The Inverleith Summer Programme is packed with things to do over the summer holidays (see details below)
Registration is on Monday 22 June 6pm at Broughton High School so get your skates on!
Tag: Children and Families
Summer Fun at North Edinburgh Arts
Come and help celebrate the start of summer with us on Saturday 20 June (of course it will be sunny!)
All events in or near to North Edinburgh Arts:
Porridge and Play at the new Centipede play area at Muirhouse Drive, meeting at North Edinburgh Arts from 9.30am; for more, see
http://www.licketyspit.com/happening/porridge-play-312
Free family performances of Calvinball at 10am and 11.30am in the garden here at North Edinburgh Arts by Ipdip Theatre, particular geared towards those of us under 5 and our families
And the Power of Food Festival open day, see https://poweroffoodfestival.wordpress.com/news/ for more
All we need is you!
Calvinball is inspired by the game played by Calvin and Hobbes in their comic strip it’s part Mornington Crescent, part Caucus-race; we’re on a quest to find the rules and the only way to do it is to play and see. The action and materials are chosen to appeal to the youngest of audience members and the open, outdoor setting frees parents from that particular theatre worry – will they sit? Lively, musical, slightly wild, and this time – outdoors!
Ring the box office on 0131 315 2151 or email
admin@northedinburgharts.co.uk
to book your free spaces for the 10am or 11.30am show.
Leith Festival: follow the parade
Leith Festival gets underway at midday today with the traditional pageant and Gala Day …
Leith Festival set to kickstart summer
Sunny Leith’s all set for nine days of festival fun
Nine days of fun, entertainment, exhibitions and performance kicks off in Leith tomorrow with the Gala Day and pageant from midday.
There’s been a festival in Leith for over a hundred years and this year’s programme is as bold and ambitious as it’s ever been with a range of events and activities to suit all tastes.
Dave Carson, Chair of Leith Festival, said: “Leith is one of the largest community festivals in Scotland, with a regular attendance of between 11, 000 – 15,000 local people and families participating on Gala Day, and many more besides during the following week of activites in our comunity.
“Leith Festival celebrates and reflects the cultural diversity amd richness we have in Leith, acting as a facilitator to celebrate our community assets and seeking to promote a sense of community, neighbourliness and connectedness with each other.”
To see the full Leith Festival programme visit
www.leithfestival.com
Benji’s coming back!
Play Talk Read bus is heading to West Pilton
Wednesday 24 June
Family-friendly: funding for flexible working doubled
Funding to promote flexible working has more than doubled, the Acting Minister for Children Fiona McLeod has announced.
The Family Friendly Working Scotland Partnership, a coalition of organisations which encourage and help businesses become family friendly workplaces, will receive £250,000 – up from £100,000 funding last year.
Ms McLeod visited Badenoch & Clark, winners of Best Small Employer at the Scottish Top Employers for Working Families Awards 2015, to meet employees who benefit from flexible work arrangements.
She said: “We know many parents and carers have to juggle work with family commitments and this can be challenging. This government is committed to promoting flexible working across both public and private sector employers. That is why we fund the Family Friendly Working Scotland Partnership and I’m pleased we have been able to more than double the funding this year.
“We want more organisations to embrace flexible working arrangements for parents and carers as it benefits both employers and employees. It can boost productivity and performance, improve morale and wellbeing, as well as enhancing staff retention and recruitment.
“Badenoch & Clark is an excellent example of a business accommodating its employees’ needs for flexible working patterns and as a result, retaining talented and loyal staff. It is also proof that it’s not just large employers who can do so. I hope to see more businesses across Scotland develop similar approaches to flexible working.”
Bonnie Clarke, Director of Badenoch & Clark, said: “At Badenoch & Clark, we are fully committed to a family friendly working environment and were delighted to be recognised for our progressive policies by winning one of the inaugural Scottish Top Employers for Working Families Awards.
“We believe that working environments that help employees find a good work-life balance are the most productive and high performing and it’s great to see that the Scottish Government also recognises this through its increased funding for the Family Friendly Working Scotland partnership.”
Nikki Slowey, Programme co-ordinator for the Family Friendly Working Scotland (FFWS) programme said: “We are delighted to receive continued funding for the FFWS programme. FFWS supports employers to embed family friendly working practices, which have proven benefits for employees, employers and wider society.
“The Scottish Top Employers for Working Families Awards recognise best practice in this field and we are delighted that Ms McLeod will have the opportunity to hear first-hand from one of our inaugural award winners about how creating a family friendly workplace has benefitted employees and has been good for business. We hope to work with as many Scottish employers as possible during the coming year to make a real difference to working families across Scotland.”
Chain reaction: Community rallies to support Forthview following bike thefts
Mackenzies serves up support for school hit by robbery
The Forthview Primary School community was devastated when their storage shed was broken into over a holiday weekend in May. Thieves stole bikes which had been borrowed to help teach pupils cycling proficiency, leaving the school facing a potential bill of one thousand pounds it could ill-afford to pay.
Forthview’s Tracey Berry said at the time: “Bikes that we had borrowed, so that Bill Stobie could teach bike ability to P6, have been stolen, along with footballs and gardening equipment. We are responsible for the bikes: it will cost us about £1000 to replace the them!
“Our fundraising is meant to be for outings and activities for Forthview children, not replacing things that thoughtless people have stolen. If you find one please hand it to the school – the more we find, the less money we have to pay out from the school funds.”
An appeal went out to trace the stolen bikes (see NEN blog ‘Forthview break-in: can you help trace bikes?, 11 May) – and the community response has been nothing short of remarkable!
Forthview head teacher Eileen Littlewood said: “Not only have parents, grandparents and their friends rallied to make donations for us, but a fairly new restaurant in Davidson’s Mains contacted us when they heard about the theft. They are very eager to support the community in any way they can and they offered to hold a fundraising night where staff and other people could come and enjoy a taster menu with wine for £30 a head.
“Staff who went along had a wonderful evening and the food was delicious. We enjoyed 8 courses and half a bottle of wine each. The cuisine was superb and at the end of the evening, Grant and Jamie who are the partners in the business gave us every penny back – £550!
“They did not even want to cover the costs of the food. We have been overwhelmed by their generosity. As one staff member said: ‘what a fundraiser – we made a lot of money, had a brilliant meal and wine as well!’
The business in question is Mackenzies Restaurant and Bar in Davidson’s Mains, which opened under new management at the end of April. Mine hosts Grant and Jamie are local lads- from Granton and Wardieburn – and together with Grant’s partner Trisha pledged to help a local school in need.
The Mackenzies team’s tremendous support is greatly appreciated by all at Forthview – and they may just find that their generosity is reciprocated by a grateful community. Well done, Mackenzies!
PS: And the icing on the cake – a number of the missing bikes have been recovered too!
Free Father’s Day fun at the Museum
Award-winning charity Dads Rock is taking over the Museum in Chambers Street again for a Father’s Day festival of fun …
Great News!…along with our friends we’re heading back to the National Museum of Scotland (Museum) for more free fun on Father’s Day (21 June)!
After the success of last year, we’re hoping lots of families will once more come along. It’s open to all members of the family. It kicks off from 11am at the Chambers Street location.
See below for the programme of events, and let us know if you’ve any questions. We look forward to seeing you there!
The following people are running sessions for free, you can sign up on the day for activities:
Awesome Folk (Folk), Bookbug (bookbug), British Science Association (Science), Ceilidhkids (Ceilidh), Dads Rock (dads), Dads Rock Academy (academy), Easy Peasy Yoga (peasy), Edinburgh Sketcher (sketcher), Macastory (mac), Niki’s Balloons, Plant ‘n’ grow (grow), Step it up Dance (dance), Talking Tots (talk) and WHALE (whale)
Bring the whole family for an afternoon of time-travel with loads of free activities from the past, present and future!
Sports stars come out to support Foster Care Fortnight
Superstars from the world of sport have thrown their support behind foster carers this Foster Care Fortnight (1 – 14 June) and called for people to come forward to see if they have the skills needed to foster.
Scotland’s Minister for Children and Young People, Fiona McLeod has also written to all foster carers, thanking them for the huge difference they make to the lives of vulnerable children.
Gabby Logan, television presenter and journalist, is a long-time supporter of the Fostering Network’s Foster Care Fortnight campaign, and she said: “Foster carers are incredible people who dedicate their lives to vulnerable children, but throughout the country there are still many teenagers, disabled children and sibling groups who need a loving home. I am always proud to support The Fostering Network’s Foster Care Fortnight campaign, because I am always proud to support foster carers and the work that they do for our society.
“If you think you have the skills to make a difference to the life of a child and help to ensure that they are on a positive path in life, contact your local fostering service this Foster Care Fortnight.”
Golfer Darren Clarke (above) , and Olympic gold medallists Steve Redgrave and Matthew Pinsent, are some of the other sporting heroes to back this year’s campaign. You can check out their placard pictures, and those of all the other celebrities who have backed the campaign, on the website.
James Foyle, Foster Care Fortnight coordinator, said: “We’re thrilled that these world renowned people from the world of sport have taken the time to recognise the valuable contribution of foster carers to society.
“The support comes on the day that 600 hardy fundraisers will take to the streets and fields of Blaenau Gwent, Gloucestershire, Llanelli, London, Neath Port Talbot, Magherafelt, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Richmond, Yorkshire and Swansea in aid of The Fostering Network. This year’s Foster Walks have received an unprecedented amount of people coming out to support The Fostering Network, and each entrant deserves a gold medal themselves!”
The Fostering Network brings together everyone who is involved in the lives of fostered children and young people to lead, inspire, motivate and support them to make foster care better. To support our work visit www.fostering.net/donate or to donate £10 text FOST37 £10 to 70070.
Also in support of the Fostering Network’s Foster Care Fortnight awareness raising campaign, the Minister for Children and Young People, Fiona McLeod has written to all foster carers in Scotland, thanking them for the huge difference they make to the lives of vulnerable children:
Dear Foster Carer
The Minister for Children and Young People, Aileen Campbell wrote to foster carers on 19 May 2014 expressing her gratitude for the dedication and commitment you make on a daily basis to caring for the needs of some of our most vulnerable children and young people.
In my position as Acting Minister for Children and Young People, I would very much like to reinforce that message to you all. I would also like to take this opportunity, especially at the start of the Foster Care Fortnight awareness raising campaign, to update you on recent policy improvements that will positively impact on you in your role as foster carers and also on the lives of the children you care for
FOSTER CARE REVIEW
Some of you may already be aware that a national review of foster care took place during 2013 and you can read the final report and the Scottish Government response to that review and each of the recommendations which was published on 23 January 2014.
Between August 2014 and March 2015 we have been taking forward a programme of work aimed at seeing the majority of the recommendations implemented into practice and I am pleased to report that some substantial pieces of work have now been concluded. You can read our latest progress update which also provides you with some links that you may find of interest.
CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE (SCOTLAND) ACT 2014
You may already be aware that the new Act, from 1 April 2015, allows 16 year olds, to remain with their foster carers up to the age of 21 should they request it, and when they are ready to leave their continuing care placement, they will also be entitled to aftercare support up to the age of 26, to offer a more gradual transition to independent living. This is much more in line with the experiences of their non-looked after peers. These benefits were enthusiastically welcomed by the care sector and young people.
A number of consultation events are about to take place specifically targeting Foster Carers to allow them to discuss & clarify the guidance for Part 10 Aftercare & Part 11 Continuing Care. This will give them the opportunity to influence the final guidance and discuss any issues that it raises for them. The events will also help Foster Carers understand when they might consider a Continuing Care placement for a young person placed with them and what this means.
As you may appreciate, there has been a substantial amount of work carried out in recent months to develop guidance for the care sector on how these new provisions will work in practice. We have in recent months been undertaking a series of meetings and events aimed at providing service managers, practitioners and young people with the opportunity to provide us with their views on the draft Continuing Care and Aftercare guidance. In May we held events with a particular focus on foster care. We hope to be in a position to publish the guidance in the summer.
Our aims are to ensure that young people are not discharged from care before they feel ready, improve the planning and preparation that is required when they do decide to leave care and also provide young people with a better package of support after they move into their own living arrangements.
GUIDANCE ON DECISION MAKING FOR FOSTER CARERS
I would like to let you know about another piece of work being undertaken to support you in your role. The Scottish Government have commissioned Scottish Child Law Centre to develop guidance that will assist foster carers understand their legal position on everyday decisions they need to make about the children they care for. This will cover e.g. haircuts, medication, bank accounts, holidays as well as many other circumstances that arise on a daily basis. The guidance is expected to be finalised soon and we hope to publish this guidance in the summer. We will bring this to your attention at the time.
THE FOSTERING NETWORK
You may find it helpful to know that the Fostering Network provide advice and guidance to foster carers on a wide variety of issues relating to fostering and Fosterline Scotland is a confidential helpline that you can access Monday to- Friday between 10 am and 4 pm on 0141 204 1400 or via e-mail to fosterlinescotland@fostering.net should you require support on any issue.
I do hope this update is useful to you and again, thank you to you and your families for providing support for the children and young people you care for and helping them to achieve their full potential.
With my heartfelt thanks
FIONA MCLEOD
Sick kids ‘sew’ happy with new bead bags!
Cancer patients at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children got a big surprise recently thanks to the generosity of local volunteers. Hundreds of ‘bead-bags’ hand-sewn by well-wishers have arrived for youngsters on Ward 2 following a call for donations!
The children are taking part in the ‘Beads of Courage’ scheme, an initiative which allows young patients to create a unique record of all the treatments and procedures they’ve been through during their time in hospital, using colourful beads.
In order to keep the beads safe, each child is also given a bead-bag but supplies had been running low.
Jenny Tomes, Clinical Psychologist, explained: “The children like to thread all their beads on to strings to represent all the experiences they have been through in hospital. To give the children somewhere to keep their precious beads safely, they are given a bead bag, a little cloth draw-string bag. We were getting low on supplies and so we put the word out to see if anyone could help.”
Jenny contacted the hospital’s Voluntary Services Manager, Denise Claxton, who set about recruiting some sewing volunteers.
Denise said: “We couldn’t believe it when parcels kept arriving! In the space of a few weeks around 150 bead bags in all different colours and patterns had been sewn and not just by our loyal NHS Lothian volunteers – but also by their friends and families, who were keen to help too.
“We’re really grateful to all those kind people who spent time making the bags so lovingly for the children on Ward 2.”
The ‘Beads of Courage’ programme is run by the charity Be Child Cancer Aware. To find out more visit http://www.bechildcanceraware.org/