Harlem Zone’s vs Sure Start

As a nation and indeed local Southwark community we seem to be floundering how to solve the root causes of last summers riots and how a significant proportion of our communities are so disengaged from the majority.

The recent report seemed to blame the problems on everything from schools having pupils leaving who couldn’t read to rampant materialism.

Harlem under inspired insight from Geoffrey Canada has the Harlem Children’s Zone. This is a long term scheme to raise expectations of the whole community not just save the lucky odd child or family. Focus initially was on the first three years of children’s lives with pre nursery, tutoring, dance and sports classes, food co-ops, social services, and help with housing and health. Real community intensive care of families.

A 2009 Harvard report that evaluated this scheme after five years reported stunning results. They said it was the most effective intervention of any kind in the whole US at creating a huge step increase in school results offering many more opportunities.
The cost is about $5,000 per child per year but the costs of not making these life changing interventions is wildly higher.

This all makes our UK Sure Start interventions look very British. Small and very marginal.

How can we create our own Camberwell and Peckham Children’s Zones?

Free breakfasts make more sense

Labour led Southwark council is introducing universal Free School Meals to all junior and infant schools. No research to show such meals reduce obesity and increase attainment.

Some time ago I read an interesting article in The Observer “Good results and happier pupils for the cost of a bagel. But still breakfast clubs face axe”.£1/child/day to provide a free breakfast club. Known real evidence from peer reviewed research shows how critical breakfasts are to pupils attainment. In fact plenty of evidence from industry finding greater productivity and fewer industrial accidents with a proper breakfast for adults so no surprise breakfasts help children!

Suggests that it costs £1 per child per day. So based on research that free school breakfasts DO make a measurably positive impact on attendance, attainment and behaviour I think we should:

– end universal free school lunches saving £4.5M a year.

– pay capital costs of installing cashless school meal systems meaning kids on FSM’s aren’t known to others + parents can log on to see what their kids chose for lunch. £7,500 per school to install cashless system. Ensuring all primary school kids don’t need to carry cash for school meals should also reduce those that walk or cycle to school independently are less attractive targets for street robbery. Total around £0.5M capital costs.

– proactively ensure all people entitled to FSM’s get them by linking up with social security. I suspect many parents can’t read or write so stand little chance to complete FSM forms. Probably a permanent employee to make this happen costing around £40,000 pa revenue.

– provide free breakfast clubs for those entitled to FSM’s and to those on a higher family income. ( threshold to be agree). Cost £1/child/school day = £195/child/year. So how many children are entitled to FSM? And what threshold should we set for this? Worth asking school heads what would make the most difference to their schools.

Key benefits.

– more targeted help for those that need it.

– maximising people claiming FSM which then maximises Pupil Premium payments.

– breakfasts help get better results and discipline.

– saves lots of money.

Plenty of peer reviewed research shows this makes sense. In fact lots of evidence for the adult workforce that people having breakfasts have fewer and less severe accidents!

Capital Projects

At the last Dulwich Community Council meeting we decided (in no particular order) how to allocate our limited capital to projects:

1. Artistically illuminate East Dulwich station bridge £10,000 – we think making the station area more attractive will help reduce crime and the fear of crime there.

2. Go slower signs £6,000 – residents often contact us that people are speeding on there roads but they don’t want speed humps. Where do you think we should put the 4-5 active speed signs?

3. Cycle contraflow on Henslowe Road £8,500 – some residents have told us its a long cycle round while others have told us they don’t like pavement cycling. This should solve both points but we hope to do it for a lot less than the ridiculous sum council officers have suggested.

4. Fix North Cross Road grot spot £4,000 – just by the electricity sub station.

5. Community notice boards £3,000 – they’ve worked well so far and more should work even better.

6. 20mph Lordship Lane £15,000 – we’re hopeful that with the new crossings on Lordship Lane simple signing of a 20mph speed limit will work making Lordship Lane even more attractive.

7. Trees on Lordship Lane £8,500 – we want to make Lordship Lane even greener and more friendly.

8. Goose Green School £5,400 – they’ve asked for help greening the school grounds.

9. Goodrich School £3,300 – they’ve asked for help greening the school grounds.

10. East Dulwich Crime Reduction fund £8,000 – some more funds for local Police to tell us how to reduce crime further.

11. Worlingham Road grot spot £5,000 – space between sheltered accommodation and 31A Worlingham Road.

12. Goose Green playground £5,000 – a little help to make it an even better playground.

Total £81,700 (with reserve of £312).

Teenage pregnancies

Figures released last week show teenage pregnancies in Southwark fell in 2009/10. The fall was dramatic with 192 conceptions in Southwark by those under 18 in 2010 compared to 233 in 2009 and 318 in 1998.

What fantastic news. I’m really pleased that the work done by the previous Lib Dem administration which ended two months after the 2009/10 period has resulted in such a huge reduction in teenage pregnancies.

But will this rate of conception stay here or go lower?

Part of teenage pregnancy is seeing others do it so clearly that part of the equation is lower but also the effort put into tackling this problem. Sadly Labour led Southwark Council has cut that funding by 54% undermining all this good work. Only time will tell what will happen but it doesn’t look good for our most vulnerable young people.

Horrific admission

Southwark issued some great news earlier this month about secondary school admissions – but it has proved wrong.

Yesterday I finally found out how many secondary school applications did not receive any school allocation, 20, rather than the zero proclaimed.

20 families in total didn’t receive a secondary school allocation. Shocking. A HUGE thank you to the Dulwich resident who highlighted their case to me.  It meant I could get to the bottom of their case and after various assurances I was mad and that this was impossible council officials think they know what went wrong and then found 19 other such families. All were offered places on Friday.

So the revised figures should look like:

* Total of 2,456 applications were received, 65 less applicants than last year

* 1,362 (55.4%) received a first preference school a 2.9% increase on last year’s figures 1,322 (52.5%)  versus the London average of 66%.

* 195 (7.9%) families without a preference and offered an alternative school fewer than last year – 243 (9.6%)

* 20 (0.8% ) families offered no places or an alternative school.

* The number of online applications has remained at the same level as last year

If you know of any families with school admission problems please do put them in touch with me.

Secondary school admissions

A week ago secondary school admission results were released. Many happy and unhappy families across Southwark.

First preference – Southwark increased the proportion of families obtaining their first preference school. Up at 56% from 53% last year but with 85 less applicants. But the average for London was 66% of families. So Southwark is some distance behind.

Any of 6 stated preferences – Southwark parents and carers had 91% success obtaining one of their up to 6 stated preferences whereas the average for London was 95% with 88% offered one of their top 3 choices.

It’s clear that Southwark will remain one of the worst performing boroughs in the country for residents getting their first preference school choice.

How can we fix this?

We need more secondary schools that people want their children to attend. People are applying for what they believe to be the best performing school which see huge demand for the limited places and a lot of disappointed applicants.

The Charter School

I was shocked to read the admissions adjudicators report about The Charter School admissions. The report is shocking. Amazingly Southwark Council supported the school submission to the adjudicator despite the council leader being a ward councillor for the most negatively affected area.

BUT I’m pleased to see the school has now acted quickly to accept the reports findings about the schools admissions administration hadn’t reflected the actual policy and this is corrected. This will change who goes to this school – probably at the margins – but only time will tell what impact this has. People will buy and sell houses to be closer to outstanding schools so really hard to tell what the long term impact will be.

But the good news the school now accepts safe walking distance using routes that local Police officers has confirmed are safe rather than mapping that effectively was driving routes only.

Well done to all the residents who made this happen.

Keep Clear forever

While out and about doing a home visit for some casework I came across this sign.

It’s clearly been their forever and a day. The actual school entrance is 200m away on Etherow Street these days and for as long as neighbours to this sign could remember. I would have removed it myself but it had special fastenings to the brick wall. So I sadly had to treat it as full item of casework with all the admin and van being dispatched to remove it.

What silliness do you know of on your street? Tell me and I’ll try and get it fixed.

Cycling covenant

I’m delighted to see that The Times newspaper has today launched a campaign for a new Cycling Covenant. But saddened to see that one of their colleagues and friends grave cycle injuries were requried to inspire them.

They propose:
1. Trucks entering cities by law must have sensors, audibles alarms, extra mirrors and side bars/guards to stop cycling being thrown under them.
2. The 500 most dangerous junctions must be identified, redesigned or fitted with priority traffic lights for cyclists and Trixi mirrors allowing lorry drivers to see cyclists.
3. A national audit of cyclists to keep track of making cycling safer and more popular.
4. The Highways Agency should earmark 2% of its budget for next generation cycle routes providing £100million a year towards world-class cycling infrastructure. Each year cities being graded on the quality of cycling provision.
5. The training of cyclings and drivers must improve and cycle safety should become a core part of the driving test.
6. The default speed limit in residential areas where there are no cycle lanes should become 20mph.
7. Businesses should be invited to sponsor cycle ways and cycling super-highways.
8. Every city even those without an elected mayor should appoint a cycling commissioner to push home reforms.

These proposals if implemented well would see a step change for the better at making cycling safer and more attractive. Only number 8 seems to mis the mark – setting targets for local authorities instead would achieve more than a commissioner.

More people safely cycling would see a fitter, heathier nation spending money more locally. Huge opportunities for regeneration and community growth.

But will the coalition government listen.

But many of these we could implement here in Southwark…

21 school disruption

Every election day 21 schools are used as Polling Stations in Southwark. Southwark Council has just reviewed all its Polling Stations and has decided that it still wants to use those 21 schools.

This is a real missed opportunity. Hosting a Polling day sounds easy but talking to some teachers it really disrupts not just the day but the whole academic week. That can’t be good for those children’s education. And we have elections nearly every year what with local, London, UK, Europe elections as well as last years AV referendum.

Of the 21 schools two are special schools, one is on special measures, six are satisfactory and about to receive a lot of extra focus and reclassified as “requires improvement”:

Southwark school polling stations

In my own ward Heber School is used – a good school with last value added score of 99.7 – is arguably doing OK hosting Polling days but does it really help and add to the childrens education? Clearly not added to which it also disrupts parents childcare plans.

I’ve looked at many of these schools and alternative polling stations appear readily available.

Come on Southwark stop disrupting our children’s education.