Sunday Brunch features soundbites from the ‘Sussex & Surrey Soapbox’ podcast latest episode…. to skip chapters click on the 3 horizontal lines (left in the above player). Have your say via WhatsApp (bottom right) or join the conversation in our Facebook Group HERE. 

Special Guest:
– Matt Brewin, Primary School Teacher in Haywards Heath and Chair of Mid Sussex Green Party
– Paul Taylor-Burr, Community Volunteer and Parent of two children with ASD/ADHD 
Roundtable Featuring: Abigail Chapman-Miller (Labour), Iqbal Khan (Tess’ Kitchen) & James Tidy (Reform UK). Host: Clive Hilton. 

The SEND system was built to protect vulnerable children, so why do so many parents across Sussex & Surrey describe it as a fight for basic understanding? We bring together a primary school teacher, councillors and parents with lived experience of ADHD and autism to talk plainly about what is happening on the ground: long waits, overstretched schools, and an EHCP process that can feel like a second full-time job.

We break down the jargon so you can follow the real choices families face: SEND, EHCNAs, EHCPs, ISP/ILPs, and the proposed move towards Individual Support Plans in the 2026 SEND white paper. From the classroom, we hear how inclusion is meant to work and why it so often collapses under funding gaps, fewer teaching assistants and rising need. We also get into the uncomfortable questions people avoid, including whether diagnosis is being underused or overused, what labels do to a child’s confidence, and how to make “reasonable adjustments” without leaving children unprepared for the real world.

The conversation goes beyond paperwork into what a fair education system should value. Are league tables and Ofsted driving better outcomes, or driving burnout and pushing schools away from flexibility? What would it take to make mainstream education genuinely accessible, and when is specialist provision the right answer? We finish with practical reflections for parents about coping, advocacy, and why some families feel pushed towards home education.

Sunday Brunch features soundbites from the ‘Sussex & Surrey Soapbox’ podcast latest episode…. to skip chapters click on the 3 horizontal lines (left in the above player). Have your say via WhatsApp (bottom right) or join the conversation in our Facebook Group HERE. 

A slightly different format to the Roundtable discussions where we step back from the debate to SPOTlight a Charity or in this case a local arts festival – Reigate Summer Festival with Tim Glynne-Jones. 

A rock set in the mouth of a tunnel, choirs in a church, an art exhibition, and a pop-up photo show inside an estate agent. Reigate Summer Festival is the kind of bold, creative and friendly idea that makes you look at your own town differently, and we’re joined by one of the organisers Tim Glynne-Jones to explain how it all comes together.

We talk through the festival weekend (19 to 21 June) and why the team describe it as a mini Edinburgh in Surrey: music, dance, drama, poetry, literature, film, photography, fashion and more, much of it free to enjoy. Tim shares the longer story too, from launching New Music Nights in 2013 as a platform for original songwriters, to building New Music Fest, and then widening the collaboration so multiple arts organisations can help shape a true general arts festival right in the centre of Reigate.

You’ll get a clear guide to the layout with four key venues and stages, plus a fast-growing fringe of 30+ locations across cafés, bars, shops and community spaces. We also cover the festival’s charity partners, how donations raised around £5,000 last year, and what’s new this year including an upcycled-friendly fashion show at Ivory Lounge, more photography, more art, and low-cost workshops that make it easy to learn something new with friends or kids.

Sunday Brunch features soundbites from the ‘Sussex & Surrey Soapbox’ podcast latest episode…. to skip chapters click on the 3 horizontal lines (left in the above player). Have your say via WhatsApp (bottom right) or join the conversation in our Facebook Group HERE. 

Special Guest: Keith Collyer, Crawley Combat Academy and Shariff Boolaky, Menshare Listening Group. Plus Roundtable Featuring: Maureen Jones, Micaela Leal, Abigail Chapman-Miller & Iqbal Khan. Host: Clive Hilton. 

A knife doesn’t just threaten one person, it detonates consequences across families, schools, and whole streets. We sit down to talk honestly about knife crime, why the fear of being attacked pushes some young people to carry blades, and why places like Crawley feel the pressure so sharply. Along the way we challenge the comforting myths, including the idea that it is only “gang stuff” or that it can be solved with one slogan.

Keith Collyer from Crawley Combat Academy explains what real-world knife awareness looks like: spotting pre-attack indicators, managing distance, moving with purpose, and escaping rather than trying to win a fight. We also hear personal stories of being stabbed, surviving threats, and the numb shock that hits even when you think you know what to do. The conversation keeps returning to trauma and the ripple effect, and why counselling and support are vital for victims and families who are left carrying it for years.

We then zoom out to prevention: county lines, youth violence, easy access to kitchen knives, parenting awareness, and the debate around policing, stop and search, and deterrence. Abigail Chapman-Miller shares what it means when youth services disappear and you only qualify for help after you’ve been convicted, while Shariff Boolaky from Menshare Listening Group talks about education, responsibility, and creating routes out for young people who feel trapped by their environment. 

Sunday Brunch features soundbites from the ‘Sussex & Surrey Soapbox’ podcast latest episode…. to skip chapters click on the 3 horizontal lines (left in the above player). Have your say via WhatsApp (bottom right) or join the conversation in our Facebook Group HERE. 

 Special Guests: 

– Michelle Lucas, Only Dogs Ltd – an award winning Dog grooming business on Lingfield High Street.

– Sami Ella Bristow, Blossoms Brunch & Coffee – a thriving community cafe in Godstone adept at navigating the challenges of rising costs & the sinkhole!

Plus Roundtable Featuring: Maureen Jones, Micaela Leal, Georgie Lucas, Aga Es, Abigail Chapman-Miller, James Tidy & Magdalena Rahman. Host: Clive Hilton. 

The high street is not dying because people do not care; it is changing because online convenience, rising costs and shifting habits make old retail models hard to sustain. We hear from local business owners and residents on what is really squeezing independents and what a more service-led, community high street could look like. 

• rising costs for small businesses, from VAT and wages to commercial utilities and rates 
• the impact of disruption and access, including road closures and parking pressure 
• why taking on a shop lease feels like high-stakes risk versus reward 
• how service businesses like grooming and hospitality keep footfall local 
• the Amazon effect, price gaps, reviews and the lure of next day delivery 
• fast fashion, returns culture, waste and sustainability on the high street 
• what people miss most, from Woolworths to M&S, and what would bring them back 
• realistic optimism around quality, community spirit and younger generations 

Sunday Brunch features soundbites from the ‘Sussex & Surrey Soapbox’ podcast latest episode…. to skip chapters click on the 3 horizontal lines (left in the above player). Have your say via WhatsApp (bottom right) or join the conversation in our Facebook Group HERE. 

Special Guest: Shariff Boolaky, Menshare Listening Group & BRING YOUR SH*T host.  Plus Roundtable Featuring: Maureen Jones, Micaela Leal, Abigail Chapman-Miller, James Tidy & Iqbal Khan. Host: Clive Hilton. 

If your mental health has felt heavier in the last few years, you are not alone and you are not “too sensitive”. We sit down as the Sussex & Surrey Soapbox roundtable to talk about what anxiety, burnout, loneliness and depression look like on the ground across Sussex, Surrey and the wider UK, and why so many people feel isolated even with constant digital connection. 

Shariff from Menshare Listening Group shares what he hears week after week in facilitated listening circles: the hidden impact of divorce, parental alienation, custody battles, addiction, overthinking and the quiet slide into emotional shutdown. We also talk directly about men’s mental health and suicide prevention, including what helps when someone looks like they might be at serious risk, and why simply crossing the threshold into a supportive room can be a turning point. 

Psychotherapist Maureen Jones breaks down early warning signs you can actually spot, from sleep issues and feeling flat to irritability and repeated “escape” habits. We explore when counselling can help, when speaking to your GP matters, and why medication can sometimes be the breathing space people need to start recovery. Abigail shares lived experience of CPTSD and the complicated role of diagnosis culture, plus what changed when therapy finally became the right fit at the right time. We finish with practical coping tools that work for us: gratitude, nature, routine, discipline, creativity, faith, and reaching out before things spiral. 

If any of this hits home, share the episode with someone who might need it, subscribe for more community conversations, and leave a review to help others find Sussex & Surrey Soapbox.