Otago Polytechnic Students

I just have a wee question regarding the Moodle shell if you are able to provide me with more information? What is the current status - i.e. when will it be available for public use? Is it expected to be used within the schools as well? In addition to this, what are you expecting from us in terms of our involvement with Moodle? We are interested in building upon the idea of the Moodle shell as our resource so the group and I are beginning to think about ideas related to this. Do you want resources, increased accessibility for youth, design or a different perspective?

re Moodle – BC-ICLR - Attached is a short presentation on how the platform came into being and its main aims

Currently it is in development – it is at proof of concept stage. We are disseminating the concept to key groups (Town Council, Medical Practice, mental health counsellors, College, etc). The next stage is to develop mental health and community project content so that when it is rolled out it will be engaging to the community users.

It is our intention to start the public roll-out from the end of July as we are hosting a major Community celebration day then.

re its use in schools (College). We are working closely with the College (11-16 age range) Currently the collective feeling is that we would not roll it out to students of this age from the perspective of safe guarding. This would require parental permission and there are too many potential pitfalls for us

We are planning content to support parenting skills. We are also considering how best to support students at the time of their leaving the College. Several of them do not cope well with the independence needed and we feel that it is at this point that they are at their most vulnerable and many would benefit from support. Too many move to drugs or alcohol to escape the stresses and often this leads to anxiety and depression. We have just learned from the College that there have been 13 young male suicides in the past 13 years – one per year. This is really shocking and our key focus should be in targeting the College leavers we feel.

So with regard to your involvement. Rather than providing a physical resource to help mitigate the issues your team identifies, we think it would be amazing if you were able to provide some content we can add to our Moodle platform that will help the target group. This might be in the form of a video, podcast, or perhaps some written content that is age appropriate and engaging to the group targeted. Or perhaps it might be advice on how to design engaging content for the age group concerned?

Additionally Jean mentioned to ask you about the lottery grant that is being applied for, are you able to give more insight into this?

This would be for supporting our Thrive Community Hub project – see leaflet and presentation attached. However, there are currently issues regarding the lease on one building and the repairs to another that look like causing a significant delay before we would be in a position to start writing a bid. So the project is not a short term one.

What happens to youth after they finish school? 

Many students travel to College by coach and this does make after school activities harder to put on. 

Youth In bishops castle go to the community college in bishops castle, most will be there until they are 16 years of age. Some will leave at 15, and in the ‘summer holidays’ (august) turn 16.

It is against the law for anyone under the age of 18 to not be in some sort of education, this means that school children cant just leave to get a job like they used to in the olden days, they have to get into college, an apprentice or some sort of vocational study.

Normally in school the young people will be prepped with information on what colleges are in the area, there are 5 within 40 miles of bishops castle,

Ludlow  & Herefordshire college (in Ludlow)
Herefordshire & Ludlow college (in Hereford)
Hereford 6th form

Shrewsbury college
Shrewsbury 6^th form

(colleges and 6^th forms are different study systems in the 2 larger areas and Ludlow and Hereford work as a team to keep their colleges open hence the name merge)

we have recently been talking about how there isn’t really any pathway for the young people after they leave the school, they are on their own and have no real support other than peer support, parental and the new college/vocational study they choose
we want to try and address this

Is there a vocational program for youth? 

In the local area, no, there used to be a college in bishops castle but the numbers where to low to keep it open.
we don’t have many training opportunities for youth

How easy do students find it to travel to school in particular those travelling out of town? What are the main modes of transportation for youth?

The Community College is for ages 11-16. The catchment area is massive – stretching all the way down to Knighton some 15 miles to the south and into Wales. In fact due to issues with some of the local Welsh schools, a third of the intake of the College now comes from Wales.

See https://ccbcshropshire.com/parents/transport/ for more info on student transport at the College

Many Post 16 students have to travel to Shrewsbury, Ludlow or Hereford Colleges every day which is very hard  

I am forever picking people up from craven arms on a Sunday or late at night as I have a car. 

Is Bishop’s castle considered a safe place for youth? For example, providing a good example for the values and beliefs of the community?

I would say in general yes. Crime rates are very low here. On the other side there is little activity for the youth currently and we regard this as a priority for the town. Involving and engaging with youth and raising their expectations is vitally important. It would help to reduce the risk of drug culture and vandalism that can be the result of boredom and lack of opportunity in a small remote town.

I would say the youth have a good community strong hold here, it will be the same group of friends for years and they will grow up together until they leave for college and then the dynamic changes, we have no agism here so we try to bring the youth into as much as we can and as elders we try to teach them about responsible drinking and substance misuse but that’s on them to follow through with the advise given.

we don’t have much policing in our town so we take it upon ourselves to teach morals which isn’t a bad thing, it just means as a community we have to be open, honest and transparent.
we have just got funding for a youth worker to help us with this aspect.

Do buses go to the nearest train station, how often? Price? Is this the main mode of transport out of town? 

Most people resort to driving.

There are 2 bus stops in Bishops Castle. The buses that come to Bishops Castle travel to one of the nearest towns. Shrewsbury (22 miles away). Shrewsbury have a train station, a short distance from the bus stop. As far as I am aware, this service is running no more than 4 or 5 times per day. The price of a single fare to Shrewsbury is £4.10. There are discount cards for students or pensioners. Ludlow (19 miles away) is our closes town, but there is no direct bus service from Bishops Castle to Ludlow, you would have to travel to Shrewsbury first, to then get a bus from Shrewsbury to Ludlow.

There are alternative modes of transport. Such as taxis, but there is very limited taxi service in Bishops Castle. There is the option of the 'dial-a-ride' mini bus, aimed at elderly people with no form of transport who need travel to appointments etc. but if you do not have your own driving license, the bus is the main mode of transport to get out of town.  

Has there been any recent development in walkways and cycle paths within Bishop’s Castle? 

This has been a subject of discussion for many years and a feasibility study was undertaken several years ago to establish a cycle path to other nearby communities. The issue was that the path could have to go along the edge of a number of private properties and while nearly all property owners agreed to the creation of the route, one landholder resisted and effectively stopped the initiative. There has been recent discussion amongst the Town Council of re-visiting the idea and encouraging the landowner.

I am not aware of any recent development myself. Someone who has had more input may have more to say on this. There are no 'official' cycle paths in Bishops Castle, but it is a very popular area for cyclists. It is a very rural, beautiful town so during the tourist season, there are a lot of hikers and cyclists that come to Bishops Castle. 

We have 'public footpaths' everywhere in Bishops Castle, so people can go on long walks and hikes. However, these are used mainly for leisure and exercise and are often not suitable for people with physical health or mobility issues.  

What is the involvement of youth within the community? Are there programs for this or pathways?

This is low, with many youth commuting into the college and leaving after the school day is done. There is the Football pitch, the leisure Centre (opening hours are short, in my view) and the skate park. Actual community participation (volunteering, youth forums) is a part of the college, but I'm not sure to what extent the students achieve a wider engagement. There has been recent work through the Council, with one councillor in particular, Andy Stelman, driving a focus on Youth engagement and enfranchisement in the community. There is a nascent process underway to create a town youth council in partnership with the college.

I believe my friend Hope who is part of this project, has a lot of input regarding the young people in our community, and ways they can be involved in the community and how they can benefit from their involvement. As we stated in our zoom call the other evening/morning, we have a very interactive community, where all different age groups are mixing as friends.

I am unaware of programs or pathways in place for this. However I can give you my personal opinion. 

I think the facilities for the young community in Bishops Castle are available, but there is a lack of awareness. I think it is important that the young community are made aware of what support and activities can be provided in the local town. I think 'boredom' is a big factor in the community which results in young people turning to substance abuse, which can then result in further problems, such as poor mental health and financial unstability. This can really impact them in later life and prevent them from reaching their full potential.  

Is there plans for the bus running to Ludlow to increase the number of trips per week, or prolong the time spent in Ludlow? Is this service popular within the town?

As stated in the other question, in order to get to Ludlow, you need to travel 22 miles to the town of Shrewsbury first, before having to catch a bus from Shrewsbury to Ludlow, which is a further 29miles - making it a very long trip! Particulary for someone who is in poor health or elderly! A car journey to Ludlow will take no more than half an hour from Bishops Castle, but if you were to use the bus service, it would be taking over 2 hours! With the bus service from BC to Shrewsbury only running 4 times a day it is massively restricting. 

This bus service is very popular. Recently, the Minsterley Motors Bus Company (that provided the buses in BC) were going to reduce the bus service in Bishops Castle, but the town got together and petitioned against it because it is a very valued aspect for the town and without it, many service users would not be able to leave the town. ​

Has the impact of covid reduced the tourism income for the community? How has this impacted the community and income revenue?

This was an impact for a time during lockdowns, but with more people looking to holiday in the UK there has been a recovery in tourism. I can't say whether or not it has returned to pre-covid levels, but I will note that a number of community events that usually take place annually aren't taking place this year (Beer festival for example). These historically have drawn lots of people to town. 

I believe covid impacted the town a lot. Particularly the first Summer that covid hit (2020). From April to September is the prime time for tourists coming to the area, but often we have tourists throughout the Winter to. Due to the uniqueness and beauty of the town and the surrounding areas, people come from all over the country to enjoy. However with several lockdowns, we have not had the tourists. This has impacted local businesses such as the locals pubs, restaurants, and independent shops. Annual events such as 'The Bishops Castle Beer Festival', and the 'Michaelmas Fair' and the 'Carnival' are just some of the events that have been cancelled over the past 2 years due to covid, which are events that promote the town and provide income for the community that is very much needed in order to keep the community going. 

The two identified health needs comparable with the population groups we suggest are:

1. youth and maintaining mental health 

2. focusing on the whole population of Bishop’s Castle with the aim to strengthen and empower rural community health

Is everyone in agreement about theses identified needs?

Two Health Needs for Bishops Castle.docx

Keith