It was a big day down at Barking Abbey School on Saturday 12 October as they welcomed back former students to officially open their brand-new school building.

The new school block on Longridge Road, Barking includes two new design and technology rooms, two art rooms, five science labs, nine teaching rooms as well as staff facilities which allow the school to teach Key Stage 3 and 4 on both school sites.

The school also increased the size of the gym by building a brand-new sports facility to meet the needs of the students. 

Leys Primary School has been recognised for its outstanding work in promoting positive mental health and wellbeing across the whole school community.  

Deputy Headteacher, Richard Gough, and the school received the Wellbeing Award for Schools  and welcomed Councillor Evelyn Carpenter, Cabinet Member for Education and School Improvement to the presentation. 

Students from across Barking and Dagenham came together last week (Thursday, 10 October) for the second Mental Health and Wellbeing Summit for Young People. 

The event, which was hosted by Jo Richardson Community School and supported by Barking & Dagenham CCG, offered students and staff the opportunity to discuss how best to support each other and how to make people more aware about their own mental health and wellbeing. 

It might be nearing the 414th anniversary of the gunpowder plot, but this November marks the borough’s first Guy Fawkes Lantern Parade – and everyone is invited to take part.

The procession will take place on Saturday, 9 November and illuminate the dark winter’s night with live music and entertainment for all the family.

A host of new job opportunities are available exclusively for residents of the borough – but to access them you must be registered with Barking and Dagenham Council’s job shops.

This week there are trainee engineering roles, driver vacancies and site manager posts on offer, as well as full or part-time openings that need to be filled.

To view the roles, potential applicants must be registered with the borough’s job shops, which can be done for free online or in person at any one of the three venues in Barking and Dagenham.

An Ilford man has been fined after hiring a ‘man with a van’ to take away rubbish, which was later found illegally dumped on the streets of Barking and Dagenham.

On Saturday, 28 September the individual had paid £200 without checking if he was using a registered waste carrier and did not receive any documentation for the transaction.

Two days later, when enforcement officers from Barking and Dagenham Council investigated a pile of rubbish that had turned up on River Road, Barking, they discovered paperwork containing the Ilford man’s details.

Landlords and letting agents in one east London borough have been warned they must have a property licence or risk a hefty fine.

Barking and Dagenham Council issued the advice after two homeowners appeared in court and were ordered to pay almost £5,000 for failing to have a private rental licence.

The two landlords – Lincoln Barker and Paul Farthing – appeared in separate hearings at Romford County Court on Friday, 27 September. Barker, who owns a property on Greenslade Road, Barking, was fined £666 with a £66 victim surcharge and £873 costs.

It’s no longer just the parks that are green in Barking and Dagenham – the cars used by the workers who keep them tidy are too.

As part of Barking and Dagenham Council’s £10million investment in new vehicles, four all-electric Renault Kangoo vans, which produce zero emissions, will be taking to the borough’s streets.

The council’s parks and maintenance managers will be using the vehicles to travel across the borough for day to day supervision and care of the parks, grounds maintenance and cemetery services.

The work of two schools in Barking and Dagenham have received a top accolade from the Mayor of London. 

Leys Primary School and Rush Green Primary School in Dagenham were honoured for their work to reduce educational inequality and achieve exceptional results for children who were previously behind in their studies. 

Students at Riverside School are going to be getting rather creative this year with the school lining up a number of exciting projects.

To begin with, the school has continued the partnership with the English National Opera and, for a third year in a row, will put on a performance in the summer that coincides with their Art Week. The theme for this year’s performance is ‘Space.’

They will also be working closely with Bow Arts over the next year to create a community garden which will include a pavilion.