‘I’m fortunate to have a team brimming with talent and enthusiasm, making North Edinburgh a safer place to live, work and visit’ – Chief Inspector Richard Horan Continue reading Room for optimism? Reported crime down in North Edinburgh
Category: Davidsons Mains
Fare play to Spartans Connections!
Central Taxis to sponsor Spartans Connections
Taxi for Spartans! Edinburgh’s Central Taxis are to sponsor local community club Spartans Connections. The Connections squad are delighted with the sponsorship deal and the new partnership is a great result for the Ainslie Park footballers. Continue reading Fare play to Spartans Connections!
Help protect your community from bonfire tragedy
Choosing to attend only organised displays is the best way to keep yourself, your family and your community safe. Continue reading Help protect your community from bonfire tragedy
Then play on … City of Edinburgh Music School Open Day
The City of Edinburgh Music School is holding on Open Day at Broughton High School on Saturday 7 November from 11am – 2pm.
Living in Harmony to follow up Positively Diverse pledges
Living in Harmony Group meets tomorrow evening
It was fantastic to see so many people at the Positively Diverse event at the beginning of October. There was some great feedback, including how helpful it was to hear from residents themselves about their experiences (writes Hannah Kitchen).
We have been looking through people’s postcards, notes and feedback and are keen to help you follow up on some of the things you were inspired to do at the event.
Living in Harmony Forum, Wednesday 28 October, 5-7pm at Pilton Community Health Project
The Living in Harmony forum is a space for residents and workers in North Edinburgh to work and learn together in order to make services more accessible for people from BME communities, and to put on activities that increase friendship and understanding between people in the area.
On Wednesday we will be meeting to carry on some of the conversations we started at the Positively Diverse event. I’m attaching a draft agenda. Please contact me if there are any items you would like to add.
We would love to see you there. Please reply to this email to tell me if you are able to come. We can arrange free crèche places for anyone who needs them, but need 24 hours’ notice to do this.
Hannah Kitchen
Development Worker, Living in Harmony,
Pilton Community Health Project, 73 Boswall Parkway, Edinburgh, EH5 2PW
Telephone 0131 551 1671
Like us on Facebook for regular updates www.facebook.com/PiltonCommunityHealthProject
D Mains P7s support Macmillan coffee morning – and Sainsburys gave a helping hand too
Friday 25 September was the MacMillan coffee morning and Sainsburys Blackhall went along to Davidsons Mains Primary school to support the P7 children with their coffee morning.
The P7 children did all the home baking and Sainsburys colleagues Leaanne Cairns and Gail Wilson provided the teas and coffee. Left over cakes were then sold to colleagues at Blackhall store. Over £930 has been raised so far from the coffee morning. Well done, Davidsons Mains!
You(th) Decides: seeking bright sparks in Silverknowes and D Mains!
Young people living in the West and Almond areas of Edinburgh are being given the chance to win funding for their very own projects.
Grants of up to £500 are available to win through the You[th] Decides initiative launched this week by the Western Edinburgh and Almond Neighbourhood Partnerships.
Successful projects should meet the criteria of increasing opportunities for children and young people, and could relate to issues such as sports, arts and media, outdoor education, and community participation.
Any groups with members aged between 11 and 18 and living in Drumbrae/Gyle and Corstorphine/Murrayfield areas and any group with members aged between 12 and 18 and living in Cramond, Davidson’s Mains, Silverknowes, South Queensferry, Dalmeny, Kirkliston, Ratho Station and Newbridge can apply.
The funding of a total of £4,000 from the Western Edinburgh and £2,000 from the Almond Neighbourhood Partnerships Community Grants Fund has been allocated to the initiatives.
Successful schemes will be decided on by the students from local schools, members of the Neighbourhood Partnership Boards and Western Edinburgh members of the Scottish Youth Parliament.
Western Edinburgh Neighbourhood Partnership Convener, Councillor Robert Aldridge, said: “We’re running this project again because it was so successful last year. Young people are as much part of our community as adults and have come up with some fantastic ideas in the past. This is a chance for them to show off their talents and make a real difference.”
Almond Neighbourhood Partnership Convener, Councillor Alastair Shields, said: “This is a great opportunity for local young people to have a say in how funding is allocated. We are looking for imaginative projects which will engage young people and increase opportunities for them in an exciting way.”
Application forms for the You[th] Decides Initiative are available from schools and youth groups, or by contacting Steven Kipanda at Western Edinburgh Neighbourhood Partnership:
email Steven.Kipanda@ea.edin.sch.uk
or audrey.primrose@edinburgh.gov.uk
and Steven Stewart at Almond Neighbourhood Partnership:
email steven.stewart@ea.edin.sch.uk
or jim.conner@edinburgh.gov.uk
Closing date for applications? Almond is 23 October and it’s 30 October for Western.
It’s Power of Food Festival weekend!
It’s here! Edinburgh’s community gardeners take centre stage this weekend as The Power of Food Festival takes place at venues and locations across the city.
For further info visit https://poweroffoodfestival.wordpress.com/
Celebrating our own ‘phenomenal women!
Getting together, Making A Difference exhibition opens
North Edinburgh’s Womens International Group launched their eagerly-anticipated Gettting Together, Making A Difference exhibition with song, speeches, films, discusssion and even a little poetry at Royston Wardieburn Community Centre today.
The exhibition highlights the work carried out by local women activists over the years to improve conditions for the people living in ourNorh Edinburgh communities.
The event was all about the importance of solidarity and community spirit, mutual support and the need to keep up the fight to save local services. It’s an argument that was eloquently made in the past by activists like Jenny Marrow, Evelyn Preston, Maureen MacMillan Gwen Crystal and Sandra Purnell -strong voices sadly no longer with us.
You get the impression, though, that the fighting spirit still burns just as brightly in the hearts of our current activists – both the young and the vastly experienced, all of whom packed Royston Wardieburn today. I’m sure Jenny, Evelyn, Maureen – all of them – would have loved this celebration.
Me? I was just proud to be an honorary woman for the day!
More pictures on our Facebook page!
PHENOMENAL WOMAN
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms,
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them,
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing,
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need for my care.
’Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
MORE PICTURES ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE
Edinburgh Guarantee spells success for school leavers
More school leavers than ever in Edinburgh are moving into work, education, or training, thanks to the strong partnership that has developed between the public and private sectors through the Edinburgh Guarantee.
Figures published by the Scottish Government today show that the success rate of school leavers in Edinburgh achieving and sustaining a positive destination are at the highest rate ever. The figure is up 10 per cent since the Edinburgh Guarantee began four years ago and is now at 93.1 per cent. The Capital is now the best performing city in Scotland and is 12th out of all local authority areas, which puts us well above the national average.
The statistics show that more school leavers in Edinburgh are getting into jobs compared to September 2013 with over one in four of school leavers in employment at the snapshot taken in March. Just over 40% are getting into and sustaining places in Higher Education while over a quarter of school leavers opt for Further Education.
The majority of schools improved their performance since September 2013.
The largest increase was at Craigroyston Community High school up 13.1 per cent (see separate article), Currie performed extremely well with their figure now sitting at 97.9 per cent, and Firrhill and Gracemount were up by 6.8 per cent.
This success has been underpinned by the active support of the city’s employers in recruiting young people into their businesses, with 350 opportunities offered since April 2015.
Sue Bruce, Chief Executive, the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “Today’s figures will be welcomed across the city by young people, employers in the private, voluntary and public sectors and those working in education. Giving young people the best start they can have in life is a key priority and I am delighted that the Edinburgh Guarantee is playing such an important role in securing the future success of our young people in the city.”
Cllr Paul Godzik, Convener of the Education, Children and Families Committee, said: “Whether it’s employment, apprenticeships or training, young people need to move out of school and into a positive destination quickly. It is really encouraging that there has been such an improvement in the figures this year as moving on to make a new start in life is the boost young people really need to raise their self esteem at this critical point in their lives.”
Cllr Frank Ross, Convener of the Economy Committee, said: “Ensuring that Edinburgh’s young people have opportunities is vital for the economic success of our city. These year’s figures demonstrate that initiatives such as the Edinburgh Guarantee are making a real difference to many young lives. I am confident that with sustained investment we’ll continue to drive up this figure and see many more young people taking a positive next step in their lives.”
Stephen Ramsay (pictured top) , panel beater modern apprentice at DSL Motors, said: “When I was at Craigroyston High School I was invovled in a Formula 1 project and I really enjoyed it. My career advisor helped me with an interview for Edinburgh College and I am now a modern apprentice doing a four year course in Automotive Paint Refinishing. As soon as I left school I wanted to get involved in this trade and I want to work in this field until I retire.”
A positive destination is defined as a place in Higher Education, Further Education, a job, paid apprenticeship, or work-focused training.
Click here for a short video featuring Cllrs Burns, Godzik and modern apprentice Stephen Ramsay.