Month: December 2012

Pass marks for city schools

A report to the city council’s Education, Children and Families Committee sets out how Edinburgh Schools have been performing in the last year – and the report shows that, in the majority of indicators, city schools are performing above the national average.

Changes of note include improvements for some of the lowest achieving pupils, who have made considerable improvement over the last three years to within one per cent of the national performance level. Overall evaluation of improvements in early years level have been classified as ‘very good’ and there has been an improvement in Maths and English by the end of S4 which now sits above the national average.  This clearly demonstrates the impact a renewed focus on employability skills is having.

Across the board there has been significant improvement in PE by the end of S4 which can be linked to Health and Wellbeing education under the Curriculum for Excellence and the 2 hours of quality PE prescribed by it.  In Higher exams, there has been very good performance across the city in English, Mathematics, French, Physics, Computing and German.

High Schools that achieved very good examination results include The Royal High School, Boroughmuir HS, Currie HS, Firrhill HS, James Gillespie’s HS and St Thomas of Aquin’s, with significant improvements having been made at Craigroyston HS and Wester Hailes Education Centre.

Councillor Paul Godzik, Education, Children and Families Convener said, “I would like to congratulate schools for their continued improvement, the report shows how much is being achieved across the city. It’s clear from this report that some schools are making significant improvements and I would like to congratulate them for that.  We will be looking to all our schools and continuing to work closely with them to ensure the upward trend continues.”

ROYAL HIGH very good results
ROYAL HIGH very good results

12.12.12 The Twelve Songs of Christmas Quiz

Get into the Christmas spirit with our seasonal song quiz!

Below you’ll find the initials to the words in the first lines of twelve popular Christmas songs. Can you work out the first line and the song title? There’s a possibly half-eaten selection box for one lucky winner – you’ve got twelve days to get your entries in. Good luck!

  1. I D O A W C
  2. O L T O B
  3. A R O H F I T S
  4. O T F D O C
  5. T S T B S A C
  6. O C A Y F
  7. Y B W O
  8. W W I T A
  9. T M I R
  10. T T I A H T N A H
  11. L T A I B
  12. W T S B T S
'I think I know number four ...'
‘I think I know number four …’

 

 

Council welcomes Victoria’s temporary re-opening

RVH

The city council has welcomed NHS Lothian’s decision to re-open the Royal Victoria Hospital to help meet increasing demand and emergency admissions over winter.

Wards in the Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) will be re-opened to provide extra capacity for the expected increase in the number of patients over the next few months. The move comes as the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh is facing increasing pressure from emergency admissions, with the situation then being exacerbated by the numbers of delayed discharge patients and other issues including the winter vomiting virus norovirus.

Ricky_Henderson_2_200x200[1]

The temporary solution has been welcomed by the city council’s Health and Wellbeing Convener Councillor Ricky Henderson (pictured above), who said: “There is a growing demand for care and support services, especially at this time of year, so the reopening of  the Royal Victoria Hospital will help to meet demand. The Council has been working extremely hard with NHS Lothian to  address identified shortages and since April we have increased the level of homecare service the Council provides by an extra 4,000 hours per  week. We have also made additional investment in our homecare overnight  teams, intermediate care service and telehealthcare service to help  ensure the essential care required is available for older people in  their own homes.”

Melanie Hornett, Nurse Director, NHS Lothian, said: “We have taken a long, hard look at the facilities and resources we have available as part of our winter planning exercises and we know we don’t have the abilities to meet demand. As a result, we have put this temporary solution in place to allow us to serve patients in a timely manner, while increasing our capacity from within.”

The contingency plan was drawn up as part of routine winter planning, which in previous years has seen bed numbers increased on other sites, including Astley Ainslie Hospital, Royal Victoria Hospital and Liberton Hospital among others.

Two extra wards will be re-opened over the next few weeks, with the potential to increase as the winter progresses and demand increases as a result of winter weather.

The Royal Victoria Hospital closed in August after the last ward moved on to different sites within NHS Lothian, including the new Royal Victoria Building at the Western General Hospital and the Royal Edinburgh Hospital.

Dundas Street death: appeal for information

Lothian and Borders Police are continuing to appeal for witnesses following a fatal collision in Dundas Street in the early hours of Saturday morning (December 8).

Forty-three-year-old Edinburgh man Gavin Fulton (pictured) died after being injured in the collision as he walked along the pavement in Dundas Street around 1.20am.

Gavin is described by his friends and family as “one of life’s really good guys”. His father, Bill Fulton, said: “Gavin lived for his family, he was much loved and we will all miss him very much.”

His wife, Jill Fulton, said: “Gavin and I taught our children to be road wise and stay on the pavements where they are safe. Mia, Faye and I along with Gavin’s family are devastated that he was not safe on the pavement. We have lost the most amazing husband, father, son and brother.”

A 50-year-old man has been charged and is due to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court today (December 10) in connection with the incident.

Officers are particularly keen to trace a man who was wearing a mustard-coloured jacket or shirt who was seen in the area around the time of the collision.

Anyone with any information should contact Lothian and Borders Police on 0131 311 3131, or alternatively the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

gavinfulton250[1]

 

Planning award for green group

Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust, a project which has been instrumental in working with communities to transform vacant and derelict land, has been honoured in the prestigious Landscape Institute Awards 2012.

Optimised Environments (OPEN) scooped the Strategic Landscape Planning award for its pilot temporary greenspace study, which it conducted in partnership with the Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust (ELGT), following the Trust’s successful funding application to the Central Scotland Green Network (CSGN) Development Fund.

The feasibility and mapping research study aimed to explore the potential for bringing vacant, derelict, and ‘stalled’ land back into beneficial use in the short or medium term, by using the spaces as temporary greenspace sites and other interim land uses.

OPEN identified actions which achieve environmental and social benefits and proposed landscape solutions that are fundable and maintainable on a temporary yet self-sustaining basis.

Keith Geddes, Chair of the CSGN Partnership Board, said: “A key priority of our Development Fund is to support strategic greenspace projects which help to address the prevalence of vacant and derelict land across Central Scotland. The OPEN study in partnership with the Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust represents a huge step forward in this field.  The ideas for site usage for amenity, recreation and growing food are creative and innovative and effectively promote the value of landscape architecture.  I have no doubt that the impact of the study will extend far beyond Edinburgh and inspire landscape architects across the CSGN.”

Liz Stewart, Fundraising and Communications Manager at ELGT, said: “After over two years of work with OPEN and other partners in pursuit of this project, we are delighted that the study has been recognised by The Landscape Institute.  As we continue to go forward beyond the feasibility study, to identify and deliver real projects on the ground, the study has been influential in garnering support from partners citywide – local authority departments, developers, housing associations and community – helping us to establish credibility and buy-in to vacant land improvement.  The challenges of working on vacant and derelict land are many and varied, but the support from the CSGN Development Fund has been vital in unlocking opportunity and funding in the development of these projects.”

Pol MacDonald, Director at OPEN, said: “We are delighted to receive this award for a truly ground breaking study which has revealed an outstanding opportunity to help regenerate redundant and vacant spaces in Edinburgh.  These spaces have a huge potential to enhance the city and to enhance the communities which live within and around the sites.  We hope that a good number of the proposals actually come forward to fruition.”

The next round of the CSGN Development Fund is now open for applications.  For more information, please visit www.forestry.gov.uk/csgndevelopmentfund

The Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust works to make a positive difference in quality of life for Lothian communities, by improving local environments and green network. Since 1991, the Trust has carried out over 500 projects worth over £11million, ranging from the restoration of Victorian viaducts and local landmarks, to the creation and improvement of community parks, cycleways, community gardens, woodlands, business premises and other open spaces.

ELGT also works to engage people in their local greenspaces through community growing, conservation volunteering, outdoor activities to benefit health and wellbeing, and environmental education. Locally, ELGT has worked with both Drylaw Telford Community Council and North Edinburgh Trust on environmental projects. For further information about ELGT, please visit www.elgt.org.uk

The CSGN is one of the 14 national developments set out in the Scottish Government’s second National Planning Framework.  With a wide-ranging remit, far beyond just a ‘green initiative’, it aims to improve the social, physical, cultural and environmental health and well-being of Central Scotland, as well as assisting the area to meet the challenge of climate change.

Stretching from Ayrshire, Inverclyde and Dunbartonshire in the west, to Fife and Lothians in the east, the CSGN encompasses 19 local authorities across 10,000 sq km and has the potential to benefit 3.5million people, equating to 70 per cent of Scotland’s population.  For further information about the CSGN, please visit www.centralscotlandgreennetwork.org

Edinburgh Greenspace Project

 

Local BBs go commando!

BB’s from Leith were among a select detachment of Scottish members of The Boys’ Brigade (BB) who have just been put through their paces as guests of the Royal Marines (RM) at the Commando Training Centre at Lympstone, Devon.

The twelve seniors and young leaders from Leith, Dundee, Falkirk, Glasgow (Shettleston), Houston and Strichen spent a gruelling week taking part in endurance tests, assault courses and a three-mile run as part of the RM ‘Look @ Life’ course.

BB member, Peter Burt said: “I thought the endurance course was the best bit – I have never been so cold in my life, but afterwards we were all so proud to have finished it. One day we were five minutes late for a session so we had to do loads of press ups and run up and down a hill – no one was ever late again!”

Major Neil Cooper of the Royal Marines said: “We were delighted to have the BB group from Scotland on the Look at Life Course; this is the first time we have ever hosted a group from the Boys’ Brigade and we were really impressed at how well all the guys got stuck in and got the most out of their time with the Marines.  We are definitely keen to work more with the BB in the future.”

Bill Stevenson, Director, Scotland, The Boys’ Brigade said: “Many thanks to everyone at RM Lympstone who made this happen.  The young people were definitely up for a challenge – and that’s exactly what they got. The Royal Marines are required to undergo one of the longest and most physically demanding training regimes in the world and to give our members a taste of that was fantastic. The course was designed to test not just physical ability, but mental strength and stamina.  I think our BB members did well and should be really proud of themselves!”

Boys Brigade with Royal Marines