Join Play Rangers in East Pilton Park every Wednesday from 7th July to 11th August 2.30 – 4.30pm.
There will be toys, games and art materials to play with for 5-12 year olds. All free with refreshments and snacks provided.
Our Foodbanks are re-opening w/c 28th June 2021
We have created a reminder of all our addresses and opening times for guidance.
We look forward to welcoming out clients back to the centre after almost 15 months of delivery!
If you require a food bank referral please contact Granton Information Centre on 0131 551 2459/0131 552 0458 or info@gic.org.uk
Homeless charity Rowan Alba is appealing for local volunteers to support its CARDS befriending service which works with people across the city, providing vital support and social contact to reduce isolation.
The Community Alcohol Related Damages Service (CARDS) was set up by Rowan Alba in 2010. Those who are referred to CARDS by health care specialists, GPs, hospitals and mental health services have, for various reasons, become isolated and developed a problematic relationship with alcohol. CARDS volunteers are there to provide vital social contact and to listen without judgment.
A team of 60 volunteers deliver 1-1 befriending support to 80 clients across the city, usually meeting once a week to provide emotional support, helping clients build their social skills and confidence to engage with their local community.
Since getting support from CARDS, 69% of clients have reported improved mental health, 77% have reduced their alcohol intake and 80% said life was less chaotic. 69% said they have spent less time in hospital.
As a crucial befriending service for older people with long term alcohol issues and at risk of crisis, CARDSis just one of a number of services delivered by Rowan Alba in supporting some of Edinburgh’s most vulnerable, isolated and homeless people. The charity aims to break the cycle of homelessness for people deemed ‘un-houseable’ by other services.
Rowan Alba pioneered the home for life concept with Thorntree Street in Leith, providing permanent homes for older men with a long-term history of rough sleeping and street drinking. The charity’s second home for life property will open in Peffermill in 2022.
Rowan Alba also provides temporary supported accommodation at Stramullion in Pilton, supporting women with complex needs to move out of homelessness and into their own home.
The charity has years of expertise working with older people with alcohol issues; these issues may stem from years of health inequality, trauma, homelessness, family breakdown, mental health issues time spent in prison or abuse. Many have developed Alcohol Related Brain Damage (ARBD), which has left them physically and emotionally damaged and socially isolated.
Tracey Stewart, Volunteer Service Manager at Rowan Alba said; “We have all faced periods of isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic but for those who are referred to CARDS, social isolation is something many have lived with for years.
“The 1-1 befriending service provided by our volunteers provides vital emotional support, helping clients to re-learn how to manage a trusting relationship with another person.
“CARDS urgently needs more volunteers to support our clients across Edinburgh, so we are looking for people who can provide compassionate support for individuals who have had a difficult relationship with alcohol now or in the past.
“Ideally you will have had experience in a role where managing relationships is key. Being able to listen without judgment and understand the benefit of human contact is vital.
“Our best volunteers are the kind of people whom you end up chatting to at a bus stop and go away being moved by the interaction. It’s as simple as that. We provide all the support, training and guidance that you need.
“Half of our staff started as volunteers and 85% of people who were looking to get in to social care as a career find themselves within employment within the first year after volunteering Those who come for the experience hang around for much longer. It’s a community in itself.”
Comprehensive training and support are provided and volunteers are asked to make a time commitment of at least 1 year.
Full details of the application process are available at:
Spartans FC received a royal visitor yesterday when the Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, paid a visit to Pilton to hear about the progress made in putting mental health and wellbeing at the forefront of the game in Scotland.
The trip to Spartans was the Duke’s first stop on his visit to Scotland, and saw him meet with representatives from the Scottish FA, Breathing Space, Time to Tackle, the Hampden Sports Clinic and Bonnyrigg Rose to discuss the range of mental health initiatives running in Scottish football.
With the visit also coming on the eve of the Scottish Cup Final, the Duke met with former Scottish Cup winners Chris Iwelumo and Marvin Bartley, who previously won the Scottish Cup with tomorrow’s finalists St Johnstone and Hibs respectively.
David McPhee, Chair of the Scottish Mental Health and Wellbeing League, spoke with the Duke as they took in some action from small-sided matches featuring players from the League.
The League, which was previously run by the Scottish FA, was set up to support recovery and tackle stigma associated with mental health.
A number of the Mental Health and Wellbeing League players then helped the Duke test his shooting skills, as he took part in a friendly skills challenge with them and former Scotland striker Steven Thompson.
Scotland’s spot-kick hero David Marshall then joined the Duke and other Home Nations players in a zoom conversation to discuss changing the conversation on mental health and their experiences over the past year.
Also taking part in the catch-up ahead of UEFA EURO 2020 were Harry Kane for England, Julie Nelson for Northern Ireland, and Jess Fishlock MBE for Wales.
During his Ainslie Park visit the Duke also met with representatives from the Scottish FA to hear about the progress made in recent years, including the launch of the Scottish FA’s first ever Mental Health Action Plan last year.
The plan, which supports the Royal Foundation’s Heads Up mental health campaign, aims to end the stigma around the issue in football and create an environment for people to talk openly about their mental health in the game.
The Duke learned of the success of the Scottish FA’s mental health e-learning platform, which has seen more than 9,000 players, staff, managers and officials in the Scottish football community complete mental health awareness training through the platform in less than a year.
The module – the first bespoke mental health course created by any of the Home Nations – was developed by the Hampden Sports Clinic in conjunction with Breathing Space and was launched after the Scottish FA signed a joint “Mentally Healthy Football” Declaration as a lasting legacy of the Royal Foundation’s Heads Up campaign.
This commitment saw governing bodies, leagues and organisations from across UK football join in recognising that mental health is as important as physical health, and pioneering a ‘team approach’ on this important issue.
A new name will be appearing on Civil Service Strollers shirts this season as a result of a new local partnership.
Strollers club secretary Keith Stewart explained: “We are delighted to announce that this season we have entered an agreement with Pilton Community Health Project (PCHP).
“We are currently looking at the ways that we can work together to promote and deliver effective health and wellbeing practices.
“Here at the Strollers, the tough year that we have all had has opened our eyes to the view that if you are healthy, you are wealthy. So, this season, instead of seeking sponsorship in the current economic climate, we have decided to support PCHP by promoting them on our youth and Lowland League teams shirt fronts and around the pitch at our own expense.
“We look forward to building a strong relationship with PCHP.”
PCHP’s Dawn Anderson said: “Pilton Community Health Project are delighted to announce a new partnership with Civil Service Strollers FC. This opportunity to work alongside Civil Service Strollers will help even more local people take steps to better health and increase access to a wide range of wellbeing initiatives tailored for the Club’s members and their families.
“Together, we hope to increase the impact of our resources locally, sharing ways to cope with the multiple impacts of the pandemic on our community, and ultimately feel stronger through looking after ourselves and each other.
“We welcome this innovative approach by the Civil Service Strollers and look forward to working with their members and developing a strong community partnership.”
Each year the release of newspaper school league tables for Scotland is a day I dread, and the publication of the 2021 results yesterday was no different. The language of the headlines – “Which school is the best in Scotland?” and “Scotland’s schools ranked best to worst” – is both incredibly damaging and demoralising for staff, pupils, parents and school communities across the country, not to mention the reputational harm it can cause for years to come (writes SHELLEY McLAREN).
The stories will continue today in the local news, where it feels like we need to put on our armour and prepare for attack. No matter how much we’ve done in all other parts of school life throughout the year, the focus to determine our worth and whether we are a “good” school seems to rest singlehandedly on the one measure of how many young people achieve five Highers in one sitting.
As a school, we pick up the pieces from this for months to come – only for it to come around again next year. It is not, of course, that we do not focus on trying to improve by the measure of five Highers, but, because of context and, indeed, probably our own vision and values, we will always be near the “bottom”.
Our main aims are educating our young people out of poverty and instilling in them the belief that no matter where you come from or the challenges you have faced in your life, you can still achieve your dreams and be the best you can be. University, a modern apprenticeship or a job are all given equal weighting; the most important thing is that the young person has achieved the best they can – and, believe me, every day we support, challenge, motivate, nurture and push high expectations to ensure this happens.
I congratulate those top-performing schools where up to 86 per cent of young people have achieved the “gold standard” of five Highers. It is an incredible achievement and should be celebrated – but everything is about context, and schools should and need to be measured on so much more.
I am not shirking accountability or responsibility as a headteacher – the measure of five Highers is important – but if closing the attainment gap simply meant improving this one measure, and that determined whether we were a “good” or “bad” school, we would have used our Pupil Equity Fund (PEF) and Scottish Attainment Challenge funding very differently – and probably not made that many gains.
I could concentrate on the fact that 70 per cent of our young people live in SIMD (Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation) 1 and 2 or that 20 per cent of each cohort arrive at us with a reading age of 8 or below, or that nearly 40 per cent of our students are on free school meals. This would make it easy to excuse why we are one of the “worst” schools in the league table – but I won’t, because that is not what we base our views of children on.
What I will focus on is that, in 2020, nearly 95 per cent of our young people left school to go into a positive destination – above the national average of 93.3 per cent – and that last session 100 per cent of our young people in S4 achieved five or more national qualifications (nobody was “left behind”, regardless of any barrier) and that this year 23 of our young people (almost a third of the cohort) are heading off to universities across the country – the same group of young people who didn’t achieve five Highers in one sitting.
I implore you, please don’t judge our incredible young people or our amazing school, filled with dedicated, passionate staff, on this one measure of five Highers – know that we are doing everything possible to ensure that our students are given a gold-star service to prepare them to have the best life possible after school, with or without the achievement of the “gold standard”.
Are we one of the “worst” schools in the country? Of course we’re not – and I would vehemently challenge anyone who considers this to be the case.
Shelley McLaren is headteacher at Craigroyston Community High School
This article first appeared in TES
Fresh Start, with the Edinburgh Health & Social Care Partnership, are running online events on 12th & 13th May to allow residents to discuss how our services can adapt to fit what matters to you, the people that live and work in the area!
Join the conversation on Wednesday 12th May, 1-2.30pm by registering here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/…/tZYsd…
Or Thursday 13th May, 7pm – 8.30pm, by registering here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/…/tZ0qcu…
Please share around your networks and get the conversation going!
Time for Change Project
We have received funding from the management committee of Royston Wardieburn community centre to offer some one to one activities to local folk in North West Edinburgh, who might be struggling a bit as we ease out of lockdown.
The aim is to support people engage/re-engage with the many social and learning opportunities on offer in North Edinburgh.
As you know, it’s not going to be easy for many people to take the first step – it never is. However, the impact of lockdown is likely to have magnified people’s concerns and anxieties about getting involved in something new.
Many people may be feeling a bit anxious about what life is going to look like in the coming months and the challenges that lie ahead. Some people may struggle physically due to the loss of mobility during last year and might need a bit of support to get out and about safely again.
One to One Activities
We’ve put together a programme of one to one activities which we hope will address these issues and we will adapt the programme to reflect people’s interests. The programme includes supported local walks, visits to places of interests such as community gardens and galleries and museums.
We are also planning to offer individuals the opportunity to work on their digital, literacy or language skills in a local café once the restrictions are lifted. For some people just meeting up with someone in a public space for a coffee and a chat will be sufficient.
Working together
We would be really grateful for your help and support with this project.
1. Can you send us information about any activities you are planning?
2. Can you could let us know if you have a space that we might be able to use for meet ups (inside and outside)?
We would also be grateful if you could help to promote the project by displaying our leaflets (which will be dropped off next week) in a public space and if you could pass on the information to anyone you know who you think might benefit from the project.
We are aiming to work with people who have been particularly badly affected by lockdown, particularly those who might have been shielding due to health conditions but also people from the BAME community and people who might be struggling with their mental health or finding it difficult to get out due to mobility issues.
If you know someone who might be interested, please let us know how best to get in touch with them.
Please get in touch if you want to know more about the Time for Change Project or if you would like to become involved in some way.
We look forward to hearing from you.
With very best wishes
Lynn, Lorrane and Neil.
Although the Meadows is not part of my policing command area, seeing the disgraceful scenes over the Easter weekend made it clear that a visible and robust police presence was required in green spaces in the north west of the city to deter this type of behaviour (writes Chief Inspector SARAH TAYLOR).
Although the Meadows is not part of my policing command area, seeing the disgraceful scenes unfold over the Easter Weekend made it clear to me that a visible and robust police presence was required in our green spaces within the North West of the city to deter this type of behaviour being replicated.
Communities living near to our own popular beauty spots such as Cramond, South Queensferry, Inverleith Park and Lauriston Castle can be reassured that targeted patrols are being conducted in these areas to ensure that every opportunity is made to disrupt and prevent such behaviours from taking place.
Officers will engage with the public, offer relevant advice if current COVID legislation is being breached and take appropriate enforcement action for any criminal offences we observe.
Please keep adhering to the existing Scottish government guidelines and help ensure the swiftest possible route out of lockdown.
You may all be aware that in the past few months we have received an increasing number of reports relating to criminality occurring on, and towards, Lothian Bus services across the city and a number of services have been temporarily suspended as a result.
Sadly, the North West has been one of the main areas where such instances have been reported. Officers have responded to incidents in Clermiston, Drumbrae and Drylaw where buses have been struck by objects.
Operation Proust aims to address these issues through joint community patrols with Lothian Buses, providing reassurance to drivers and members of the public, as well as speaking to youths about the dangers and consequences associated with this type of reckless behaviour.
We have now charged 30 young people in relation to these incidents. I would urge parents and guardians to speak to their children about the dangers associated with throwing objects at vehicles, as well as making sure they know where they are and what they are doing.
Sadly, this is not the only type of only antisocial behaviour we’ve experienced in the North West as of late.
Local residents in South Queensferry and Clermiston have been in touch to report a number of incidents of youth-related antisocial behaviour and as such we’ve carried out a range initiatives to identify those responsible, prevent further offences and divert youths away from getting involved in crime. We will share more about these initiatives and their progress via our social media channels.
Community safety remains an established priority and we continue to work with our partners including City of Edinburgh Council to combat antisocial behaviour in all its forms.
In addition to our commitment to tackling antisocial behaviour throughout the North West, we remain steadfast in our efforts to combat the harm caused by drugs within our local communities.
Over the past six weeks we have worked in partnership with relevant partners and other specialist resources across the Drylaw, Muirhouse and Pilton areas to target and disrupt those involved in drug supply.
Together, we have undertaken a range of enforcement and disruption activities that have resulted in various drug seizures being made, including the recovery of £25,000 of cannabis at one property.
The public continue to play a vital role in assisting investigations into drug crime and I would encourage anyone who has any concerns about drug-related activity, or has any information about those involved in drugs, to contact police on 101 or make an anonymous report to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
CI Sarah Taylor is Local Area Commander for North West Edinburgh.
