Derby City Council have very short memories when it comes to their aspirations, vision and enthusiasm for the Assembly Rooms. Cllr Martin Repton, Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture back in 2013 […]
Council re-writes history on Assembly Rooms; What happened to Cllr Repton’s “high quality experience”?
JET (Jobs, Education and Training) goes bust owing £120,000
The infamous JET charity run by Mohammed Sharief on Normanton Road finally went bust in September 2016 with no money left in the bank, and owning negligible assets. This was a totally […]
Women’s Day : A Festival of “women making waves” in Derby
The volunteer-led International Women’s Day Festival in Derby grows each year as a showcase for women and girls in the community, organisations, sport, arts, craft, business, education and more. It is a […]
Labour Councillors vote against Tory proposal to save libraries.
Last Wednesday’s Full Council meeting was dedicated to a debate over the Labour Group’s proposed budget for 2017/18 – 2019/2020. Within that plan is the much publicised and discussed idea to change […]
Shakti Academy launch : Creating opportunities through, and beyond, Dance
Born out of Shakti Arts, founded in 1995, by Anna Gautama, is Shakti Academy, launched last night at the Hindu Temple in Normanton. Based on dance as a medium of expression, the […]
Letter to Cllr Banwait : Why you were booed last night by Parents of Special Educational Needs children
Dear Cllr Banwait Being booed by a public gallery full of parents of children with special educational needs must be a first for a Leader of Derby City Council! These were not […]
Parent Forum highlights issues for Special Needs children on “Home to School” transport
The Derby Parent / Carer Forum ( an organisation led by, and for, parents of children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in the City – funded by Department of Education) ran a […]
TA Strike : Council expects autistic children to “wait and see” regarding school closures
Tomorrow will be another day of strikes across the City as a result of the Teaching Assistant dispute over pay cuts. It is important that there is a plan in place which […]
Proposed future for the Council’s remaining Care Homes and Day Centres
Following the consultation on the subject of Day Centres and Care Homes, the decision was taken at the December 2016 Cabinet meeting to offer them to 3rd Parties to own and operate. […]
Council’s £100k Xmas Bin collection saving vastly overstated – by £90k!
Over the last few years, the Council has claimed that it saves £100,000 pa by cancelling bin collections over the Xmas period. You might wonder, how a saving of this magnitude could […]
Parents affected by Teaching Assistant strike considering legal action against Council
Whilst battle lines continue to be re-drawn between Derby City Council and UNISON over the Teaching Assistant dispute, and the negotiations remain intractable, it is the Parents and some of the most […]
Truths, and Myths, about the Teaching Assistant/ School Support staff dispute
After nearly 18 months of a dispute, and 7 months of strike action, there is still much confusion over the facts, the root cause, and why negotiations are locked. There is a […]
Special Needs Children; the Council’s “forgotten priority”
Children with Special Educational Needs are a declared priority for Derby City Council, and specified as a “Must Do” in its 2015-18 Plan: “… responding to the demands of legislative changes including; […]
Labour Group scores ‘own goal’ with tax-payer funded electioneering on school crossing patrols.
The Derwent by-election activity is gathering pace and it will be an intense and close campaign ; the Conservatives won in May 2016 by just 3 votes. The Labour Party are taking […]
Labour Council has now completely lost its “soul” and “moral compass”
Can there really be anyone left in Derby who actually believes that this Labour Council is doing a good job for this City? Is there anyone who feels purposefully led by Cllr […]
Parents protest in Council Offices demanding an end to TA/School Support staff dispute
A protest was arranged today at 1.30pm by the Parents affected by the TA/School Support staff dispute in the Council reception. Also in attendance, were TAs and UNISON. It was a noisy […]
Cllr Paul Bayliss breaks confidentiality over Mad Hatter’s cafe dispute
Last Saturday, a small protest took place outside the Mad Hatter’s cafe in Alvaston Park over Derby City Council’s decision not to extend the £5500 pa lease on the property. The extension […]
Cllr Paul Pegg intimidates Mackworth ward resident in his “apology” letter
Cllr Pegg just doesn’t know how to say ‘sorry’. Despite being found guilty of disrespecting some of his constituents, and being instructed to send a letter of apology, he manages to intimidate […]
Michal: 1st qualified Roma Youth Worker in the UK…in Derby!
Michal Daniel, left his home in Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic, with his parents and siblings, when he was 7 years old. They were living in a Roma ghetto, with little prospect […]
Momentum Derbyshire declares support for TAs and recognises that Pay Cut is a Council “choice”
Momentum Derbyshire has issued a statement that must come as a welcome boost to the Teaching Assistants(TAs), and School Support staff who have been in dispute with Derby City Council over pay […]
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