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SHINE A SPOTLIGHT ON YOUR LONDON UNSUNG TEACHING HERO!

Awards

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06/02/2023

<strong>SHINE A SPOTLIGHT ON YOUR LONDON UNSUNG TEACHING HERO!</strong>

UK charity, The Teaching Awards Trust, is calling for the local community to nominate school staff in London for a prestigious national teaching award, televised by BBC One’s The One Show.

With the 2023 Awards now open for entry, it’s the perfect time to recognise those unsung teaching heroes in London and surprise them live on TV. Entries will be judged by a panel including The One Show host, Alex Jones.

Last year, Kensington Headteacher Andrew O’Neill, was surprised in a school assembly by TV presenter Matt Allwright, who presented him with his award. Andrew Sanders of Moorcroft, in Bramble Close – an outstanding school for students with severe learning difficulties – won Gold in the ‘Award for Excellence in Special Needs Education’ category for being “so much more than a headteacher.”

Andrew said:

“This award is so important to me because I have a real passion for supporting children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) to reach their potential. This is wonderful recognition of the work that we do.

I love seeing the teachers I work with grow and develop. That’s why it’s so wonderful to see so many teachers getting the recognition they deserve as part of these fantastic awards.”

The Unsung Hero award spotlights everyday heroes working in establishments providing full-time education to children aged 3-18. And it’s not just for teachers.

You can nominate any member of staff, including office staff, caretakers, lab technicians and all support staff. It gives them some of the recognition they deserve for all their hard work.

Silver winners enjoy a celebratory afternoon tea reception in July, followed by the annual awards ceremony in November for both Silver and Gold winners.

As well as attending the ceremony at a London venue, winners get an overnight stay in a top London hotel, and a trophy to recognise their contribution to a profession that changes lives.

Winning Gold last year in the ‘Headteacher of the Year in a Secondary School’ category for his leadership at All Saints Catholic College, Mr O’Neill said:

“When I saw Matt Allwright on stage in assembly to present me with my award, I couldn’t believe it. I’m delighted and humbled by the whole experience. There are so many headteachers doing an amazing job and I feel very lucky to have won.

“What we have achieved in the last six years has been the most remarkable team effort. My talented senior leadership team and staff have proven again and again they can rise to any challenge. So this truly feels like an award for everybody.”

Now the Pearson National Teaching Awards is calling for entries in London for the 2023 awards.

With over 3000 schools and colleges in London alone, there must be plenty of unsung teaching heroes out there who deserve a bit of recognition.

If you know a teacher or anyone who works in your local nursery, school or college that deserves an award then don’t miss this opportunity!

You can nominate on the Teaching Awards website: www.teachingawards.com and the entry deadline for the 2023 National Teaching Awards is 24^th February.

Sir Michael Morpurgo, celebrated author and former Children’s laureate, and President of the Teaching Awards Trust, said:

People of all ages will always remember that amazing teacher who made such a difference in their lives, whether that’s igniting a fire for their favourite subject or the support they’re received outside the classroom. Teachers and school staff will never know how many lives they have changed, or the impact they have made on so many children and their families, but our hope is that these awards help show them our gratitude, how much we owe them, how much we value their dedication.”

UK house price growth down to three-year low

Property

Helen Greaney

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06/02/2023

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UK house price growth down to three-year low

Ongoing pressure on household incomes is leading to a much slower housing market, according to Halifax.

The lender’s new stats show that house price growth dipped to 1.9% in January, from 2.1% in December, marking the lowest rate since October 2019.

And the trend is set to continue this year as higher interest rates lead to reduce demand for people to buy houses.

Those in South West England saw annual house price growth slow right down to 2.7% compared to 6.0% in December.

In London, house prices fell from £541,000 to £530,000 in January, with annual house price inflation at 0% compared to 2.9 per cent in December.

The average house price is now £281,684.

The housing market has slowed across all nations and regions and is expected to slow further this year, and many forecasters expecting price falls of up to 20%. Halifax predicts a drop of 8% this year.

Director of Halifax Mortgages, Kim Kinnaird, said: “We expected that the squeeze on household incomes from the rising cost of living and higher interest rates would lead to a slower housing market, particularly compared to the rapid growth of recent years.

“As we move through 2023, that trend is likely to continue as higher borrowing costs lead to reduced demand.

She said that lower prices could make it more affordable for people to get on the housing ladder as the year went on.

“For those looking to get on or up the housing ladder, confidence may improve beyond the near term. Lower house prices and the potential for interest rates to peak below the level being anticipated last year should lead to an improvement in home buying affordability over time.”

Two in three SME owners adopt work practices to save energy

Energy

Helen Greaney

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04/02/2023

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Two in three SME owners adopt work practices to save energy

New figures show two in three small business owners have implemented cost-saving methods in a bid to reduce energy-usage.

The study by Smart Energy GB found that 500 respondents had made an average of six changes at work.

A third of bosses said they had encouraged staff to adopt more energy-friendly behaviours, 20 per cent had gone paperless, while 29 per cent had turned their boiler temperature down.

A quarter (26 per cent) have turned off radiators in some rooms, while 24 per cent have lowered their thermostat.

More popular ways of reducing energy costs among those surveyed included not printing, only running the dishwasher when full and working from home where possible.

Furthermore, 19 per cent are reducing their opening hours and 33 per cent are ‘very likely’ to consider actively moving premises.

Smart Energy GB director Victoria Bacon said: “As business owners continue to reduce their energy usage wherever possible, actions such as changing to LED lightbulbs and turning off the lights when rooms are not being used are now increasingly commonplace.”

Considering a budget

The research went on to reveal that investment in new technology, such as accounting software, had helped almost nine in ten businesses.

Nearly a third say they would think about energy efficiency credentials more than ever when upgrading equipment, with 51 per cent also buying more ‘smart’ appliances.

Almost three in ten (29 per cent) check their energy usage at least once a day, with just under a third (32 per cent) checking several times each week.

Of those surveyed, 58 per cent admit they’re still not sure of the most efficient ways to cut costs in their business, with 35 per cent saying there isn’t enough information available.

Nearly four in 10 (39 per cent) use so much equipment that it’s hard to keep track of energy use, while 34 per cent can’t afford to upgrade their gear.

But 72 per cent said if they cut back on their costs any further, their businesses wouldn’t function well.

Smart meters

Victoria Bacon from Smart Energy GB added: “A smart meter measures energy usage in near-real time, providing accurate bills.

“This means businesses only pay for the energy they actually use, which can help business owners to manage their cashflow and budgets.”

Two thirds of small business owners have adopted more cost saving working practices over the last 12 months to reduce their energy usage.”

Your Bourse adds floating leverage and commissions to its execution engine and risk management platform for improved trading

Finance

News Desk

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01/02/2023

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Your Bourse adds floating leverage and commissions to its execution engine and risk management platform for improved trading

Limassol, Cyprus – Your Bourse has added two new features to its premier execution engine and risk management platform, named floating leverage and floating commissions.

These new features will increase the flexibility brokers have in their trading conditions and decrease the market risk they face.

Floating leverage allows brokers to change the leverage offered to their clients dynamically. The feature allows for greater flexibility in terms of the trade conditions provided as it can also be to change the leverage before market close/open, as well as during the news events; this means that brokers can respond quickly to market changes and adjust their leverage automatically based on the predefined rules.

Floating commissions, on the other hand, give brokers the ability to adjust their commission rates on a trade-by-trade or client-by-client basis in real-time. Depending on their business model, retail and institutional brokers can use this feature. This feature is accessible on the MT4 bridge.

These features are easy to use and are available to all clients already using Your Bourse, as well as in the form of standalone plug-ins. They can be accessed and configured via the cloud portal.

In a statement by Andrey Vedikhin, CEO of Your Bourse, “We are always looking for ways to improve our platform and offer our clients the tools to grow their business and improve the trading experience for their clients. The introduction of floating leverage and floating commissions provides both.”

About the company:

Your Bourse offers software solutions for retail and institutional MT4/MT5 brokers. Including MT5 gateway & MT4 bridge, multi-asset liquidity aggregation, risk management, client profiling, real-time and historical reporting, MT4/MT5 hosting in all Equinix data centers with 99.999% SLA, plugins for MT4 & MT5 and FIX API connections for the B2B clients. Visit https://www.yourbourse.com for more information.

Contact:
George Jubran, Your Bourse
[email protected]
+35799629961
Cyprus Office: 2nd Floor, Thalia 3, Office Number 212, Limassol 3011, Cyprus

Families face £800 hike in food bills

Food & Drink

Helen Greaney

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31/01/2023

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Shoppers are urged to change their trolley habits as food bills rocket by almost £800 a year.

Families are already feeling the pinch with the cost of living crisis and surging energy payments, and now face the biggest shopping bills since 2008 when records began – having to find on average, an extra £788 for food each year.

Data group Kantar shows grocery inflation is running at 16.7 per cent – that’s a monthly jump of 2.3 percentage points and a figure in excess of the official CPI rate of inflation of 10.5 per cent.

Recession likely

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently warned that Britain would be likely to fall into recession this year as it battles higher taxes, interest rates and energy bills.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: “Late last year we saw the rate of grocery price inflation dip slightly but that small sign of relief for consumers has been short-lived. Households will now face an extra £788 on their annual shopping bills if they don’t change their behaviour to cut costs.

“Across the market the move is towards everyday low pricing, with many supermarkets offering price matching and using their loyalty schemes to help shoppers save.”

The IMF said Britain’s economy would contract by 0.6 per cent this year — a near full percentage point downgrade on its last forecast in October — and a stark contrast with other G7 economies such as the United States, Japan and France which are all set to grow.

Even Russia, which has been hit by Western sanctions following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, is set to increase GDP by 0.3 per cent after a contraction of 2.2 per cent last year.

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Amid the latest gloomy forecasts, government minister Richard Holden, insisted that the IMF had been “wrong” before. He told Times Radio: “They’ve been wrong in the last two years, the OECD were also wrong over the last two years. I think Britain can beat those predictions.” He added on GB News: “I’m not saying there aren’t headwinds, internationally, there certainly are, but I think Britain can outperform just like we have done and beat these forecasts just like we have done over the last couple of years.”

But shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves tweeted: “This points to difficult times for our economy. Britain has so much potential. But we’re being held back and lagging behind.”

Although the IMF said the UK is likely to bounce back with growth of 0.9 per cent in 2024, it painted a dark picture for the rest of this year contrasting it with the better than expected performance of other advanced economies.

The IMF said: “Growth in the United Kingdom is projected to be –0.6 per cent in 2023, a 0.9 percentage point downward revision from October, reflecting tighter fiscal and monetary policies and financial conditions and still-high energy retail prices weighing on household budgets.”

Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, director of research at the IMF, said the global outlook was “less gloomy” than its October forecasts, adding it “could represent a turning point, with growth bottoming out and inflation declining”. But, he warned that Britain was set to face a “sharp correction”this year.

Three years on from the UK’s departure from the European Union, Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said the country was being held back by the “continuing challenges from Brexit”. He told the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There are a few things which are affecting us more than other countries. One in particular, actually is the loss of people from our labour force… we’ve lost half a million plus people from work — people retiring early, immigrants not coming in from the European Union and so on.

“That’s not affecting any other country in Europe. So that’s a particular challenge for us. Higher interest rates are feeding very quickly through to mortgages in the UK and we’ve got, of course, the continuing challenges from Brexit.”

Meanwhile, Tesco on Tuesday announced a wide-ranging overhaul of its stores which will impact around 2,100 jobs. The supermarket chain said it will extend changes to store management roles, shut remaining counters and hot delis and shut a number of in-store pharmacies as part of the shake-up.

The Kantar research found shoppers have been switching away from branded products and opting for supermarkets’ own-brand equivalents to save money. Sales of own-label products have risen 47 per cent over the last year, according to the figures. However, consumer spending on promotions, such as two-for-ones, is at a record low, accounting for just 23 per cent of spending in the four week period studied by the market research firm.

While the grocery sector is “incredibly competitive”, Kantar’s Mr McKevitt told the BBC that food “is not something we can choose whether we buy or not”. He added that people have been cutting back on streaming services — “that’s something people can choose to cut back on, but if you need to feed yourself, feed your family, you’re going to have to go to the shops”,

The research found that Aldi was the fastest-growing grocer for the fourth month in a row, with sales up 26.9 per cent year-on-year and now holding 9.2 per cent of the market. Lidl’s sales jumped by 24.1 per cent to give it a 7.1 per cent market share. Tesco remains the largest retailer with a 27.5 per cent share while Asda holds 14.2 per cent.MORE ABOUTKANTAR IMF ECONOMY

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Calls for “actual talks”

The union also said that unless the government agrees to “actual talks”, it could announce more walkouts in March.

The latest strike announcement comes as ministers are braced for the biggest day of industrial action in over a decade on Wednesday, February 1 when teachers, university lecturers, train drivers, civil servants, bus drivers and security guards all stop work.

Staffing emergency

Unison’s head of health Sara Gorton said: “Ministers must stop fobbing the public off with promises of a better NHS, while not lifting a finger to solve the staffing emergency staring them in the face.

“The government must stop playing games. Rishi Sunak wants the public to believe ministers are doing all they can to resolve the dispute.

“There are no pay talks, and the Prime Minister must stop trying to hoodwink the public. It’s time for some honesty. Ministers are doing precisely nothing to end the dispute.”

Deeply concerning

Downing Street said the latest strike announcement by ambulance workers is “deeply concerning”.

“We are putting in place significant mitigations that have previously helped reduce some of the impact from these strikes,” the PM’s official spokesperson said.

“But first and foremost we would ask the unions to reconsider that approach and continue discussions.”

Bestway Group snaps up 80 million shares in Sainsbury’s

Helen Greaney

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29/01/2023

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Bestway Group snaps up 80 million shares in Sainsbury’s

Bestway Group has announced its investment in 80,792,512 shares in Sainbury’s – that’s 3.45% of the issued share capital, worth £193 million.

But the group, which has headquarters in London’s Park Royal, said it will not consider an offer for Sainsbury’s but would think about further market purchases of the chain’s shares from time to time.

Sainsbury’s shares jumped 6.6% when it was revealed that Bestway had taken a stake but the FTSE 100 company said it would engage with Bestway “in line with normal interactions with shareholders”.

Bestway Group has a customer base of over 12 million customers and employs over 28,000 individuals, has operations across the UK, Pakistan and the Middle East and is one of the largest family-owned businesses in the UK with a £4.5 billion turnover.

Founded by Sir Anwar Pervez OBE and led by Group Chief Executive The Lord Choudrey CBE, the group has seen a growth in revenues to year end June 2022, which reached £4.51 billion with operating pre-tax profit of £398.8 million.

The growth reflects an increase in revenues across all businesses within the group, which owns retailer Costcutter, as well as Well Pharmacy and Bestway Wholesale.

A strong performance has been attributed to the group’s agility in responding to fast-changing market conditions and taking necessary measures to reduce the impact of key risks in the business with appropriate policies where possible.

Starting off as a chain of convenience stores in 1963, Bestway is now a diversified multinational business with interests across the wholesale, pharmacy, real estate, cement and banking sectors.

Sainsbury’s has also had a good year with retail sales up more than five per cent at Christmas.

Lidl GB pledges further £2 billion to British food businesses

Helen Greaney

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26/01/2023

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Lidl GB pledges further £2 billion to British food businesses

Lidl GB has further boosted its existing £15 billion investment in the British food industry.

The popular retailer had committed to funding between 2020 and 2025 but has now increased that pledge to £17 billion.

Lidl GB works with more than 650 suppliers across the country and sources two thirds of its core produce from the UK.

Paramount to success

The supermarket has been forthcoming in saying that the farmers and producers that supply its goods have been paramount to the success of the business.

Lidl enjoyed some noticeable sales increases, with a rise of almost 25% over December, compared to the same period in 2021.

The discounter has long championed British food and farming and over-trades in British meat, poultry and eggs – currently holding the largest market share in volume of fresh British pork.

Overseas cheese

Cheese is another great export for Lidl shoppers overseas, with Lidl GB sending more than £50 million of British cheese to Europe.

Westcountry cheddar cheese supplier Wyke Farms has worked with Lidl since 1994 and currently has a long-term contact with Lidl GB until 2028, a deal worth £35m a year. As a result of its longstanding relationship with Lidl GB, Wyke is now exporting to 16 other Lidl markets, with Poland being the biggest fans of Somerset Vintage Cheddar outside of Great Britain.

Ryan McDonnell, CEO at Lidl GB, said: “We see them as partners in our mission to provide households with high quality affordable produce, and for many, working with Lidl GB and being part of our growth has opened opportunities for their own expansion, both here in the UK and across the globe.”

Martin Kottbauer, chief trading Officer at Lidl GB, added: “Providing our suppliers with the security and certainty needed for them to invest and grow has been a big focus for us over the years. It’s why we’ve led the industry on the introduction of longer-term contracts, and it’s why our continued investment in the British food and farming industry remains an absolute priority for our business.”

Lidl has over 70 supermarkets across London, and a total of 950 UK stores.

Historic lifeboat station makes final move from Tower Bridge

News

Helen Greaney

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25/01/2023

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Historic lifeboat station makes final move from Tower Bridge

Pic thanks to RNLI/Hallmark Broadcast

London’s RNLI rescue station has been moved for the last time, after 16 years in operation.

While the station has become unfit for purpose, it’s not the end for the crew at Tower Bridge.

They’ll be continuing their great work from HMS President, before a new station launches in April.

The team has launched the lifeboat from Tower Bridge more than 9,545 times – and saved 355 lives along the Thames since 2002. Last year alone the station had 750 call outs.

While it will no longer be operational, the station will be used by the Thames Marine Services as one of its six electrical charging facilities.

The lifeboat crew moved to reassure people that they can still call 999 and ask for the Coastguard if anyone gets into trouble along the Thames.

The station was created in wake of the 1989 tragedy on the pleasure boat Marchioness in 1989 in which 51 people died.

Following an enquiry, the rescue service was created, and maintained with donations, including £3.5m from the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Officer’s Association.

The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 142,700 lives.

Britain’s poorest are £600 worse off for cost of living crisis

News

Helen Greaney

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25/01/2023

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Britain’s poorest are £600 worse off for cost of living crisis

Startling stats reveal that the gap between Britain’s richest and poorest has widened due to the freeze in income tax thresholds and the current cost of living crisis.

The wealthiest fifth of the country have boosted their household disposable income by more than £1000, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). They’ve also managed a 1.6 increase in pay, bringing the average salary in this bracket to £66,000 per annum.

The data shows how the cost of living crisis has disproportionately impacted the least well off in Britain, with the richest now more than £51,000 wealthier than the poorest.

A reduction in benefits in 2021 also hit poorer families hard.

“Wages and salaries increased by 3.2 per cent across all households, however, the poorest fifth of people saw a 7.5 per cent decrease, while the richest fifth saw a 7.8 per cent increase,” the ONS said.

Considering a budget

Smart meters

Recession likely

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Calls for “actual talks”

Staffing emergency

Deeply concerning

Paramount to success

Overseas cheese

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