Tag: Children and Families

City makes a splash with affordable swimming

NonSwimmer

A £125,000 investment by the City of Edinburgh Council is to make swimming more accessible and more affordable for hundreds of young children and families across the Capital. A range of measures will be introduced over the next two years that will increase swimming provision and access to pools and schools for those who need it most – with free swimming for primary school children during the October school holidays!

The programme involves a ‘raft’ of measures including:

· free swimming during school holidays,

· top up swimming classes for P2-3 pupils,

· free family splash time sessions

· swimming classes for women and children from BME communities.

Councillor Richard Lewis, the city’s Culture and Sport Convener, said: “Swimming is a fantastic activity that is not only fun but keeps you fit and healthy too. The purpose behind providing a free programme of swimming is to open up our pool facilities to those that may never have tried swimming before or to encourage parents to take their children along for a fun family swim.

“We’ve worked closely with our partners in Edinburgh Leisure and sportscotland to produce a programme that specifically targets children and adults who need support the most and also benefits the most number of people for the money available. It builds on what was proposed by Splashback and, I believe, goes even further to ensure that children from all over the city have the opportunity both to learn to swim and enjoy it at the same time.”

Between Saturday 12 October and Monday 21 October, free swimming for primary school children will be available between 12-4pm in four city pools every day during the school holidays (with some exceptions – see Edinburgh Leisure website and Wester Hailes Education Centre websitefor details). The pools are Leith Victoria Swim Centre, Gracemount Leisure Centre, Dalry Swim Centre and Wester Hailes Education Centre.

These free swim session for juniors will be repeated during school holidays until April 2015 and will also include the pool at Ainslie Park Leisure Centre when it reopens after rfurbishment and upgrading later this month.

Further to this, from January, the Council will also provide additional swimming lessons for P2/3 pupils in eighteen schools designated as ‘positive action’ schools (where over 40% of pupils are entitled to free school meals). These will be run with Edinburgh Leisure who will provide additional teaching support to help these children develop early aquatic skills, knowledge of pool safety, and in many cases, introduce them to swimming for the first time.

Also early next year the Council will launch a ‘Family Splash Time’ programme which will provide parents and their children with eight weeks of fun, two-hour, swim sessions funded as part of this investment.

The Council also proposes to extend the successful ‘Female Only Swim’ sessions held at Leith Victoria to other parts of the Capital next year. These sessions are targeted specifically at the BME community where cultural and religious barriers may prevent women from participating in swimming.

The £125,000 funding for accessible and affordable swimming was agreed by the Capital Coalition earlier this year in recognition of Splashback’s commitment to increasing swimming opportunities for young people.

Graeme Gardiner, Director of Operations at Edinburgh Leisure said:  ‘We are delighted to be supporting this swimming initiative.  We passionately believe in the positive impact that sport and physical activity can have on individuals and communities and we want to inspire everyone in the city to be more active and healthy.  This swimming initiative provides a great way of encouraging people to get active and try out swimming.”

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New classrooms for new school year

TrinityTwenty three new classrooms have opened their doors to pupils today as the City of Edinburgh Council tackles the pressing issue of rising school rolls. The Council has spent £8m on creating new classrooms at Towerbank, Corstorphine, Granton, Trinity (pictured above) and Wardie Primary Schools, while Blackhall also received an upgrade.

Additional class spaces have also been created at a further six schools where there has been increased pressure for places – this means up to 750 new pupil places have been created across the city.

Due to rising rolls £2m has been spent on the extensions to the other three primary schools. Trinity Primary School has four new classrooms, Wardie Primary School has three new classrooms and Granton Primary School has two new classrooms.

In addition to the new classrooms, the temporary units at James Gillespie’s and Blackhall have been refurbished, while extra space has been created at James Gillespie’s, Holy Cross, St Mary’s Leith, Craigour Park and Oxgangs to allow for more pupils.

The new accommodation at Granton, Trinity and Wardie Primary Schools has been carried out with partners Hub South East Scotland and Morrison Construction.

Councillor Paul Godzik, Education Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “Many local authorities across the United Kingdom are struggling to find sustainable solutions to the increase in pupil numbers.

“In Edinburgh, primary school rolls are predicted to rise by 19% by 2020 – bringing our primary school population to over 31,000. That’s why the Capital Coalition has pledged an extra £15m to tackle the issue.

“The foundations we are laying here in Edinburgh demonstrate that the capital is prepared for the complex challenges that lie ahead. We believe our approach allows us the flexibility to plan much better for the future, and we are working with school communities and parent councils as we move forward. Whether or not it is traditional extensions, new built units or the refurbishment of existing space, we are committed to providing the very best educational environment for our pupils.”

Mari Smith, P6 class teacher at Trinity Primary School, said: “The classrooms are a fantastic addition to our school and provide a bright and stimulating learning environment. The children are so excited about starting the new school year in their brand new classrooms.”

Paul McGirk, Chief Executive of Hub South East Scotland, said: “We are delighted to continue our successful partnership with the City of Edinburgh Council and hope that the pupils of Granton, Trinity and Wardie Primary Schools enjoy their new classrooms.

“This is a great example of how Hub South East Scotland can work with our partners to deliver modern, innovative solutions, providing facilities more quickly, more effectively, and with more time and cost certainty than ever before.”

David Wilson, Project Director for Morrison Construction, said: “This has been an exciting and challenging project to be involved with and we would like to acknowledge the patience and understanding shown by the head teachers, the teaching and support staff, the pupils and our neighbours throughout the construction phase.

“We look forward to continuing this spirit of partnership in the future phases of the Rising Rolls project.”

The Towerbank and Corstorphine extensions have been planned for a number of years but the others are as a result of a unique approach taken by the Council to deal with rising school rolls.

When schools are identified as potentially needing extra accommodation for the next school year, the relevant design and planning permissions are taken forward however it is only when the final registration numbers are confirmed in the following January that a decision is taken to go ahead with building the new classrooms.

This means that extensions are only built when the Council is confident the extra classes will be required. Previously this decision would have been taken much earlier before final numbers were known. It also means that additional classes can be added as, and when, they are needed depending on the annual review.

Wardie Primary School now has planning permission for a further two classes and Granton Primary School has planning permission for two further phases which would deliver five more classes if and when required.

The Council has already identified five more primary schools where new extensions may be required for the 2014/15 session to meet the increased demand from catchment pupils and are already starting to plan for the delivery of these for August 2014 should they be needed.

So £8 million for emergency extensions is good news for pupils and parents  – but it does make you wonder (again) at the wisdom of closing schools like Royston prematurely …

royston

 

Inverleith’s BIG Search is ON tomorrow!

I know I said this last week as well, but the BIG Search definitely goes ahead tomorrow!

The BIG search 2013

Dear All

Rain or shine, we plan to go ahead with the BIG Search in  Inverleith tomorrow (Thursday 1st August) from 1pm. Bring your wellies and please join us for a fun afternoon of questions and clues that will lead you around the Inverleith Ward! Find out more about your area and win great prizes!

Pick up your pack at 1pm at either Blackhall or Stockbridge Libraries (packs include question sheet, local map plus there will be a free  tshirt and goody bag for first 50 entrants!) and plan your route around the area  to  answer the questions.

Bring your completed sheet back to King George V Park (Eyre  Place) at 4pm for prize giving, refreshments and BBQ weather  permitting.

This free event is for all ages. We hope you will join  us!

 

Elaine Lennon Partnership Development Officer

Ignore that date - it's happening TOMORROW!
Ignore that date – it’s happening TOMORROW!

Wednesday is Edinburgh’s Playday

Playday_flier_A5_2013

Edinburgh’s Playday takes place on Wednesday (31 July) from 12.30 – 4pm in the City Chambers Quadrangle. What’s Playday?

Edinburgh’s Playday is a festival of play for parents and children. It gives adults ideas on a big scale of things they can do with their children at home on a smaller scale.

This year, Edinburgh’s Playday takes place right in the heart of the city in the City Chambers Quadrangle and High Street on the Royal Mile. The street will be transformed with a festival of play on offer for children and their families. Come along and try out some old and new ways to play together!

Come along and try:

  • Giant Sand Pit
  • Water Play
  • Mud Kitchen
  • Magic Potions
  • Cardboard City
  • Play in a Box
  • Yarn Bombing
  • Parachute Games
  • Play for Babies
  • Giant Games
  • and much more!

See the flyer (top) for more details

Access is free but children should be accompanied by an adult.

For more information contact cf.play@edinburgh.gov.uk.

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It’s BIG Search day – get the teeshirt!

The BIG search 2013

Wanted to remind you about the free, fun event taking  place this afternoon in Inverleith. ‘The BIG Search’ is a treasure hunt /  quest type event that involves reading clues and finding the answers across the  area from Blackhall to Warriston! 

Open to teams of children, young people, adults and families  of up to 6 people (at least one must be aged 16+), every participant will get  a teeshirt and goody bag and the winning team will get exciting prizes!

Pick up your packs from 1pm at either Stockbridge or  Blackhall Libraries and bring your sheets back at 4pm to Inverleith Park where  there will be fun activities and BBQ (weather permitting).

Please come along and take part and please tell your friends,  families and neighbours about this first in Inverleith! The event is organised  by the Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership’s Children and Families Action  Group.

Thanks to Ocean Terminal and Scottish Gas for their support in this  event.

Elaine  Lennon, Partnership  Development Officer

bigsearch

Tel: 0131 529  5270

Sun shines on MY’s Youthwork Games

Good luck to all the participants who will be taking part in the Youth Games over the next two days. The story:

Following the enormous success of My Adventure’s  first ‘Youthwork Games’ inspired by the 2012 London Games, we are proud to announce that we will be hosting the games on 24th and 25th July 2013. These games are targeted at youth projects to encourage young people not engaged in mainstream sporting activities to compete in a series of outdoor adventure sports and challenges.Activites will include:

  • Mountain Bike

  • Cross Country Run

  • Long Jump

  • Tree Climb

  • Assault Course

  • Archery

  • Swamp Soccer

  • Tug of War

  • Canoe & Swim

Muddy photo

Foggy crowd

 Contact jonny@myadventure.org.uk for more information

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