olympic height. You often do not feel confident and we have

managed the knee injury well, I just could not jump as high as I could.

He honed his technique at the high performance Centre in Birmingham in

summer. This first hurdle to overcome is in Glasgow this weekend,

the opening indoor meeting of the season.

Do you think you have to prove to people that you are still capable of

winning medals on the big stage? The most important thing is proving that

to myself. I put more pressure on myself than anyone else and I know

what I am capable of time proving that and hoping to do it again.

Historically, he has responded well when the chips are down, losing his

funding before the Olympics only to storm back with bronze and that was

at a height of two per 29 metres but a medal at the World Championships

last year, the bar had risen a further nine centimetres. The depth

is incredible admen's high jump at the moment so I am looking at

jumping personal bests to be in with a medal shout let alone winning

championships. So it is tough but it is great, you need to get into great

shape, you will never get away with a bad day. You need to bring your

best. With a point to prove, Robbie is a dangerous proposition will stop

in the year of the common wealth games, he knows he has to jump

higher than ever before. That is to stand a chance of landing on the

podium once again. He is very engaging, isn't he?

Throwing yourself over a bar that high, it is amazing.

Look how well we did for some chat today even though it was chilly.

Across the east we saw plenty of sunshine especially in the morning

`` look how we did for sunshine today. We look at the detail of the

last few hours, you can see the rain is starting to arrive in western

parts of the region and it will move east through this evening and

overnight. It looks for the most part as if it will be light and

patchy. Some heavy bursts possible that the range of mostly be cleared

away by tomorrow morning. It brings us cloud said temperatures not as

low as last night, a low of four Celsius seems to be what we can

expect and we should be frost free. We starts tomorrow with the best of

the weekend weather. It should stay dry with blustery showers arriving

later that an area of low pressure spinning in across the British Isles

on Sunday, it will turn our weather wet and windy through Sunday. First

thing tomorrow, some rain or drizzle to clear and there will be some

misty conditions particularly across the eastern half first thing but it

should lift into low`level cloud and there should be some brighter

spells. Also we have got some milder air said temperatures climbing to 10

Celsius. It could also be quite windy. This is where the showers, in

the afternoon, and into the evening. Some of them heavy, they may have

hail mixed in and significant amounts of this through the evening

as the temperatures dropped tomorrow night and it will mean some icy

conditions out there. Here is our pressure pattern, low pressure

across the British Isles turning our weather wet and windy but the low

does not get anywhere, it sticks around and the significance of that

means it a bring in colder air for the start of the week and

temperatures will go down. We may be in for a cold snap but before that,

you can see how unsettled it is. Rain showers for Monday and some

cold nights with the risk of frost and some icy conditions.

I think I will stay inside on Sunday. That is all for now, have a

good weekend, goodbye.