City council wants your help to set it’s budget

When: Wednesday 21 August at 6pm 

Where: Craigroyston Community High School, 67 Pennywell Road

Sign up and join us for a cup of tea, a bite to eat and a chat with people in your area. We want to understand what services you use and value to help us spend and save in the right areas.

Help us shape your city’s budget and register for the session at edinburgh.gov.uk/change

How would you spend £1 billion?  What Council services would you prioritise where you live and citywide? This sounds like a lot of money, but it has to go a long way to meet the needs of our growing population. We want to provide the best services we can with the limited resources we have.

The Council are hosting open sessions where citizens will be invited to take part in group discussions with other people in your area, designed to raise awareness of where the Council invests its resources now.

So, what do you think we can do differently? What services are used and valued by you, your family, your community and fellow Edinburgh residents?

If you are interested in having a cuppa and a bite to eat with people in your area, and giving us your views about the future of Council services, please register using the link below.

Please note, spaces are limited and will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

Local MSPs open new Resource Centre

Northern and Leith MSP Ben Macpherson performed the official opening of  Citizens Advice Edinburgh’s new North Edinburgh Community Resource Centre on Pennywell Road this morning. The Minister for Europe, Migration and International Development will be joined by local Edinburgh West MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton. Continue reading Local MSPs open new Resource Centre

Culture Secretary honoured as Chieftain of ‘the Worlds’

Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop will celebrate Scotland’s musical heritage when she serves as Chieftain at the World Pipe Band Championships this weekend.

The two-day event, held on Glasgow Green, will showcase the number of young people taking up the pipes and drums, with up to 30% of the 8,000 competitors under the age of 25. Continue reading Culture Secretary honoured as Chieftain of ‘the Worlds’

Council on course to meet early learning and childcare target

Education, Children and Families Convener Councillor Ian Perry writes about the positive progress being made in meeting the increased 1140 hours early learning and childcare in a year’s time:

Last week heralded one year to go before we have to meet the ambitious target of providing an additional 1140 hours funded early learning and childcare in Edinburgh. Providing double the number of hours for three and four-year-olds plus eligible two-year-olds is a huge undertaking.

It presents many challenges but thanks to innovative thinking by the Council and early years staff and full Scottish Government funding we are making positive progress towards meeting this ambitious target.

Our exciting and forward-thinking plans, underpinned by four key themes of quality, flexibility, accessibility and affordability, are transforming the early years learning and childcare landscape in the Capital.

Unlike some other local authorities Edinburgh started implementing the additional hours two years ago giving us plenty of time to take on board any lessons learnt and adapt our plans going forward.

We already have over 3,000 children benefitting from the extra hours and our proactive approach to taking our partner providers with us on this journey has resulted in 79 of them coming on board and five forest kindergartens up and running by late October to add to the mix.

There’s no doubt that two of the biggest challenges are recruiting staff and providing the necessary infrastructure.

Through our recent national recruitment drive we have an additional 360 staff already in place ranging from senior early officers and practitioners to modern apprentice trainees. Add to this our own Early Learning and Childcare Academy which is helping grow and develop our workforce by delivering training and upskilling staff.

Our new state-of-the-art early years settings are all designed on sector-leading research to support children’s learning and development and aim to be nurturing environments which are homely, inviting and calming.

New buildings have already opened at Corstorphine, Davidson’s Mains, Ferryhill and Leith primary schools with early years centres also opening at Granton and Tynecastle.

We are currently on site building five more nurseries this coming year at Craigentinny, Granton, Nether Currie, St John Vianney and St Mark’s primary schools. Each of these will provide between 64 and 137 places and are expected to open their doors in Spring 2020.

Other innovative ideas to meet the additional hours include our partnership with the Scottish Childminding Association and our successful Forest Kindergarten project which is going from strength to strength.

We now have three fully operational forest kindergartens sites at Laurieston Castle, Cammo and Cliftonhall and a further two sites will be ready in October at Craigmillar and Newbattle providing a blended model of early learning and childcare for around 200 children.

There are now 11 local authority settings open from 8am to 6pm all year round and we are considering proposals to open more settings for 50 weeks a year.

Obviously, we will continue to engage with the community as our plans progress and are always wanting to hear innovative and new ideas.

This is an exciting time for early learning and childcare in Edinburgh. We and our partners are grasping this opportunity with both hands to ensure our children get the best possible start in life on their journey to becoming successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors.

Local home care company receives recommendation-based award

 

An Edinburgh based care company has received so many glowing  recommendations from clients and their families that it has been honoured with a top regional award.

Home Instead Senior Care specialises in providing at-home care to older people, and has been named as one of the 20 most recommended providers in the Home Care Awards 2019. Continue reading Local home care company receives recommendation-based award

Talking community: Citizen Betty to speak at Book Festival

GIVING A VOICE TO COMMUNITIES

Tuesday 20 August 18:00 – 19:30

Join us to celebrate Citizen our latest long-term creative programme working in partnership with organisations across Edinburgh, listening to people’s views about the communities in which they live.

Led by Scottish-based writers-in-residence, Claire Askew and Eleanor Thom, Citizen aims to give a voice to communities, offering residents an opportunity to explore their connection to each other and their relationship to neighbourhoods. Come to hear, see and meet some of those who have been taking part so far.

West Pilton’s Betty McVay MBE is among the contributors.

We invite you to Pay What You Can for this event. You may choose to pay an amount between £0 and £25 for your ticket, taking into consideration what you can reasonably afford to spend. This pricing has been introduced to help make the Book Festival accessible to those with limited means. If you are able to pay more for your ticket, you will help support our efforts to provide financial flexibility to those who most need it.

Part of our We Are All Citizens series of events.

 

Briggs: Critical Care delayed discharges at the Western General remain highest in Scotland

This week’s Audit of Critical Care in Scotland report has revealed that the critical care unit at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh has significantly higher delayed discharge rates than the rest of Scotland. Continue reading Briggs: Critical Care delayed discharges at the Western General remain highest in Scotland

Man jailed for Little France sex attacks

A man has been sentenced for sexual offences committed against two women in the grounds of Edinburgh Royal Infirmary earlier this year.

At the High Court in Glasgow yesterday, David Milligan was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison following his conviction on Friday 21st June. He has also been placed on the sex offenders register for life. Continue reading Man jailed for Little France sex attacks

Crivvens! ONE MILLION Oor Wullie visitors enjoy bucketloads o’ fun!

Oor Wullie sculptures on Oor Wullie’s BIG Bucket Trail have been visited over ONE MILLION TIMES by sculpture hunters since the trail began at the end of June! Continue reading Crivvens! ONE MILLION Oor Wullie visitors enjoy bucketloads o’ fun!

You’re hired! Tom Allen is the new Host of The Apprentice: You’re Fired

Comedian, writer and actor Tom Allen is the new host of BBC Two’s The Apprentice: You’re Fired, the popular companion show to The Apprentice, the series which sees candidates compete to go into business with Lord Sugar.

Continue reading You’re hired! Tom Allen is the new Host of The Apprentice: You’re Fired