Parents of year 6 pupils living in Derbyshire can now apply to us for their child’s secondary school place for September 2019.

Around 8,900 year 6 primary school children – who were born between 1 September 2007 and 31 August 2008 – have been sent information on the application process.

The deadline to submit applications is at midnight on Wednesday 31 October 2018.Applying online is the easiest method and can be done here.

Applying online is quicker and allows parents to make changes to their application at any point up to the closing date. Anyone who applies online will receive an email to confirm their application has been received. To find out other ways to submit, please click the link above.

When completing the application form parents will be asked to list, in order of preference, the 3 schools they would most like their child to go to.Although parents have a legal right to express preferences they have no automatic right to a place at any particular school.

Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered until places have been allocated to those children whose parents did return their form on time.

Parents who fail to meet the deadline may find that the school they want their child to go to is full.

Our Cabinet Member for Young People Councillor Alex Dale said:

“As the new school term begins, the time has come for parents with children in year 6 to apply for their child’s secondary school place for September 2019.

“It’s really quick and easy to apply – especially if parents do it online and we have a dedicated team on hand to help parents with the application process.

“Picking the right school is a big decision so we’re asking parents to take their time to explore all of their options and send in their application before the deadline on Wednesday 31 October.”

Councillor Dale added:

“Missing the deadline could mean parents are less likely to get a place at their preferred school and could mean their child may have to travel further to an alternative school or not get into the same school as their friends.”

Any parents who are a refused a place for their child have a right of appeal to an independent panel.

A bus company that is nationally renowned for its innovation has won the East Midlands Chamber Derbyshire Business of the Year Award 2018.

trentbarton is admired throughout the passenger transport sector as probably the most innovative bus company in the UK – a reputation built on decades of focusing on its customer experience.

Recognised as an industry leader because of its total focus on providing outstanding levels of service, it has invested in technology to communicate dynamically with customers and in staff training to ensure the continued helpfulness of its drivers.

Its 12-strong customer service team proactively and reactively tackles problems and complaints, using cloud-based software to rapidly assess customer contact and provide meaningful responses. The company also uses social media to make sure it maintains real-time contact with customers.

Receiving the award from Mazars, the headline sponsor of the Chamber’s Business Awards 2018, trentbaton Managing Director Jeff Counsell said: “It’s an absolute honour to be named as Business of the Year.

“This award is the result of having a great team. It is thanks to all the personnel and departments – from marketing, customer services, IT and technology, service delivery, commercial, training and the 120 maintenance staff across our five depots. Most of all, it’s about our 870 drivers who make us what we are.

“We are passionate about our customers and passionate about service delivery and it is fantastic to be acknowledged for this by being named Derbyshire Business of the Year.”

The company was one of 12 to win an award on the night, as the Chamber celebrated the strength and successes of businesses across Derby and Derbyshire.

To qualify as a contender for the supreme accolade of Business of the Year, trentbarton had already won the Excellence in Customer Service Award.

Chamber President Rob Mayo said: “One of the primary objectives for my Presidential year has been to celebrate the successes of our members and to encourage them to take advantage of the many opportunities for growth, both here in the UK and around the world.

“Taking part in the Chamber’s Business Awards, the only local awards to offer winners the chance to go on to compete on a regional and national stage at the British Chambers of Commerce Awards, is just one way to be part of that celebration. We congratulate every winner tonight and every organisation that made it through the final shortlist.

“Winning awards is not a vainglorious pursuit. Taking part in the competition encourages an organisation to look closely at what they do best. Making it through to the final is cause for celebration in itself and whether you get that far or walk off with the ultimate crown, you should shout about that success and proclaim to the world that yours is one of the best businesses out there.”

To see a full list of winners click here.

Residents are being urged to have their say about significant changes to Derbyshire County Council’s early help service. The public consultation started this week and will run for 6 weeks until Monday 22 October.

Early help service is support for children and young people aged up to 18 (or 25 for those with special needs or who are disabled) and their families early on when problems emerge. It may be required at any stage in life from pre-birth to adulthood and involves working with agencies to understand and support families to help them care for their children and deal with any problem they feel unable to manage on their own.

The service is currently delivered by 25 multi-agency teams (MATs) based across the county which bring together staff including education welfare, youth workers, children’s centres, family support and careers guidance working closely with schools, health visitors, GPs and community groups.

Derbyshire County Council provide a substantial Early Help Offer which is funded through their own budget and other grant schemes and changes to these arrangements have resulted in the need to review services to ensure that children and young people most in need of help continue to receive it. Their aim is to concentrate their resources on the type of activities which evidence shows support them most effectively in line with how many other authorities provide these services.

Councillor Alex Dale, Cabinet Member for Young People said:“Changes to the way our early help service is funded and a reduction in grants means we need to propose changes to concentrate our resources on children and families who need help the most and to ensure they continue to receive it.

“We also want to make sure we concentrate our resources on the type of activities which have been proven to work best for them.

“The county council currently provides a substantial early help offer but providing this kind of help is the responsibility of all public organisations including schools, not just ours, so we’re also taking this opportunity to consider more effective ways of working with partners as we look closely at all our services to ensure they’re as efficient as possible.

“For some services, including early help, this will mean taking a different approach to how they’re run or funded in future.

“With this in mind, our proposals also include supporting other organisations and the many community and voluntary groups which already provide this kind of help to families across the county.

“We’re encouraging residents to take part in our consultation and give us their views about the proposed changes which we’ll carefully consider before any decisions are made.”

The consultation will ask Derbyshire residents to give their views about proposed changes to the family support, youth support and careers elements of our early help service.

If the proposals are approved, new arrangements would not be brought in before September 2019 when support for young people currently using the service would be completed.

The closing date for responses is Monday 22 October 2018.

The Cabinet will consider a report detailing the outcome of the public consultation later this year. An equality impact assessment would also be carried out to ensure that any proposed changes to services would not discriminate against disadvantaged or vulnerable people.

To read the proposed changes in detail, provide feedback or for more information click here.

Four candidates will contest the by-election which will be held in Chesterfield’s Moor ward on Thursday 4 October.

The by-election which, called following the death of Labour councillor Keith Brown in July, will see a councillor chosen to represent Moor ward on Chesterfield Borough Council.

The candidates nominated are:

• Ron Mihaly (Lab)
• Gordon Franklin Partington (Con)
• Tony Rogers (LD)
• Barry Thompson (UKIP).

Residents already registered to vote can vote in the election. Anyone not already registered will need to register by midnight on Tuesday 18 September.

To register to vote, visit www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.

Labour councillor Kate Caulfield will continue to represent Moor ward on the council.

Derbyshire has signed all-rounder Martin Andersson on loan from Middlesex for the remainder of the 2018 season. 

The 21-year-old will be available for the rest of the Specsavers County Championship campaign and joins the Derbyshire squad for this week’s fixture versus Glamorgan, starting on Tuesday.

He will replace Sean Ervine in the matchday squad after the 35-year-old announced his retirement from professional cricket with immediate effect.

Andersson, a product of the Middlesex Academy, has featured in two first-class matches for Leeds/Bradford MCCU and has made one senior appearance for Middlesex.

The all-rounder has played in six Second XI Championship fixtures this summer, scoring 267 runs at an average of 33 and with a top score of 87. He has also claimed 10 wickets at an average of 27.

Captain Billy Godleman said: “Martin is a talented young batsman who has come highly recommended.

“With Sean announcing his retirement, we wanted to bring in additional cover and Martin fits the bill as a middle-order batsman who can also provide us with a bowling option.

“We’re grateful to Middlesex and Angus Fraser for allowing Martin to join us for the rest of the season.”

Godleman recently signed a three-year contract extension to keep him at the Club until the end of the 2021 season.