More children will get moving as part of an innovative £100m Sport England scheme

More children in Bradford will get moving as part of an innovative £100m Sport England- scheme to tackle the problem of physical inactivity.

Projects across the north of the city will receive a share of National Lottery funding over four years to transform physical activity levels in 5 to 14-year-olds.

Born in Bradford, a research project hosted at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust led the successful bid on behalf of Active Bradford, a partnership of local providers, to become one of Sport England’s 12 Local Delivery Pilots.

Research has shown that low levels of physical activity during childhood and adolescence can lead to physical and mental health problems including diabetes, obesity and low self-esteem.  It can also have a negative impact on children and young people’s academic achievement, and social and life skills.

Physical inactivity is linked to serious problems in the city: Born in Bradford data has shown that 77% of 5-11 year-olds don’t do the recommended 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity each day 38% leave primary school overweight or obese 10% fewer Bradford children leave school with 5 GCSEs A*-C grade One in ten children need support for mental health issues

The funding from Sport England will improve opportunities for children and young people to take part in physical activity and sport. This will make a major contribution to improving health, mental wellbeing, individual development, community development and quality of life.

The Bradford pilot will work with communities to understand what children and young people want and need to become more active, and feel like physical activity and sport is for them.  Projects will include new and innovative programmes and adaptations to community design along with more out-of-school-hours activity programmes, better lighting in parks, and safer spaces.

The Bradford pilot will test out new projects across the north of the city in Allerton, Fairweather Green, Toller, Heaton, Manningham, City, Bolton/Undercliffe, Windhill, Eccleshill, and replicate successful projects across the district.

Principal Research Fellow for Born in Bradford, Dr Sally Barber said: “Activity levels are worryingly low and harming our children. This funding is an incredible opportunity to explore what children and young people want and need to be more active and test innovative projects. Knowing what works can drive sustainable change in physical activity levels and improve lives.”

Chief Executive of Bradford Council, Kersten England added: “It’s difficult to over-state the importance of this investment for the youngest city in the UK, where one in four residents are under 16.

“Whilst many of our young residents get a great start in life and we produce outstanding sportswomen and men, too many of our children are physically inactive, impairing their health and prospects for their future lives. This programme will enable us to trial new and innovative approaches to increased participation in physical activity. We can’t wait to get started!”

Chair of Active Bradford, Wayne Jacobs said: “We are absolutely delighted to be chosen as a Sport England Local Delivery Pilot. It was a real team effort to win the bid, with Active Bradford partners, senior and community leaders, and children and young people all playing their part. We hope and anticipate the learning from this project will have a very real and positive impact on the lives of children and young people growing up in our communities and beyond.”

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s portfolio holder for Environment, Sport and Culture said ‘This is brilliant news for Bradford  district, one of  the youngest cities in the Uk,  and this funding will help improve the health and wellbeing of children, young people and their families in some of the most deprived communities. This funding will enable us to use new fun and exciting approaches designed with those in the greatest need to  mobilise  our communities to become more active.”

Sport England reviewed 113 pilot bids from across the country and hopes to spread learning from the Bradford pilot to other places about what works and what doesn’t.

Active Bradford will lead the programme supported by Born in Bradford, Bradford Metropolitan District Council, the NHS, West Yorkshire Police, Yorkshire Sport Foundation, the voluntary sector, local schools, and faith organisations. All will work together to develop and deliver the projects to support children and young people to be physically active.

Minster for Sport, Tracey Crouch, will welcome the news at the Local Government Association’s Sport and Physical Activity conference in London today (Tuesday 5 December).

Minister for Sport, Tracey Crouch, said: “Sport is a powerful tool that helps strengthen communities and improves physical and mental health. So it is right that we look to do all we can to encourage people to take part. Sport England will invest up to £100 million of funding, thanks to National Lottery players, to pilot innovative projects in 12 places to get more people from all backgrounds involved in sport and physical activity. We will look to replicate and scale up learning from the pilots across the country. I look forward to seeing these projects in action.”

Jennie Price, Sport England Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted that Bradford will be working with us on this ground-breaking investment. We want to get to the heart of the issues that stop people being as active as they might like to be, and work alongside every part of the community and the groups and institutions that support this.

“This is not all about sport – we’re prepared to look at wider issues like transport, childcare, how easy it is to walk or cycle – whatever that community feels is most relevant to them. The process to be appointed as a pilot area for this work was incredibly competitive, and Bradford has emerged from a very strong field. I am really delighted to be working with them.’​

 

 

 

Bradford cares

A new campaign – commissioned by the Safer and Stronger Communities Partnership and led by local charities – has launched to raise awareness and support for local organisations that help those who are rough sleeping and begging across the Bradford District.

Known as #BradfordCares, the initiative makes it straightforward and convenient to give money, items and time to local charities through a new website – www.streetsupport.net/Bradford

The website acts as an online hub where people can find information about all the services available in Bradford, adverts for volunteers and items needed, as well as locally relevant articles that inform people of issues surrounding homelessness in Bradford.

For anyone wishing to find out more and discuss issues surrounding homelessness in Bradford, an information stall promoting the campaign and engaging people with what local organisations are doing to help will be at Bradford Interchange (7.30am – 10.30am) and Bradford Broadway (3pm – 6pm) on Thursday 21 December.

Visit streetsupport.net/bradford to find out how you can help people who rough sleep and beg.

Follow the campaign on social media with #BradfordCares

Feedback your ideas to help improve the initiative for future campaigns; www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/ZRBWWXL

 

Kids provide life-saving boost

Staff and pupils at Thackley Primary School held a fundraising event to raise money for a life-saving defibrillator on Valentine’s Day this year.  ‘Save a Heart Day’ was such a great success the school managed to raise enough money for two life-saving machines. The day involved a series of fundraising activities which included all the children coming to school wearing red or pink, a Valentine’s bun sale and a raffle for a teddy bear and Valentine’s hamper. The school has also received donations from the local community and businesses. Thackley Primary School welcomed the arrival of the new life-saving piece of equipment outside the school and have decided to donate the second defibrillator to nearby Thackley Cricket Club. Executive Headteacher – Trevor Patterson, Head of School – Annette Patterson and KS1 Teacher – Kate Bainbridge presented the life-saving machine to Alan Cuff, Treasurer of Thackley Cricket Club. Alan Cuff from Thackley Cricket Club said:  “I would like to thank everyone involved at Thackley Primary School and the local community for donating such a special and important piece of equipment to the club.” Both kits will be available for the wider community to use in emergency situations. Annette Patterson – Head of School at Thackley Primary School said: “We are delighted to be able to donate one of the life-saving defibrillators to Thackley Cricket Club for the local community to have access to.  Sudden cardiac arrest is the UK’s biggest killer but access to a defibrillator can increase a person’s chances of survival to between 70 and 90 per cent. “We recognised the importance of having a defibrillator in both locations, our school and the local community – and were driven to succeed in raising enough money to make it happen. We are thrilled and incredibly proud of our achievements and very grateful to the children, parents and local community for their support.” Michael Jameson, Bradford Council’s Strategic Director for Children’s Services said: “This is an excellent achievement by the pupils of Thackley Primary School who not only wanted to ensure that their peers at school had access to this life-saving equipment, but also the wider community.  Congratulations and well done to everyone involved.”

Free First Aid Awareness Training

Could you benefit from attending an informative event where you can receive free First Aid Awareness Training? Why not come to the Community Family Fun Day at the Carlisle Business Centre, Carlisle Road, BD8 8BD, on Saturday 2 December from 11am to 2.30pm.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service and NEESIE are running this partnership event, and the Ambulance Service, with their Recruitment and Apprenticeship Team, will be delivering the free First Aid Awareness Training to all.

Free lunch and a first come first served creche facility will allow mums and dads to sit back, relax and learn vital life skills!

 

Bradford bus tours take trainee teachers into secondary schools

Teacher training students will be taken on bus tours of secondary schools in the Bradford district as part of a major recruitment campaign. Bradford Council organises the tours to give people who are training to be teachers an insight into how rewarding working in the district’s schools can be. The bus tours have already been a major success helping to recruit more than 200 talented teachers into Bradford’s primary schools since they were first launched two years ago. Now tours of the district’s secondary schools have been organised for the first time. These tours are taking place this month taking students from Leeds Trinity University to schools across the district to give them an insight into teaching in Bradford and applying for jobs. These will be followed by a series of bus tours to primary schools. Bradford Council’s bus tours allow the authority to work with teaching training providers to promote the district as a destination for teachers. Coun Imran Khan, Bradford Council’s executive member for education, employment and skills said: “Our bus tours have already had a big impact helping us to attract 200 new teachers to work in our primary schools. Now we are extending this work to secondary schools in the district. “We know that when people see the work that our schools do first-hand they want to be involved. We hope the teacher training students who take part are inspired by what they see. Bradford’s secondary schools are already achieving some amazing results – having been the fourth most improved area in the country for the progress pupils are making at GCSE. We hope more talented teachers taking part in the latest round of bus tours will join us to help improve the district’s results further.” Ed Podesta Leeds Trinity University’s Group Academic lead  – Post Graduate Initial Teacher Education said: “We’re delighted to be working with Bradford Council on this exciting and important initiative, which we see as part of our mission that all children in the region are taught by knowledgeable, committed, and effective teachers.  We work with fantastic school partners in Bradford, and welcome the opportunity for all our trainees to see the great teaching that happens in schools in the district.” The bus tours are part of an important campaign to boost teacher recruitment in the district. Bradford Council has invested £660,000 in teacher recruitment over three years. The bus tours have taken hundreds of teacher training students around schools in Bradford. The tours are followed by a Journey to Your First Teaching Post workshop where candidates are given advice about applying for jobs, writing personal statements and preparing for their job interviews. The newly qualified teachers are then invited to apply to a talent bank which has been set up by Bradford Council to allow the district’s schools to find the best candidates for their vacancies. The talent bank is the first of its kind in the country. It has allowed the Council to use local expertise to match newly qualified teachers to suitable jobs which they can then apply for. A major online teaching recruitment campaign, Bradford for Teaching, has also been launched this month to attract more teachers to the district. Inspirational teachers from across the district have also been chosen to be Bradford for Teaching Ambassadors. They will be using Facebook, Twitter and Youtube to share stories about their work and the impact teachers in Bradford can have. A website, www.bradfordteaching.org, has been created giving people information about job and training opportunities in Bradford schools. Coun Khan added: “We are getting the message out there that Bradford is the place to be for ambitious and talented teachers who want to make a difference to young people’s lives.”

Bradford launches campaign to find teachers who can make a difference

The Bradford for Teaching campaign is the latest step being taken in Bradford to boost teacher recruitment and retention.

A new website has been created, www.bradfordteaching.org  which allows people to find out more about the opportunities to train and work in Bradford’s schools.

There will also be a major social media campaign through Facebook, Twitter and You Tube.

Ten inspirational teachers and school leaders from the district have been chosen to be Bradford for Teaching Ambassadors. They will share their stories on social media about the impact their work is having  in order to help promote Bradford to teachers outside the district.

The new campaign follows on from the success of the Bradford bus tours which the council has organised to bring teacher training students into the district’ schools to see their work for themselves.

The Bradford for Teaching ambassadors have been chosen from schools across the district to champion Bradford and the rewards of teaching here.

One of those ambassadors is Luke Sparkes, the executive principal of Dixons Trinity Academy.

He said: “Bradford is an exceptional community: diverse, ambitious and culturally rich; it is a city which deserves teachers who are truly values driven and want to make a difference.  There is a strong current of educational innovation in Bradford with two secondary schools placing in the top 30 nationally for progress in summer 2017.

Ambassador Aamir Hassan, an assistant faculty leader and English teacher at Beckfoot School in Bingley said: “Teaching in Bradford is rewarding, extraordinary and what I live to do. I am inspired everyday by the students and we all learn from one another. Working with young people is an enriching experience and I wouldn’t want that experience anywhere else- Bradford is truly the place to be for teaching.”

Coun Imran Khan, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Education, Employment and Skills said: “Bradford for Teaching is a vitally important campaign for the district.

“We are determined to provide the best possible education for all our young people. We know that the quality of our teachers is vital in turning this ambition into a reality. Bradford is a vibrant and diverse district.

“Our schools offer a variety of different opportunities and challenges, with the chance to work in different settings from urban and inner city schools to those serving rural communities. But we are all united by a shared commitment to ensure our young people achieve their potential. I hope the Bradford for Teaching campaign will inspire more teachers to join us on this journey.”

The campaign will involve a partnership of schools across the Bradford district. It is being funded by Bradford Council and co-ordinated by the Northern Lights Teaching School Alliance.

Bradford already leads the way in innovative work to recruit and retain the best teachers.

Bradford Council committed to investing £660,000 on teacher recruitment over a three year period. Since then the authority has run the highly successful bus tours taking teacher training students into Bradford schools to see the work they do for themselves.

It has also set up a Talent Bank which is used by school leaders to fill their vacancies with the best suited candidates. This has helped to recruit around 200 new teachers to Bradford schools over the past two years.

Now partners in Bradford are keen to build on this success with a campaign which celebrates and promotes the district more widely as a place where teachers at any stage of their career can make a difference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Hzbby2JMqM&feature=youtu.be

Literacy campaign in Bradford gets £197,000 funding boost

Bradford has received a funding boost to improve literacy standards across the district. Below is a press release from the National Literacy Trust which works with the Council to raise standards.

National Literacy Trust press release below:

“A literacy campaign from the National Literacy Trust and Bradford City Council has received a new £197,000 funding grant from the Morrisons Foundation, a charity set up by the supermarket, to boost literacy levels in Bradford.

The funding will be used to deliver literacy activity in Bradford for a year. Launched as the Bradford Literacy Campaign, the initiative has been active in the city since 2012.

Over the past five years, 30 local partners have supported literacy in Bradford and the National Literacy Trust has worked with over 200 schools in the area. Key successes include the Our Stories poetry project, which was launched to engage pupils with low literacy, especially boys. Over the course of the programme, the percentage of Year 6 pupils reaching the expected level in writing increased from 46% to 92%, while their self-esteem and confidence also increased significantly.

Neonatal work has also been a key success for the campaign. Working with Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, neonatal charity Bliss and Boots Opticians, the campaign gave out 500 story packs to parents of premature babies. The packs included books for parents to read to their babies and tips and information on how communication can help development.

As it moves into a new phase, the campaign will be rebranded as Bradford Stories. The new name celebrates the rich heritage of Bradford and highlights the importance of families, young people and different communities in the city sharing stories with one another.

Over the next year, the Bradford Stories campaign will focus on addressing literacy issues facing families in Bradford, including engaging dads and male carers in their children’s learning and getting families reading with their children every day. The campaign will also highlight the benefits of bilingualism, and launch new initiatives targeting local schools and volunteers from the local community.

To celebrate the new funding and campaign name, Bradford Stories is calling on all Bradford residents to snap a photo of their favourite place to share stories in the city, and post the picture on social media using the hashtag #BradfordStories. The best pictures will win prizes including book tokens.

Imran Hafeez, Manager of the Bradford Stories campaign, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have been awarded this funding from the Morrisons Foundation to continue our work to raise literacy levels in Bradford. Since launching the campaign, we’ve delivered lots of inspiring projects and achieved great results, but there is still more to be done to ensure every child in Bradford has the literacy skills they need to succeed. Our partnership work has been crucial to the success of the campaign to date – with this new funding we can expand this work further and reach more people across Bradford than ever!”

The Morrisons Foundation was set up by Morrisons supermarkets in 2015 and awards grants for charity projects which help to improve people’s lives. Since launching over £15 million has been donated to hundreds of charities across England, Scotland and Wales.

David Scott, Morrisons Foundation Trustee, said: “We are delighted to be supporting the National Literacy Trust’s work in Bradford as we know what an important difference this can make for families from across the city.”

To find out more about the Bradford Stories campaign, visit bradfordstories.org.uk.

 

Come to Bradford for Christmas

With so many activities across the district, Bradford is the place to be for Christmas. There will be Christmas lights switch on events across the district as well as lots of music and entertainment, pantomimes, a fun fair and lots of Christmas fairs and markets, traditional Christmas Services including Nine Lessons and Carols at the Cathedral, there’s even a Christmas Tree Festival and the annual Epilepsy Action Reindeer Stampede will see antler clad runners tackle the 5k route round Lister Park. A funfair will light up in City Park and Tyrrel Street from Thursday November 30 until Sunday December 3 with children’s rides and dodgems. Christmas street theatre will entertain shoppers on the pedestrian areas in the city centres between 12pm and 5pm on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 December. With 20 colourful acts including Santa and his sleigh, snowmen, fairies, elves, dancing turkeys, penguins, Rudolph, snow globes and stilt walkers all providing festive frolics and music. There may even be added snow. The Alhambra Theatre’s outstanding pantomime will once again star the fantastic Billy Pearce who this year is taking on the role as Buttons with singer and Loose Women panellist Coleen Nolan playing the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, with performances from 16 December to 28 January. Other Christmas shows and concerts include a Christmas Night With The Stars with tribute act performances from Cher, Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Michael Buble, Freddie Mercury and Shirley Bassey at Ilkley’s King’s Hall and Winter Gardens, folk rock pioneers Steeleye Span, famous for their 1973 Christmas hit Gaudete at Ilkley’s King’s Hall and Winter Gardens, an evening of dance, songs and festive cheer comes to the Alhambra theatre with the Christmas Words show on 7 December and The Chicago Blues Brothers bring their brand new festive show to the Alhambra on December 8. An array of Christmas markets and craft fairs are being held across the district including the fantastic Victorian Christmas event at the Industrial Museum on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 November, Ilkley King’s Hall and Winter Gardens will be the venue for a Christmas Craft and Gift Fayre on Sunday 26 November, a Christmas Market will take place in Central Park in Haworth on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 December and the Made Bradford Market will be held in Darley Street on Saturday 2 and Saturday 16 December. There will be lots of festive fun at Bradford Council-run markets over the Christmas period with a Christmas Trade Fair hosted by Young Enterprise on Saturday 9 December inside the Oastler Shopping Centre, children’s interactive workshops, traditional Christmas entertainment from the Salvation Army Band, Pennine Chimes and school choir in the Oastler Shopping Centre and Kirkgate Market in the city centre and a Santa’s grotto along with festive entertainment at Keighley Market. The Lord Mayor of Bradford, Coun Abid Hussain has just launched the annual Lord Mayor’s Appeal Christmas Star’s Appeal, where people dedicate a star to a loved one for the Christmas tree in City Hall. The Lord Mayor’s Appeal annual Christmas Lunch takes place on Friday December 15 in City Hall and raises money for the Lord Mayor’s Appeal. For those wanting to get active there is the Epilepsy Action Reindeer Stampede with a 5k run and a mini stampede for children, Bradford Council’s Countryside and Rights of Way team has also organised two Christmas walks, a 5.5 mile Candlemass Eve walk on December 9 and a 4 mile Christmas Cheer walk on December 13. Switch-on events with markets and fairs will be taking place across the district throughout November and December. This year’s city centre Christmas lights will have a special light raising awareness of the White Ribbon Campaign, the global campaign to end male violence against women. Incidences of domestic violence rise significantly during the festive period. The light will be turned on as part of the Christmas lights switch-on and will remain illuminated during the Christmas period including on White Ribbon day, 25 November. The annual City Carol Service takes place at the Cathedral on Monday 18 December. The service is open to anyone and is attended by the Lord Mayor and civic leaders. Coun Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Environment, Sport and Culture, said: “Christmas is such a special time of year and these events in the city centre and across the district give people plenty of opportunities to celebrate.” For more information about Christmas events in the district visit www.visitbradford.com

Education Covenant to be topic of next public forum

Bradford’s Education Covenant will be the topic at the district’s next Public Forum for Education. The Education Covenant is a district wide initiative focused on engaging the whole community to play a part in helping young people to succeed in life.  The Covenant is about keeping education a top priority to: •           Help schools and teachers raise standards. •           Support parents to get children ready for school, work and life. •           Work with businesses and colleges to boost career options. •           Champion the district’s unique art and culture. The forum will take place on Wednesday, 29 November 2017 from 4.30pm to 6.30pm in the Hockney Room, Margaret McMillan Tower, Princes Way, Bradford BD1 1NN. Speakers will include Leigh Taylor, Regional Director North East & Yorkshire Commercial Banking – Lloyds Bank. Leigh will explore how businesses can better support children and young people to help improve their educational outcomes and make successful transitions into work, and the business rationale for doing this work. Staff and children from a local primary school will talk about their involvement in the launch of the Inspiring Bradford event. Local magistrate, Gill Arnold, will talk about the work of the Bradford Community Champions. There will also be an update on how the Education Covenant is being put into practice and how businesses and parents can make a difference. The presentations will be followed by round table discussions and an opportunity to share your ideas with the panel and ask questions. The Public Forum for Education (PFE) is an open and free forum where everyone with an interest in education is welcome to come along and contribute. Coun Imran Khan, portfolio holder for education, employment and skills, said: “The idea behind the Education Covenant is to focus the efforts of everyone on how we can raise education standards. We want to bring together the whole community to support Bradford’s children: businesses, public services, parents, and communities, all have a role to play. Michael Jameson, strategic director of children’s service, said:  “We know just how hard schools work to improve the outcomes for our children and education attainment is improving in our district. But we have more to do and we believe the whole community needs to be involved in young people’s education. That is why the Education Covenant is so important, so I’d urge parents, young people, teachers and businesses to come along and find out how they can be involved.” To book your place, please email Public.Forum.for.Education@bradford.gov.uk or contact Heidi Hardy on 01274 434335.

Bingley Music Live set to return in 2018

Following on from the massive success of the Bingley Music Live festival this year, the event will be back for 2018. The Bradford Council-run festival will once again return to the beautiful setting of Bingley’s Myrtle Park. A record number of revellers flocked to the festival at the beginning of September for a weekend of fantastic fun, music and entertainment. The festival was at full capacity of 15,000 each day creating a great atmosphere and giving a real boost to the Bingley economy. The event which has been going in its current format for the past 11 years is organised by Bradford Council and is set to take place on the weekend of Friday 31 August, Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 September 2018. Organisers are working hard behind the scenes to bring a stellar line-up for next year. This year fans were treated to an outstanding set by the Manic Street Preachers on Friday. The Kaiser Chiefs rocked the main stage on Saturday and the festival was brought to a close by The Wombats who played an amazing greatest hits set, despite having some of their instruments stuck at Heathrow airport. Fellow rockers Feeder came to the rescue lending them their equipment. A spectacular fireworks display followed to round off what was an amazing weekend. The smaller Discovery Stage showcased the best of the latest up and coming bands and this stage is set to return for 2018. Cllr Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Environment, Sport and Culture said: “Bingley Music Live was truly amazing this year in terms of ticket sales and the calibre of performers. Our officers are now working hard to put together another stunning festival for 2018.”