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September sees the wider re-opening of schools for all pupils in Barking and Dagenham, with safety measures now in place to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

After months of lockdown, parents are encouraged to send their children back to school when they re-open in September. For some pupils, this could be their first year at a new school and for many others it will be the first time they’ve gone back to school since March.

A number of senior councillors in London with responsibility for education and schools have written to the Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson MP, expressing their relief at the government’s U-turn and the decision to fall back on using teacher assessed grades and to put on record their objections to the standardisation of grades by Ofqual.

Residents of Barking and Dagenham who are interested in a career in health and social care are being invited to attend an online careers fair in September.

The event, which will give participants access to a number of employers and live vacancies will take place on Thursday 17 September, from 10am to 11am and will be done using Microsoft Teams, so access to a computer is essential.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today given his approval to major new film studios in Dagenham.

The Mayor has backed plans by Barking and Dagenham Council to build the capital’s largest film studios in Dagenham East, boosting the borough and London’s growing film and TV industries.

The plans were approved by the council’s planning committee last month, and as with all major developments like this, plans are then submitted to the Greater London Authority for final approval.  

Despite all the difficulties, most students in Barking and Dagenham have secured places at their chosen destinations.

There were celebrations at Robert Clack School of Science, where over 100 pupils will be taking up places in their first-choice university including offers at Russell Group universities with three of them securing places to study medicine.

Barking and Dagenham Council CCTV cameras continue to prove its worth in the fight against grime crime as a local woman has been caught and fined for dumping black bags.

Enforcement officers were made aware by CCTV operatives of a woman living on Sunningdale Avenue, who was seen dumping rubbish at the end of the road.

Following this, officers visited the property and were able to speak to the woman, who was immediately identified, as she was still wearing the same clothes as when she was caught by council CCTV cameras.

Barking and Dagenham Council launches campaign to address youth violence, after a spike in incidents across the capital in recent years.

The campaign, called Lost Hours, will see the council tackling the issue head on and speaking to parents directly, urging them to take more responsibility for their children by asking them where they are, before it’s too late.

The cost of getting children with special education needs in Barking and Dagenham to school is set to rise by at least 100 per cent and the council is seeking clarity from the government.

In a letter to Vicky Ford MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families, Council Leader, Cllr Darren Rodwell and Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration, Cllr Maureen Worby asked the government to clarify what it means by safe travel.

Barking and Dagenham Council enforcement officers turned into Sherlock Holmes this week as their investigative skills helped them track down two fly tipping offenders.

On the evening of Thursday 27 July, the east London council’s CCTV recorded a driver and passenger of a white Ford transit box van dumping rubbish out of the back of the vehicle onto a public highway.

Businesses including bars, pubs, cafes not following government guidelines on social distancing and the rules on reopening in Barking and Dagenham run the risk of being shut down.

In a stern warning, the Leader of Barking and Dagenham, Councillor Darren Rodwell, said: “Now more than ever, it is vital that people continue to follow government advice on social distancing, wearing face coverings and practising good hand hygiene, in order to keep down the number of cases across the borough.