Jay Foster - page 3

Loyle Carner help put the finishing touches to a transformed forecourt in a socially-distanced planting day the latest stage in Croydon’s regeneration of Thornton Heath.

Local residents were invited to the new garden in the Ambassador House forecourt which has been installed with the help of volunteers from the National Citizens Service, a youth offenders’ rehabilitation programme.

The participants were members of the community interested in being part of a future gardening club and local star Loyle Carner, who was at the launch event for the forecourt’s improvements last autumn, was also in attendance.

He said, “It’s great to be back home to help bring together our community in a way that benefits the people and the environment. I want to bring nature back to my local community and encourage others to support this movement. Open your eyes, pick up rubbish, do things for the people you care about, and they will do things for the people they care about and so on.”

The forecourt’s improvements came about in a partnership between the council and Timberland through the manufacturer’s Nature Needs Heroes campaign – run by its design consultants and social enterprise Urban Growth – and London National Park City.

The idea is to transform urban areas, greening them and promoting positive change for local communities, and the partnership has resulted in two urban spaces in Croydon reshaped into attractive community hubs: the Ambassador House forecourt and the BRIT School garden.

Alongside the new garden, a storage shed for events and activities has been installed by Tomos Design, which incorporates a gallery of locally produced artwork, created as part of their community engagement last year. Local artists Vân Dang and Bareface have also brought their artistic skills to the forecourt delivering colourful artwork on the walls and steps.

“It is wonderful seeing the community coming together like this and I am seriously impressed by this fantastic garden which will also provide a space for performance, art and creative projects. We are intent on making Croydon greener and healthier and transformative projects such as this can only help the wellbeing of our residents and improve their local environment. I would also like to thank the community in Thornton Health for their involvement, as well as our partnership with Timberland, Urban Growth and London National Park City, and I eagerly look forward to seeing how the garden will benefit the community in the future.”

Councillor Oliver Lewis, cabinet member for culture, leisure and sport

The monthly gardening club will be held in the new community garden on the first Saturday of every month starting on September 5th from 1pm to 4pm. There will be seasonal themes and it will be open to all.

All content belongs to croydon.gov.uk

We do not claim any content to be our own.

From September 2021 Croydon town centre will get a new London South Bank University (LSBU) campus after planning permission was granted to convert an empty Art Deco office building.

Students of health and social care, business and finance will be based at the Grade II-listed Electric House on Wellesley Road after the council granted planning approval and listed building consent this week.

The university has also now signed a lease agreement for the new campus site, which will offer courses including degrees in nursing, accounting, business management and a Masters for chiropractors.

The move follows a partnership agreed in 2019 between the university and the council as the first step towards a new Croydon Creative Campus offering a mix of business, culture and learning to boost the borough’s regeneration and career prospects for Croydon’s 93,000 people under 18.

The university will convert the four-storey Electric House to include a lecture theatre, classrooms and a café. For nursing students, the building will also include nursing skills suites that replicate hospital wards.

“This is another real vote of confidence in Croydon, as London South Bank University’s new town centre campus will bring fantastic education and career opportunities for the young people of this borough, deliver more local jobs and provide a real boost to our economy.

“With university students already studying at nearby Croydon College and Electric House now set to be transformed into LSBU’s new campus, Croydon is fast becoming a south London hub for higher education in line with the council’s long-term vision for a creative campus in the borough.”

Councillor Tony Newman, leader of the council

Professor Patrick Bailey, LSBU Provost, said, “We are delighted LSBU Croydon has taken another big step forward. Croydon is the perfect location for our new university campus which will train the next generation of nurses and business leaders. LSBU Croydon will set graduates up for successful careers by preparing them to hit the ground running.”

Electric House was constructed as an electricity showroom between 1939 and 1942 and still has original features including marble floors. It has been vacant since the Home Office moved out in 2013.

LSBU’s business incubation facility houses 90 businesses and is ranked among the top 15 university-run incubators in the world, while its employer-supported learning framework has made it a leading UK university for graduate employment.

All content belongs to croydon.gov.uk

We do not claim any content to be our own.

Croydon school children’s parents have been updated this week on each school’s individual arrangements to limit the Covid-19 risk when a new academic year starts in September.

As a result of the government confirming earlier this summer that schools nationwide will return in September, headteachers in Croydon have written to parents outlining what tailored measures they have introduced to safely allow all pupils to return.

These measures include weekly deep cleaning, socially-distanced bubbles by year group, one-way systems in school buildings, staggered start and finish times to limit unnecessary contact, Personal Protective Equipment for staff and additional training days on the new arrangements. Schools are also encouraging pupils to work or cycle to school which not only reduces pressure on public transport but is also good for mental and physical health.

Schools have the responsibility to plan their own individual way of safely reopening for September that meets their own circumstances while following government guidelines, meeting health and safety requirements and receiving council support and advice.

Each school has completed an updated Covid-19 risk assessment that is first approved by their board of governors and then shared with the council. These consider everything from hygiene measures, catering and the school run to safeguarding and supporting children with Special Educational Needs.

Some e-learning will continue in combination with face-to-face lessons if schools have teachers or pupils who are at higher risk from Covid-19. Each school has also adapted their curriculum to both help pupils catch up and to reflect any other changes, including timetables that encourage outdoor PE lessons and course updates including Black history.

As well as offering regular support to headteachers, the council is also providing youth mental health first aiders through the Young Londoners’ Fund to advise any children needing help with their wellbeing on their return to school. Teachers and other staff also have access to the adult community Mental Health First Aid programme which is being funded through the council and Transport for London.

Supported by the council, schools have developed plans for managing suspected or confirmed cases of Covid-19. Just like throughout lockdown, if headteachers do flag any suspected or confirmed Covid-19 cases they will work with the council and the National Institute of Health Protection to take appropriate action in line with Croydon’s local outbreak control plan.

“Croydon schools have been working hard to ensure that they are able to safely welcome back all pupils from September, and each one has developed their own tailored plan to do this with council help and by following government guidelines.

“I want to thank all head teachers, governors and their staff in Croydon for doing everything asked of them and more to put plans in place to safeguard and manage risk against Covid-19, and put our schools in the best possible current position in planning for the year ahead.

“Schools will continue to do all they can so staff and pupils alike are kept safe while they carry out the crucial job of educating our young people and improving their future prospects.”

Councillor Alisa Flemming, cabinet member for children, young people and learning

All content belongs to croydon.gov.uk

We do not claim any content to be our own.

The Director of Finance has said, a cash-strapped council “cannot guarantee” it will avoid bankruptcy.

 Croydon Council faces a £65.4m overspend in the 2020-21 financial year but only has £10m of reserve funds.

At a meeting on Tuesday, finance director Lisa Taylor said the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic meant a “balanced budget” could not be assured.

Meanwhile, the departure of the Labour-controlled council’s chief executive Jo Negrini was also announced.

If the council were to issue a Section 114 notice – a ban on all but essential spending – it would become only the second council to do so in 20 years, after Northamptonshire County Council went bust in 2018.

Council leader Tony Newman has insisted the authority will not be forced to ban spending.

‘Covid shortfall’

Ms Taylor said: “There are savings this year in the budget which we are unable to deliver and we will need time to deliver them in future years.

“Likewise with additional income this year we have been unable to deliver that. I can’t guarantee that we won’t issue a 114 notice.”

Croydon Council said it had been “proactive” about addressing its financial situation by taking measures including setting up an independently chaired finance review panel and freezing recruitment.

A spokesman said the authority had also spoken to the government about financial support for “revenue pressures” to tackle its budget gap.

The spokesman said: “Our leadership continues to push ministers for a fair deal for Croydon on both historic underfunding and our Covid-19 shortfall.”

In June, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported that up to 200 people could lose their jobs at the council, which employs more than 6,000 people, including in schools.

‘Saddled with debt’

Meanwhile, the council has announced its chief executive Jo Negrini is leaving her post after four years.

In a statement, she said: “This is a challenging time for local government and I am leaving with all the structures and the team in place to navigate through this post-Covid period and see the council through the next stage in its journey. 

“I loved working for the people of Croydon. It’s an amazing place to work.”

But Tim Pollard, leader of the Croydon’s Conservative opposition, said he was “intrigued” by the timing of Ms Negrini’s departure.

“The town is saddled with masses of debt, it has financial problems fit to bust a gut,” he said.

“I can only assume that the chief executive had a massive breakdown in communication with the political leadership.”

Shifa Mustafa, Croydon’s executive director of place, will take the role up on a temporary basis.

All content belongs to bbc.com

We do not claim any content to be our own.

The first London borough to join with an award-winning social enterprise that helps ex-offenders into work is Croydon.

Over the next three-and-a-half years the council and employers within the borough will partner with The Skill Mill to help vulnerable young people break the cycle of re-offending and gain work experience.

In groups of four at a time the youngsters will take part in an intensive six-month work programme of paid work that will result in a nationally-recognised qualification and the opportunity to progress into further employment or training.

Employers include Balfour Beatty, Kier Construction, Thames Water and the council’s own jobs brokerage service Croydon Works and the young people – aged between 16 and 18 – will be involved in environmental and site maintenance jobs including park and garden preservation.

David Parks is The Skill Mill’s managing director and started the social enterprise in Newcastle six-and-a-half years ago.

He said: “We mostly work in the north and so it’s fantastic this partnership with Croydon has come about. The Skill Mill focuses on some of the most challenging young people who otherwise wouldn’t have the chance to be taken out of that cycle of violence. Just 12% of the kids who come through the programme re-offend compared with the national average of 43%. We are trailblazers and no-one else is exclusively employing young people who are ex-offenders.”

All of the young people involved in the programme live in the borough and this week the first cohort began their six months of work, starting with garden maintenance.

One of them, Nathan aged 17, said, “It’s a great opportunity for me as someone who’s had a bit of a bad past.”

Mel Comber has been seconded from the council to work as The Skill Mill supervisor for Croydon, and is overseeing the young people on a daily basis.

He said, “It’s all about giving people a second chance and trying to point the youngsters in the right direction to get some stability in their life. Not only that but we will be doing such things in the community as tidying up places that will improve the look of the area and so make an environmental difference.”

“Our partnership with The Skill Mill is the result of the excellent work we did with vulnerable adolescents in the youth offending team at the Turnaround Centre. Our head of adolescent services, Hannah Doughty, had previously worked with The Skill Mill in Liverpool and saw what an enormous difference the social enterprise had made to the lives of young ex-offenders. Our youth offending team really does make a difference by working tirelessly to reduce the level of offending and improve the lives of the young people”

Councillor Alisa Flemming, cabinet member for children, young people and learning

“I am proud that Croydon is the first London borough to partner with The Skill Mill. As a council we are committed to improving the lives of disadvantaged young people and to presenting them with work opportunities, including those aiming to lead a fulfilling life away from crime. In the current crisis employment support for youngsters is needed more than ever and I am delighted that through this innovative programme they will also be making a positive contribution to their community.”

Councillor Manju Shahul-Hameed, cabinet member for economy and jobs

The Skill Mill programme, jointly commissioned by seven local authorities, is supported by the Life Chances Fund awarded by The National Lottery Community Fund.

All content belongs to croydon.gov.uk

We do not claim any content to be our own.

Croydon students, based on early results show that they have done better in this year’s GCSEs despite the disruption caused by Covid-19.

Last spring all GCSE and A-Level examinations due to be sat in summer 2020 were cancelled because of the Covid-19 lockdown. Instead, GCSE students nationwide received grades today (Thursday) based on their own school’s analysis of past performance.

With 63% of the borough’s school results in so far, Croydon schools have achieved a provisional 74% pass rate in English and Maths at grade 4 and above and a 53% pass rate at grade 5 and above. This compares to 44% and 41% respectively in 2019.

For any students who did not get the grades they wanted or want support with their next steps, the council is running a series of events open to people aged 16-18 who either live in the borough or attend a Croydon school. For more information, call 0208 726 7485 or email post16@croydon.gov.uk

For wider council assistance, contact educationenquiries@croydon.gov.uk. This account reaches Shelley Davies, Mike McKeaveney, Denise Bushay, Sarah Bailey and Julie Ralphs.

At Norbury Manor Business and Enterprise College for Girls, students scored a 100% GCSE pass rate and the number of results with a grade 4 pass or higher in English and Maths rose from 75% last year to 83% this year.

Deputy headteacher Markieu Hayden, who will become headteacher in September after the retirement of outgoing head Amanda Compton, said: “Norbury Manor has continued with our upwards trajectory of results building on last year.

“Despite the disruption to their learning, the students have remained focused and committed to their studies and have fully participated in online learning and working with their teachers throughout lockdown.”

Shamyla Ahmad, 16, got the top grade 9 in French, Geography, English Literature, Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Religious Studies, two 8s in Computer Science and Maths and a 7 in English Language. She said: “I was very nervous; I didn’t expect this at all because I saw a lot in the news about people being downgraded. I put in a lot of hard work and I’m glad it paid off.”

Ayla Aziz, from Thornton Heath, got two grade 9s, three 8s and five 7s. She said: “I think the school has been very supportive in bringing me towards this goal. I’m very relieved and want to do Maths, Biology and Chemistry at sixth form.”

Because of a decline in admissions, this academic year was the last ever at St Andrew’s C of E School in Croydon, where 71.7% of Year 11 students got at least a grade 4 in English and Maths and 35.8% got grade 5 or higher.

Headteacher Jonathan Harris said: “They have had some fantastic teaching, group tutoring and experiences which have resulted in some of the best exam results the school has ever seen.”

“Even at this early stage it’s already clear GCSE students across the borough have had brilliant individual successes despite the disruption to their learning from Covid-19.

“Just as they supported schools throughout lockdown and made themselves available to A-level students needing advice last week, our education director Shelley Davies and her colleagues are here to help anyone who did not get the GCSE grades they were hoping for. So please get in touch with her team if you want help with choosing what to do next.”

Councillor Alisa Flemming, cabinet member for children, young people and learning

All content belongs to croydon.gov.uk

We do not claim any content to be our own.