:00:00. > :00:00.That's all from the BBC News at Six, so it's goodbye from me
:00:00. > :00:10.Hello and welcome to Midlands Today. The headlines tonight: Counting the
:00:11. > :00:17.cost: 400 insurance claims from the region's farmers after the winter
:00:18. > :00:21.floods. I think it's safe to say that we have probably lost 25% of
:00:22. > :00:25.our yield potential through late trilling and waterlogging. We'll be
:00:26. > :00:30.reporting live from a farm hn Shropshire. Also tonight, R`ise your
:00:31. > :00:33.game: a call to headteachers from the best after secondary schools in
:00:34. > :00:36.Stoke`on`Trent are ranked along the worst in the country.
:00:37. > :00:41.The villagers angry over a ledieval law that makes them responshble for
:00:42. > :00:44.repairs to the local church. Life as a basketball star in
:00:45. > :00:53.Worcester after escaping thd civil war in Libya. It was 16 days, it was
:00:54. > :00:58.a living hell. I am a Christian man, I lost a lot of faith. And ht's the
:00:59. > :01:01.first day of spring ` reason enough you might think to be happy, so why
:01:02. > :01:14.is it then that I have bad news Good evening. As farmers struggle to
:01:15. > :01:17.recover after the extreme wdt weather and flooding, the l`rgest
:01:18. > :01:20.insurer of farms and rural properties has revealed it's dealing
:01:21. > :01:28.with an estimated two million pounds worth of claims across the West
:01:29. > :01:31.Midlands. NFU Mutual, which is based in Stratford upon Avon, is currently
:01:32. > :01:35.handling 431 cases in the rdgion, and says it could have to p`y out
:01:36. > :01:41.more than 90 million pounds across the UK ` almost as much as `fter the
:01:42. > :01:47.floods of 2007. But what about the impact on individual farms `ffected
:01:48. > :01:50.by the bad weather? David Gregory`Kumar's at a farm in
:01:51. > :02:00.Shropshire for us now. How have they been coping? All our farmers are
:02:01. > :02:04.coping, to an extent, and they are having very different experhences
:02:05. > :02:08.with this weather. But they are all having to deal with what is
:02:09. > :02:12.increasingly weird weather. There are still plenty of water about on
:02:13. > :02:18.this farm in Herefordshire, but nowhere near the levels thex have
:02:19. > :02:22.seen recently. At its height, it would have been up to our hdad
:02:23. > :02:29.level. As you can see from the floor, killed the crop completely.
:02:30. > :02:32.About 30 acres of land is ott of action because of flooding `t wet
:02:33. > :02:37.weather. In terms of crops that means they're ?15,000 down on any
:02:38. > :02:42.potential harvest. So they won't be growing anything on these fhelds for
:02:43. > :02:45.the next 12 months, but even if your farm wasn't directly affectdd by
:02:46. > :02:50.flooding and floodwater, all that wet weather is still having an
:02:51. > :02:55.impact on how you farm. We didn t have a very good year last xear and
:02:56. > :02:59.2007 was very wet, we are still playing catch up from this series of
:03:00. > :03:06.strange weather patterns, they have gone from very wet to very dry, very
:03:07. > :03:09.cold, very wet. We are used to our temperate climate and we haven't
:03:10. > :03:12.seen it. On this sheep farm near Worcester things are getting back to
:03:13. > :03:16.normal. The sheep are insidd because their usual grazing was swallowed up
:03:17. > :03:20.by the flood waters around the city. This lamb was a little tricky. But
:03:21. > :03:25.despite the rising waters and being kept inside far longer than usual
:03:26. > :03:32.lambing has been a success. Not that farmer Steve Page wasn't worried. A
:03:33. > :03:39.few sleepless nights before we started, but it's gone really well.
:03:40. > :03:44.We have had 500 lambs in ten days, it's gone very well, better than I
:03:45. > :03:50.thought. What farmers want now is a typical spring. Some April showers
:03:51. > :03:56.and a bit of warmth. So we `re now on another farm near Albrighton
:03:57. > :04:00.when lambing is underway, although this farm hasn't been affected by
:04:01. > :04:03.floodwaters, they have been dealing with wet weather so we will be
:04:04. > :04:07.talking about that later in the programme, and also new revdlations
:04:08. > :04:11.from Europe about what kind of identification tags you havd to put
:04:12. > :04:14.on your sheep. Farmers are worried about that because if they get it
:04:15. > :04:23.wrong, they could be in for a hefty fine. We will talk about th`t later.
:04:24. > :04:26.Coming up later in the programme: Upgrading the old grammar school as
:04:27. > :04:36.part of an ?8.5 million rev`mp of Coventry's Transport Museum.
:04:37. > :04:38.A leading head teacher's calling on Stoke`on`Trent to raise its
:04:39. > :04:42.educational aspirations. It follows an annual report by Ofsted which
:04:43. > :04:47.ranked the city as one of the worst areas in England for second`ry
:04:48. > :04:49.education. And another piecd of research has found there ard more
:04:50. > :04:54.people without formal qualifications in Stoke on Trent than almost
:04:55. > :04:57.anywhere else in the UK. Our Staffordshire reporter Liz Copper
:04:58. > :05:06.has been investigating what's being done to turn things around.
:05:07. > :05:10.This is St Joseph's College ` it's the only secondary school in Stoke
:05:11. > :05:13.on Trent rated as "outstandhng" by Ofsted. Today, the head teacher s
:05:14. > :05:16.holding interviews for the posts of head boy and head girl. She believes
:05:17. > :05:24.raising aspiration is the kdy to raising educational attainmdnt. The
:05:25. > :05:27.young people of Stoke`on`Trdnt are outstanding, amazing young people
:05:28. > :05:32.and what we have to do together everybody, people have to work
:05:33. > :05:35.together to be really aspir`tional and not be satisfied with sdcond
:05:36. > :05:38.best. Competition for places here is fierce, because of the school's
:05:39. > :05:41.reputation for excellence. But elsewhere it's a different picture.
:05:42. > :05:46.Ofsted's annual report said 34 per cent of pupils in Stoke on Trent go
:05:47. > :05:53.to a "good" school. The citx was ranked the third lowest loc`l
:05:54. > :05:57.authority in England. In separate research it was found 17 per cent of
:05:58. > :06:02.the population here had no skills ` a proportion ranking it sixty third
:06:03. > :06:06.out of sixty four cities. The question is, how can more schools in
:06:07. > :06:13.the city achieve the outstanding results seen here? St Joseph's has
:06:14. > :06:16.been praised for its wide r`nge of extra curricular activities,
:06:17. > :06:23.including music and drama. Hts staff are helping other schools achieve
:06:24. > :06:27.better results. In one local school, we had a number of our assistant
:06:28. > :06:31.head teachers working in thdre, the headteacher worked in there as well,
:06:32. > :06:33.coaching leaders directly in scenarios that were taking place
:06:34. > :06:39.live in schools. Pupils herd have a keen sense of the importancd of
:06:40. > :06:42.education for their city's future. How can the city progress if the
:06:43. > :06:48.younger pupils on learning the skills they need to get jobs later
:06:49. > :06:51.in life? It does worry me a bit because I think other peoplds in the
:06:52. > :06:57.city may not have the same chance as us and the opportunities. Pdople are
:06:58. > :07:01.going to not want to come to schools in Stoke because they think they're
:07:02. > :07:05.not good but that's not really true. The challenge is to raise standards
:07:06. > :07:10.across this city ` and work's already begun to improve pupils
:07:11. > :07:14.opportunities. Stoke on Trent City Council were unable to find a guest
:07:15. > :07:16.to talk to us about this issue but in a statement the Department for
:07:17. > :07:33.Education said: Birmingham City Council has been
:07:34. > :07:36.ordered to pay compensation to the mother of a child with spechal needs
:07:37. > :07:46.who didn't get the support she should have. A report from the Local
:07:47. > :07:50.Government Ombudsman found that in 2006 Childrens Services offdred her
:07:51. > :07:53.ten hours of Care a week, btt then failed to carry out a proper
:07:54. > :07:56.assessment until 2011. The council have now been instructed to give the
:07:57. > :08:00.family the support they are entitled to. The council will do this
:08:01. > :08:03.assessment, I hope in good time they will also make a payment of the
:08:04. > :08:08.family for the distress thex have been caused. I hope the council will
:08:09. > :08:11.learn lessons from this casd to make sure this doesn't happen to any
:08:12. > :08:15.other children in the futurd. Flowers have been laid at the spot
:08:16. > :08:17.where a teenager died in wh`t appeared to be a freak accident in
:08:18. > :08:21.Birmingham. 18`year`old Manny Edwards was running for a bts in
:08:22. > :08:23.Walkers Heath on Monday when he collided with the bus stop. CCTV
:08:24. > :16:41.pictures one of those guys who can bring the
:16:42. > :16:44.experience to the team. Worcester Wolves will be disappointed to end
:16:45. > :17:16.this season without at least one trophy.
:17:17. > :17:22.A truly amazing story. The young players love their club.
:17:23. > :17:30.grants have help them build. That grants have help them build. That
:17:31. > :17:36.rules at the time meant thex had to pay VAT on everything. From every
:17:37. > :17:46.?100,000 of funding that we get we have two hands back ?20,000 in VAT.
:17:47. > :17:51.They had little choice. The club raised more than ?300,000 to
:17:52. > :18:08.complete the work and build new changing rooms. We have got a good
:18:09. > :18:13.footballing round. The chairman is proud of what they achieved, but it
:18:14. > :18:21.was tough work. New regulathons allow similar clubs to get
:18:22. > :18:28.charitable status. Do not bd put off by the paperwork. It is all of us.
:18:29. > :18:34.It is substantial. Facilitids like this do not just happen. Wh`t a
:18:35. > :18:42.wonderful facility they havd ended up with.
:18:43. > :18:48.If we can help anybody avoid having to pay those bills it is a lassive
:18:49. > :18:58.saving. 250 cents per week use thesd
:18:59. > :19:10.pictures so it is worthwhild. `` 250 children per week use these football
:19:11. > :19:28.pitches. If you are planning to take part,
:19:29. > :19:34.good luck. Let us ahead back to our rural
:19:35. > :19:38.affairs correspondent. He h`s been finding out how our farmers are
:19:39. > :19:47.coping with what has been a difficult year. Sheep farmers are in
:19:48. > :19:52.the middle of lambing. The leeting was held last night to disctss the
:19:53. > :19:57.regulations which mean everx animal has to be fitted with an eldctronic
:19:58. > :20:08.tag by end of next month. Wd have to go with it. There is a lot of
:20:09. > :20:13.paperwork. The actual sheep movements will not be held tp if
:20:14. > :20:17.there are hiccups in the paperwork. The farmers can have confiddnce that
:20:18. > :20:21.their sheep will still move to the market. Consumers can still have
:20:22. > :20:29.confidence that the lamb will end up on there, `` on their plate. Some
:20:30. > :20:35.concern about the new regul`tions. Why have they been introducdd?
:20:36. > :20:43.What is the worry for sheep farmers? If you do not keep within
:20:44. > :20:47.the regulations you could bd inspected and if you get inspected
:20:48. > :20:51.and you get things wrong thdre is the possibility that they could
:20:52. > :21:01.reduce your subsidy claim bx up to 3%. You will be sticking with
:21:02. > :21:09.paperwork for now. Yes, but they are gradually moving to an electronic
:21:10. > :21:25.system. We have been talking about bad weather. Let us talk about good
:21:26. > :22:05.weather. This is last years he. When you get kids hay on July. `` when
:22:06. > :22:15.you get good hay in July. Good news. That is all from the lambing farm.
:22:16. > :22:31.But for now they would like some nice weather so they can turn the
:22:32. > :22:34.lambs out into the fields. Hf you've heard of the Birmingham Flatpack
:22:35. > :22:37.Festival, you could be thinking it's a celebration of self assembly
:22:38. > :22:40.wardrobes ` and kits with tdn screws missing and not nearly enough glue?
:22:41. > :22:43.When in reality it's an ecldctic mix of performances, exhibitions, walks
:22:44. > :22:47.and talks based loosely arotnd the idea of film, popping up at eleven
:22:48. > :22:49.venues around the city. And this year one of its main themes is
:22:50. > :22:52.Birmingham's relationship whth water. More now from our Arts
:22:53. > :22:56.Reporter Satnam Rana. The often secret, slippery world of
:22:57. > :22:59.the River Rae ` it may look like a man made drain but this is
:23:00. > :23:02.Birmingham's urban river revealed now in a series of films. For the
:23:03. > :23:05.last two years this audio vhsual artist has been wading throtgh the
:23:06. > :23:09.water to explore the river.David's installation is being show `t the
:23:10. > :23:18.Midlands Art Centre as part of the Flatpack Film Festival. It hs seldom
:23:19. > :23:28.seen. It has a subtle beautx all of its own.
:23:29. > :23:42.The film festival will take place in 38 venues across the city. Ht will
:23:43. > :23:57.host 100 and 30p. How does this fit into the overall strategy of events?
:23:58. > :24:15.You can go from our warehouse to add Church. Half our audiences from
:24:16. > :24:30.outside Birmingham. This is a scale model. You can see what it looks
:24:31. > :24:40.like. This historian will t`ke audiences on canal sidewalks. This
:24:41. > :24:56.is brilliant. It is worthy of the Romans. It comes 73 miles ptrely by
:24:57. > :24:59.Gravity. Birmingham is known as the landlocked city, but with its canals
:25:00. > :25:03.and urban river the Flatpack Film Festival will be reminding ts of our
:25:04. > :25:06.love affair with water. Let's find out whether therd's water
:25:07. > :25:13.in the weather as well then, Here's Shefali.
:25:14. > :25:25.in the weather as well then, Here's It is the official start of spring.
:25:26. > :25:36.Temperatures plummeting durhng the night. Also temperatures dipping
:25:37. > :25:53.during the day. It will also be quite windy during this perhod. Low
:25:54. > :26:00.pressure is situated to the North. That is why we are seeing whntry
:26:01. > :26:13.conditions developing. We h`ve got rain across the Eastern part of the
:26:14. > :26:34.region. That rain will clear away to East. Temperatures needing freezing
:26:35. > :26:42.in the countryside. Elsewhere should be frost free. A sunny start to the
:26:43. > :27:03.day tomorrow. The winds will be quite strong. There will be showers.
:27:04. > :27:11.More showers as we aired in two the weekend.
:27:12. > :27:16.Australia says it is followhng up new information on the misshng
:27:17. > :27:22.Malaysian plane. The American President wraps up the
:27:23. > :27:28.pressure on President Putin. Counting the cost on insurance
:27:29. > :27:34.claims after the winter floods. If you read of villagers after
:27:35. > :27:40.learning they will be chargdd for repairs to the Church because of a
:27:41. > :27:48.medieval law. Goodbye.