Crash Call for the NHS - Saturday Shepherd's Bush Green at noon

Victory for Look Ahead support workers

News from Brent Fightback. Similar proposals have been made for the care workers at Tudor Gardens LINK
 
The support workers who were transferred from Riverside to Look Ahead Care and Support as a result of Brent Council's tendering process for adult social care, have won their dispute with their new employers. Look Ahead originally threatened to cut support workers' pay by £5,000 a year for working longer hours and to change their working conditions. 

Through the Unite union, the workers balloted for strike action, with 100% voting YES. Faced with the workers' determination to defend their pay and conditions and to continue to provide a proper service for vulnerable clients, Look Ahead granted almost all their demands. Support workers' current pay and conditions will be defended indefinitely and Look Ahead will recognise Unite. Yesterday, the workers voted to accept the management's offer.

Congratulations - this shows that if you are prepared to fight, you can win.

Update on future of Welsh Harp Education Centre

Harry Mackie with a class at the Centre

I was a little worried when passing the Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre at the Welsh Harp recently as it appeared to be somewhat neglected with one of the ponds dried up. More so when I discovered that the Centre's office had closed and the computers taken away.

Harry Mackie (pictured with a class above) who has been running the Centre for years retired at the end of term. Known to generations of Brent children he retired without fanfare or fuss.

His contribution to environmental education in Brent deserves wider recognition.

That aside, I have since heard that following the advertisements for the sale of the lease, that Carey's (operating in Brent under the name Seneca) charity arm  The Careys Foundation LINK and the Thames21 charity LINK have expressed an interest in running the Centre. Thames21 is already known in Brent through its work with schools and organising community cleanups of our many waterways. Achieving a base in Brent would make sense to their operation.

The Welsh Harp reservoir on Sunday afternoon

Debbie Leach, Chief Executive of  Thames21, told me that the WHEEC was a 'fantastic facility', that they would want to continue, develop  and enhance.  This could mean more activities connected with the Welsh Harp reservoir itself. They would work with local schools, and any other partners in this process.  Discussions with Brent Council are ongoing.

She said it was 'too early to say' if this could mean a joint partnership with Careys Foundation.

Siobhan of Careys Foundation said, 'I can confirm Careys Foundation did tender for the WHEEC but at this time I am unable to comment as the tender process is still live until the final decision by the Cabinet in September. It has been a privilege for Careys Foundation to have had the opportunity to support sucj a wonderful initiative as the WHEEC since 2011.

I understand that Oakington Manor Primary School  and Roe Green Junior School did not put in a bid but they were keen to work with Careys.

This means that another Brent Council facility will go over to the charity sector.

Provisional bookings had been made for Autumn Term which starts next month but it is not clear how keeping the schools informed of whether these will go ahead will be managed with no office in existence.

A report on the future of the Centre is due to go to Cabinet on September 21st.

Cllr Butt challenged on 'untruths' and 'misrepresentation' in Davani case

Philip Grant has written to Cllr Muhammed Butt drawing his attention to the letter published in last week's Kilburn Times (see below) .

Philip said, 'You are welcome to reply to it, either to the newspaper or personally to me, if you feel that I have misrepresented anything. I look forward to hearing from you.'
 

Butt’s statement on the Rosemarie Clarke case, which Philip’s letter in the newspaper was responding to, was originally issued privately, just to Brent's councillors in their weekly "Members' Information Bulletin", claiming to set out the facts of the case, allegedly in the light of  'untruths' and 'misrepresentation of the judgement' by unnamed persons. Those people only had the chance of a "right of reply" after his statement was leaked to "Wembley Matters". 

Monster emerges through the trees at Welsh Harp Reservoir

Readers will remember that there was a broad-based campaign opposing the Barratt Home development on the banks of the Welsh Harp Reservoir at West Hendon. Mainly low-rise social housing was to be replaced by luxury private tower blocks close to a nature reserve and SSSI. LINK

Unfortunately the campaign did not succeed and Barnet Council went ahead with the scheme. West Hendon Estate residents through their Our West Hendon campaign are fighting what they see as social cleansing of a community and working with Sweets Way residents to challenge Barnet Council Their passion can be seen in this video taken at a Barnet Council Meeting on July 28th when they presented their petitions:



Walking the Kingsbury side of the Welsh Harp on Sunday it became clear what an intrusive eyesore these blocks will be.  Sold on the basis of the wonderful green view of the Kingsbury bank that the new residents will see, on our side we will see tower blocks the tallest of which is 24 storeys.

The Minutes of the last Joint Welsh Harp Consultative Committee highlight some of the issues that are emerging during the building works for  resdients and for the Nature Reserve.

Looking across from the Kingsbury side to West Hendon, the nature reserve is on the stretch of water in between

Extract from Minutes:

It It was noted that the outcome of the public enquiry regarding the Compulsory Purchase of the West Hendon Estate was due shortly and further information would be circulated to all members with the minutes of the current meeting.

·         A short written update was provided by Terry Garner (Principle Planner, LB Barnet) regarding the position of SSSI Warden. It was commented that this information had been shared at the last meeting of the committee. The London Wildlife Trust (LWT) would be hosting the position and the queries regarding whether any charge would be made by Barratt London for the provision of office space remained outstanding. Dianne Murphy (Chair, LWT Barnet) advised that the job description for the position was due to be signed off imminently; the post would be advertised in the coming weeks with interviews being held in September 2015. It was anticipated that the Warden would be in position in time for the next committee meeting in November.

·         Concerns were raised regarding the level of noise from the development and the impact on the birdlife of the Welsh Harp. The committee agreed with the view that the planned measures to inhibit noise were ineffective. It was further noted that the contractors were not complying with the restrictions on working hours as stipulated in the conditions of the planning permission. Roy Beddard (Welsh Harp Conservation Group (WHCG)) noted that there had been no discernible impact on bird populations as recorded by the monthly monitoring surveys conducted by the WHCG. It was agreed that the results of these surveys could be circulated to the committee and the Chair agreed to explore this issue and provide an update to the committee prior to the next meeting.

·         Clive Cohen (LWT) raised concerns regarding the impact of the development on water quality and suggested that officers explore funding opportunities to enable regular monitoring to be conducted. A member highlighted that the Environment Agency (EA) did undertake monitoring of water quality. The Chair agreed to seek comment on this matter from the relevant officers.

·         The committee reviewed the written update from Nathan Smith (Barratt London) regarding the use of prohibited roads by contractors. Members of the committee reported that the issue was ongoing. The Chair encouraged members of the committee to report any incidents. It was noted that it was not always practical to take down the necessary details to enable accurate reports to be made. Possible solutions were discussed by the committee including the installation of cameras by Barratt London and the continued use of banksmen as it was possible that this acted as a deterrent. It was agreed that the continuation of this problem would be raised by the Chair with the planning officers in Barnet and Barratt Homes. Representatives from Barratt Homes would be asked to attend committee meetings in the future.

·         Councillor Langleben raised the issue of the impact of the Brent Cross Regeneration works on the Brent River Stream. The Chair undertook to write to Barnet Planning for an update to be provided at the next meeting.

Crest Academy principal looks forward to mixed classes in September and puts forward the school's '3 pillars' for success

 "I am the principal of a secular, non-denominational school that has a large majority of Muslim students. This does not make the school a Muslim school where segregation of gender should be pursued."

With Crest Academy due to switch to mixed aged classes in September the principal, Mohsen Ojja, has taken to the pages of the Times Education Supplement LINK to justify the change.

Some parents had protested at this decision and organised an on-line petition against it when it was annonunced in July.  LINK . However they do not appear to have gathered much support over the school summer holiday. 219 people had signed the petition bu July 10th and the total stands at 227 today. LINK

This is part ofwhat Mohsen Ojja wrote in TES last week:

Interestingly, whereas students and staff have been overwhelmingly supportive of the change to a co-educational model, parents have needed more reassurance and support. Many recognise that the move will help to ensure that our teaching and learning is of better quality and will provide a better education as a result. Others fully accept the importance of boys and girls learning and socialising together, so that they are properly prepared and have confidence when they leave us – be that for university, for work, or further training.

But there are some who feel the change is not what they signed up to: single-sex education. The onus is, of course, on us to work with the parents who have reservations about a co-educational model, and to be open and transparent about what the changes mean in practice, and how we transition to this new system.

I am proud to say that after a successful induction process, where we planned every aspect of the transition, the feedback from students and staff has been outstanding. And in a couple of weeks’ time, induction days in September will see us revisit our vision and values and start to work together.

With these measures in place, I am confident that we will be able to win over the vast majority of parents, and all the more so as the impact starts to flow through our results and enhances our students’ life chances.

For me, the status quo was simply not sustainable. Running two schools in parallel, split by gender, was tantamount to unhealthy segregation. The move to a single, multi-faith, proudly diverse school is the first important step to integration. Moreover, I am the principal of a secular, non-denominational school that has a large majority of Muslim students. This does not make the school a Muslim school where segregation of gender should be pursued. I have had to remind many parents that, in Islam, segregation of gender in education is not essential. Indeed, the large majority of schools in the Muslim world operate a co-educational model.

The most challenging part of this integration process is communicating to some parents that although parental choice plays an important part in children’s education, in isolation it does not always result in genuine educational value. In future, everything we do will be defined by three pillars: the improvement of student outcomes; the improvement of teaching and learning; and preparing our students to be successful in their lives beyond school and university.

Critics of the concept of British values complain that it is too amorphous and lacking in precision. It defies a tick-box approach, and is undoubtedly not something that the consultants can rack up billing-hours for (though I am sure they will try). Ultimately, the concept of British values is about a set of positive behaviours that celebrate the cultural richness of this country. With our structural changes in place we can now start living and breathing those behaviours at the Crest Academy. We will then, hand on heart, be able to say that we are educating our young people to the very best of our ability, in the broadest sense.

Public enjoy Birchen Grove Allotment Fair

Briefing the judges

Prize sweet peas

Best dressed vegetables

Some on the competition entries

The first Allotment Fair at Birchen Grove Allotments, Kingsbury went off well today with many members of the public touring the site and chatting to the gardeners about their produce. Many enjoyed sampling my mulberries.

There were not that many entries for the competition and it wasn't taken as seriously as on some allotments where there is intense rivalry and accusations of skulduggery. This was a relaxed affair with tongues firmly in cheeks for most of the time and plenty of humour.

The only controversey reported by Cllr Roxanne Mashari, one of the judges, was whether you could measure around the bend of a runner bean to establish its length or just measure a straight line from top to tail. I can't remember what the ruling was but modesty prevents me from telling you the winner!

After Tariq Ali, the thoughts of Chairman Mo on Labour Leader election

Chairman Mo

As voting begins for the Labour leadership the Burnham Campaign has sent Brent Labour Party voters this message from  Cllr Muhammed Butt, leader of Brent Council. Note that Muhammed appears to have made a mistake in the spelling of his own name.
  

In the next few days, you should be receiving your ballot papers for the Labour Party leadership contest. I wanted to write to you to explain why I absolutely believe that Andy Burnham is the right choice.

This election is now a contest between two big visions for the future of our Party and our country.

I've worked closely with Andy and we know he has what it takes to lead our Party; someone who is Labour through and through, who can unite us and who can win back the support that we’ve lost.

Andy’s vision is one that our movement can believe in. His manifesto offers credible economic alternative based on a high-wage, high-skilled economy. An economy that drives growth through a new industrial strategy, where unions are partners, not demonised by government. A truly comprehensive education system with opportunity for every child that isn't determined by the postcode of the bed they are born in. An ambitious house-building programme to ensure that everyone has an affordable home to own or rent. And a national health and care service that is there for you from cradle to grave, with social care full integrated into the NHS.

This is a vision built on true Labour values. It can win in 2020 and deliver the Labour Government that our country so desperately needs. Repeated polls have shown that Andy is the only candidate who Labour voters and the general public will get behind.

As a council leader, I have seen first-hand what five years of Tory policies have done to the capital - we can’t go on opening more food banks than schools. We need a Leader who can take the Tories to task, fight for Labour values and deliver a Labour victory. That leader is Andy. So let’s unite together, move forward and move our focus to beating our real opponents: the Tories.

Will you say you’re with Andy and be part of the change?

I'M BACKING ANDY

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Best wishes,

Muhammad Butt
Leader of Brent Council 

Butt also signed this statement on Labour List LINK