Are you pregnant? Live locally? Come along to the
PREGNANCY CAFE
at The Haven, next to Craigroyston Primary School
Every Tuesday 10.0 – 11.30
Tea
Friendly company
Help and advice
Pregnancy information
Freebies
Baby stuff
Interested? Ask your midwife or call Jo 537 4230 Julie 332 9269 or just turn up!
Circle Scotland’s Haven Project, Craigroyston Primary School
Muirhouse Place West, EH4 4PX
Working with Scotland’s communities is a national study to find out more about the diverse range of paid workers and volunteers that provide community learning and development (CLD) across Scotland.
The online survey aimed at the organisations that employ these workers and volunteers is now open until Friday 10 April.
We know that community learning and development approaches are used by workers and volunteers with a variety of job titles in a range of different organisations in the community, voluntary and public sectors.
We want to hear from as many of these organisations as possible to build a current national picture of how many workers and volunteers there are, what they do, and what their training and development issues are.
Please be aware that we’re only looking for one response on behalf of each organisation or service.
The findings from the survey will be used to inform national community learning and development policy and planning.
Working with Scotland’s communities is being carried out by Education Scotland on behalf of theScottish Government, in partnership with the following national partners – Youthlink Scotland;The Scottish Community Development Centre (SCDC); The Workers Educational Association(WEA); The CLD Standards Council for Scotland; and CLD Managers Scotland.
For more information and to access the survey, please go to the Working with Scotland’s communities page on the Education Scotland website.
A further 70 employers who failed to pay their workers the National Minimum Wage (NMW) have been named today by Business Minister Jo Swinson, bringing the overall total named and shamed to 162. None of the latest batch are Scottish companies.
Between them, these 70 employers owed workers a total of over £157,000 in arrears and have been charged financial penalties totalling over £70,000.
The government has already named 92 employers since the new naming regime came into force in October 2013. They had total arrears of over £316,000 and total penalties of over £111,000.
To support the minimum wage crackdown, the government will also be increasing HMRC’s £9.2 million enforcement budget by a further £3 million, helping to fund more than 70 extra compliance officers.
Business Minister Jo Swinson said:
Paying less than the minimum wage is illegal, immoral and completely unacceptable. Naming and shaming gives a clear warning to employers who ignore the rules, that they will face reputational consequences as well as financial penalties of up to £20,000 if they don’t pay the minimum wage.
We’re working hard in areas where we know there are particular problems, like the care sector, to make sure staff are paid fairly for the hard work they do.
We are legislating through the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill so that this penalty can be applied to each underpaid worker rather than per employer.
We are helping workers recover the hundreds of thousands of pounds in pay owed to them as well as raising awareness to make sure workers are paid fairly in the first place.
The government examines non-compliance in a number of ways and takes action where it identifies particular problems or challenges. Around 100 care sector cases are currently being investigated and 3 employers have been publically named, for failing to pay the minimum wage. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has also launched 6 proactive investigations into the largest employers in the care sector.
Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb said:
We want a fairer society where everyone gets the care they deserve – to do this we need a skilled, valued and fairly paid workforce. There is absolutely no excuse for employers that fail to pay the minimum wage.
We know the 100 care companies being investigated are just the tip of the iceberg in the care sector and are absolutely committed to getting back the wages people have worked so hard for. We will continue to name, shame and fine these employers until every care provider gets the message.
HMRC is working with the Department of Health, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the care sector to understand more about the causes of non-compliance with the national minimum wage in the care sector and to raise awareness of the minimum wage with employers and care workers. This includes making sure that employees know how to complain if they believe they are not being paid the national minimum wage.
The 70 employers named today are:
The 70 cases named today were thoroughly investigated by HM Revenue and Customs.
The scheme was revised in October 2013 to make it simpler to name and shame employers that do not comply with minimum wage rules.
Employers who are unsure of National Minimum Wage rules, and employees who would like advice or to complain that they are not receiving the National Minimum Wage, can get free advice via the Pay and Work Rights Helpline on 0800 917 2368 or by visiting GOV.UK.
Murrayfield summit aims to improve breastfeeding rates
Experts will come together in Edinburgh today to explore ways to encourage and support more mothers to breastfeed for longer. Off to a Good Start, a new guide for breastfeeding mothers, will also be launched at the event.
The first Scottish Breastfeeding Summit, organised by the Scottish Government, takes place at Murrayfield and will be attended by key players from across the health service, local authorities and the third sector.
Delegates will look at what can be done to improve breastfeeding rates, which have improved over the last decade, but still remain relatively static.
A new guide for breastfeeding mothers, Off To A Good Start, will be launched at the event. The booklet has been produced by NHS Health Scotland after listening to feedback from pregnant women, new mothers and their families. It will be provided free to all health boards and given out to all pregnant women in Scotland.
Scotland is the only country in the UK to have legislation in place that prevents discrimination against women who breastfeed in public.
Maureen Watt, Minister for Public Health, said: “This summit is a chance to share what is working well and come up with some fresh ideas to help increase breastfeeding rates. This is one of the best things any mother can do to give their child a healthy start in life, so it’s absolutely vital that women have all the help and support they need.
“Research shows that women who understand the health benefits for their child are more likely to take it up, so getting that information to them is important. But this is also about identifying barriers that exist, and finding ways around them.”
We have 2 places left for 16 & 17 year olds for our Childcare Academy. If you or anyone you know is in this age group and interested, could you get in touch ASAP.
February 2015 CA Publicity Poster 16
Childcare Academy Standard Information
Audrey O’Neill
Training Administrator, North Edinburgh Childcare
0131 311 6931
www.northedinburghchildcare.co.uk
“We must act now to ensure we offer the best protection to all of our children and young people. This summit is a welcome step in that direction.” – ACC Malcolm Graham, Police Scotland
The Scottish Government is to host a summit on protecting our children and young people this week. Ministers, local authorities and children’s charities will meet in Edinburgh on Wednesday to discuss how they can work together to ensure child protection policies are as robust as possible to keep our young people safe.
Local authorities across Scotland are attending the summit alongside police, health boards, Children in Scotland, Barnardo’s Scotland, WithScotland, the Care inspectorate and the Scottish Ambulance Service.
Children’s charities, police and young people are being consulted on the shape of the campaign to ensure it reaches those who are at risk of exploitation and makes a real measurable difference to tackling the issue, and a wide-ranging public information campaign to tackle child sexual exploitation is being launched by the Scottish Government later this year.
The Scottish Government unveiled a national action plan on child sexual exploitation to the Scottish Parliament last November which was published alongside a report from Children in Scotland Chief Executive Jackie Brock into the working of the Scottish Child Protection System.
The summit was one of the key recommendations of the report to address the findings of recent Care Inspectorate reports and ensure roles and responsibilities are clear.
Education Secretary Angela Constance said: “The safety and wellbeing of children and young people is a priority for this Government and an issue we take extremely seriously. That’s why we work continuously with law enforcement, children’s charities, Parliament and others to protect children from abuse and target those who attempt to prey on them.
“This week’s summit, our wide ranging national action plan and the commissioning of the Jackie Brock report are a few of a number of steps we are taking to protect our children. Our public information campaign to be launched this year will build on this activity to safeguard young people at risk before they become targets of this terrible crime.”
Assistant Chief Constable Malcolm Graham, Police Scotland lead for Public Protection said: “Protecting children and tackling all forms of child abuse is a priority for Police Scotland. It is a complex and challenging area of policing, often with different challenges in different areas. As Police Scotland, we bring a consistent approach to tackling offending against children in all its forms: child abuse or child sexual exploitation, and increasingly, online offending which can add an international dimension to our investigations.
“Prevention has to be our focus going forward and we are committed to working collaboratively with our local partners, both statutory and non-statutory and within local communities, to identify where there is risk and to take a proactive, multi agency approach to protecting children and young people. More than anything we must listen to young people and build their confidence that they will be heard and that we will act.
“Our new National Child Abuse Investigation Unit, which will be deployed into each of our 14 divisions when there are complex enquiries and as part of the local multi agency response to child protection, will enhance further our approach to supporting victims and bringing offenders to justice.
“We must act now to ensure we offer the best protection to all of our children and young people. This summit is a welcome step in that direction.”
Martin Crewe, Director of Barnardo’s Scotland, said: “We are pleased to be contributing to this important event which demonstrates a serious commitment to tackling the horrendous crime of child sexual exploitation.
”Barnardo’s Scotland has over 20 years experience of supporting exploited children and we know it is vital that all agencies work together to both support children and tackle the perpetrators of these vile crimes.”
An informal parents and carers support group for children with ADHD and Autistic spectrum disorders (it doesn’t matter whether your child is diagnosed or not)
*** Every first Wednesday of the month ***
Drop in between 10.15-12pm at Muirhouse Library
Tea, coffee & biscuits will be available
For more details please contact:
Karma (email karmalennon@hotmail.com)
or Jamie on caitlinkal2003@gmail.com
Tickets to the next Auld Reekie Roller Girls game just £5 when you sign up to the league’s newsletter
ARRG’s all-women roller derby team the All-Star Reserves hope to hit, whip and skate their way to victory against Cambridge Rollerbillies when they clash this Saturday.
The game will bring all the big hits and speedy skating to fans rooting for the Edinburgh girls to complete an Oxbridge double, after beating an Oxford team last month.
All Star Reserves’ captain Kiki said: “We’re so pumped for the last All Star Reserves game of the season and can’t wait to channel our amazing training into this game!”
However, the Cambridge team comes fresh from winning the Heartland Series tournament of 24 English and Welsh teams, with a stunning 184-59 score against Plymouth City Roller Girls. The Cambridge skaters have proved themselves fit, speedy and strong and are sure to bring their new skills and strategy to their game against Auld Reekie.
The All-Star Reserves hope to get loud support from the Edinburgh crowd on their home ground at Meadowbank Sports Centre in a fast and fierce demonstration of athleticism on wheels.
Supporters can also snap up merchandise and tuck into home-made cakes at the game on Saturday (28 February) from 2pm.
Tickets for Auld Reekie Roller Girls’ All Star Reserves vs Cambridge Rollerbillies are £8 on the door or £7 from the Brown Paper Tickets website. (www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1017167)
Free entry for children aged under 14 and only £5 if you sign up to the ARRG newsletter on the arrg.co.uk website.
Concern is growing over the poor quality of new street lighting in North Edinburgh. New ‘green’ low-energy lights have been installed over the weekend but residents say the lights are too dim and will encourage more crime and antisocial behaviour.
The energy-efficient LED bulbs are expected to save nearly 40 per cent on the £3m spent lighting the city each year, but for some residents in North Edinburgh the lights just aren’t bright enough. They say that the dark streets will encourage more crime – in an area that has been blighted by crime and antisocial behaviour over recent months.
Local resident Lorraine McTigue said: “These lights were installed yesterday in my street, I thought there had been a blackout; the place is almost pitch black other than house lights now … terrible.”
Another said: “This is crazy. When there is already a huge problem with kids running wild and vandalism nearly every night, why reduce the power of the street lights? Is this all about the council saving money? Well, they might save on the lighting bill but they’ll be paying out a lot more to repair damage caused by vandalism. They just don’t care about the people who live here who will be frightened to go out at night, and it will be us who will have to find the money to get our vandalised cars repaired. Things are bad enough as it is, but this will make things even worse down here.”
Will the council see the light? We’ll keep you posted …
First Minister marks milestone with focus on young people
Opportunities for young people in Scotland will be the focus for First Minister Nicola Sturgeon this week as she approaches her 100th day in office.
On Friday (27 February) it will be 100 days since the First Minister was sworn in by the Scottish Parliament, and she will begin the week by travelling to London to see first-hand how an attainment challenge has helped some of the poorest children in society.
The visit follows the recent announcement by the First Minister of the £100 million Attainment Scotland Fund, which will draw on the lessons learned by the London Challenge scheme as part of our efforts to improve education outcomes in Scotland’s most disadvantaged communities.
On Wednesday, the First Minister will announce further support to help young people into employment and living wage jobs, ahead of a speech at the David Hume Institute entitled what sort of Scotland do we want to create?
That speech will outline her commitment to removing the barriers that limit opportunity in Scotland, as she set out her vision for a Scotland based on prosperity, fairness and participation.
On Friday, Ms Sturgeon will mark her 100th day in office by visiting GlaxoSmithKline in Irvine to announce a new initiative to encourage more young women to take up modern apprenticeships.
The First Minister said: “When I became First Minister in November, I set out how I wanted to run a Government with the strongest focus on boosting our economy, tackling inequality and protecting public services.
“And I hope over these last months I have demonstrated my commitment to making this a better country in which everyone can live and work.
“Central to that is a strong economy that helps us build the prosperous and fair Scotland we all want to see. As I said on the day that I was sworn in as First Minister – the biggest investment we can make in Scotland’s future is in our people.
“That is why it is hugely important to make sure that all of our young people – no matter what their background or where they come from – have the very best chance to get on in life. That is how we not only improve lives but also grow our economy.
“So as we approach my 100th day in office, I am focused on delivering for the young people of Scotland, by improving attainment in Scotland’s schools, opening up job opportunities and encouraging more young women to improve their skills and get on in life by taking up a modern apprenticeship.”
