Barking and Dagenham Council has launched a new scheme to give adults the opportunity to support local children who may not have had the best start in life. 

The ‘Independent Visitor’ scheme will involve volunteers being matched with a child in the local authority’s care to provide them with opportunities that they may not have had in the past.

Independent Visitors will meet the child six times a year and support them in carrying out a range of activities to help build their confidence and self-esteem. Activities might include:

Barking and Dagenham council has committed another £38m on refurbishing its council housing stock, bringing the total spent so far to £88m on its Decent Homes programme in 2018-19.

The annual programme sets out the council’s commitment to raise the bar and improve the overall condition of its housing stock, while ensuring a safe and comfortable living environment for residents.

There is no beating Barking and Dagenham when it comes to securing primary school places as 94.89 per cent of parents have been given their first preference.

The figures released by the Pan London Admissions Board show that Barking and Dagenham has once again smashed the London average of 85.54 per cent. 

The deadline to apply for a primary school place was 15 January and figures show Barking and Dagenham Council received 3270 applications. 

The Maples Nursery in Barking has been told by Ofsted to spread their good practice following the outcome of a recent inspection.

The Barking nursery, which opened in May 2017, has been rated Outstanding by Ofsted in a rare scenario for an early years setting to receive the top recognition for its first inspection. 

Inspectors visited the nursery last month and were impressed with the well organised environment and the ‘exceptionally strong’ relationship between parents and staff. 

Barking and Dagenham Council and BDCVS have come together to co-fund events and activities that bring communities together to celebrate this year’s St George’s Day.

The Barking and Dagenham Together for St George's Day Grant Programme, is part of a series of new funding opportunities from BDCVS made available to organisations in Barking and Dagenham to promote cohesion and equality.

Barking and Dagenham is set to partner with the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) to deliver the Early Years Transformation Academy (EYTA) 2019/20.

The borough is one of five areas locally to partner with the EIF – all chosen through a competitive process, from 18 areas across England who expressed an interest in the programme.

A council flat in Dagenham has been brought back into use after being repossessed following a disturbance which involved a shooting and a suspected cannabis factory.

Following the incident on 21 March which involved the police and ambulance service, council officers acted promptly to ensure the one-bed property has now been returned to public use. 

A man has been hit in the pocket after council officers witnessed a cigarette being thrown out of the car in Freshwater Road, Dagenham.

The Council served a notice on Mr Amran Hussain, the registered owner of the vehicle, to identify who was driving the car at the time of the offence. After failing to comply with the notice to provide information about the driver, Mr Hussain was summoned to court. 

Every One, Every Day - a platform for local people in Barking and Dagenham to build their neighbourhoods together, combats social isolation, and strengthen their communities - has been awarded £1.5 million over the next three years.

Yesterday (11th April) HRH The Duke of Sussex officially opened London’s first Youth Zone in Barking and Dagenham, a state-of-the-art facility developed by national charity for young people OnSide Youth Zones.

 

Future is the first of three brand new Youth Zones set to open in London this year with OnSide Youth Zones investing an initial £20million in Barking and Dagenham, Barnet and Croydon with a further combined £4 million per year earmarked for operating costs.