Lord Mayor launches Children’s Safety Initiative

A ground-breaking children’s safety initiative was launched at the weekend.

The Lord Mayor of Bradford, Coun Abid Hussain, unveiled the scheme which involves three schools taking part in the Children’s Year of Safety, which has the support of a wide range of organisations and agencies.

The schools involved are Our Lady of Victories Catholic Primary, Merlin Top Primary Academy and Laycock Primary.  Each term during the academic year they will cover different topics around safeguarding and safety.

It is hoped that if the scheme is a success, it will be rolled out to other parts of Keighley and the wider Bradford district.

Coun Abid Hussain said:  “When we work together we can give our children every chance to thrive and fulfil their potential – which is what every one of them deserves,” he said.

“The Children’s Year of Safety is a new idea and I am delighted that we in Keighley are leading the way on such an important piece of work.

“There’s an old saying, ‘it takes a whole village to raise a child’. It may be an old saying, but it’s as true now as it ever was and it means we are all responsible for keeping our children safe.

“The Children’s Year of Safety will make it clear what that actually means for everyone.”

The gala – staged by the Braithwaite and Guard House Partnership, which brings together a host of organisations and agencies – has been hailed a success and was attended by hundreds of people.

There was a lot going on, on the day and attractions included a fancy dress contest, cave bus, bouncy castle, games, team sports, face painting, under-fives messy play, crafts, food and stalls.

The police and fire service were there, Keighley Healthy Living was represented and White Rose Energy distributed information.

Mae Wilkinson, five, and Tia-Rose Curry, six, help the Lord Mayor of Bradford, Cllr Abid Hussain, brush-up on road safety at Braithwaite and Guard House Gala

Bradford’s Mile of Tolerance project

People came together to take part in Bradford’s Mile of Tolerance project last week.

The project helped residents across the district to visit different places of worship.  The organisations taking part were: St Paul’s Church, Manningham; Bradford Reform Synagogue and the Bradford Central Mosque in Westgate.

Faith partners opened their doors to the public and welcomed them with food and drinks with the aim of bringing communities and faith groups together. Around 80 people of many faiths, ages and nationalities attended the event.

First stop was St. Paul’s Church in Manningham where visitors were served with tea/coffee and biscuits by a group of young Muslims and Rev Alistair Helm gave a short talk explaining the Church of England’s Christian faith. Some people attended from outside the district including a woman from Australia, who happened to be in the country.

Then it was on to the Bradford Reform Synagogue where Rudi Leavor, Jewish community leader in Bradford, provided a speech about Judaism and the Synagogue’s role within the local community.

The tour concluded at the Westgate Mosque where the group of visitors had an opportunity to listen to the Azaan (call for prayers) and to view the early afternoon prayer. The Mosque’s Imam gave a short talk after the prayer followed by a Q&A session. This was followed by a young people’s presentation about Islam by the Bradford Youth Service. Food was served to the visitors after the mid-day prayer,

Coun Abdul Jabar, portfolio for neighbourhoods and community safety, said:  “The day was a great success with an excellent turnout.  There were people from all faiths, nationalities and age groups. This was a brilliant initiative celebrating the shared values and interests of our communities and faiths.

“Our Youth Service is involved in educational faith programmes to help build stronger relationships and friendships not only for the current generation but also for generations to come.”

People gathered outside St Paul’s Church in Manningham

Peace Walk will celebrate diverse community around Miriam Lord Primary

Parents, local mosques and churches have been invited to join hundreds of pupils and staff on a Peace Walk to celebrate diversity in Bradford and around Miriam Lord Primary School.

The walk has been planned for Friday 21 July, 2017 and is being held following recent terrorist events in Manchester and London.

The Peace Walk was suggested by Year 6 teacher Stefanie Deciacco as an additional way of commemorating sad and tragic events. The school already discusses events, such as the Manchester terrorist attack, in class and has held Silences to honour the dead, bereaved and injured.

All 440 pupils and 45 staff will be involved in the walk which will end with the walkers singing Bob Marley favourite “One Love” in the school playground. A recording will be made and the song and played again on Miriam Lord Radio.

Leading up to the event, pupils will be involved in discussion about why the Peace Walk is taking place. They will also be making placards with peace slogans and a wide banner saying “Miriam Lord Primary Peace March” which will be at the front of the walk, so people passing by know what’s happening.

Bryan Harrison, Executive Headteacher at Miriam Lord, said: “With social media, children very quickly know what happens around the world. They are curious about events like the terrorist attack in Manchester and want to know more, but unfortunately, the messages they hear are not always unbiased.

“In school, we are always open to children’s questions and ready to talk about their worries. The purpose of the walk is to show that we are proud to be part of our community and to celebrate the diversity of the people who live in Bradford.”

Parkside School teenagers host birthday tea for 90-year-old villager

Sixth form students from Parkside School laid on afternoon tea for Jeffrey Roberts, one of Cullingworth village’s oldest residents to celebrate his 90th birthday.

A few days before the event the students assisted Jeffrey’s wife, Audrey, with the preparations for the celebration which was held at Cullingworth Thursday Club.

The students involved in the preparations were Cameron Allatt, Sophie Tankard, Charlotte Burton and Sophie Wood.

Parkside School sixth form has a long connection with the village’s club for senior citizens, and took over responsibility for running it when it was threatened with closure after 50 years. Students volunteer their time each week to help run sessions.

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Bradford schools helping pupils become ambassadors for Anne Frank exhibition

Bradford secondary schools are being encouraged to take part in a programme which allows young people to train to become ambassadors for an exhibition honouring the life of the famous Jewish diarist Anne Frank.

The work encourages young people to engage in challenging issues such as human rights, prejudice, discrimination, extremism, and to look at what history tells us about the consequences of intolerance, hatred and division.

The Anne Frank History for Today is a touring exhibition which introduces young people to the lives of Anne Frank’s Jewish family in Nazi Germany, and looks at both the rise of institutional anti-semitism and the tragedy of the Holocaust.

Through Bradford Council’s Stand up, Speak out, Make a Difference programme schools can choose to host both the Anne Frank History for Today and an exhibit called Remembering Srebrenica, which has been developed by the council honouring the Bosnian Muslims killed in a massacre in 1995.

At each school up to 20 young people will be trained, by members of the Council’s Diversity and Cohesion staff, to be ambassadors who will explain the significance of these events to their peers and to pupils from visiting primary schools.

These ambassadors are also given further training with the Anne Frank Trust to allow them to act as guides for a major national touring exhibition Anne Frank and You which will be hosted in Bradford during March this year at Kala Sangam.

Geraldine Cooper, Bradford Council’s  Acting Head of Diversity and Cohesion said: “The programme uses the exhibitions as a stimulus to allow young people to take part in workshop discussions about difficult issues around prejudice, hate crime and modern day genocide.

“It is a powerful education programme because it is peer led. Young people are helping other pupils to learn about history and to challenge intolerance in a way that is relevant to them. A strength of the programme is that there is no criteria for who should take part.

“Schools decide themselves which pupils should become ambassadors. Pupils can be put forward for a number of reasons and we know it can have a real impact on their confidence and the rest of their education.

“There is still some availability to have the Anne Frank History for Today exhibition come out to Bradford secondary schools this year and we would strongly recommend getting involved.”

Coun Imran Khan, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Education, Employment and Skills said: “We can be proud of the way this programme allows our young people to learn about challenging issues around intolerance and helps pupils to educate their peers about the importance of rejecting hatred.

“This programme not only allows pupils to learn important lessons from history but also helps to develop their confidence and maturity and gets them to consider the importance of the society they grow up in.”

There is limited availability for further secondary schools in the Bradford district to participate in Stand up, Speak out, Make a Difference 2017.

Bradford Community Stars 2016

Dedicated volunteers who strive to make a difference in their local communities will be recognised for their hard-work in the sixth annual Community Stars Awards which open for nominations today.

The honours are organised by the Telegraph & Argus and Bradford Council in a bid to ensure unsung heroes across the district are properly rewarded.

We are asking for nominations for those people who have voluntarily have gone out of their way to help others.

Nominations will be whittled down by a panel of judges before a public vote from a shortlist of nominees.

Category winners will be announced at a ceremony at The Midland Hotel, on December 7, and presented with the Bradford Medal.

This year’s awards are part of the People Can Make a Difference campaign which aims to recognise the voluntary work already being carried out in the district. It encourages people to make a difference in a number of ways, such as being neighbourly, through community action or volunteering, as well as raising money for local projects.

The awards are sponsored by Better Start Bradford and this year include the Better Start Bradford Outstanding Contribution Award.

This is intended to highlight efforts made by volunteers working with children under four, their families and the wider community   as part of Better Start Bradford schemes in the Bowling, Barkerend, Bradford Moor and Little Horton areas of the district.

The project aims to give babies and children in these areas of Bradford a better start in life.

Councillor Abdul Jabar, the council’s portfolio holder for neighbourhoods and community safety, said: “The people of Bradford have a proud tradition of volunteering and getting involved in helping their communities so we are delighted to be working with the Telegraph & Argus to acknowledge residents who go the extra mile.

“There are lots of people who deserve a Community Stars award and I urge local people to get involved and nominate someone who has made a real difference.”

Closing Date 26^th September 2016

For further information contact   anna.frater@bradford.gov.uk

You can download a nomination form  here