Tag: Craigroyston

Anti-Bullying Campaign

Bullying-Stops-Here-225x300Pupils from Pirniehall Primary School, spray painted a very clear message at the front of their school gates on Friday morning. In large bright red letters ‘Bullying Stops Here’ which represents a strong message that bullying is not acceptable both in and out of school.

The bright spray painted message is already grabbing the attention of all those who pass through the school gates. Parents and children were discussing the sign as they were leaving the school on Friday, generating conversations about bullying and what the sign stood for. This large visual sign will act as a daily reminder keeping parents and children talking about the subject and it is hoped this message will support parents and teachers in continuing to create a safe school environment.

Parents have been active in supporting anti-bullying campaigns in the local primary schools and it is expected that more positive news stories regarding the great work that parents and teachers have planned will be
shared soon.

Tracy Devenney

It’s Total Craigroyston Week!

This week, North Edinburgh is going Totally Craigroyston! Read on …

There are loads of opportunities to find out about

 TOTAL CRAIGROYSTON

what we’ve been doing over the past 6 months and where we’ve got to since we published our Road Map.

The Total Craigroyston team will be in the community shop in Pennywell Road on

Monday 29 April from 8.30 – 12.00

and Tuesday 30 April from 2.00 – 5.00pm

or

See the Total Craigroyston exhibition

in Muirhouse Library on 

Wednesday 1 May and Thursday 2 May

or

 Come to our feedback and ideas session in

North Edinburgh Arts Centre

 on Fri 3May from 10.30 – 12.00 (lunch and crèche provided)

Open to local workers and local residents

Please book a place for the Friday session by emailing info@totalcraigroyston.co.uk

or by phoning the Total Craigroyston Team at 529 3032 or 529 7054

 

Going Forth Together

TotalCraigroyston

Horsemeat: Amey apology ‘not enough’

AMEY, the private contractor responsible for providing school meals to a number of primary schools where mince containing horsemeat may have been served to children, has apologised to the City of Edinburgh Council and parents for ‘an unfortunate and unacceptable lack of communication’. The company has also made a donation to a children’s charity, but parents say the apology just doesn’t go far enough and questions must be answered.

The city council wrote to parents after results of its own tests on a batch of frozen mince taken in late February from the shared kitchen of Pirniehall and St David’s Primary Schools were confirmed, assuring them that there was no risk to their children’s health. Local primaries Craigroyston and Forthview were also among the schools affexted.

Amey Built Environment (Amey) has since responded to a request by the City of Edinburgh Council to explain why they failed to notify the Council of the presence of horsemeat in beef mince which they had used in school meals in six school kitchens on 8 March, and when they themselves were first alerted to the fact by their supplier, 3663.

The company has also provided a list of meals containing beef mince which were on the menu at each school in the five-week period between w/c 3 February 2013 and w/c 4 March 2013 and which may have contained mince from the affected batch which was later recalled by 3663.

During this period, one week was a holiday.  This information, together with a statement of explanation and apology from Amey, has been included in a letter which was sent to parents in the six affected schools on 4 April.

Councillor Paul Godzik, Education Convener, said: “As soon as we became aware through our own tests that mince containing a small percentage of horsemeat had been supplied to a number of our schools, we immediately took action by contacting parents to let them know. We also checked each of the school kitchens to make sure there was no mince from this batch remaining.

“It was only after we raised the issue with Amey that they advised us that this same batch had in fact been recalled by 3663 on 8 March. “It is unacceptable that the Council was not given this information immediately – had we known on 8 March, we could and would have alerted parents to this at that time. We are pleased that Amey have now apologised for this lack of communication and are grateful to them for their cooperation in this matter.

“Parents are quite right to expect the highest possible standards from the food their children are served at school and the Council prides itself on providing meals which are nutritious, satisfying and value-for-money. It is absolutely crucial therefore that any problems with the produce supplied to our school kitchens are flagged up to us immediately so that we can take appropriate action.”

Gillian Duggan, Managing Director of Amey Built Environment, said: “Recently we have commenced an investigation into how contaminated meat made its way into our supply chain at a date between February 2013 and 8 March 2013. Tests have revealed that a small amount of contaminated meat containing up to 5% horse DNA was served to six schools in Edinburgh before a product recall notice was issued by the meat supplier on 8 March 2013.

“Although checks confirmed no current stock of the contaminated meat in any of the premises, there has been an unfortunate and unacceptable lack of communication from Amey to the City of Edinburgh Council regarding this issue. This resulted in a delay in the Council being able to notify parents. We at Amey are very sorry this issue has occurred, and for any distress caused to parents, who quite rightly expect high standards.”

Ms Duggan added that Amey would be making a donation to the Scottish NSPCC on behalf of the schools affected and added that the company would be undertaking a review of its supply chain and an enhancement of their communication and escalation procedures.

However the apology and charity donation are not enough according to some parents. One West Pilton mother, with two children at a local primary school – who preferred not to be named – said: “Everyone’s been talking about it and I think most parents are disgusted with what has happened. You expect your bairns to get good quality dinners at school so this is really shocking – it’s like a breach of trust. Everybody wants to know how long this has been going on – I think parents have got a right to know, we deserve answers.  It’s very easy to say ‘sorry’ and making a donation to charity is easy for a big organisation like AMEY – they must make a fortune out of the PPP school contracts so that charity donation is sweeties for them.”

mince

Muirhouse set to stage double arts event next Friday

Muirhouse is the place to be for culture vultures next Friday, with not one but two big arts events planned:

echoes

North Edinburgh  Arts is hosting ‘Echoes’ on Friday 12 April at 7pm

A new version of Mamma Mia  has been written by a community group fighting the city council’s plans to close  Castlebrae secondary school.

The Abba track IT, will be  sung by members of the Save the Brae campaign group during a performance of a  play that they have written called Echoes, which will express their opposition  to and frustration over the council’s proposals for the school next  summer.

Among those taking part in  the play is Kevin Finlay, chair of the Save the Brae group, who said: “I think if you go  back in history, any local issues like this have been tackled by using arts to  get points across.”

Around eight men and  women, most of whom are members of Save the Brae will perform the 55-minute play  at North Edinburgh Arts on Friday 12 April at 7pm.

Susan Heron, 54, plays Ina  in the play – a fictional character who has lived in Craigmillar all her life  and doesn’t want the school to close. Susan says the play was a “powerful statement of how Castlebrae school life was and is”.

Tickets are £3 or £2 Good  Neighbours (GN) price. To book tickets please call Box Office on 0131 315  2151

cropped-CCHS-grey-edge-smooth[1]

and in the afternoon …

Travelling Gallery visits Craigroyston High School on Friday 12 April 1 – 4pm

with ‘feel-good’ art exhibition

The Travelling Gallery will be visiting Craigroyston High School on Friday 12 April, with its latest exhibition ‘Turquoise Heid’ on board. This curiously named exhibition is a busy group show of established  and emerging artists from both home and abroad.

Working in a broad range of  media including drawing, animation, film, sculpture, photography, performance,  collage and painting, the exhibition will include artists who use a playful,  childlike, feel good essence in their work, sometimes hiding darker depths but  more often making us smile. The simplicity and low-tech nature of many of the  artworks disguises sometimes complex processes and skills but also makes the  exhibition instantly accessible to audiences of all ages.

’Turquoise  Heid’ includes work by artists Matthew Barnes, Olivia Bee, Yeodoo Jung, Peter  McDonald, Alex Millar, Jock Mooney, Kim Rugg, Yukako Sakakura and David  Shrigley.

Visitors can also look out for artist Ellie Harrison’s Early Warning  Sign which the Travelling Gallery is hosting in 2013 and which will sit outside  the vehicle. Utilising the brazen marketing techniques of capitalism, the sign  attempts to grab the attention of passers-by: to remind them of the consequences  of excessive consumption and to force climate change back on the agenda. The  harder the wind blows, the faster they go! www.ellieharrison.com.

The Travelling Gallery is a custom-built, mobile, contemporary art  space inside a big beautiful bus. Supported by Creative Scotland, the Esmée  Fairbairn Foundation and the Museums and Arts Division of the City of Edinburgh Council, the Travelling Gallery brings high quality contemporary art  exhibitions and events to schools and communities throughout Scotland.

North Edinburgh Arts has arranged for the gallery to be open to  the public on Friday afternoon at Craigroyston High School. The Travelling Gallery’s visit has been  supported by the City of Edinburgh Council’s Children and Families Department.

See www.travellinggallery.com for all the  details or ‘like’ on Facebook

art bus

Sharp fall in North Edinburgh crime figures

Recorded crime is falling in North Edinburgh. Statistics compiled for a community policing event held at Craigroyston High School last night show that overall crime in Forth has fallen by 10% over the first seven months of this year, while in Inverleith the figure is an impressive 31% – a reduction of almost one-third over the same period.

For the year to date in INVERLEITH Ward:

Housebreaking (homes) – down 42% (24 fewer houses broken into)

Housebreaking (businesses) – down 42% (10 less businesses broken into)

Robbery – down 86% (6 fewer victims)

Break-in to cars – down 46% (23 fewer cars)

Vandalism – down 55% (136 fewer victims)

Overall crime down 31%

In FORTH Ward:

Housebreaking (homes) – down 13% (8 fewer homes broken into)

Housebreaking (business) – down 58% (11 fewer businesses broken into)

Break-ins to cars – down 40% (32 lfewer cars)

Vandalism – down 27% (156 fewer victims)

Fire-raising – down 40% (17 fewer dangerous fires).

Overall crime down 10%

Commenting on the figures, Drylaw Police Inspector Mark Rennie said: “These are an excellent set of figures for the area for the first part of the year (April to October). To achieve such significant reductions in vandalism in both the Inverleith and Forth wards is really important – it means less damage, a better environment and an improvement in the behaviour of young people who predominantly commit this type of crime. Vandalism is a crime which always causes a great deal of concern locally, and it often provides a guide as to the overall amount of antisocial behaviour being experienced within communities”.

“To have 292 fewer crimes (156 Forth, 136 Inverleith) in a fairly short period is good news by any measure and gives an indication that the approach taken by the local Police Safer Neighbourhood Team and the Council Community Safety Team produces results. What we have to do now is continue that focus to ensure we maintain the improvements made and seek further reductions.”

The Craigroyston event was one of a series to allow communities in Edinburgh to have their say on how local policing should be delivered in their area. Staffed by police, fire service and council officers the drop-in session gave local residents an opportunity to discuss safety issues and to suggest local priorities ahead of the introduction of the single Police Service of Scotland next April.

Chief Superintendent Malcolm Graham, Commander of the City of Edinburgh Division, said: “We know that the key to policing communities effectively is to listen to local people and then deliver in partnership with them. These consultations are crucial to how we plan and set objectives. I am very much looking forward to hearing the feedback.”

The aim of the consultations is to make the 2013/14 Police Plan more responsive to public opinion and requirements at a ward level, with meetings being held in each of the six different Council neighbourhood areas.

Councillor Michael Bridgman, newly appointed Convenor of the future city Emergency Services Committee, said: “These meetings are a great opportunity for local communities to share their views with the police and council as to what they see as their policing priorities for the future. We would like to hear about the issues that really matter when it comes to delivering a first class police service. I would urge people to come along to any of the planned meetings, have your say and make a real difference.”

 

Muirhouse Million Steps

Almost four hundred local people took part in Friday’s Muirhouse Million Steps event. Local schools were well represented on the walk, which was also supported by Edinburgh Western MSP Colin Keir.

And did those marching feet make the magical million milestone? We’ll have to wait until next week to find out! Event organiser Lisa Arnott, Pilton Community Health Project’s Healthy Lifestyles coordinator, has promised to be in touch soon.

Some photographs of the event: