The annual Colin Pond Trust Scholarship Awards recognised young people who achieved outstanding grades in their GCSE exams.

 

Students and their families attended a glamorous event at The Broadway Theatre in Barking, where the 62 young people were each handed a £300 grant to spend during their A-level studies. This year's event was sponsored by BD Group, which offers facilities, cleaning and catering services in the borough.

Faith groups across Barking and Dagenham will be welcoming visitors into their places of worship this week as part of Interfaith Week 2021. 

The week-long event runs from Sunday 14 to 21 November and focuses on strengthening faith relations, increasing awareness of religions, and celebrating diversity. 

A rapidly growing chain of colourful paper bears is spreading kindness across the UK in memory of little Ava Cottle from Dagenham. The cheerful two-year-old tragically passed away on Mother’s Day this year following a brave battle with leukaemia.

Rush Green Primary School in Dagenham has been covered in striking handmade poppies as staff and pupils commemorate those who lost their lives during the wars. 

The school corridors showcase beautiful displays of children’s work, featuring poems, drawings and creative writing to honour the fallen. And poppies feature all over the school grounds, popping up in planters, appearing on windows and adorning the school gates in stunning wreaths.

Two drivers have been caught out by council Enforcement Officers for illegally using Blue Badges meant for residents with disabilities. 

Following complaints from residents, on Friday 29 October, Barking and Dagenham Parking Investigation Officers carried out an inspection of Tomlins Orchard, Barking and surrounding roads.

 They investigated a vehicle parked with a Blue Badge in a permit bay on Shaftesbury Road, Barking. Following checks of the badge, investigations revealed it was issued by Hackney Council and had been stolen.

The Barking and Dagenham catering service BD Together is representing London this week, as the LACA (The School Food People) tour the country to mark National School Meals Week 2021.

An innovative programme which brings art and culture into the social services at Barking and Dagenham has gone digital. New Town Culture, a pioneering initiative which explores how art and cultural experiences can frame the work of social care to support adults and children in need of social care services.

Since it was introduced in 2018, over 600 local youngsters have benefitted from the scheme. This includes children and young people in foster care, care leavers or those at risk of sexual exploitation.

Staff at All Saints Catholic School in Dagenham scooped four awards at the KM Charity’s London Teacher of the Year Awards ceremony.

 

The annual awards mark the vital contribution that school staff make to the community, recognising the expertise and dedication that makes an outstanding teacher. This year’s glittering awards ceremony was held in Brighton.

 

Laura Agudo Pueyo was recognised for her relentless drive to help pupils improve their understanding of how they learn and apply it in lessons.

 

Following the launch of Barking and Dagenham council’s extended recycling scheme in April 2021, the amount of household recycled materials that’s been collected has already increased by a whopping 10.59% as residents recycle more household items.

With COP26 now in its second week and environmental issues dominating national and international headlines, local residents have stepped up to the challenge of creating a greener world for future generations by recycling more waste at home.

Barking and Dagenham will remember all those who died in the line of duty, making the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we enjoy today, with a number of memorial services taking place across the borough from 11 to 14 November.

On Thursday 11 November, Armistice Day, the council will be holding a short service at 11am at the Job Drain Memorial Statue, adjacent to the Broadway Theatre in Barking. The Dagenham Royal Naval Association will also hold a short service at the War Memorial in Dagenham Village, Church Street, Dagenham from 10.30am.