Compassion London to provide Covid crisis meals from Wembley Stadium

From a press release

Compassion London, the charity established to provide nutritious meals to people in need during the Covid-19 crisis, is moving its emergency response operation into Wembley Stadium connected by EE. 

Thanks to the valued support of the Football Association and Wembley staff who have joined in to assist the initiative, Compassion London are aiming to cook and deliver 20,000 meals per day.  

The charity was founded in response to the Covid-19 lockdown to provide meals to NHS staff and other key workers, individuals and families in need, and the most vulnerable in our society. 

Compassion London is run by a team of volunteer chefs, delivery drivers and support staff working seven days a week. It relies on donations of food and funding from a wide range of partners. In its first six weeks it delivered in excess of 85,000 meals.  

Moving to Wembley allows Compassion London to upscale their reach considerably. The help of Wembley’s Executive Head Chef, Harry Lomas, and Delaware North, the stadium’s caterers, is invaluable in working towards that goal. 

 Leon Aarts, founder of Compassion London, commented: 

Our purpose is the principle of no-one to bed hungry. We plan to cook 20,000 free meals each day cooked by chefs and delivered by volunteers. We are so thankful for the support of Wembley Stadium and the individuals who have gone out of their way to help us to help others. Our meals fuel the carers and also go to people who are struggling to eat.

 Jon Sellins, Operations Director at Wembley Stadium said:

Compassion London is run by a passionate team of volunteers with a simple mission: to help others in this time of crisis. We are very pleased to be able to support them by offering up the facilities and expertise we have available at Wembley Stadium. We hope that this infrastructure will allow them to upscale their response and will mean that their meals reach even more people in need at this difficult time.

 Harry Lomas MBE, BEM, Head of Culinary, Delaware North, Wembley Stadium, added:

The initiative of using an empty kitchen and bringing food together to feed vulnerable people and the NHS is fantastic. It’s a win win situation. We are people and we are doing our little bit for people.

Unprecedented unity as education unions call on Government to step back fron June 1st starting date to enable talks on safe return

In a significant development over the conflict on whether schools should re-open at present the TUC issued the following statement this afternoon.  In Brent concerns were expressed at an on-line meeting of Chairs of Governors with Brent's Strategic Director for Children and Young People. yesterday afternoon.  Next week there will be a meeting between education unions the Chief Education Officer and the Director.

Education unions’ statement on the safe reopening of schools

Unions with members in the education sector are today (Wednesday) publishing a joint statement on the safe reopening of schools.

Today’s statement follows a longer statement to the Secretary of State on Friday (8 May), which set out in full detail the principles and tests necessary for the safe reopening of schools. It is signed by AEP, GMB, NAHT, NASUWT, NEU, NSEAD, Prospect, UNISON and Unite.

Full text of today’s statement:

“We all want schools to re-open, but that should only happen when it is safe to do so. The government is showing a lack of understanding about the dangers of the spread of coronavirus within schools, and outwards from schools to parents, sibling and relatives, and to the wider community.

“Uniquely, it appears, school staff will not be protected by social distancing rules. 15 children in a class, combined with their very young age, means that classrooms of 4 and 5-year olds could become sources of Covid-19 transmission and spread. While we know that children generally have mild symptoms, we do not know enough about whether they can transmit the disease to adults. We do not think that the government should be posing this level of risk to our society.

“We call on the government to step back from the 1st June and work with us to create the conditions for a safe return to schools based on the principles and tests we have set out.”

The principles and tests include :

· Safety and welfare of pupils and staff as the paramount principle

· No increase in pupil numbers until full rollout of a national test and trace scheme

· A national Covid-19 education taskforce with government, unions and education stakeholders to agree statutory guidance for safe reopening of schools

· Consideration of the specific needs of vulnerable students and families facing economic disadvantage

· Additional resources for enhanced school cleaning, PPE and risk assessments

· Local autonomy to close schools where testing indicates clusters of new covid-19 cases

NEU on the situation of BAME workers in our schools

The National Education Union has now published the item below on the situation of BAME workers in education. Reader's won't need telling that this is a significant issue in Brent with its large number of black and ethnic minority workers in our schools.

1.  The Government’s plans for a wider opening of schools are reckless and not supported by the NEU. We are calling on the Government to re-think their timetable urgently. The NEU is deeply concerned by the emerging data about the disproportionate effects and number of deaths due to COVID-19 for Black1 NHS staff and Black populations. The Office for National Statistics’ findings show a greater impact of the virus in areas of the country with wider health inequalities and higher rates of poverty and on Black communities even after health and deprivation is accounted for.
    
2. Black staff are more likely to work in schools which serve deprived communities. The NEU wants this unequal level of risk to be a major consideration within the Government’s response to Coronavirus and its plans to suppress transmission.  Nearly 70% (1733) of Black staff who responded on May 10th to a snap NEU poll, said they would feel ‘very unsafe’ about returning to the workplace.
    
3. The NEU is engaging with the Department for Education (DfE) about the implications of the evidence on racial disparities, both in terms of the importance for public health of not opening schools until it is safe to do so; and the implications for Black educators, alongside other staff who may be vulnerable. The NEU petition demanding that schools should not open until safe to do so has attracted more than 400,000 signatures.
    
4. We are discussing with the DfE advice about specific risks for Black staff, which will need to be updated as evidence emerges from the Government’s inquiry into these risks.
    
5. The NEU is calling on the Government to share the data and models on which it is evaluating the timeline for commencing a phased return for more students. An essential part of this planning must be to take account of the emerging research findings and ensure risk assessments for Black staff who have underlying health conditions or live with someone who is shielding or who are pregnant. This must remain the case regardless of the Government’s announcement about wider opening.
    
6. Black staff with an underlying health condition who are being pressured to go into work (rather than work at home) should speak immediately to the NEU workplace representative or contact the NEU Advice Line. We expect headteachers to continue to negotiate the rotas in use currently with NEU members. We are asking and advising leaders not to start planning for 1 June as we do not think it is safe to do that at this stage and are in urgent talks with the DFE.
    
7. The NEU thinks the Government Inquiry into the disproportionate effect and rate of deaths for Black  people is necessary and urgent to save lives. The remit of the Inquiry will need to incorporate the role of racism within workplaces and the effect of racism on workers’ ability to secure safe working conditions, learning urgently from concerns from some Black staff in the NHS that it was harder for them to obtain PPE than their peers. PPE also needs to be adaptable to fit over turbans, hijabs or beards.
    
8. Black workers regularly face stereotyping, bias and attitudes at work which make it hard to raise concerns or highlight aspects of workplace culture which are exclusionary. It is important that the racial disparities within the pandemic are not discussed in schools in ways which reinforce stereotypes, such as stereotypes about migration or globalisation causing Covid-19. However, this does not mean silence about race or racism is the right way forward - we need to acknowledge the existence of racism in workplaces.
    
9. The NEU thinks that schools need to be alive to the concrete increase of racism during the pandemic and the risk that negative attitudes about race and immigration could grow because of fear and uncertainty. The NEU has published a  poster for schools to share with parents/ carers which signposts organisations to which parents or students can get a range of help including where to report racist harassment, incidents or attacks.
    
10. The NEU also wants to capture the hundreds of positive community initiatives which members are leading and co- ordinating. See the NEU’s free Create box idea. We are urging members to share these ideas, and other community responses, across their Union networks to inspire others and share great practice. 

Fighting Covid19 in Brent Rally to be addressed by local MPs, councillors & trade unionists - May 27th

Zoom ID: 4648578247

Password: 274903

UPDATE: Some Brent pavements to be widened to help with social distancing

Press release from Brent Council - it would be useful to have more detail.(request sent to Brent Council Press Office0.

Pavements in some of the busiest streets in Brent are to be temporarily widened to help residents stay safe and slow the spread of COVID-19 by social distancing.

'Pinch points' have been identified for additional safety measures, which will see more than 760 metres of barriers put down around busy stretches of pavement to help protect the community.

New signage, reminding people of the 2 metre rule, will support the police and enforcement officers who will be focusing on many of these hotspots. In some locations, bus stops may be temporarily moved and parking suspended to allow more space for walkers. 

These measures will be focused on stretches where the width of the pavement and foot traffic is most likely to make it difficult for people to stay two metres away from others.

It is the first step in plans to help the borough return to normal, with further measures to boost green, active travel set to follow.

Cllr Krupa Sheth, Lead Member for Environment, said:

As lockdown rules are gradually eased, we want to encourage as many people as possible to continue to walk and cycle. But we do know that many of our high streets can get extremely busy and it is crucial that people can remain 2 metres apart. This package of measures sets out how we will help people to remain socially distant in the immediate term.

Cllr Shama Tatler, Lead Member for Regeneration, Property and Planning, said:

It's important to stress that this is just the first part of a longer-term recovery. One positive to come from this awful pandemic is the way that it's prompted people to rediscover the benefits of walking and cycling. We will also shortly be setting out plans that will set us in good stead for the future, encouraging green, active travel in our brilliant borough in the months and years to come.

First reaction from Brent Cyclists:

After which Cllr Tatler added some details:

 

Parents' views on the lockdown and school safety - NEU poll findings

From the NEU

Poll of over 1,000 parents, commissioned for NEU, shows support for lockdown measures since March

33% do not immediately plan to send their children back to school once measures are relaxed
Strong support for safety measures which have not yet been met by Government, including
widespread testing and tracing, before schools re-open

Last week the National Education Union commissioned a Deltapoll of 1,024 parents of school-age children in England.

In March the Government announced a range of measures in order to help the United Kingdom through the Covid-19 outbreak. The survey asked parents how supportive they were of measures implemented on or around 23 March, and to a large degree they were supportive of the cornerstones ‘staying at home’ (87%) and ‘social distancing’ (91%). In relation to education, they also supported the general closure of schools (86%), keeping schools open to disadvantaged children (81%), the suspending of Ofsted inspections (80%) and the cancelling of GCSE and A-Level exams (65%).

Overall, 92% of parents agree that the closure of schools has been an important factor in containing coronavirus. 90% of those polled have kept their child at home in light of lockdown requirements, the remainder being key workers or parents of a child with vulnerability needs.

Putting safety first
 
On 1 May the National Education Union announced its 5 Tests, which must be met by Government before the re-opening of schools can take place. We have also signed a joint letter from the six TUC unions representing school workers, which was sent to the Education Secretary on 8 May, setting out the yardsticks by which we can ‘ensure the safety of children, parents, staff and the communities they serve.’

The principles are clear, and many of them were reflected in the questions put to parents. When asked which of a range of ‘tests’ needed to apply before schools can re-open, they said:

The Covid-19 new case count must be much lower than it is now, with a sustained downward trend (82%)

Extensive arrangements for testing and contact tracing must be in place (77%)

Scientific or medical evidence shows that it is safe for children to return to school (84%)

Covid-19 testing for all children and staff at your child’s school is conducted (67%)

When asked if teachers should have to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) when schools re-open, 59% agreed. This view was significantly higher amongst respondents in London (74%).

Parents also expressed a reluctance to send their children back to school as soon as it re-opens. Just under half (49%) said they would, with a third of the total sample (33%) intending to delay the return.
These views were consistent across primary and secondary sectors.

Commenting on the findings of the poll, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:

With an aspiration to open schools more widely in less than three weeks from now, the Prime Minister is squandering a great deal of parental goodwill.

The NEU has supported the lockdown, but the past few days have revealed the Government’s garbled approach to the next phase. In his haste to use schools as a symbol of recovery, the Prime Minister has merely succeeded in revealing the incoherence at the heart of his strategy. His ‘sketch’ must be redrawn.

Now that the Prime Minister has set himself on a course out of lockdown, he needs to act fast to reassure unions, school staff and parents that when schools do open it will only be when our shared and widespread concerns for personal safety are fully met.

Parents and teachers speak truth to power on premature school reopening

The Government's 'Recovery' Plan in full