Member News

Ashtons Legal has recruited a further four new lawyers to its 50-strong regional Personal Injury Team and made an internal promotion to partnership in the Medical Negligence Team. This is a move which clearly signals the firm’s intention to remain one of the leading firms providing injury law services in East Anglia. The new recruits, joining from a range of firms across the region and beyond, are Andrew Wilson, Graham Heywood, Paul Sadler and Sophie Robson. Meanwhile, home-grown talent Ben Ward becomes a partner in the firm’s Medical Negligence team.

Ben, who is from Norwich, joined Ashtons as a trainee in 2008 and quickly made his mark within the firm. He is a former national winner of LawNet’s Young Lawyer of the Year, has held roles in the Norfolk and Norwich Law Society and the local Medico-Legal society, and has engaged with medics throughout his career locally to provide training on avoiding the pitfalls that lead to litigation having a clear focus on patient safety. He has regularly appeared on regional television and radio discussing the failings in regional mental health provision following the untimely death of those let down by the system.  He now specialises in catastrophic injury claims, in particular cerebral palsy and other birth injury claims.

Andrew, Graham, Paul and Sophie have between them many years’ experience of personal injury claims at all levels – including everything from brain injury, spinal injury and amputation to broken limbs and soft tissue injuries. Andrew also has a niche in asbestos-related and other occupational disease claims and is a regular contributor to technical journals on personal injury law. 

Michael Wangermann, who heads the firm’s Injury Services Group, says: “Ashtons has been a go-to firm for many years for those in East Anglia needing legal help with any type of injury claim and is recognised as such by independent reviewers at Chambers UK and the Legal 500. The most recent Chambers UK accolade described the firm as having ‘Impressive strength handling catastrophic injury claims, including a focus on brain and spinal injuries. Notable expertise in claims resulting from RTAs involving motorcycles, pedestrians and passengers. Active on claims arising from fatal accidents and amputations. Further strengthened by its specialist Court of Protection team.”

“We are delighted that while a number of other firms in the region have recently chosen to give up providing this type of legal advice, we continue to have this as a core area of our business and attract experienced additional talent into our team. It is also always rewarding to be able to promote from within and Ben, who has been instrumental in the firm’s Medical Negligence Team’s success and growth, will be an excellent addition to the Ashtons’ partnership.  His appointment comes close on the heels of another recent key internal promotion, when Sharon Allison stepped up to the role of Business Unit Director of the Medical Negligence Team.”

The Challenge

Protecting young people from inappropriate content is vital in today’s world. So, when a youth camp in Suffolk needed the internet providing for up to 600 students, they required that their students stayed safe online. The University of the First Age contacted FreeClix to advise them on a bespoke connectivity solution that could satisfy these needs.

University of the First Age provide various forms of training for young people to become confident and successful leaders. Their summer youth camp has 600 students attend over a period of six weeks. The academy’s participants were young adults and their welfare was of prime importance. The University of the First Age wanted students to be able to communicate with family and use social media but ensure that inappropriate content was blocked.

Provide the internet.

As the youth camp was in a very rural location in Suffolk. The SimRush Core product was recommended as it delivers high speed broadband using 4G LTE technology. As SimRush is easily adaptable to a pop up environment, installation was quick and easy. To prevent overspend, the SimRush Core was loaded with a data SIM which was topped up as and when required.

Protect the students.

We ensured the WiFi had two SSID’s (service set identifiers). The first SSID was a portal with unrestricted web access with a password for the camp guardians. We provided a specialised content filtering system. This system had a static public IP address so that the router could recognise where the WiFi traffic is coming from. The guardians were able to login to the content filtering system using their WiFi password and approve or disapprove certain keywords or websites using the content filtering system. The second SSID was a poral for guest-based access that was accessed securely by the students.

The Solution

The SimRush Core provided a temporary safe and secure internet solution during the six-week period successfully. As SimRush has a static IP address, this made it the perfect solution for ensuring the content filtering system could be provided. During the academy students were able to keep in touch with family and friends online safely and securely.

The Result

“Working with FreeClix was simple and straight forward. I had a problem, I explained this to FreeClix. They were solution focused and came up with a hassle-free solution which worked well. I would recommend working with FreeClix, an understanding company which can help with bespoke issues.”

– David Coyle, Head of Operational Effectiveness at UFA

North Walsham is an expanding market town situated in North Norfolk. The town council are implementing a regeneration project known as ‘Regenerate North Walsham’ in a bid to support this growing town. One of the main provisions of the project was to provide utilities which are fundamental to growth, this included town WiFi.  

The Challenge

The aim was to provide a public WiFi system for North Walsham town centre. The town has a population of around 11,000.  

The Solution

Having implemented the town WiFi in Great Yarmouth, FreeClix were thrilled to put their previous learnings into practise and play a vital part in the Regenerate North Walsham project.  

FreeClix knew that using certain WiFi frequencies(5Ghz) on a large scale could affect the WiFi quality, as it would likely cause large amounts of local interference. Therefore, our recommendation was to invest in 60Ghz radio links for the core network and keep 2.4Ghz frequencies for local WiFi access.  

FreeClix recommended using a 60Ghz frequency for the following reasons:  

• It is a full duplex radio that provides incredibly high speeds and is rated to a Gbit per second, just like fibre ethernet.  
• It is highly directional. 
• The signal is absorbed by oxygen in the air; therefore it is only capable of transmission over relatively short distances before the signal dissipates. This means there is little or no interference for the frequency.  

Once the 60GHz frequency was confirmed, the next design step was to maintain a fully routed network rather than a single broadcast domain. If a network spans a large distance, as you add more devices the amount of broadcast traffic is increased. This is unnecessary, adds load, depletes capacity and makes the network inefficient. By operating a fully routed network, the amount of broadcast traffic can be kept locally to the nearest access point. This keeps the backbone of the network free of unnecessary traffic, increasing efficiency and overall speed.  

At each access node, the wireless access point is centrally managed by a single controller based at the core of the network. This provides a single guest portal where public users can register and gain access to the internet. This image below displays the location of each access point. The location for each access point was carefully determined using Google Earth, every access point has to have a power source which is instrumental in planning where the access points are located.  

Technical network design tip: 

The 60HGz transmitter can connect multiple stations into separate networks, which provided FreeClix with the ability to run two independent sub nets and operate OSPF between all three nodes independently. (Between the 60GHz point to multipoint transmitter node three and the two subsequent receiving 60GHZ stations at nodes 4 and 5.) The bridge for the two networks was then linked to independent VLAN’s and handed back to the core router at node 3. This then prevented OSPF broadcast storm on the point to multi point 60GHz service.  

The Result

A public WiFi guest portal has successfully been designed and installed throughout the centre of North Walsham. The project has only just begun but now the town has WiFi North Walsham are well on their way to reaching their aim of becoming one of the best places to live in the UK.  

The following technology was used:  

• 60Ghz Point to point and point to multi point wireless networks.  
• 802.11 AB,G,N,AC (Standards for the wireless access points.) 
• MikroTik CAPsMAN – wireless controller.
• OSPF.
• DHCP.
• Leased line access.
• MikroTik Gigabit PoE network router.
• FreeClix Social-I WiFi guest portal system.

FreeClix designs, builds and implement secure networks for a range of individuals and businesses. If you are looking to set up a network the contact us today.  

If you are working on a project, we also offer a network consultancy service. Contact us to find out how we can help you achieve your networking goals.  

Regional accountancy and business advisory firm, Larking Gowen, has appointed a new partner to its Corporate Transactions team based in its Norwich office.

Jack Minns qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2011, and joined Larking Gowen in 2013, working his way up to become a Director in 2020. He will become Partner on 1 April.

Jack, who grew up in Beccles on the Norfolk/Suffolk border and studied in Norwich, has wide experience of corporate transactions including business sales, acquisitions and management buy-outs with deal values ranging between £500k and £20m.

He says it was an interest in the idea of what makes things sell that attracted him to Corporate Transactions. “It’s interesting and exciting work. Whether it’s buying or selling, these are landmark transactions, and you’re dealing directly with the business owners and decision-makers,” he said.

Jack continued, “Primarily, our aim is to help businesses in East Anglia with their growth and succession plans.”

Larking Gowen was a natural choice for Jack as a sound base to pursue his chosen career. He says the firm has “an open and empowering culture.”

“Teamwork is very strong at Larking Gowen, and the Partners are very accessible and happy to speak to people on all levels within the business. The firm is ahead of the curve in employee wellbeing and engagement,” he explained.

As well as his role in Corporate Transactions, Jack says he is looking to contribute to the firm’s expert witness and forensic accountancy work, and has been working towards this under the guidance of former Managing Partner, Jon Woolston.

Corporate Transactions and Business Advisory Partner, James Lay, said: “It’s a pleasure to welcome Jack into the Larking Gowen partnership. Having worked closely with him for many years, I know first-hand how he puts the delivery of great client service at the front and centre of everything he does.

“Jack has earned a well-deserved reputation for advising numerous business owners on buying, selling and valuing private businesses. We’re proud to have Jack in our firm, and I’m sure he will continue to advise on many more successful deals in the years to come.”

In this months blog article we showcase three current interior design trends that highlight the ways in which employers can help their teams successfully return to the workplace. We explore how updated approaches embrace the positives of home working and eliminate drawbacks in ways that nurture employee well-being, collaboration and engagement.

Read the full article here – 3 post-lockdown design trends all workplaces should consider

Challenge

Oyster Pier are residential moorings that offer the same luxury you would expect from a five-star hotel, all whilst floating on the South Bank of the river Thames. This unique community is made up of custom-designed barges that have access to a wide range of facilities.  

Oyster Pier wanted to add reliable high-speed internet to this list by improving the resilience of their existing bonded FTTC service. They also needed a solution that would support their CCTV system that is required for the security of the barge residents and the Thames Clipper river services at Plantation Wharf.   

The solution required would have to present the same public IP address for each tenant, including the CCTV system, regardless of which resilient internet service connection was providing access at any given time. 

The Solution

To solve the problem, we carried out our first 5G installation!

We programmed a 5G router to mimic one of our SimRush outdoor units and paired it with a standard SimRush controller. The SimRush controller enabled us to setup a Static Public IP address service for the existing MikroTik router, to build a tunnel to our London Datacentre.

Adding in the Static IP service enabled remote access to the network, meaning Oyster Pier can view their CCTV footage from anywhere.

Both the existing bonded FTTC service and the new 5G service run a protocol OSPF (Open Shortest Path First) for the routing back to our London Datacentre, providing a fault-tolerant internet service with the same Public IP addresses to the site, should a failure in the primary circuit occur.

With the 5G installation acting as backup failover, Oyster Pier never have to worry about their tenants going offline.

The Result

Implementing this bespoke SimRush configuration has meant that Oyster Pier can now offer reliable broadband to residents living on the barges. Not only that but they can also achieve blistering internet speeds of 150mbps download and 50mbps upload. 

Being able to remotely view their CCTV footage, has also provided them with further peace of mind as they can constantly monitor onsite activity.

“You can’t improve on perfection”

– Mike Barnes, Oyster Pier

Series one of the Tourism Business Chat podcast is now wrapped up. In the spirit of the podcast itself, we’re taking time to look back on the themes and key points that have come from this first batch of fascinating conversations.

2020 was a tough year on the sector, and each of our guests had a unique insight into the last 12 months, and how to succeed in the sector. The series launched with guest Andrew Hird, from Woodland Holiday Park, who chose the path of optimism throughout. The park was financially secure, so he focused on staff wellbeing and planning for the future. Phillip Turner, MD of Chestnut, spoke about leaders’ frustrations with the Government handling of restrictions; Richard Hughes, from The Assembly House, hoped that the perception of jobs in the sector would change, and he also questioned whether Eat Out to Help Out was the right thing to do.

Ruth Knight, from Norfolk Broads Direct, has an infectious love for the sector and the Broads, which demonstrated how success comes from having a passion for what you do; and Richard Turvill, Managing Director of Camplings, spoke openly about Brexit and how it continues to provide obstacles, and how, alongside dealing with lockdown restrictions, there’s been a focus on staff.  

Each guest opened up about how they coped personally and professionally at the start of the first lockdown. Andrew Hird spoke of the worry that came with not being able to honor promises, how they had to ‘lick their wounds’ and write a new plan; Philip talked about his fear of the ‘long-term sick note’, the aftermath for furloughed staff, many of whom he fears may struggle to come back full time; Richard talked about retaining staff into the future, and how having confidence in the business was key for coming out the other side; Ruth spoke about how the worry was in the ‘not-knowing’, and the technology changes that were needed in order to operate; and Richard Turvill described how tourism essentially crashed, and having to tell people there might not be any work for them to come back to, was one of the worst things he’s ever had to do.

There were other hot topics discussed including the reduction of VAT; importance of planning; engaging with Destination Marketing Organisations; wellbeing of teams; the lifeline that was the furlough scheme; and interestingly, the opportunity that leaders in the sector have seen in the downturn of retail and how they can recruit from the job losses. Each episode finishes with their top-tip in business, and their message to those looking to get into the sector  ̶  invaluable to all, from budding entrepreneurs to managers and future maître d’s!

The aim of this series of discussions was to help others in the sector know that they weren’t alone in how they were feeling, and to inspire them in the battle for survival. All our guests predicted a boom in ‘staycations’, all are positive that the sector will recover, and that the public will look at the industry through new eyes, appreciating the businesses on their doorstep more than ever before. We all know now what it’s like to live without the opportunity to enjoy a day out, someone else cooking for us, weekends away or a quick pint after work. This series has highlighted that business leaders are working hard to make sure that jobs are secure, offerings better than ever, and that they are ready to welcome us all back. “You can always do more,” says Richard Turvill, “but we’ve tried hard.”

Tourism Business Chat will return in April 2021, with another exciting group of guests; including the team behind the hugely popular Thursford Christmas Spectacular; the breakout vegan stars Hanks Deli; and many more!

You can catch up with all episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever else you find your podcasts, or you can listen through our website at www.larking-gowen.co.uk/tourism

Steadfast Training offer a comprehensive package of pre-employment and in-work support, including non-accredited training and accredited qualifications in Employability; ICT and Social Media; Customer Service; Business Admin; Warehousing; Health Care, Mental Health & Wellbeing; LGBT in the Workplace, as well as Team Leading & Management.

All training we deliver to support young people develop their skills in the workplace is fully funded and comes at no cost to the employer.

Training can be offered as block provision (Monday – Friday) or 1 day per week over several weeks

For more information please contact 0845 223 2401 or email us on kickstart@steadfasttraining.co.uk

In the first episode of series four, Mark and James chat about the importance for business owners and their teams to take effective breaks to recharge their batteries. As usual, they come up with 3 top tips to help achieve this, and along the way they try out their Swedish pronunciation skills and draw inspiration from Gandhi, the benefits of meditation and the Black Eye Peas!

The link to the BBC article they discuss on ‘Little Saturday’ can be found here. 

Listen here!

Upper Sixth student at Langley School, Matt has signed a deal in principle with Ipswich Town Football Club, marking his first ever contract as a professional.

17-year-old Matt is an Academy player in the prestigious Langley Football Academy (LFA) run by former professional Grant Holt, alongside UEAFA A Licenced Coaches.

Langley Headmaster Jon Perriss comments, ‘We are so pleased about this superb milestone for Matt, who has been an integral part of our Langley Football Academy, where he currently receives professional coaching alongside his academic programme at A-Level. It is a pleasure to support Matt and we will all follow his career with huge interest.’

Ipswich Town took to Twitter to say, ‘The 17-year-old attacker has impressed since arriving at the Club in December.’

Follow the LFA on Instagram @langleyfootballacademy

Enquire about Langley School https://langleyschool.co.uk/admissions/

Girls, staff and parents of Norwich High School for Girls are thrilled to have received the highly prestigious ‘Independent Girls’ School of the Year 2019′ award, at the Independent School of the Year Awards ceremony, held at the Royal Thames Yacht Club in Knightsbridge, London.

The judges asked to see evidence of success stories that feature both innovative practice and individual success stories, adjudicated by a panel of 14 comprised of heads, governors, parents and representatives from across the education sector and chaired by Dr Helen Wright, former President of the Girls’ School Association and Vice-Chair of the Independent Schools Council.

 This year saw a record number of entries from a wide range of schools; from small rural pre-preps through to large urban Senior Schools in a broad range of geographical areas. There were 20 awards across the sector covering the arts, sports, outreach, student success and careers programmes, as well as the top individual school awards. Headmistress of Norwich High School and one of the EDP’s Top 100 Inspiring Women of 2019, Kirsty von Malaisé, attended the champagne reception and was thrilled to receive the top accolade for the school.

 “Norwich High School is an outstanding school and I could not be more proud that we have received national recognition of this, particularly with the exceptionally strong competition in this category. We were lauded not only for our pioneering Inspiring Females programme which has supported well over 3,000 young women from Norfolk and beyond over the last three years, but also for our bold ambitions for the girls in many other exceptional initiatives.’

 In addition, last Monday the school received ‘Apple Distinguished Schools’ status for 2019 to 2022, another prestigious award with only 32 other schools in the UK holding this accreditation, and the only Senior School in Norfolk to do so. This status not only recognises the outstanding work that Norwich High staff and girls accomplish on the iPad, but also includes benefits to the school including a published iBook showcasing the learning we achieve with technology at Norwich High.

 Moving from a figurative apple to a real apple, Norwich High has also been doing some excellent work on outdoor learning, ranging from launching a wonderful new Heritage Orchard on the site, which is managed by the girls and was home to four Wensleydale rams in the Summer, to conservation work on Mousehold Heath and clearing plastic from local beaches.

 Today, the whole school has been celebrating the success; the new award has been taken around the school and shared with girls, staff and even Casper the school dog.

 “Congratulations to all of the girls, staff, community and supporters of Norwich High who have worked with enthusiasm and passion over the last few years to make our school continue to excel – this award is for you all.”

 See the full EDP story here:

https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/education/norwich-high-school-for-girls-independent-school-olivia-colman-1-6315277

 See details of the awards here:

https://www.independentschoolsoftheyear.co.uk/2019-winners/

Published in the Eastern Daily Press – Monday 8th March 2021

Alison Sefton, the new head of Norwich High School for Girls, believes her past career as a soldier has equipped her well for life as a head. This International Women’s Day, she says her mission now is to empower her pupils to take on the world. 

You might think there are few similarities between being a soldier under fire in the Iraqi desert and being the new head of an outstanding girls’ school in Norwich. Having been both, I would beg to differ. 

In 2003, the year before becoming the first female officer of the Honourable Artillery Company, I was deployed to Iraq on Operation Telic. One of the roles I was assigned to was to act as a sentry, providing cover for the headquarters I was working in. The buildings were surrounded by a sand wall (berm) and my job was to keep watch over the berm, rifle in hand, and take action if we came under attack.   

Being a head in a global pandemic can feel a little bit like standing behind that berm again. Rather than looking for the approaching enemy, I sit behind a computer screen waiting for the next piece of Government guidance on reopening, examination alternatives or Covid-19 testing centres within schools. Putting that advice into action as we have, to make sure our school was ready to open safely to all students today, is not unlike a military operation. 

I have deployed all the skills I have learned in my varied career in these past few months. Skills such as resilience, adaptability, determination – forged and put to the test in that desert – are the skills I call on now as I deal with the demands of my headship.

On International Women’s Day, a day when we recognise the enormous contribution of women everywhere, I know it is these skills I want to pass on to the girls now in my care. 

I became head at Norwich High School for Girls six months ago. In that time, teachers, students and parents have been bombarded by messages in the media around ‘lost learning’, the need for ’extra teaching to catch up’ and gloomy predictions of a ‘lost Covid generation’. 

Yes, times have been tough, but they have been tough before and they will be tough again. Today, with students returning to schools, there really is light at the end of the tunnel. What is important now is that children are supported to develop the skills to survive and thrive when life is challenging.

I have talked to the girls in assemblies recently about life’s pathways; rarely are they straight. Mine certainly has not been – from chemistry degree to accountant to soldier to teacher to school leader. Every interaction I have had on the way, whether positive or negative, has shaped my career and who I am today as head.

I want the girls at Norwich High School to be confident and aspirational with the resilience to reach their goals and everything we do here works to support them with that. 

At Norwich High School we give girls the tools for a future world of work that will be skills rather than just knowledge based. From design thinking to coding, creative thinking and problem solving via online collaborations, we empower them for many different types of careers.

Each girl has her own iPad and is well prepared for using the Google Education suite – significant skills recognised in receiving Apple Distinguished School status. Daily collaborations with teachers and peers can all be done on one device. Live online lessons were a natural progression during lockdown. Girls are confident with tools like Google Meet and Classroom and a wealth of other apps used across the school to support teaching and learning. 

What I believe is most important in any school is an understanding of the individual student. Knowing what each student needs to flourish, what we can do to support them, both academically and pastorally, is the reason most of us became teachers. This is what we do, engaging, encouraging and enabling each girl to be the very best she can be. Norwich High School is part of the Girls’ Day School Trust, a family of pioneering schools where girls learn without limits. This is the ethos we live by. 

So, this International Women’s Day, I stand before each and every girl at Norwich High School as a former soldier and a head and tell them they are the agents of their own fortune. Life isn’t linear, it’s not just about grades, it’s about using your skills, experience and a little bit of verve to get where you want to go.

Do what you want to do, don’t accept the conventional path, adapt and do it differently. We create confident, fearless, forward-thinking girls at Norwich High School, and I have great faith in all their futures. 

See the original print article here.

See the online article here.