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A new free exhibition designed specifically for young people has opened its doors at Valence House Museum in Dagenham.

The display, called ;-) :-& ;-O New Town Culture: Art for Young People (Adults Welcome), offers children and teenagers a place to interact and express themselves. 

Visitors will find gigantic, noisy art on show and get hands on with the exhibit – sit on specially sculpted chairs, play with audio buttons, watch videos, and control an interactive light projection. 

Seven schools in the borough have teamed up with Inspiring Futures: The Barking and Dagenham Cultural Education Partnership to secure over £145,000 in funding to teach a new literacy programme.

The programme, called ‘The Story of Me’, looks at non-western approaches to literacy development and uses storytelling to overcome barriers to learning, including students with English as an additional language.

The Leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, Cllr Darren Rodwell has welcomed the announcement that Ford and Venari Group are set to begin building a fleet of State-of- the-Art lightweight ambulances at Ford Dagenham from 2022.



The Ford Venari Alliance will support Ford’s vision of increasing business opportunities in the borough and will create about 100 jobs and boost the local economy.

Rush Green Primary School in Dagenham has received Quality Mark Awards for Primary English and Mathematics and Early Years Provision to the delight of staff.

Quality Mark is an internationally acknowledged improvement framework and quality assurance standard that celebrates and supports excellence in English and mathematics provision.

Headteacher, Simon Abeledo, said: "We are delighted with the Quality Mark awards that we received, especially considering the impact of the lockdowns and covid related illnesses.

Write On! 9 is out now! Over two years ago in April 2019, Arts Council England Library NPO (National Portfolio Organisation) Pen to Print launched its first print magazine. Write On! continues to go from strength to strength and, as such, we are delighted that this latest issue has been sponsored by the Royal Society Of Literature (RSL). 

Over the next two weeks, Barking and Dagenham Council in partnership with the NHS and GP Federation, Together First CIC, will be running a number of pop-up vaccination clinics in different locations across the borough to make it easier and more convenient for residents to get their first and second jabs.

Pupils and staff at Eastbury Community School's Deaf Additional Resource Provision (ARP) in Barking are ecstatic after winning the 'Alternative Provision School of the Year' and 'Overall School of the Year' at the 2021 TES Schools Awards.

The TES Schools Awards celebrate the most outstanding individuals and institutions that the education sector has to offer.

"An inspiring example of personalised provision unlocking the potential of every student in an authentic, inclusive model.”

Fines totalling more than a quarter-of-a-million pounds were issued to rogue landlords in Barking and Dagenham last year.



Offences included failing to have a licence, ignoring enforcement notices, and operating illegal houses in multiple occupation (HMOs).



The council became the first in the country to make it mandatory for all private landlords in the borough to have a licence – helping make sure homes are safe and protect renters.

This weekend there will be a huge free family-friendly event takes place in parks and on streets across Barking and Dagenham. 

The Thank You Roadshow will take place over the weekend of Saturday, 3 until Monday, 5 July, and promises to have something for everyone, with live singers, acrobats, drummers, stilt performers, and performances from youngsters at local dance schools.

Local offenders carried out unpaid work to tidy up a part of Barking as part of the Community Payback Scheme.



They cleared rubbish, trimmed overgrown bushes, painted fences, and covered over graffiti on St Awdry’s Road.



In total, six offenders were involved in the day of action, with the participants aged between 18 and 40.