Local Harrogate News & Views around the district - Page 367 of 1066

Follifoot primary school told to make improvements by inspectors

A primary school in Follifoot has been told to make changes by Ofsted after being rated as ‘requires improvement’ in its latest inspection.

Ofsted visited Follifoot Church of England Primary School on February 2 and 3 and published its report at the beginning of the Easter holiday. The school had previously been rated as “good”.

Four out of the five areas of inspection were rated as good. However, quality of education was graded as ‘requires improvement’.

Inspectors noted in the report that the school was welcoming, fostered pupils’ aspirations well and had high expectations for children, saying:

“Leaders foster pupils’ aspirations well. They have high expectations for every pupil to be successful. Older pupils value the opportunity to contribute to the life of the school through a range of different leadership roles, such as worship and play leaders.”

The report praised the way the pupils were prepared for life in modern Britain, with their personal development prioritised by the school’s leaders. Ofsted also found that leaders had a “good understanding” of the school’s strengths and weaknesses.

But its report that there was “too much variation” in the quality of education that pupils received.

The report said:

“Leaders have clearly identified the order in which pupils should learn important content. However, in some subjects, pupils have gaps in their knowledge and understanding.

“This means that in some subjects, pupils cannot build on their previous learning because it is not secure.”

It added that some staff “lack expertise” when working with pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

It said:

“Some staff lack expertise in supporting pupils with SEND. This means that the support pupils with SEND receive is inconsistent.

“Leaders should ensure that they continue to ensure that all relevant staff access high-quality training to support pupils with SEND.”

The school, which has 56 pupils, was given a ‘good’ rating at its last full Ofsted inspection in April 2016.

In response to the latest rating, Rebecca Holland, headteacher at the school, said:

“The report has recognised so many of the strengths at Follifoot CE Primary School. Leadership and management, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and EYFS were all graded as good.

“The inspection report provides clarity as to the position of the school in terms of the quality of education in February and a firm foundation for everyone in our Follifoot (and Federation) team to build on.

“As the new headteacher, I am pleased that the inspection team confirmed our priorities are the right ones and that improvements have been made in a short space of time’.”

Meanwhile, David Harrington, chair of governors at the school, said:

“The governing body is proud of the commitment shown by all our staff at Follifoot. We are pleased with the number of positive comments made in the Ofsted report which reflect both the hard work of our staff and the progress which the school has made since Mrs Holland became Headteacher in September 2022.

“Ofsted’s revised inspection framework rightly sets high standards for our curriculum and for the quality of education that we provide to our children.

“The governing body is confident that the improvements sought by Ofsted in these areas can be delivered quickly and that Mrs Holland will continue to raise standards across the school.”

Bank holiday nurses’ strike to impact intensive care and cancer wards in Harrogate

Nurses at Harrogate District Hospital are set to take part in two days of industrial action over the upcoming May bank holiday.

The strike will take place from 8pm on Sunday, April 30, to 8pm on Tuesday, May 2.

Unlike the two previous Royal College of Nursing (RCN) strikes at the hospital on Lancaster Park Road this year, it will involve nurses working in emergency departments, intensive care, cancer and other wards.

It is taking place because members of the union rejected the government’s latest pay offer of a 5% rise plus a lump sum of at least £1,655.

Nurses on picket lines have said low pay is forcing nurses to leave the profession which is risking patient safety.

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust has been impacted by a series of national strikes over the last few months.

Last week, junior doctors took part in an unprecedented four days of industrial action over pay and there have been previous strikes by nurses and ambulance workers.

RCN general secretary Pat Cullen wrote to health secretary Steve Barclay on Friday calling on him to make an improved offer to nurses “as soon as possible” in order to avert the strike.

Ms Cullen wrote:

“What has been offered to date is simply not enough. The government needs to increase what has already been offered and we will be highly critical of any move to reduce it.

“Since our talks in February, we have seen the pressures on the NHS continue to increase. The crisis in our health and care services cannot be addressed without significant action that addresses urgent recruitment and retention issues and nursing pay to bring this dispute to a close urgently.”

A Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said the trust is developing “comprehensive plans” to “keep disruption to a minimum” at Harrogate hospital. They said emergency services will continue to operate as normal.

The spokesperson said:

“During strike action, urgent and emergency treatment will be our priority. We will be working with our nursing staff to deliver safe services, while facilitating and respecting the right of those staff who wish to take legal industrial action.

“Patients should continue to attend appointments as planned unless contacted to reschedule. We will be re-arranging any postponed appointments as a priority. We appreciate this situation is frustrating for patients affected and apologise for any inconvenience caused.

“Nobody should put off seeking urgent or emergency care during the strikes, and key services will continue to operate.

“For people who require medical assistance and are considering visiting our Emergency Department, unless it’s a life-threatening or a severe illness or injury, we would ask that they contact NHS 111 first either by calling or going online https://111.nhs.uk/. The NHS will help them right away and if they need urgent care, the NHS can book them in to be seen quickly and safely.

“People with life-threatening or severe illnesses or injuries should continue to dial 999 and anyone who arrives at A&E without calling NHS 111 will still receive medical care, with those needing emergency treatment prioritised.

“While pay is a matter for government and the trade unions, we greatly value our staff and want to see a resolution as soon as possible to ensure we can continue to focus on delivering high quality patient care to all those who need it.”

New Harrogate planning committee to meet for first time

A new planning committee for Harrogate is set to meet for the first time next week.

Councillors on Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Constituency Planning Committee will hold their first meeting, which will see decisions made on two proposals.

The committee was formed after the abolition of Harrogate Borough Council more than two weeks ago.

On Tuesday, April 25, it will meet for the first time under North Yorkshire Council at Harrogate Civic Centre, the former headquarters of HBC on St Luke’s Avenue.

As part of the meeting, councillors will consider two applications.

The first, which has been submitted by Abacus Properties Ltd, proposes the demolition of a pallet store at Jubilee Court in Copgrove in order to relocate the store.

Meanwhile, a further application from Abacus plans to form a car park and landscaping scheme at the same site on Wath Lane.

Both proposals are recommended for approval by council officers.

The meeting will be chaired by Liberal Democrat Cllr Pat Marsh, who was elected chair of the committee last month.

Following her election, she said:

“I am keen to make sure Harrogate and Knaresborough get the right planning decisions.

“It is about having local knowledge that can make all the difference. I have done 33 years of planning none stop and been involved in formulating four Local Plans.

“I have never chaired a planning committee but I think I have a few years’ experience to bring to the role and I am looking forward to that new role.”

The Harrogate committee will make decisions on proposals for 500 homes or less in the Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency area.

A second committee called the strategic planning committee, which will hold meetings in Northallerton, will deal with major proposals, such as plans for 500 or more homes and employment sites.

Plans for Ripon will be overseen by the Ripon and Skipton Area Constituency Committee.

Harrogate hospital advertises for new chief executive

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust is advertising for a new chief executive.

Steve Russell left the role last year to take up a secondment at NHS England as director for covid and flu vaccinations.

In December, it was confirmed Mr Russel had taken up a position as director of vaccination and screening permanently and would not be returning to Harrogate.

The trust, which runs both Harrogate District Hospital and Ripon Community Hospital, has been overseen by acting chief executive Jonathan Coulter since February 2022.

A notice on the trust’s website advertising the role closes on April 26 with interviews due to take place on May 10 and 11.

No details of salary is included. However, Mr Coulter is paid a salary of £181,000.

The role requires a candidate to have five years’ experience at board or director level and to ensure the trust’s services are “safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led”.

The move to appoint a new chief executive comes as the trust tackles long waiting lists, A&E waiting times and junior doctors strikes.

Last month, the Care Quality Commission also rated Harrogate hospital’s maternity services as “requires improvement”.

However, Mr Coulter said the rating was “not a fair reflection” of the service.

Business Breakfast: Harrogate property specialists move to new office

It’s time to join the Stray Ferret Business Club. The fourth in our series of networking events, with Banyan Bar & Kitchen, is a breakfast event on April 27 from 8am.

Don’t miss out on this chance to network with businesses from across the Harrogate district. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

Land and property specialist Strutt and Parker has moved to new offices in Harrogate town centre.

The business, which has been based in Princes Square for nearly 50 years, has moved to a new premises at Westgate House on Albert Street.

Nick Bramley, senior director at the firm, said the move will help Strutt and Parker continue to offer a “high quality” service in the district.

He said:

“This is an exciting opportunity for us as a team and reinforces Strutt & Parker long-standing commitment to the town of Harrogate and our business operation across the North of England.

“The location of the new office is fantastic and the space on offer will provide a first-class working environment for our growing team. Having a new office which our team and clients enjoy spending time in will help us to continue to deliver high-quality estate agency and rural services across Yorkshire and neighbouring counties.”

The new office will have 16 staff led by director James Wort who has been helping buyers and sellers move for nearly 25 years.

The Harrogate office also offers land management services to estates, farms and other rural business owners.

Harrogate rental company reports ‘good progress’ despite inflation

A Harrogate-based rental company has reported “good progress” since its last round of results.

In a trading update, Vp, which is based at Central House on Beckwith Knowle, said the firm has shown “resilience and growth” despite soaring inflation and volatile markets.

The update added that it expects to report results for the full year in line with the board’s expectations.

In its last round of results which covered the six months up to September 2022, Vp reported revenues of £186.5 million compared with £176.1 million on the same period last year.

Neil Stothard, chief executive of Vp, said:

“Since we reported our interim results last November, the group has continued to make good progress across our core markets and we are pleased that our performance for the full year will be in line with the Board’s expectations.

“In the period, we have worked hard to successfully mitigate cost inflationary pressures and we believe that the group is well placed to optimise performance in the current environment. We are confident that we will continue to deliver value growth for our shareholders and will be able to react quickly to both challenges and opportunities as specific markets recover.”

Body found at Harewood was 250 metres outside police search area

The body of missing man Jesus Moreno lay undiscovered for more than eight months because it was just outside the 500-metre police search area.

A police search team found Mr Moreno’s body on Friday on land close to the River Wharfe in the Harewood area.

He had been missing since August 1 last year when he got off a 36 bus from Leeds to Harrogate at Swindon Lane near Dunkeswick, just north of Harewood bridge.

The discovery of his body, close to the last sighting, came two weeks after West Yorkshire Police said it had “exhausted every possible line of enquiry”.

Asked why it had taken so long to find the body when it was so close to the last sighting, a police spokesperson said:

“Police can confirm the body of a man found in undergrowth on land close to the River Wharfe in the Harewood area on Friday has been identified as that of missing Jesus Moreno.

“A number of searches by specialist police search teams were undertaken in the Harewood area for Mr Moreno, as part of extensive enquiries conducted into his disappearance.

“The specialist search team initially set a search area of 500 metres radius from Jesus’ last known location. This area was searched with specialist resources.

“Mr Moreno’s body was found just over 250 metres outside that boundary and hidden under thick undergrowth, as part of ongoing work undertaken according to the wider search plan.”

The statement added that enquiries into the death remain ongoing but “there are not thought to be any suspicious circumstances”.

Images released by West Yorkshire Police of missing man, Jesus Moreno.

Police images of Jesus Moreno

Piglove Brewing Co, the Leeds brewery Mr Moreno co-founded, said in a statement on social media:

“It is with great sadness that the Piglove family announces that our beloved Jesus’ remains have been found near Harewood bridge, the last place he was seen on the 1st of August 2022.

“Please be thoughtful to our staff and family during this challenging time. It has been a tough eight months for the business but your support through this time has meant the world to us.

Rudding Park refurbishment plan ‘could generate £14m’, say owners

A plan to renovate a golf and country club at Rudding Park estate could generate an economic benefit of £14 million a year to Harrogate, its owners have said.

The hotel and spa has formally submitted plans to North Yorkshire Council for the project.

It includes proposals to replace the current golf club, upgrade the family hub and create outdoor tennis courts and a pavilion.

It would also see the county’s first five-star country club created and restore the estate’s walled garden.

In documents submitted to the council, estate agents Carter Jonas, which is representing the hotel, said the move would contribute an additional economic impact of £14.3 million a year through employment, suppliers and tourism spend.

Masterplan of the renovations as proposed by Rudding Park.

It would also create 75 new jobs.

Simon Mackaness, owner of Rudding Park, said in a statement to the council:

“This application is an integral part of Rudding Park’s continuing programme for improvement and investment in the facilities so we can continue to fulfil our role as a responsible steward of the estate.

“To remain the jewel in the crown for Harrogate tourism, Rudding Park must develop these high-quality fitness, sports, leisure and recreational spaces to complement the hotel, spa and house and the legacy of the last 50 years development.”

North Yorkshire Council will make a decision on the proposal at a later date.

Centenary concert to celebrate composer buried in Hampsthwaite

A centenary concert is being held on Friday to celebrate the life of a remarkable composer buried in Hampsthwaite.

Amy Woodforde-Finden’s music was much sought-after at the turn of the last century but her reputation fell into obscurity following her death in 1919.

Her Kashmiri Love Song inspired films, novels and even perfumes. Rudolph Valentino recorded the song in 1923.

A white marble recumbent memorial to Amy was unveiled in St Thomas a Becket Church on April 15, 1923. On the same day, the vicar’s daughter Geraldine Peck sang White Sentinels.

Amy’s marble memorial in Hampsthwaite

Thomas Flessenkaemper, the former director of music for the benefice of Hampsthwaite, Killinghall and Birstwith, returned to Hampsthwaite on Saturday for a re-enactment of the unveiling exactly 100 years on.

The German composer and pianist, who started the Amy Woodforde-Finden Music Festival last year before suddenly leaving his post, and soprano Tilly Eustace-Forrest performed while a wreath of white irises was placed on the tomb.

Saturday’s memorial event

Mr Flessenkaemper and the mezzo-soprano Patricia Hammond will join local musicians to perform Amy’s songs in a concert at Hampsthwaite’s Memorial Hall on Friday.

The Kashmiri Love Song is among the songs on the programme.

The event will have the informal feel of an Edwardian soirée type event with wine and canapés at candle-lit tables. Tickets cost £8 and can be booked here.

Councillor Michael Harrison appointed first charter mayor of Harrogate

Councillor Michael Harrison was appointed the first charter mayor of Harrogate at the Civic Centre this morning.

Cllr Harrison is a Conservative who represents Killinghall, Hampsthwaite and Saltergate on North Yorkshire Council.

The non-political role will involve promoting the historic and ceremonial traditions of the Harrogate area during events and occasions such as Remembrance Sunday.

It will differ from the former Harrogate Borough Council mayoral role, which covered the whole of the former borough and undertook a wider range of engagements.

Cllr Harrison described the position as “mayor-lite“. He said:

“We’re doing that deliberately but there needs to be the element of civic duty that will continue. I can assure you I will be doing that.”

The mayor was elected by the Harrogate charter trustees, which are 10 councillors who represent divisions covering the unparished parts of Harrogate town.

Harrogate’s 10 charter trustees

It was a more low-key occasion than previous Harrogate Borough Council mayor-making ceremonies, which were traditionally held each year at Harrogate’s Royal Hall.

Cllr Harrison was nominated for the role by Liberal Democrat councillor for High Harrogate and Kingsley, Chris Aldred, who was also appointed charter deputy mayor during the meeting.

Cllr Aldred said:

“Some observers may expect us to nominate one of our own but it’s also equally important to prove that charter trustees are actually non-political in order to continue the civic traditions and heritage of Harrogate. I’m sure Michael will do that and be a great ambassador for the town.”

charter mayor Michael Harrison and Chris Aldred

Cllrs Michael Harrison and Chris Aldred

Cllr Harrison’s first engagement as charter mayor will be at the unveiling of new sculptures at the New Zealand garden in Valley Gardens this month.

He will also attend ANZAC memorial day at Stonefall Cemetery.

Ceremonial robes and chains most recently used by the last Harrogate borough mayor, Victoria Oldham, will be used by the charter mayor.

But he won’t be entitled to perks enjoyed by previous council mayors such as having a chauffeur-driven car to get to events.

The new council has allocated an annual budget of £12,100 for Harrogate charter trustee business.

However if a Harrogate Town Council is created, it will assume responsibility for the mayoral position from North Yorkshire Council should it want it.

The charter trustees will meet again in October. Cllr Harrison said at the next meeting the charter trustees will make a suggestion to North Yorkshire Council on what the council tax precept for the town council might be.

Consultation documents for the town council state Harrogate households would be asked to pay between £40 and £60 on top of their council tax each year if a Harrogate Town Council were created.

The budget would be spent on accommodation, employment costs, office and IT equipment, insurance, professional fees, the mayor and delivering services.

What those services might be are still to be decided but it would likely involve taking control of assets once held by the abolished Harrogate Borough Council.

New signs consign Harrogate Borough Council to history

New signs have appeared at Knapping Mount in Harrogate to mark this month’s momentous change in local government.

Harrogate Borough Council was abolished at the end of last month and replaced by North Yorkshire Council.

North Yorkshire Council also replaced six other district councils and North Yorkshire County Council to become the unitary local authority in the county.

Signs marking the change have gone up at the Civic Centre at Knapping Mount in Harrogate.

The Civic Centre used to be the centre of local government in the Harrogate district but it now one of many offices controlled by North Yorkshire Council, whose headquarters are at County Hall in Northallerton.

North Yorkshire Council knapping mount civic centre

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Harrogate rental company reports ‘good progress’ despite inflation

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