News


Town to get stroke unit


HEALTHbosses have earmarked Maidstone Hospital as a site for one of the county’s three new hyper acute stroke units. In a decision announced on


February 14, the NHS said Her- mitage Lane would join Dart- ford’s Darent Valley and Ashford’sWilliamHarvey hospi- tals to provide 21st century spe- cialist care. The decision comes after a five-


year reviewof urgent stroke serv- ices, led by local specialists. The new service will give pa-


tients expert care for 72 hours after a stroke, aswell asproviding clinics for assessing and treating transient ischaemic attacks or mini strokes. Rachel Jones, director for the


Kent and Medway Stroke Re- view, said: “We undertook an ex- tensive public


consultation,


involving thousands of people.” The NHS anticipates the new


stroke servicewill begin atMaid- stone andDarentValleyhospitals in a year’s time, and at William Harvey Hospital in the spring of 2021.


downsmail.co.uk


Pre-school celebrates an outstanding rating


A PRE-SCHOOL based in a vil- lage hall, where laughter is al- ways part of the lesson, has earned a glowing inspection re- port fromthe educationstandards watchdog,Ofsted. CherubsPreschool inLintonHill


gained an “outstanding” rating in all four categories. Inspectors noted that children


spend “much of their time laugh- ing with their friends and staff” and are deemed to be “extremely motivated learners”. Leadershipwasdescribedas “in-


spirational” and parents heap “tremendouspraise andgratitude” on staff. Cherubs’ workers display “a


very strong commitment to self- evaluation and ongoing improve- ment to the overall quality of service”. The pre-school, run by Cindy


Fox (pictured) and held at the vil- lage hall in Linton, achieved out- standing grades in leadership,


teaching/learning, personal devel- opment/behaviour and outcomes. InspectorLizCaluori said: “Staff


make superb use of humour, en- abling children to try new things without any fear of failure. This supports children to gain valuable learning as they discover through repeated trial and error.” She added: “Partnerships with


parents are highly effective. Par- ents express tremendous praise


and gratitude to the staff for the support they offer to children and thewhole family.” The pre-school has 57 children,


aged between two and five, on its roll with 25 places available. The inspection took place on February 1.


WhenOfsted visited Cherubs in


2016, it achieveda “good” rating. It has been running for 16 years. Of


the Ofsted inspection,


mother-of-two Mrs Fox (49), of Bearsted Green, said: “We really smashedit out of thepark thatday! Itmeans a lot to us. “I am so pleased for everybody


connectedtoCherubs, not least the staff, who are brilliant and very flexible. “The secret is for us to be flexible


for the parents and to be personal and family-orientated. For in- stance, we keep a couple of places open each evening in case one of our parents has a drama overnight and they need our help.”


Generating new business


“I have been advertising in the Downs Mail and the Mid Kent Living Magazine for over 10 years.


The number of enquiries I receive make it more than worthwhile for meto continue my advertising and this year, as a result of an ongoing good response, I have increased the amount of advertising I do with Downs Mail.


I have been delighted that my advertising is generating the new business I am looking for and the team at Downs Mail have always been pleasant and efficient to deal with.”


Sarah Ferrell, Professional Mortgage Company Connecting with local people Call us today and discuss how we can help you grow your business 01622 630 330 www.downsmail.co.uk 24 Maidstone Weald March 2019


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Equity Release is attracting more publicity than ever, however local adviser Sarah Ferrell is concerned that people are confused. “There are so many options available


these days that people are bombarded with information”. Sarah maintains that face to face advice


is absolutely necessary. “This is not a quick decision and clients need guidance, not forms to fill in and return by post”. There are huge benefits to Equity Release


however there are also longer term considerations.


implications can find the s of flexibility ~ Would you l intertest on th It still surprise


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MORTGAGES EQUITY RELEASE RE-MO


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