Police Scotland is appealing for information after the attempted murder of a 34-year-old man in West Pilton.
Officers were called to a report of a man found injured in a common stairwell in West Pilton Grove in Edinburgh at around 5pm on Friday (18 June).
The man was taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh where he was treated for injuries to his head and body.
Detective Inspector Alison MacDonald of CID said : “We are carrying out extensive enquiries to establish the circumstances surrounding this attempted murder, and trace whoever is responsible.
“A review of CCTV footage in the local area is ongoing and officers are carrying out house to house enquires in order to establish what happened.
“We are keen to trace the driver of a dark blue hatchback which was seen to be driving erratically in the area around the same time.
“We would like to speak to anyone who witnessed this attack take place, or motorists who were driving in the area of West Pilton Grove between 4pm and 5pm on Friday, 19 June and have dash-cam footage, you may have captured something that will assist our inquiry.
“Anyone with information on this attack should contact detectives at Corstorphine Police Office though 101 quoting reference number 2690 of 19 June. Alternatively Crimestoppers can be contacted on 0800 555 111, where anonymity can be maintained.”
Council Leaders have called on Edinburgh citizens to stick together and continue the effort to halt the spread of Covid cases in the Capital.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said yesterday that it was highly likely restrictions would not be eased down to Level Zero from 28 June when the latest roadmap plans are confirmed next week, with cases of the Delta variant continuing to rise rapidly across the country. The expected postponement of this relaxation would, she said, allow time for vaccinations to keep ahead of the virus so that more and more people in Scotland have the highest possible protection against Covid19.
Council Leader Adam McVey said:“We all desperately want life to get back to normality again and it’s always frustrating when easing restrictions needs to be slowed down or paused. Cases are rising fast, though, so it’s vital we stick together on this, because collective action is how we’ll reap the rewards for all of us.
“We really need to double down our efforts now to keep the virus in check. That means getting tested or testing yourself regularly and coming for your vaccination when you’re called for it, especially the crucial second dose.
“It’s also about continuing to follow the all-important FACTS guidance that will limit the chances of person-to-person transmission, especially if you’re meeting up with more people now than in recent weeks and months. And, in the unfortunate event you do test positive, you have to self-isolate at home – remember, there’s financial support and help available if you need it.
“I want to reiterate my sincere thanks to everyone in the city who’s worked so hard to help us jointly tackle this horrendous pandemic. Your commitment, sacrifices and perseverance have been inspiring in what’s been a very, very difficult 15 months. We need to keep digging deep now to help vaccinations win the race against the virus.”
Depute Council Leader Cammy Day said:“We’re making it as easy as possible to get yourself tested, even if you don’t have symptoms. As many as one in three Covid cases never result in symptoms, so any of us could be carrying it at any time, and you’ll only know if you take a test.
“Pop into one of our community test centres – no appointment’s needed – or order some home testing kits online so you can test yourself regularly as recommended.
“You can also collect the free, rapid lateral flow testing kits at our McDonald Road Library and Blackhall Library test centres this week and keep an eye on our dedicated community testing web page to find out where the centres are each week as we work to locate them in areas where cases are particularly high or rising.
“If we can pick up and isolate more cases, more quickly, then we’ll be able to prevent the virus from spreading further in our communities. Breaking the chain of transmission not only keeps more people safe from the risk of illness but will help us get things under control so we can ease restrictions even further.”
A mobile testing centre, run jointly with the Scottish Ambulance Service, will be open at Heart of Midlothian Football Club from Thursday 17 to Wed 23 June, close to the Wheatfield Stand on the corner of Wheatfield Place and Wheatfield Street.
The centre will offer PCR tests for people without symptoms and will be open for walk-in appointments from 10am to 6pm daily.
Ann Park, Hearts’ Director for Communities and Partnerships said:“Heart of Midlothian is delighted to host the walk-up COVID 19 testing facility at our Wheatfield Street entrance at Tynecastle Park from Thursday 17 June.
“The Club is pleased to support this vital community service, which will help in efforts to reach Level Zero more quickly.”
Community test centres are open for people with no COVID-19 symptoms at:
Blackhall Library from Monday 7 to Sunday 20 June 9am-6pm [test pick-up available]
McDonald Road Library from Monday 14 June to Saturday 26 June 9am-6pm [test pick-up available]
Mobile Testing Unit, North West Locality office, 8 West Pilton Gardens until Sunday 20 June 9am-6pm [test pick-up available]
Mobile Testing Unit, Scottish Water, 55 Buckstone Terrace, from Monday 14 June until Friday 18 June 10am-6pm [test pick-up available]
Mobile Testing Unit, Heart of Midlothian Football Club, Wheatfield Stand, from Thursday 17 June to Wednesday 23 June 10am-6pm
Gilmerton Library from Monday 21 June to Saturday 26 June 9am-6pm [test pick-up available]
Wester Hailes Library from Monday 21 June to Saturday 26 June 9am-6pm [test pick-up available]
Fifteen year old girl in critical condition in hospital
Road Policing Officers are appealing for information after a serious road crash took place in West Pilton on Friday evening.
Around 5.25pm on Friday (4 June 2021), a red coloured Audi Q3 and an electric motorbike collided on West Pilton Street, at the junction with Ferry Road Drive.
A 15-year-old girl was taken to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children where she remains in a critical but stable condition. A 14-year-old girl was also taken to the same hospital to be treated for injuries.
Sergeant Steve Livesey said: “We are appealing for anyone who may have seen this incident take place or and has not already spoken to police to get in touch. The street was busy and therefore we are aware there were a number of witnesses.”
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Police via 101, quoting incident number 2828 of Friday, 4 June, 2021.
A school feels ‘under attack’ when put at the bottom of a narrow-focused league table, says Craigroyston headteacher Shelley McLaren
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”.
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
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:
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.
