Pupils Feel Safer as Kewstoke Primary School Shows Clear Improvement Following Ofsted Review Wednesday, September 17, 2025 kewstoke ofsted safeguarding attendance behaviour governance education improvement primary inspection Kewstoke Primary School in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, is demonstrating encouraging progress after a troubling Ofsted report last October found the school had serious weaknesses. The latest monitoring visit on April 23, … Read More
‘Shocking waste of public money’ over WECA exit payments Tuesday, September 16, 2025 weca governance exitpayments publicfunds audit localgovernment politics finance scandal accountability The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) has come under fire for spending nearly half a million pounds in one year on exit payments for senior staff, a sum condemned by a councillor as “a completely shocking waste of … Read More
WECA Spent Over £475K on Staff Exit Payments in Dan Norris’ Final Year as Mayor Sunday, September 7, 2025 weca governance exitpackages staffturnover dannorris mayor audit procurement politicalrelations helengodwin The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) allocated nearly half a million pounds to exit packages and settlements for senior staff in Dan Norris’ final year as mayor. According to the 2024/25 interim annual report by … Read More
WECA Seeks New Communications Director with Salary Up to £138,000 and Bus Ticket Perks Thursday, August 7, 2025 weca communications salary publicsector transport recruitment governance devolution politics procurement The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) is currently recruiting a new Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs, offering a substantial salary range of £102,000 to £138,000, depending on experience. Remarkably, … Read More
Somerset Council ‘Betting the House’ on Transformation to Avert Financial Crisis Wednesday, August 6, 2025 somerset council transformation bankruptcy budget austerity localgovernment restructuring publicservices governance Somerset Council is taking a high-stakes gamble on the next phase of its transformation programme to prevent an effective bankruptcy. Established in April 2023, the newly formed council inherited legacy systems and staff from … Read More
Somerset Council Enacts Emergency Measures to Combat Planning Backlog Monday, July 28, 2025 somerset planning backlog council applicants councillors enforcement transformation itsystems governance Somerset Council is taking urgent action to tackle a significant backlog in its planning system, which has grown since the formation of the new unitary authority in April 2023. The surge in planning applications has outpaced … Read More