downsmail.co.uk
Services cut at rural churches
SOME church services in the Sut- tons have been temporarily axed as part of a restructuring of the Head- corn and Suttons benefice. Two years ago, the benefice had
the services of not just a vicar, but also a curate and help from the or- dained chaplain at Sutton Valence School.
Diocesan cuts and changes of personnel mean there is no longer a curate in the benefice, nor an or- dained chaplain at the school, and the vicar Rev Fiona Haskett, who was appointed in February last year, has had to manage the four churches on her own. She said: “Although we are very fortunate in receiving help from re- tired clergy and in particular Canon David Trustram, we are now having to face the fact that our current service structure is no longer sustainable.” Each church within the benefice
used to have one service each Sun- day, but, in common with many other parishes, cuts have had to be made. For a trial period, there is to be no
6pm service at East Sutton on the second Sunday of the month and no 6pm service at Chart Sutton on the third Sunday. Rev Haskett said: “We apologise
to all those who are affected. We hope those people who would nor- mally attend these services will take the opportunity to worship at one of the other benefice services.” The changes will be reviewed by
the vicar and the parochial church councils in due course.
Charity sale
GRAB a bargain at Maidstone Mencap’s plant, book and cake sale on Saturday, May 21. The event starts at 2.30pm at Cobtree Hall, School Lane (off Willington Street), Maidstone. For details contact Rita on 07790 643218.
News
Partnership to promote pride in county town
ANEWtown centre partnership is powering forward to make the county town the pride of Kent.
One Maidstone – a collaboration
between the former Town Centre Management and the Town Team, backed by Maidstone Council – is a community interest company (CIC) formed with the aim of promoting Maidstone’s status as the county town. The not-for-profit organisation is politically independent and aims to act as a catalyst to communication between members and local au- thority decision-makers. Unveiling the new logo and the mission statement for One Maid- stone, at Strawberry Moons night- club in Gabriel’s Hill, One Maidstone chairman Andy Davey said: “We aim to bring together businesses, the community and the voluntary sectors ensuring the town continues to be worthy of being the county town of Kent.” Four key working groups will
deliver key projects to benefit the town centre and the business crime reduction partnership MaidSafe.
Boardmembers and supporters of One Maidstone at the launch These will focus on events, public
realm improvements (regeneration and street scene), marketing and volunteers, which would include training stewards to support town centre activities. The new branding and logo for
One Maidstone was created by Maidstone-based graphic design company Geomedia and the pro- motional video compiled by Gareth Powell of
PlayMountain.co.uk, also based in the town’s Royal Star Ar- cade.
Cllr Fay Gooch, deputy leader of Maidstone Council, said: “It is so important we have a long-term vi- sion for the town centre to make it stand out as the county town. We have a strong cultural side, a huge retail element and some fantastic small businesses – a wonderful mix.” The CIC has pledged to organise
at least four major events each year – the first of which is the St George’s Day celebration on April 23 (see page 20 for more details).
Award nomination call Musical picnic
DOyouknowanyonewhodeserves an award for their work in the com- munity?
Chartered accountants Perrys are seeking nominations for exceptional individuals in Kent who will be ho- noured at an awards ceremony in November. Perhaps you know somebody
who has done something incredible or shown strength in the face of ad- versity - or maybe they are excep- tional because they have tirelessly worked to help others? Shortlisted individuals will be put to a public vote. The winner will be
revealed and presented with a tro- phy and other goodies. Stewart Pope, CEO at Perrys,
which has been operating in Kent since 1983, said: “We would like to encourage everyone to take part and nominate an individual they feel is exceptional. Whatever the reason wewant to hear about them.” To make a nomination email ex-
ceptionalawards@pmwcom.co.uk with a description of the individual and why they are exceptional and include your contact details. The deadline for nominations is Monday, April 25, 2016.
ORGANISERS are tuning up for the annual Marden big musical picnic. The picnic in the park – on Southons Field in Maidstone Road – will raise money for the Friends of Marden’s Heritage. The event from 2-8pm on Saturday, June 4 will fea- ture old favourite acts, plus a few new ones. There will be stalls, games and
races, refreshments, a barbecue, a bouncy castle and plenty of singing. There will also be a family picnic
on the field to celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday on St George’s Day, Saturday, April 23.
Ofsted happy after nursery changes policy Continued from page one
strongly believe that the grading is- sued in October was incorrect and that we have still not been fully in- formed of what rule/law has been broken.We are also aware that other schools and nurseries take photo- graphs and send them via e-mail and we fail to see the difference.” Ofsted has stopped outsourcing
pre-school inspection contracts fol- lowing the incident. The October in- spection was carried out by the Tribal Group education support service but the most recent inspection was by a senior Ofsted inspector, who said she
30 Maidstone South April 2016
was happy that the nursery had tightened up procedures. Inspector Jo Caswell said: “Good
improvements have been made since the last inspection. Staff fully understand their responsibilities in protecting children. All legal require- ments are met. The weaknesses identified at the last inspection have been tackled effectively. “Children are very happy. They de-
velop a good range of skills which help them to be ready for starting school. Parents are very happy. They describe the staff as 'amazing', 'bril- liant' and 'fantastic'.”
Mrs Fox said it was impossible to
tell if the “inadequate” listing had impacted on her business but said: “We have had requests for places with parents stating that, whilst they were aware of what the pre-school had gone through, they were keen for their children to attend Cherubs, as they felt that if we were prepared to challenge Ofsted and the system forwhatwe believed to be right then they were sure the level of childcare their children would receivewould be delivered with the same effort and commitment – and that meant Cherubs was the place for them.”
Cherubs’ Steve Fox with the contentious original report
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