Detectives in Edinburgh are appealing for information following an attempted robberyin Trinity.
Around 6.40pm yesterday (Saturday, 4 May, 2024) a man presented at the door of a home on Lomond Road with a knife and demanded money from the occupiers.
No one was injured.
Police are keen to trace a man described as being around 5ft 6ins tall, 40-50 years old, and of slight build. He was wearing a blue anorak, dark trousers, white trainers, white baseball cap and checked scarf covering face.
The man is also described as having a Scottish accent and walks with a distinctive gait.
Detective Sergeant Alan Sharp, of Edinburgh CID, said: “Our enquiries so far have established that this man attended at multiple properties along Lomond Road last night.
“We would like to speak to anyone who was in the area who saw or heard anything suspicious. Similarly, anyone with private CCTV, doorbell footage or dashcam of the area is urged to review the footage and bring anything significant to our attention.”
Anyone with any information can call 101, quoting incident 3144 of 4 May.
Alternatively, information can be shared anonymously with the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
The Scottish Ambulance Service’s Special Operations Team (SORT) based in Edinburgh will appear on a new series of Paramedics on Scene, which airs on TV tonight (Sunday).
Isla Winnik, Ryan McLaughlin, Luke O’Hanlon, Leigh Law, Graeme Methven and Michael Slater will feature alongside SAS’s North Ambulance Control Centre (ACC), and Kilmarnock, Glasgow and Dalkeith emergency crews.
The episode features SORT attending to a man who has barricaded himself in his home and is throwing objects at the police officers, and paramedics are called out to two separate cases involving children – one who could be having a cardiac arrest, and another who has suffered a head injury while cycling.
Season Five of Paramedics on Scene is on BBC Scotland at 9am on Sunday and repeated at 8pm on Tuesday. It is also available on BBC iPlayer.
QUEEN Margaret University (QMU), Edinburgh, has developed a series of resources for use in educational settings to help enhance disability literacy.
The University will launch its new Toy Box Diversity Lab website of resources on 9th May 2024, which will help guide discussions between educators and their primary school learners about disability equality and representation in the school curriculum, as well as encouraging them to think about accessibility in their own environments.
Funded by the QMU Innovation Fellowship, the educational assets include an activities pack, instructional videos and a directory of other resources to encourage positive discussions in schools.
The University will also be launching an online short course on Disability Confidence for Educational Practitioners, running from September 2024.
Dr Clare Uytman and Dr Siân Jones, senior lecturers in the Division of Psychology, Sociology and Education at QMU, have led the three-year long project, establishing their own research group to do so.
The lecturers have tested their resources with almost 550 children in England and Scotland, as well as running focus groups to create the final products in collaboration with teachers, disabled adults and parents of disabled children.
Dr. Uytman, said: “Positive understanding, representation and discussion around disability is so important for achieving a more inclusive learning environment through imagination and play, which will help children understand the importance of these topics from an early age.
“It is so rewarding to see three years of hard work and thorough research come together with the creation of these highly beneficial resources which we hope will be of real value to the teaching profession and enhance disability literacy.”
As well as the website, the QMU lecturers have also been working in collaboration with activist not-for-profit organisation, ToyLikeMe, to ensure better representation of disabilities in children’s media, including toys, books and television programmes.
Dr. Jones, said: “There is growing evidence that toys representing disability give non-disabled children windows into the worlds of disabled children.
“We are building on this evidence base, using images of adapted toy prototypes, such as Barbie with a missing limb, or Olaf the snowman from Disney’s Frozen with a cochlear implant, and showcasing these to children through pop-up exhibitions and activities we have been trialing at schools to help them think and speak positively about disability.”
Scottish primary school teacher, Mhairi Ritchie, welcomed one of these pop-up exhibitions so that she, and her pupils, could sample the resources. She said: “Involvement in the project was a fantastic way to explore disability. The children learned new vocabulary and developed a new perspective around what it means to be disabled.
“The accompanying resources were highly engaging and thoughtfully designed, enabling an interdisciplinary approach to the learning. The great thing is that we can use the resources again in the future and we look forward to doing so!”
An event will be taking place both online and in the Halle Lecture Theatre on campus at QMU to coincide with the official launch of the website on 9th May.
The launch event will take place between 4pm and 5.30pm at which attendees can learn more about the evidence-based research that has been conducted for this project, as well as more details on the resources on offer.
This exhibition, in partnership with the Museum of Scottish Fire Heritage, charts the remarkable development of firefighting in the Capital and across Scotland over the centuries.
In addition to the exhibition there is an accompanying series of lectures and family craft workshops covering everything from Edinburgh’s influence on global fire safety standards to painting a mini fire helmet.
‘Pedal Power: Cycling and Activism in Edinburgh’ is an exhibition which focusses on cycling safety, sustainability and history in our city. This exhibition was curated in conjunction with local cycling groups Critical Mass, Infrasisters, Spokes and Bike Buses.
There are also lectures and a family craft workshop taking place during the Edinburgh Festival of Cycling, which runs from 31 May to 9 June 2024.
Both exhibitions run until Sun 22 Sep 2024 and entry is free.
Culture and Communities Convener, Councillor Val Walker said:“I was delighted to launch these exhibitions and see first-hand some of the incredible stories that they tell.
“From our proud history and traditions of firefighting to promoting active travel in modern day Edinburgh these provide two very distinct views of life in the Capital.
“The different themes and ideas explored in these exhibitions shows our museums as the incredible spaces they are to explore contemporary issues as well as historical events.
“I’d like to thank all our partners who contributed to these exhibitions, some of whom I was lucky enough to meet at the launch.
“I’d also urge our residents and visitors to take advantage and get down to the Museum of Edinburgh in the coming months.”
Assistant Chief Officer for Operational Delivery at the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, David Farries said: “This year is an incredibly historic year for us as we recognise and proudly celebrate Scotland’s rich fire and rescue heritage. “
We have a wealth of great commemorative and educational events lined up across the year to celebrate 200 years since the creation of the world’s first municipal fire service in Edinburgh.
“The world has changed drastically since 1824 and so has our service. Through these exhibitions we want to showcase the people, the innovation, and the values that our service was built on and are still at the heart of the modern Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
“We have something for all ages so I would encourage anybody who has an interest in the Fire Service, its history and the importance of the wider history of the city and beyond to head along to the museum and view the exhibition.”
Pedal Power Co-curator and Member of Edinburgh Critical Mass, Victoria Hawkins said: “We got involved with the Pedal Power exhibition because we are all keen to show that better, safer cycling benefits everyone.
“At some point we lost the balance of transport in the city, and we now know how harmful that has been to our lungs, our health and our wildlife. We’re all working in different ways to create a future city where more people can share the joy of walking and cycling safely.
“We hope people will come to the exhibition and see an opportunity to move forward from binary car vs bike debates and support better active travel infrastructure in Edinburgh.”
Scottish Recovery Network has launched their new online resource full of free tools, events, and opportunities to inspire you to develop and champion peer support for mental health recovery.
It’s a space where they’ll be shining a spotlight on your fantastic peer support projects, services, and organisations and a place to share ideas and learning from people planning and delivering peer support activities, to help you do the same.
The Scottish Human Rights Commission publishes its Strategic Plan for 2024 – 2028
The plan, which has been laid before the Scottish Parliament, identifies our priorities for the next four years and explains what the Commission will do to promote and protect human rights in Scotland.
It outlines how we will use our powers to build our role and profile as Scotland’s human rights watchdog, to investigate human rights violations, to hold those responsible accountable for making sure those rights are realised, and support public bodies to do better.
Our three priorities are:
To use and extend our powers to make sure there are stronger human rights protections for everyone in Scotland. This means we can hold those responsible to account when things go wrong.
To engage more people in communities across Scotland in our work, so that everything we do is informed by people’s direct experience of human rights issues.
To monitor and report on how human rights are being experienced in Scotland and play our part in creating a stronger human rights culture.
Using evidence gathered in our own monitoring, and through our direct engagement with people in different communities, we identify four key priority issues.
These are where we believe there is a need for the Commission to focus on over the next four years:
The impact of poverty on human rights
Human rights in places of detention
Access to Justice
Rights to remedy for groups who have special protections under international human rights treaties.
Jim Farish, Shelley Gray and Claire Methven O’Brien, Members of the Scottish Human Rights Commission, said: “We have detailed our ambition to lead this organisation out into communities; to talk, to listen and find out how well human rights are being realised in Scotland. This will inform our decisions on how we will use our powers and resources over the next four years.
“The Commission will focus its efforts on being a strong watchdog for everyone’s human rights in Scotland. This means holding power to account where things go wrong, and supporting public bodies to do better with our help. We have identified four areas where we believe stronger focus is needed – on poverty, in places of detention, in access to justice, and on the rights of groups of people most at risk.
“The development of a new Human Rights Bill presents a key moment in shaping how public services are designed and delivered to uphold people’s human rights. We will prioritise work to scrutinise and support that process to best serve the people of Scotland, and to ensure that as a Commission, we have the powers and duties to do the best job we can in upholding human rights.”
Are you looking for a volunteering opportunity like no other? Then don’t miss our Special Constable Recruitment event at the Scottish Police College on Saturday, 11 May 2024.
Sign-up today using the below link to guarantee your place.
Being a Special Constable is not just about upholding the law and catching criminals, it’s also about supporting communities by building trust, respect, and positive relationships. You will be there to make a difference to those who need it most.
Do you want a volunteering role that is built around you, one that will improve the safety and wellbeing of the people, places, and communities of Scotland, one that upholds the law and our values of integrity, fairness, respect, and our commitment to upholding human rights, we want you to apply to become a Special Constable.
The benefits are:
• You will be part of a team of highly trained professionals.
• You will have identical powers to that of a police officer.
• You will receive excellent training and wellbeing support.
• You will find out if the job of a full-time police officer is for you.
The groups pitched their ideas to a panel of judges, including teachers and senior Deloitte partners
Pupils from an Edinburgh secondary school put their business skills to the test last week in an attempt to win over judges in a Dragon’s Den style competition hosted by Deloitte.
Six ‘Pupil Action Groups’ (PAGs) from Craigmount High School, made up of pupils from S1 to S6, have been working throughout 2024 on proposals for the school to tackle major issues, including sustainability, mental health, equalities, equity, digital learning and children’s rights.
The groups pitched to a panel of judges, including teachers and senior Deloitte partners, at Deloitte’s new offices in Haymarket. They competed to secure support for their proposed initiatives, including the creation of a Mental Health Festival, the development of a school newspaper and the purchase of reusable water bottles.
Craigmount High School is one of Deloitte’s partner schools through its 5 Million Futures Programme, which helps people overcome barriers to education and employment.
Working with schools and charities, Deloitte mobilises its people through volunteering, fundraising and pro-bono work to build better futures for people throughout the UK.
On the day, the pupils that make up Craigmount’s Charities and Equity PAG were named the Most Impactful Group and the school’s Sustainability PAG was awarded Best Group Presentation.
Deloitte also presented an award for Most Effective Individual Presentation to Imaiyal (S2) from the Equalities PAG, who reflected on her group’s efforts to champion equality in Craigmount’s community. Their work involved holding a bake sale during Transgender Awareness Week and organising a dress down day to raise money during Women’s History Month.
Imaiyal said:“I’m really happy to be recognised for my hard work to help improve equality at my school.
“I had a really good time at the Deloitte offices for the Dragons’ Den competition and I enjoyed working with my school friends to figure out how we can solve these big problems.”
Lesley Smillie, Partner, Public Sector at Deloitte in Scotland, said:“We were really pleased to welcome pupils from Craigmount High to share their visions for the future.
“We were so impressed by the pupils’ presentations – it’s really encouraging to see their passion and enthusiasm to solve the various important issues we discussed.”
Alison Clark, Deputy Headteacher, Craigmount High, said:“I’m very proud of our Pupil Action Groups who have worked so hard this year to improve our school and community.
“I’d also like to thank our partners at Deloitte for hosting this competition, which has given our pupils the chance to develop and demonstrate their communication skills and teamwork. We look forward to continuing to work together in the future.”
Significant steps forward have been made to decide the future of the Gorgie City Farm site after a series of setbacks.
Dangerous buildings, frozen pipes, flooding, the barn roof being partially blown off and the collapse of a ceiling were events which all halted progress at various times. Structural damage to several of the Farm’s buildings was also discovered during a survey, and as a result the Farm site has had to remain closed to the public for safety reasons.
Despite unexpected events, a lot has been going on behind the scenes, and progress has really picked up pace.
Planning for the Farm site’s future is being supported by EVOC (Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations’ Council) alongside an advisory group.
A new Company Limited By Guarantee has been formed and the new company will apply for charitable status in the near future. The new company will lead on future development on the site, and local people will play an important role in progressing medium and long term ambitions for the Farm.
Local people have already contributed their thoughts and wishes for Gorgie Farm site’s future. An extensive community consultation exercise was led by Project partner Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership, with hundreds of people contributing ideas.
Farm Site Manager Suzanne Campbell is pleased to see ideas for the site’s future taking shape: “The Farm has a very special place in the hearts of the people of Gorgie, Dalry and the wider city, and the input of local people to what the site might look like in the future has been outstanding.
“It’s taken longer than we hoped to start to put together options for its future, but we are now in the process of preparing a report which will be presented to the Council in August.”
The report will outline four fully costed options for the future of the Gorgie Farm site will be presented to City of Edinburgh’s Culture & Communities Committee on 24 August 2024.
