Dyslexia support funding to be doubled

Funding for a charity supporting children with dyslexia is being doubled, Deputy First Minister John Swinney has announced. Dyslexia Scotland will receive £200,000 funding in 2017/18 to support their work, which includes a helpline, dyslexia assessments and tutoring.

New tools to help teachers address the needs of pupils with dyslexia are also being developed.

The Addressing Dyslexia toolkit has been revised to make it more accessible and easier to use. The free online resource helps teachers support children with dyslexia and literacy issues.

Free online training courses are also being developed to help teachers identify dyslexia early and improve support for pupils as they learn and when preparing to leave school.

Mr Swinney announced the funding at the launch of the refreshed toolkit yesterday, where he met young ambassadors for Dyslexia Scotland and the charity’s president, Sir Jackie Stewart.

Mr Swinney said: “It is vital that young people with dyslexia get the support they need so they can achieve their potential. Today I have met young people who show just how much can be achieved with the right identification and support. But we also know there is more to be done.

“That is why we are doubling the funding we provide to Dyslexia Scotland, to support their work in improving opportunities and supporting children and their families.

“To help children get the right start in life, teachers must be properly equipped to identify dyslexia early and provide the right support, which is why we have refreshed our Addressing Dyslexia toolkit, and created new online training tools.”

Sir Jackie Stewart (above) said: “I cannot emphasise how important it is for all teachers – and I mean all teachers – to use this free, comprehensive and informative Toolkit.

“For the sake of the 10-15% of children and young people with dyslexia in Scotland, my hope is that teachers, schools and local authorities actively promote this invaluable guidance and the accompanying online training. My sincere thanks go to the expert working group that has made this possible.

“My own experience at school scarred me for life due to the ignorance of my teacher – and we know that there are still too many young people not being identified and supported today. Therefore, I am delighted and very grateful that the Scottish Government has supported this initiative and that the Deputy First Minister has today announced that the funding to Dyslexia Scotland will be doubled next year.”

The Addressing Dyslexia toolkit was first launched in 2010.

The first of three online training modules – entitled ‘Introduction to dyslexia and inclusive practice’ – has been developed. It will be available on the Addressing Dyslexia, Open University and Dyslexia Scotland websites and through Education Scotland’s digital sites.

Redhall Walled Garden Easter Open Day

SATURDAY 15 APRIL 12 – 4pm

Redhall Walled Garden is holding a community Easter Open Day on Saturday 15th April (12-4pm).

To summarise what’s on offer :-

Easter Quiz & Trail
Egg & Spoon races
Plants for Sale
Historic Garden
Cream Teas

Redhall Walled Garden

97 Lanark Road, Edinburgh EH14 2LZ

0131 443 0946

The garden is open to the public Monday- Friday 9am – 4pm

To find out more about Redhall see our video (below)

or attend our Information day on the first Wednesday of every month – phone to book.

Granton Community Gardeners to feature on STV appeal programme

GRANTON COMMUNITY GARDENERS: CHANGING LIVES!

STV Children’s Appeal – Changing Lives, Friday 17 March at 8pm on STV

In 2016, the STV Children’s Appeal raised an incredible £2,568,369 for Scotland’s children, thanks to the fundraising efforts of individuals, communities, businesses and celebrities across the country.

In a special programme presented by Andrea Brymer, STV presenters Sean Batty, David Farrell, Chris Harvey and Lucy Whyte visit some of the many projects that benefit from Appeal funding, including Granton Community Gardeners in Edinburgh, to find out how the money is having a real impact in communities across Scotland.

Viewers will also get a chance to catch up with some of the young people and families who featured in STV’s Appeal programming in 2016. STV Children’s Appeal – Changing Lives will air on Friday 17th March at 8pm.

The half hour programme shines a light on the fantastic work taking place across Scotland to help children and young people affected by poverty, focusing on four projects; Granton Community Gardeners in Edinburgh, Home-Start in Aberdeen, Bridging the Gap in Glasgow and One Parent Families Scotland in Falkirk.

Granton Community Gardeners was set up by a group of neighbours to cultivate a piece of wasteland in one of the poorest areas of the city. The £1,000 grant from the STV Children’s Appeal is now helping the project offer children’s gardening clubs as well as regular community meals to help combat isolation and provide healthy food at very little cost for local families living in poverty. STV News presenter Lucy Whyte joins local school children at the project as they learn how to grow and eat fresh and healthy food.

STV News presenter Chris Harvey visits charity Home-Start in Aberdeen, which is one of several local Home-Start charities in Scotland to benefit from over £81,000 from the STV Children’s Appeal, to find out how the funding is making a difference. The grant will help deliver Big Hopes Big Future, a project that works with children before they start school to ensure they have the necessary skills and behaviors in place to participate fully and benefit from their early years in education.

Live at Five’s David Farrell visits Bridging the Gap, an inspirational community project based in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, to discover how the community is joining together to help families in the local area. The project has received £2,000 from the STV Children’s Appeal to support its community services, which range from parenting support to weekly community meals to help reduce isolation among new residents, whether they are from other parts of Glasgow or other parts of the world.

STV’s weatherman and long term supporter of STV Children’s Appeal, Sean Batty pays a visit to Falkirk charity One Parent Families Scotland to learn more about the work of the Braes Family Centre, which has received £46,471 from the Appeal.

Based in the Upper Braes area of Falkirk, the family centre offers child care and outreach work in schools, including anger management training for teenagers who have been or are at risk of being excluded from school. The project is now hoping to launch a community hub offering a food scheme, a community garden, regular meals and a platform for local people to build relationships and break down barriers in the community.

Presenter Andrea Brymer said: “We are so incredibly lucky to have the support of the Scottish people who continually raise amazing amounts of money for the STV Children’s Appeal. Handing out the cheques and seeing the real difference the money can make is what makes every part of it worthwhile. We supported so many fantastic projects across Scotland in 2016 and we’re looking forward to sharing some of their stories in this programme.”

Elizabeth Partyka of the STV Children’s Appeal said: “We are extremely grateful to everyone that fundraised and donated to the STV Children’s Appeal in 2016. In this programme we highlight four of the many incredible projects that we’ve been able to support to show that every donation, big or small, helps make a difference in the lives of children and young people affected by poverty in Scotland.

“We are now in the midst of planning another fantastic line-up of fundraising events and programming for 2017 and with the continued support of communities across Scotland we hope to make this our best year yet.”

Since launching in 2011, the STV Children’s Appeal has raised over £13.7 million, with 722 big and small grants distributed to projects across all 32 local authority areas in Scotland, providing much needed support to over 62,000 children. The money raised is distributed to provide practical help like food and warm clothes; create opportunities for training and employability; and enable social and emotional support for those who need it most.

If you’re an individual or group that would like to help raise funds for children and young people living in poverty in Scotland with the STV Children’s Appeal, please get in touch with Natalie Wright at natalie.wright@stv.tv.

Big ‘paws up’ for Pets at Home!

The Scottish SPCA’s Edinburgh centre received a generous donation of £6384.44 from Pets At Home staff in Livingston. The money was raised for Scotland’s animal welfare charity through a variety of events held in store, including their Santa Paws event held in December. Continue reading Big ‘paws up’ for Pets at Home!

Warm welcome for Zoe at SSPCA Rehoming Centre

The Scottish SPCA has welcomed Zoe Raynor to their Edinburgh centre following a national hunt to find her after the delivery of a generous Christmas gift. Continue reading Warm welcome for Zoe at SSPCA Rehoming Centre

Meal Makers

Meal Makers is a charity that helps isolated older people enjoy the benefits of a home-cooked meal provided by a neighbour.

It connects volunteers of any age who have a passion for cooking and want to be active in their communities (“cooks”), with older neighbours over the age of 55 (“diners”) who would appreciate a home cooked meal. Once a cook and diner have been matched, the cook will prepare an extra meal in their own home and deliver it to their diner at a time agreed by both parties. Meal shares can occur as often as the cook and diner would like, so it might be weekly, fortnightly or just now and again. It helps improve nutrition, reduce isolation and build community links that so often have been lost. There is no cost attached to the meals, as they are a voluntary donation of food between members.

The only cost is a £5 fee for the diner to join Meal Makers for the year. Contact Robert Peacock 07710 703528 or email robert@mealmakers.org.uk

https://youtu.be/PI3iYBXD2ZU

Clothes Aid animation encourages January clear-out

Clothes Aid is using an animation to encourage people to have a January clear out of their wardrobes.

#ClothingStory illustrates what happens to clothing when it is donated, and was created to answer queries from the public about where the clothing donated to Clothes Aid specifically goes after it has been collected.

The film tells the story through two example families: one that goes through the process of donating their clothing in the UK, and another family in an Eastern European second hand shop, which buys those same unwanted clothes a few weeks later. It also shows the step-by-step process to donate a bag of unwanted clothing to Clothes Aid.

Clothes Aid: Our #ClothingStory from Clothes Aid on Vimeo.

The charity is also offering a prize draw with Brantano & Jones Bootmaker, giving people a chance to win a £50 voucher if they donate a bag of unwanted clothing this month and post a photograph of themselves on Twitter or Facebook with their bag and the #ClothingStory hashtag,

Anyone who phones the Clothes Aid hotline (020 7288 8545) to book a clothing collection, and quotes the #ClothingStory hashtag will also be added to the free prize draw.

Clothes Aid business manager, Michael Lomotey said: “We are often asked about the lifecycle of people’s unwanted clothes, so we’re delighted to launch the #ClothingStory film, which shows the very simple process and journey that they go on from being bought, donated in the UK and then bought again in Eastern Europe.

“We’re urging people up and down the country to have a clear out this January and donate a bag of their unwanted clothes to Clothes Aid. Because the less clothing that goes into landfill, the more money we can raise for our six partner UK charities.”

The six partner UK charities are: Children’s Hospice Association Scotland (CHAS), NSPCC, Macmillan, Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA), Make-A-Wish® UK and Zoe’s Place Baby Hospice.

When you believe in me …

BARNARDO’s Fostering and Adoption Week 23 – 29 January

A new survey by Barnardo’s has revealed that 75 per cent of children living in Scotland said having a parent or guardian that encourages or believes in them is important for a positive future when they are adults. Continue reading When you believe in me …

New Year, new home for cheeky wee Buster?

The Scottish SPCA is seeking a new home for Buster the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, who has been at the Edinburgh Animal Rescue and Rehoming Centre for over a year and 10 months. Scotland’s animal welfare charity is hoping that 2017 is the year that Buster finds his new forever home. Continue reading New Year, new home for cheeky wee Buster?

Blackhall Nursery’s Loony Dookers raise £1400

Congratulations to the brave Blackhall Nursery Loony Dook team – this hardy wee band braved the icy waters of the Firth of Forth on New Year’s Day and raised over £1400. Well done, Snow White and her (cold) wee chums!