Last month well over 200 people turned up to discuss the New Deal for Communities money at Byron Wood School. People from all sections of the community squashed into the school hall and corridors; others had to be turned away.

The man from Government Office looked like he had never seen anything like it. One workshop saw him down on the floor, writing ideas from local people on flip charts.Clearly impressed by the level of community organisation in Burngreave he said he was used to communities with just an allotments society. After sharing ideas for change, the meeting overwhelmingly voted for the Burngreave Community Action Forum to take the lead in negotiating around New Deal. At the same time, those present recognised that there were still groups and individuals outside the Forum. They too must have their say.

If we do get the money, there will immediately be £200,000 to help us work out a plan for change. There will also be another £200,000 for quick, low cost projects that make a big difference. Particularly important are projects which help the community to develop, organise itself and make best use of the money.

GET INVOLVED!

If you haven’t already had your say about what we need to do, the BCAT Office at 12 Burngreave Road is acting as a contact point (2728008). Come to some of the meetings advertised in this issue, but whatever you do ….....

GET INVOLVED!

Education – The Agenda for New Deal

New figures from the Education Department looking at how Burngreave kids do at school show a very mixed picture. For the first time we can now see how well Burngreave children do, whichever Secondary school they attend.

The figures were produced by the Council to help get New Deal money for the area. They show that while results for children at Infant and Junior Schools are generally better than they were, many Burngreave children still leave secondary school with fewer qualifications than children from the rest of the City. More Burngreave children are leaving school with no qualifications than ever before.

Most worrying, these figures include the many children who travel out of the area to go to Secondary School. It seems that the education system is failing Burngreave children whether they go to local schools or to schools across the City.

More Support for Young People

Many local people at New Deal Roadshows suggested ideas for improving Education services. Someone pointed out that we have brilliant children who deserve to do well. Education strategy should reflect the cultural diversity in the area which is a real strength of the area. Some called for more resources for local schools and an end to the Government blaming teachers.

Some felt that what was taught in schools was too narrow. Many called for schools to be open longer with out of school clubs, holiday and Saturday schools.

Large numbers of people said we must do something for Secondary children who are getting bored or fed up with school. School must be made more interesting for these children. There should be less exclusion and more for children who do end up not going to school.

People wanted more support for projects like the Furnival Project which supports young people who don’t feel part of the Education System.

Adult classes within Pram-pushing Distance

Many called for more adult education classes. Some felt that learning for parents was the best way to help children do better.

The closure of Parkwood College was mentioned. It was pointed out that many people in Burngreave need to re-train, many have literacy problems or need to learn English.

Open up Schools

The Education Department sees opportunities to use New Deal money to open up schools out of hours to give extra learning, sports and fun activities for children, parents and the wider community. The Government is also keen to use New Deal money to turn schools into "community schools". We could train people from the community to work as classroom assistants.

Fresh Start?

The Council and Government also want to use New Deal money to help "Fresh Start" Schools. Fresh Start is where schools which are reckoned to be failing are given a new name and new staff.

Fresh Start may be the best chance to improve education for Herries’ kids but it is still a controversial idea. Threat of an NUT strike over sackings has put off redundancies ‘til Christmas but the issue might not go away. Nationally the whole "Fresh Start" idea is on a knife-edge with several Fresh Start super-heads resigning across the country and a "Fresh Start" school in Newcastle closing after failing to increase its numbers. This must not happen to Herries.

We also need to remember that only just over a third of secondary children in the Burngreave New Deal area go to the two Fresh Start schools: Fir Vale and soon Herries. The Government may need the Fresh Start schools looking good in time for the next election. In Burngreave we need to see children doing better and better over the next ten years or longer. Whichever school they go to.

Represent.

They've arrested us just for being black, poor, Irish, Asian, white and working class and now they want to shower us with money.

Fifty million pounds placed into our area has stirred up many debates over the last three or four months, none more controversial than the issue of Law and Order.

There is no doubt Burngreave Sheffield moved into the year two thousand with a reputation built on its cultural content. It is apparent that being of a diverse multicultural population the name Burngreave sends shivers through prestigious establishments through out the city. Unfortunately this includes our police force as well as others.

Now the Burngreave people have been awoken by council and community active road shows, to explain the large windfall about to benefit the area. It is amidst these road shows that many voices from sections of this community were heard.

Saturday April 1st 11:30 am, Methodist Church Burngreave Road.

Voices ask why police aren't more visible in the manor. Inspector Dyson of South Yorkshire police attended and stated the force’s stance on Burngreave is the same as their stance on other communities in Sheffield. Some felt council members and the police were only present because of the money incentive. Inspector Dyson’s words fell on pessimistic ears.

Tuesday April 4th 6pm, Woodside Community Centre.

The suggestion of CCTV inside the area was always going to cause uproar. Many people feel this is an intrusion on our privacy. While others rally round the need to stop all criminal activity concerning street muggings and trafficking class A drugs.

Wednesday 5th April: 3pm Byron Wood School Malton Street.

" Do you know what it's doing to my business," said a local tradesman." Those youths gather outside all day and night, flash cars, music etc.

"These words raised the tension and inevitably led to the issue of our youths and what is being done to dissuade them from this competitive and deadly drug selling culture. These feelings were echoed at the following road shows.

If the youths aren't catered for they'll turn to crime. How can we compete against £500 pound a week drug barons, who employ our young children. Why is there no youth clubs? Youth training or financial help, for those leaving school and unable to claim full benefit. Provision for drug users and all our young people.

Again Inspector Dyson attended and spoke on behalf of the force.

Claims are made concerning their lack of manpower.

Thursday April 6th, 1: pm, All Saints Community Centre.

" My children don't respect the police, because the police don't take time to respect them or us."

Relationships between the police and community needs to be bridged with more community uniformed presence. A need for long-term education of officers, who will get to know understand and relate to the people they police. A structure of educating and encouraging present policemen and woman, as well as future young people into reflecting this modern society, and creating a multicultural force.

Thursday 6th April 7pm: The Furnival, Verdon Street.

Tackling petty crime and burglary was on the agenda along with promoting security measures on residential premises.

Calls for more police interaction with youth projects, to help combat the culture of trafficking class A drugs. Police lifestyle project will help to do this, as well as promote and improve the image of Burngreave.

10: am Saturday April 8th: BCAF Quarterly Forum and New Deal For Communities Meeting: Byron Wood School Malton Street.

Attended by the man from Government Office, this meeting marked a huge turnout.

It was here again, with the law and order section that forefront in many people's minds, were the debates that had taken place on Youth crime and drugs.

A mention of CCTV surveillance brought out a clear difference of opinion from two section of this community. Business people and our radical culture with a socialist political agenda clashed, taking their stances for and against the street monitoring facility.

Ending that meeting and having been a member of the NDC Steering group, I left knowing I'd been there to Represent. Not only to give my opinion as well as others had, but also to show a face that represents one of the largest but always under represented section of this community.

Crime has always been attributed to my people and many of us bare the brunt of crime. Down for so long so many of us have forgotten to stand up. Not even for the sake of those to follow. I've taken a mental battering but that can't keep me down.

I stand and call for this time of change, in the knowledge that many others are waiting in the wings. As a parent bringing up my 12-year-old son, I want and always will want to be in a position to create a better future and chance for him.

As I see his peers and those around me, I live in hope this also means change for them. With a fifty million pound incentive, how can we sit back and fail them how we've been failed before.

Rob Smith. N.D.C. Burngreave Messenger.

Burngreave Babies Love Books

Babies in Burngreave are getting started on a lifelong love of books with the Bookstart Project.

The project aims to give every seven to nine month old baby a Bookstart pack including two baby board books, a library ticket, a rhyming place mat and advice for parents on choosing and sharing books with babies.

There are choices of books for twins, tactile books for special needs and information leaflets in other languages including Arabic, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Somali and Urdu. Bookstart is part of a national scheme, sponsored by Sainsburys and is up and running across Sheffield.

In Burngreave, a project worker, Julia Shergold, has been appointed to develop the project and work with health visitors, community groups, libraries, parents and babies.

abies’ natural curiosity means that books are great fun to explore, and sharing books with babies gives them a great start for later learning. Research has shown that children who have taken part in the Bookstart Project are three times more likely to enjoy reading when they start school and perform higher in other areas of education.Future plans include play and storytelling for babies in local libraries, stalls at events such as the Abbeyfield Park Multicultural Festival and a city-wide ‘Books for babies’ fortnight in June.

For more information, or for someone to speak to local groups, phone Julia Shergold, Bookstart Project Officer on 2037895.

Proposals on a new deal for Burngreave

As part of the process for receiving funding for New Deal in Burngreave, an initial submission was sent to Government Office on 14th April 2000. They asked us to tell them what the strengths of Burngreave are, as well what is wrong, what needs to change, and what the aims of a New Deal in Burngreave would be. Much of the information in this proposal came from the recent community consultations at the Burngreave roadshows and consultations done by Burngreave Community Action Forum (BCAF).

Surveys have shown that local people want:
More information about, and better access to health services, especially to tackle mental health and drugs problems.
More effort in tackling the causes of crime, better street lighting and more youth provision.
More local people in local jobs.
Better school and further education provision, more skills training and more community language and literacy training.
Parks and recreational areas properly maintained and with better facilities, more street cleaning and traffic calming and fewer empty homes.

Nearly £25 million a year is currently spent in Burngreave and services will be improved through partnership working and through consulting local people.

Aims of New Deal

Recent community consultation identified these as some of the aims of New Deal:
To make Burngreave a place where people are proud to live, work and bring up children.
Unemployment would be low in a thriving local economy and local people would have better access to education and training and have the opportunities and skills for local work.
There would be a bank, which services a multi-cultural shopping centre and local businesses and care facilities would be fully available.
Crime would be controlled by a responsive and sensitive local police force.
All citizens, especially young people, would have access to a range of local social, leisure and recreational activities.
Housing would be appropriate for needs and fully occupied and the environment clean and well-lit and all public areas properly maintained.

For New Deal to be a success in Burngreave, local people, public agencies and the business sector will need to work together in partnership (see Who Do You Want to Represent You? Page 7). The April 14th proposal outlines what needs to be done in the next 12 months to make this happen.

On a practical level a staff team of between four and six people will work from a local base in Burngreave, and there will be extensive involvement of local people in developing detailed ideas and plans for the next stage. The Partnership Board will pull together a detailed proposal on how New Deal will operate in Burngreave, with costs, for Government Office by March 2001.

A comprehensive summary of the bid will be available shortly in English, Urdu, Somali and Arabic. You can obtain a copy from BCAF on 272 8008, Sheffield City Council on 273 5568 or Burngreave Library.

Daniela Hawryliuk

Sheffield City Council Community Partnership Unit

A Healthy Burngreave
A comment from Gary McCulloch, Sheffield Health Authority’s Area Co-ordinator

The latest New Deal Community roadshows raised a lot of concerns about the health of people in Burngreave. People want positive action on mental health problems, drugs, and access to treatment and to see ‘connected up’ health workers. These can give people information about other services such as advice workers, housing etc. Raising awareness about health and using local skills was also seen as a good way of improving health.

If we are to "New Deal" some of the health problems Burngreave suffers from it is very important that everyone has a say. People with mental health problems, or a learning disability need to be creatively contacted. Their views and opinions need to be valued and fed into the consultation.

Let’s get the partnership off to a good start and plan with all the local health and social care workers that deliver services to people in the area. Lets work with them and self help groups and voluntary organisations to make sure we get more views on how Burngreave can become a healthier community.

Gary McCulloch Area Co-ordinator, Burngreave

What's On in Burngreave,  July 2000