Community hub supporting more than 700 people a month recognised at West Wales health and social care awards

PLANED has won the Working in Partnership Award at the West Wales Regional Health and Social Care Awards, held at Canolfan Pentre Awel.

The awards were hosted by the West Wales Regional Partnership Board and recognise projects that demonstrate strong collaboration across health, social care and community organisations.

The award celebrates the success of the Carmarthenshire Living Well Centre, a project led and managed by PLANED which has become a key hub for community support in the county.

The centre brings together a range of organisations and initiatives offering advice, wellbeing activities and support services free of charge to local residents.

PLANED said the success of the centre has been built on strong collaboration with the many projects and organisations based there, all working together to support communities across Carmarthenshire.

More than 700 people each month now access services at the centre, taking part in group sessions, receiving advice and support, and benefiting from a wide range of community-led activities.

The organisation said the award recognises not only PLANED’s leadership in developing and managing the centre, but also the collective effort of the partners delivering services from the facility.

PLANED added that it will continue seeking further funding to support the development of the centre so it can expand its work and help even more people in the future.

Representatives from the organisation said it was great to see so many partners and familiar faces at the awards ceremony, adding that the recognition belongs to everyone involved in delivering the project.

RESIDENTS across parts of south Pembrokeshire have reported unusually loud explosions over the past week as military exercises take place at the Castlemartin Training Area.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed that live firing has been underway at the range between Monday (Mar 2) and Friday (Mar 6) as part of routine training for armoured units.

People living in Milford Haven, Neyland and surrounding communities said the blasts were noticeably louder than usual, with some reporting that the noise could be heard clearly indoors.

One resident in Milford Haven told The Herald that the sound carried across the Haven during the week.

“I’ve lived here for years and you always hear the range from time to time, but this week it seemed much louder than normal. You could hear it clearly inside the house.”

The Castlemartin Range Complex, located on the south Pembrokeshire coast between Bosherston and St Govan’s Head, is one of the UK’s main live-fire training areas for armoured units.

According to the official MOD firing notice for March, a range of weapons systems are being used during the exercises, including 120mm tank guns, mortars and heavy machine guns.

The 120mm main gun used by modern battle tanks produces extremely powerful shockwaves which can carry significant distances, particularly across water.

During some training periods the range operates during normal daytime hours, typically 7:30am to 4:45pm, but certain exercises include 24-hour firing sessions.

For safety reasons, several roads and footpaths in the Castlemartin area are closed during firing periods, including the road from Bosherston to St Govan’s Chapel and access to parts of the coastline.

A sea danger area is also enforced several miles offshore while the exercises are underway.

Castlemartin has been used by the military since the 1930s and is regularly used by armoured units training with Challenger tanks before deployment on operations or major exercises.

Live firing is scheduled to continue at intervals throughout March.

SCHOOL leaders in Wales have raised concerns about elements of Reform UK’s education policies following the launch of the party’s Senedd election manifesto.

The reaction came after Reform Wales unveiled its programme for government on Thursday (Mar 5), which includes proposals aimed at reshaping the Welsh education system.

Among the policies outlined by the party are plans to introduce school league tables and move towards an academy-style system similar to that used in England.

However, the proposals have drawn criticism from education leaders who say some of the ideas risk misunderstanding the realities facing schools.

Union response

Responding to the manifesto, Laura Doel, national secretary of the school leaders’ union NAHT Cymru, said the plans appeared to look backwards rather than addressing the challenges currently facing schools.

She said: “Reform has acknowledged the need to return to core teaching and learning, but has missed the real opportunity here by looking backwards at outdated practice, rather than forward to focusing on what will make a real difference.”

She also challenged the suggestion that schools place too much emphasis on emotional support for pupils.

“The idea that there is too much emotional support for pupils in schools is completely misunderstanding the situation on the ground,” she said.

“School staff are wrestling daily with the symptoms of children and young people’s emotional distress, and without tackling these issues they will continue to get in the way of their learning. Schools need more funding for emotional support, not less.”

League tables questioned

Reform’s plans to introduce league tables comparing school performance also came under criticism.

Doel said there was little evidence such measures would improve education standards or reduce pressure on teachers.

“It is hard to see how introducing league tables pitting schools against each other will reduce bureaucracy or do anything to lessen workload and pressure or free up school staff to teach,” she said.

“And there is no evidence that the structure of a school leads to improvement, so we question why Reform would seek to move to academisation in Wales.”

Some elements welcomed

Despite the criticism, NAHT Cymru said parts of the proposals could be beneficial if developed further.

Doel said school leaders would welcome reforms to Additional Learning Needs (ALN) provision and stronger support for speech and language therapies.

However, she warned that much of the policy appeared disconnected from the day-to-day challenges facing schools.

“Much of it is extremely misguided and fundamentally misunderstands the realities facing schools and young people in Wales,” she said.

“Reform policy might benefit from deeper engagement with school leaders and other education professionals.”

Reform response

Reform Wales has argued its education proposals are aimed at raising standards and improving accountability within the Welsh school system.

The party says reforms such as league tables would help parents better understand how schools are performing and ensure greater transparency in education.

Election debate intensifies

The reaction highlights the growing debate over education policy as parties set out their competing visions ahead of the Senedd election on Thursday (May 7).

Education remains one of the most contested issues in Welsh politics, with concerns frequently raised about pupil attainment, teacher workload and funding pressures.

As campaigning continues, education policy is expected to be a key battleground between parties seeking to convince voters they have the answers to improving standards in Welsh schools.