Month: November 2012

Community planters wanted!

The Centipede needs you!

Muirhouse Centipede project is planning a community bulb planting weekend on 9 and 10 November and they could do with a hand – or preferably a lot of hands! The group has no less than 9000 spring bulbs to plant on Muirhouse Avenue!

In partnership with North Edinburgh Arts Centre and the City of Edinburgh Council, the Centipede Project will be holding two ‘drop-in’ (that’s people and bulbs!) sessions on Friday 9 November from 1 – 3pm and again on Saturday 10 November from 10am – 2pm.

Working with local artist Natalie Taylor, come along and help plant some of the 9,000 bulbs including snow drops and dwarf narcissi, that will emerge as a bulb ‘painting’ in the spring!

Hot drinks and biscuits will be available for everyone who joins in, and groups from Craigroyston Primary School, Oaklands School and Muirhouse Millennium Centre have already signed up to kick off the project on 9 November.

Help make Muirhouse Avenue look stunning in springtime!

For further information call North Edinburgh Arts on 315 2151 or visit www.northedinburgharts.co.uk

Pilrig Park pupils at the cutting edge!

Pilrig Park School has opened The Salon, a dedicated hairdressing training facility which will act as a base for pupils hoping to gain entry to college or an apprenticeship when they leave school.

Opening the new salon yesterday, top city hairdresser Charlie Miller said: “It gives me great pleasure to open Pilrig Park School’s hair salon. As educators it is important to give young talent recognition,  encouragement and opportunity in the areas in which they shine. This salon will  inspire some of the pupils to be hairdressers and, just as importantly, give  them the tuition on how to look after their own hair and appearance which will  be a vital part of them presenting themselves to the world when they leave  school. I would like to wish the school and the pupils all the best with The  Salon.”

The Salon is part of the development of Senior Phase in Curriculum for  Excellence where choices are built around skills for life and skills for  work. This new facility will be used to teach hairdressing skills,  which is just one of many options open to the pupils including a variety of  trades and, from next year, a working café teaching skills as part of a small  business operation.

Ellen Muir, Head Teacher at Pilrig Park School, said: “There has to be  relevance to what our pupils are doing. Courses must make an impact on them and  how they take their place in society when they leave school. Salon  skills are hugely popular and we have had interest in the course from learners  at other city schools. We hope that in the future we may be in a  position for other schools to access our Salon for training too. We are absolutely delighted that Charlie Miller was here to open our  Salon and we are extremely proud of what has been achieved so far.”

Councillor David Key, Vice-Convener for Education, Children and Families  Committee, said: “Opening this salon within Pilrig Park School will make a big  difference to its pupils. Vocational training opportunities are an  important element of our Curriculum and I would like to wish the school and the  city’s future hairdressers the best of luck with this new endeavour.”

Kimberly Smith, an S4 pupil at Pilrig Park School, said: “I started the  hairdressing course this year and I absolutely love it. I was  always interested in hairdressing but didn’t really know how I could get into it  as I don’t know any hairdressers and it’s really popular so it’s hard to get a  trainee position. Now I am learning all about it and I hope to be  able to do it full-time when I finish school.”

The school has worked with many partners and other schools on its hair and  beauty training over the past four years, which has included pupils working on  theatre productions at The Festival Theatre. Pupils will now get  similar training in their own school environment. Younger learners  will also use the salon as part of the Health and Wellbeing curriculum and  certification is built around this.

Extended hours for student living support helpline

The opening hours of the Student Award Agency for Scotland’s helpline will be extended to provide answers for students concerned about the progress of their application, Education Secretary Michael Russell has announced. The news comes after it was revealed yesterday that thousands of students are still awaiting grants and loans for basic living expenses weeks into the new term.

The government has reacted to student leaders’ concerns over delays. Speaking yesterday Robin Parker, president of National Union of Students Scotland, said: “The agency’s staff are no doubt working hard in difficult circumstances, but the Scottish government needs to investigate why students will still be waiting for their support payments in November, and look very closely at providing the additional resources SAAS would need to process applications quicker.

“Students who have not received support funding have every right to be upset, and are absolutely right to expect a better level of service. Many students rely on this funding to afford their education, and could struggle to remain at university without this much-needed support.”

Experienced staff from other teams have now been drafted in to work with contact centre staff to boost the helpline and to provide a weekday service from 8am. The helpline will also open this weekend to make sure the applications backlog is cleared as quickly as possible.

The government has said that all current outstanding applications will be cleared by next week. Education Secretary Michael Russell said: “I understand how vital living support is to students and the uncertainty outstanding applications can cause. That is why I have asked SAAS to pull out all the stops and ensure the remaining four per cent of late applications are dealt with urgently.

“These increased opening hours will ensure students can get access to help and information when it is most convenient. We also have confirmation that current outstanding applications will be processed by the end of next week.

“A further 1,000 applications have been cleared since yesterday alone. We will continue to work with the agency to ensure progress is sustained and the applications that continue to be received are dealt with as quickly as possible.”

For further information contact:

Student Awards Agency for Scotland or call the SAAS Helpline on 0300 555 0505

NEN: the joy of stats

In the interests of openness and transparency (and because it’s quite easy to do), we’re delighted to break down the NEN’s online figures for October.

Last month we welcomed 10 381 visitors to our blog, marginally up on September (10 307) and our best ever figure. Our October figure last year was just  2 262 so we can confidently say that we are going the right way! (I knew my arithmetic ‘O’ Level would come in handy sometime!)

The average number of visits per day was 335, slightly down on September’s 344 (which was our best ever).

Our busiest days were Thursday 11th with 697 visits and Tuesday 30th, when the blog received 672 visitors.

Our most-read stories in October were: Body found on Silverknowes Beach (391), the  Muirhouse Barriers issue (151) and Welcome to Muirhouse (126), about the forthcoming photo exhibition.

See there you have it – some fascinating stats from the NEN … come on, wake up!

There are still a couple of places available at tonight’s NENgage social media workshop in Stockbridge Library at 5.45pm. You’ll never find statistics boring again!

Broughton pupils get dramatic fireworks message

A powerful play about the dangers of misusing fireworks is being performed at Broughton High School today. TOAST is a 30 minute drama which shows pupils how dangerous fireworks can be, as well as airing issues such as peer pressure, bullying and managing aggression. 

It was originally commissioned by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) in Northern Ireland , was adapted for Edinburgh and is being staged by the Strange Theatre Company.

The production involves two actors playing 11 different characters, with the scene shifting between a hospital, a home, a school and a housing estate. The principal character is drawn into an ill-fated escapade with stolen fireworks, with ultimately tragic consequences.

The weeks leading up to Bonfire Night are traditionally a time of increased complaints to police about antisocial behaviour and noise relating to fireworks. Councillor Cammy Day, Community Safety leader, said: “Bonfire Night is great fun and families enjoy the spectacle of fireworks as the nights get darker. However, fireworks can be extremely dangerous if handled improperly. The play ‘Toast’ is an excellent way of helping young people understand the risks and dangers of misusing fireworks.”

Community Safety Manager for Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service, Steve Harkins, said: “As the service gears up for one of their busiest nights of the year we are urging parents and carers to be mindful of the potential risks from fireworks and the need to heed fire safety advice to ensure this year’s Bonfire Night celebrations stay safe. We work closely with partners including the City of Edinburgh Council to deliver fire safety advice to schoolchildren across the area and TOAST, which highlights the dangers associated with fireworks, is an excellent example of this type of initiative.”

The play will be performed at Holyrood RC High School and Broughton High School today  and moves on to Leith Academy  and Castlebrae High School tomorrow (Friday 2 November).

Guide Dog puppies visit Sainsbury’s

They came, they saw and they melted hearts! Sainsbury’s customers and staff have raised funds to train two puppies to become guide dogs, and Jasper and Sandy – now a whole fourteen weeks old – called in to the Craigleith store with their walkers to say hello yesterday.

It was also an opportunity for the gorgeous wee dugs to meet the people who named them – Clermiston Primary pupil Eve McCall and Sainsbury’s Rebecca Law won an in-store competition to name the puppies, and both were at Blackhall to meet their wee friends.

Fireworks warning to West Pilton parents

Police and Council officers in Edinburgh will be visiting parents in West Pilton in a bid to tackle the issue of fireworks being set off and fires being started in the area. Police officers from the Safer Neighbourhood Team and city council Community Safety Team staff are visiting the homes of youths identified or suspected of setting off fireworks and fire-starting after recent incidents.

Officers have being doing additional patrols in West Pilton over the last fortnight to deter youths from throwing fireworks and, as a result of their investigations, several youths have been identified as being responsible for dangerous behaviour in the area.

Joint Police and Council follow-up visits are being carried out over the next few weeks and the parents of youths involved will be warned over their children’s behaviour. Officers will also be urging parents to take additional steps to ensure their children are not involved in behaviour which causes a risk to the community.

Inspector Mark Rennie of Drylaw Police Station said “We have had two very concerning fires in West Pilton over the last month and several worrying incidents involving fireworks. This type of risk-taking behaviour will not be tolerated. We have additional officers on patrol and we are also highlighting the problem to local shop owners but speaking to parents about the recent incidents and potential consequences is a key part of our response”.

Councillor Cammy Day, Community Safety Leader for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “The joint visits are designed to make the position clear to parents – they are responsible for the behaviour of their children. We will carry out an investigation and look at potential breaches of their tenancy agreements and possible legal action should they not heed the warnings given to them. A key commitment of the Capital Coalition is to strengthen and support our communities and keep them safe. We will not hesitate to take the strongest possible action against those responsible for fire raising and other acts of antisocial behaviour.”

Anyone with information regarding fire setting in the area is asked to contact, Lothian and Borders Police 0131 311 3131 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.