Page 26 - br-nov-2020

November 2020 November 2020

How to Claim Here in Dorset we are

experiencing a very mild
Visit www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/test-and-trace-support-payment autumn, where happenings
such as leaf fall is well behind
The claim e-form will ask people to provide:
the usual times. The large
 The unique ID number from their NHS Test and Trace notification, details of leaved trees, such as the horse
employment, chestnut, or conker tree as we
all knew it, which played a
 a recent bank statement, your National Insurance number
very important part in the
For residents who may need help completing the form, please call 01305 221000 country boys’ life at this time
and a member of Dorset Council’s Customer Services team will attempt to fill the of year. Playing conkers was a
form in for them over the phone. very important part of our life
come the autumn, when with
a meat skewer to make a hole
through the mature conker and a piece of string knotted at one end and
OFSTED visit threaded through the conker, we were ready to compete with any other
We have recently completed an Ofsted inspection within part of Children’s youngster. It was very obvious who the conker kings were because they would
Services which was very positive. Local Area colleagues from across the council, have their trouser pockets bulging with conkers and string dangling down their
the CCG, schools, health providers and the voluntary sector came together to side.
shine a light on the experiences of children with Special Education Needs or Today, conkers are not allowed because they are considered a safety hazard. In
Disabilities during this Covid period. The inspectors recognised that multi-agency our day even carrying a sharp pointed article, such as a metal meat skewer was
working has been significantly strengthened this year. They found that leadership acceptable because it was a necessity to make a hole through the conker so
was clear and dynamic, and they praised practitioners from across services for that it could be hung on a string to act as a destroyer of every one else’s conker
putting children at the heart of all we do. They recognised that our greater focus You would take it in turn to hold your conker dangling on its string, while your
on co-production and personalisation has delivered improvements for families. The opposite number tried to smash yours by swinging his on the end of its string. You
inspectors praised the recent ‘Summer in Dorset’ as an example of our ambition. would take it in turns to strike a blow until one of the conkers broke down. If you
We will share OFSTED’s official letter when we get it. won you could go on to another challenge. You then kept a record of the
number of conkers that yours had destroyed and proudly let everyone know if
yours was a oner, twoer ,threer etc. There was one way of ensuring that you had
Green Homes Grant Award
a winner and that was by leaving your conker in the oven of the kitchen
We have been successful with our joint bid overnight. This baked the conker and hardened it to become a champion of
with BCP Council for additional Green Homes champions.
Grant funding. The bid was for £859,400. Now let us get back to today’s world and turn to the leaves of the horse chestnut,
This money will allow the Council to offer which at this time of year should be browning off and because of its size and
grants at slightly different (more favourable) weight being one of the first to defoliate. But it isn’t happening this year, nor are
conditions than the national scheme which the other large leaf trees, such as the ash, the sweet chestnut, the sycamore the
will also be available in Dorset. So for maple etc. are not shedding their leaves yet. However the seed production in
example under the national scheme no gas these trees seems to be quite prolific.
heating systems are allowed however with Grasses too are having a wonderful autumn, after a very poor early summer. This
our funding we can offer gas central heating is a godsend to the stock farmers, who had poor hay and silage crops because
if that is the only viable option as long as it is of the very dry start to the growing period. Now they are going to be able to
future proofed (i.e. can be converted to leave their animals out grazing for longer than usual due to the very kind growing
hydrogen or ground source heat pump in the conditions now. One set of grasses, the cereal crops of wheat, barley, oats, rye
future). This would be very important in some areas such as Weymouth where

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