NEWSFLASH: March 2017

Tuesday, 28 March 2017

Bid to recruit more childminders

News: Latest - distributed around Yorkshire March 28, 2017 12:36:43 PM

Falling numbers of childminders has prompted council leaders to start a recruitment campaign.

Rotherham Council has seen numbers of childminders declining in recent years as people either leave or retire from the profession, coupled with interest waning in it as a career.

But now there is a real need to increase numbers to help cope with the predicted demands of the forthcoming 30-hour childcare offer. The Council is obliged to make sure there are enough places available for all parents and carers who want the free offer for three and four-year olds.

The quality of childminders in Rotherham is high with 96 per cent receiving either a good or outstanding judgement from Ofsted compared to 91 per cent nationally and the Council is keen to make sure this valuable source of childcare is increased.

In a bid to raise the number of registered childminders the Council’s early years’ services is offering free information sessions for prospective childminders, along with an attractive package of free support and a low cost training offer.

Cllr Gordon Watson, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s Services said “We have seen a drop in childminders in recent years. This is a national phenomenon as well as a local issue. We need to change this here in Rotherham if we can.

“Childminders provide a unique, flexible home based service to children and their families and they will be crucial to delivery of the 30 hour childcare offer, coming in September. We want to ensure that we have sufficient childcare and we can give parents a diverse choice.”

The council is aiming to make childminding an attractive career option for local people. It allows people to combine a career working with children, working flexibly to meet their needs as well as working in their own home.;

Childminders need to be registered with Ofsted, have up to date paediatric first aid training, an up to date DBS check, and a safe environment to look after children. Childminders may care for a maximum of six children under the age of eight at any one time. Of these six children, a maximum of three may be young children, and only one child under the age of one.

The campaign to reach potential childminders involves advertising free information sessions on Twitter, Facebook and in libraries and children’s centres and using word of mouth via existing childminders talking about the benefits of taking this career path.

“There is an ongoing need to support for childminders both to ensure that childminders already in the sector remain in business and to feel confident about their future, as well as encouraging new entrants into the profession," added Cllr Watson.

“We will do everything we can to ensure new and current childminders have the support they need for training and development.”

Anyone interested in childminding in Rotherham should visit the Rotherham Families Information Service website or contact the Families Information Service

Go to RIS Website: http://www.rotherhamfis.co.uk/be-a-childminder

Call on 08000730230 or 01709822429

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Tenants celebrate as they move into new homes at Swinton

Yorkshire Photography

News: Latest - distributed around Yorkshire March 28, 2017 12:36:43 PM

A development of 12 new affordable homes for council tenants has been completed in Swinton.

The Mayor of Rotherham, Councillor Lyndsay Pitchley officially welcomed the new tenants at their homes at a recent opening ceremony.

These new build properties will provide affordable homes for local tenants on the housing waiting list, including homes for residents with disabilities.

The scheme is a collaboration between the Council and Arches Housing association who will go on to develop a further 15 homes on the same site to be completed by April.

All homes were offered through the Council's choice-based letting service, Key Choices, to eligible applicants on the housing waiting list.

The Mayor of Rotherham, Councillor Lyndsay Pitchley, said: "I am really pleased to be here and cut the ribbon at this opening which is a chance for partners in the project and the local community to celebrate the success of the scheme.

"It's a great example of how we are ensuring that we have more affordable accommodation which is both desirable and meets the needs of local people".

Rotherham Council's Cabinet Member, Councillor Dominic Beck, said: "Our house building in the Borough is going from strength to strength and this latest contract completion is a testament to our ambitions to deliver much needed new affordable homes to local people year on year where residents are proud to live and work.

"This new development fits with our ambitions to build a borough where people can grow, flourish and prosper. As a housing service we are determined to improve the quality and choice of housing in Rotherham to enable people to live in high quality accommodation which meets their needs.

"Where possible, the Council's new build properties are allocated to existing tenants whose current home is not suitable. Then their existing home is freed up to allocate to someone else on the housing list and this chain of lets means that more households' housing needs are being met for every new Council house let".

Brian Summerson, Chief Executive of Arches Housing, said: "With our breadth of project experience in Rotherham and our expert building and construction team, Jack Lunn Ltd, we have been ideally placed to work on this exciting development.

"Our successful collaboration has ensured that we have understood our client's expectations and working closely with Jack Lunn Ltd, have delivered a high quality project, on time and on budget".

These new affordable homes are the latest additions in local Arches Housing association’s expanding Rotherham portfolio which already includes 258 homes across the Borough.

Using modern construction methods the development includes seven, two bedroom bungalows for the over 55s, three bungalows specifically designed for disabled people and two, two bedroom houses.

The remainder of the scheme, when completed, will provide a further 15, two and three bedroom houses and overall will see 27 new homes custom built to meet the needs of local people.

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Rotherham man jailed for over a decade for rape

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News: Latest - distributed around Yorkshire March 28, 2017 12:36:43 PM

A 25-year-old man has begun a 12-year sentence behind bars for breaking into a house and raping a woman.

Ricky Lee Swift, of Town Street, Canklow, Rotherham, was jailed for one count of rape and one count of sexual assault on Friday 24 March at Sheffield Crown Court for 12-years, following a four-day trial.

The court heard how Swift broke into the victim’s house, in Rotherham, on the evening of Saturday 3 September 3 last year, while she was asleep in bed. Swift then attacked the victim, raping her in her own bed.

T/Detective Inspector Richard Wallis, from the Force’s Protecting Vulnerable People Unit, said: “The victim in this case was subjected to a terrible ordeal whilst in her own home, a place she rightly considered to be safe and secure.

“Swift deliberately targeted the victim, entering her home as a trespasser and going on to carry-out an atrocious act whilst she lay in bed.

“I am overwhelmed by the bravery and resilience shown by the victim throughout the investigation and during the trial. She is a true inspiration to victims of sexual crime and I’m pleased that Swift is behind bars where he belongs for what he did to her.”

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Man jailed for sexually abusing girls

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News: Latest - distributed around Yorkshire March 28, 2017 12:31:45 PM

A 26-year-old man has been jailed for over five years following a hearing at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday 24 March.

Thomas Squires pleaded guilty to four counts of inciting sexual activity with a child and one count of sexual activity with a child at a Sheffield Crown Court hearing earlier this year.

In the hearing today, Squires was sentenced to five years and four months in prison, with an additional three years on license. He was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register and handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

The charges relate to five victims, girls who were under the age of 16 at the time of the offences, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

The court heard how Squires, formerly of Chapeltown, Sheffield, approached his victims via social media and requested sexual images from them. The abuse of his victims spanned a five-year period between 2010 and 2015.

Detective Sergeant Aneela Khalil-Khan, the investigating officer, said: “Squires was relatively well-known locally as an ice hockey player, as well as coaching the sport. He took advantage of this position of power to groom and sexually exploit his victims.

“He used his position as ice hockey coach to approach young girls, some of whom recognised him as a local hockey ‘star’, and began the grooming process.

“His victims have been remarkably brave coming forward to report their abuse and I am pleased that Squires pleaded guilty to multiple offences meaning they did not have to go through a trial process.

“He has now received a custodial sentence, which should prevent him from causing further harm. I understand that this investigation may cause some concern among the local sporting community, as well as families who may have interacted with Squires in the past.

“If you do have any concerns, please get in touch with police. You can also call or text the national helpline Say Something on 116 000 if you want any advice or support.”

Ice hockey administrators insist that their sport remains a safe environment for children and young people, after former player Tom Squires was jailed.

Charles Dacres, English Ice Hockey director responsible for child protection and a director with Ice Hockey UK, said: “Squires used his position as a sportsman and supposed role model to commit these offences against young girls.

“Ice hockey, like most sports these days, has robust safeguarding procedures in place to protect the young and vulnerable from people like Squires.

“Individuals who have contact with children and vulnerable adults do go through DBS checking, there is safeguarding education as part of coaching and management qualifications. All clubs have nominated safeguarding officers and the association has its own CPO with established procedures for reporting concerns or incidents.

“Tom Squires is a rogue individual as far as ice hockey is concerned, these crimes go back over five years and I would say that the situation would be detected by the systems in use now in clubs. Children and young adults can and should feel safe as part of this sport.”

Ice hockey has a dedicated safeguarding helpline which is 07546983700 or concerns can be emailed to safeguarding@EIHA.co.uk.

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Bikes recovered in Rotherham – are they yours?

Yorkshire Photography

News: Latest - distributed around Yorkshire March 28, 2017 12:24:03 PM

Officers want to hear from you if you recognise either of the bikes pictured, after they were recovered during a property search last year.

In November last year, officers executed a warrant in the Meadowbank area of Rotherham and a quantity of suspected stolen property was recovered.

This included two motocross motorcycles, one KTM and one Kawasaki, which officers have been unable to trace to their rightful owners despite extensive enquiries.

The bikes have some distinctive markings (pictured) and police want to hear from you if you recognise them.

Please call 101 or email enquiries@southyorks.pnn.police.uk quoting incident number 620 of 23 March 2017.

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Have you recently had an iPhone 6 stolen?

Yorkshire Photography

News: Latest - distributed around Yorkshire March 28, 2017 12:15:29 PM

A rose gold iPhone 6 has been recovered this morning from a property in the Balby area after officers searched an address having arrested two men on suspicion of burglary, driving offences and drugs offences.

The men, aged 39 and 48 years-old, remain in police custody being questioned at this time, however officers believe the iPhone recovered may have been stolen, and are keen to trace the owner.

When switched on, the screensaver on the lock screen appears to be a family photo with a man, woman and a female child in the picture, in a house with an ornate mirror in the background.

Did you have a picture like this as a screensaver? Could this be your phone?

Please call 101 quoting incident number 383 of 22 March 2017.

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