 Sign up for garden waste collection service
Sign up or renew your garden waste collection service, ahead of the household waste collection changes that are coming this summer.
Using this optional, subscription-based service helps reduce waste and benefits the environment.
Your garden clippings, grass cuttings, leaves and weeds are collected from the kerbside every fortnight and sent to a composting facility, where they are turned into high-quality and peat-free compost for growing other plants.
The price of the 12-month service from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 is £86. For those signing up for the first time, the price includes a 240-litre brown wheeled bin for storing garden waste.
Find out more or sign up on our website.
New charge for replacement bins
From 1 April, a new charge of £40 per bin will be introduced for replacement of broken or missing bins to cover the cost of purchase and delivery. However, it will be free if the bin is damaged during collections and reported by our crews.
To make your bin last longer, don’t overfill it, as compacted waste can damage it during the emptying process. Also, label the house name or number clearly on your bin, so it can be identified if lost.
 From the opening of the new Addington Early Years Centre last Autumn
Trust is approved for two new SEND schools
Two new schools for children with special educational needs and disabilities that are planned for the borough have taken the next step as the Ascendancy Partnership Trust have had their application to run both schools approved.
The newly-formed multi-academy trust is made up of three Berkshire special schools; Addington Special School in Woodley and Brookfields School in Reading, both rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted and Manor Green School in Maidenhead, rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted.
The trust, which evolved from Addington School, is in the final stages of being formed and is expected to take over the leadership of the three schools this September.
The two new schools, funded by the Department for Education (DfE), will offer 120 places each for children and young people aged four to 19.
One will specialise In Social and Emotional Mental Health for those with severe difficulties in managing their emotions and behaviour, with the other specialising in Severe Learning Disabilities for those who are likely to need support with all activities in everyday life.
It is proposed the two schools be based alongside each other at Rooks Nest Farm bordering Barkham and Finchampstead and the DfE are working towards an opening date of September 2026.
 Looking back on community support for Ukraine
It has been two years since our first Ukrainian guests arrived in the borough as part of the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
During that time, 305 households have hosted 503 Ukrainians, who have travelled to the borough seeking refuge from the war. There are still 77 hosts with 97 guests in the borough.
We have supported more than 100 families into private rented properties and 13 into social housing via the Local Authority Housing Fund, a specific fund for those who have arrived via Ukrainian and Afghan resettlement schemes.
Through the Homes for Ukraine scheme, we have made more than 2,500 payments to hosts, totalling just over £1million.
Our hosts, teams and partners will continue to support guests in our borough until they can return home safely. We are still looking for hosts who could take mums and children for six month minimum stints. Please visit our website or send us an email to find out more.
 Help shape Berkshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy
Do you want to get involved in shaping the Berkshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy?
To reverse the continuing decline of British wildlife, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has appointed 48 responsible authorities to lead on preparing a local nature recovery strategy (LNRS) for their areas to increase biodiversity and restore natural habitats.
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is the responsible authority for Berkshire LNRS, supported by other local authorities including us.
Community workshops
Each area in Berkshire is hosting a community workshop this month, starting on Monday (8 April) in Maidenhead, to find out more about the project and how you can support nature in the borough.
The workshops will be interactive and inclusive, with a range of presentations, small groups discussions and activities, plus an optional walk round a local nature area.
The Wokingham Borough community workshop will be on Saturday 20 April at Maiden Place Community Centre (RG6 3HD), but you are free to join any that suit you.
It's free to join and open to all residents, community groups, charities, businesses, schools and colleges.
Find out more and reserve your place online.
 Children shine with inspiration from silver screen
Congratulations to the 750 pupils from across the borough who took part in in the annual Wokingham Area Schools Music Association (WASMA) performances.
Shows were held at The Hexagon theatre in Reading last month and 750 children performed in front of 2,200 people.
This year’s theme was songs from the silver screen and had the title ‘Lights, Camera, Action!’ with inspiration drawn from the likes of Toy Story.
Since 1947, WASMA has hosted annual music events, providing musical opportunities to primary school children in the area. The performances focused on singing together in a large choir, but also featured drama, poetry and dance.
Well done to all the local borough schools who took part – Alder Grove, Bearwood, Charvil Piggott, Colleton, Earley St Peter’s, Emmbrook Junior, Farley Hill, Grazeley, Gorse Ride, Finchampstead, Hawkedon, Hawthorns, Highwood, Keephatch, Lambs Lane, Loddon, Nine Mile Ride, Montague Park, Oaklands Junior, Polehampton Junior, Radstock, Robert Piggott Junior, St Cecilia's, St Paul's, St Dominic Savio, St Nicholad Hurst, Willow Bank Junior and Winnersh.
 Spring vaccination programme for most at risk
People aged 75 years and over, those in care homes, and those aged six months and over with a weakened immune system are being offered a spring dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
The programme runs from April to June and the NHS will contact everyone eligible with more details on how to get the vaccine.
You will be given a booster dose of a vaccine made by Pfizer or Moderna. These vaccines have been updated since the original vaccines and target a different Covid-19 variant.
You should be offered an appointment between April and June, with those at highest risk being called in first.
You will be invited to have your booster around six months after your last dose, but you can have it as soon as three months. If you are turning 75 between April and June, you do not have to wait until your birthday, you can attend when you are called for vaccination.
What you might have missed
Here are all our email newsletter updates from the last week:
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