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. 

Valence House will unveil its latest exhibition this half-term – but unlike any other display, this one will be deliberately hard to discover, and families will be challenged to spot it.

 

The Becontree Avenue museum is one of only nine locations in London selected to take part in a nationwide campaign called Where’s Wally? The Big Museum Hunt.

 

Visitors will be tasked with finding Wally, the typically hard to find character who is famous for his red and white striped jumper and hat.

On Wednesday 2 October, Barking and Dagenham Council celebrated the values and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi on the 150th Anniversary of his birth and planted a peace tree on the grounds of St Margaret’s Church in Barking.

Robert Clack School welcomed children’s author Dan Freedman as part of their transition project which is based on his book ‘Born to Play’.

The project has been designed to help with the transition from primary school to secondary school for Year 7 pupils. Each child is given a copy of the book before starting Year 7 to read and complete a range of tasks.

In its third year, the successful project now includes a meet and greet with Dan Freedman and the children get to have a discussion with him about the book and why reading is so important. 

Nigeria marked 59 years of Independence today 1 October. The Nigerian flag was raised at Barking Town Hall, as the borough came together and celebrated with members of the Nigerian community, council staff and well-wishers.

I am delighted to join the residents of Barking and Dagenham in wishing all Nigerians a happy Independence Day. 

Barking and Dagenham Council officially kicked off Black History Month with a memorable launch last night, which had The Broadway Theatre in Barking filled to capacity.

The exciting night of performances and discussions was hosted by Barking and Dagenham's very own Janice Francis-Irwin, former world and European karate champion.

Those in attendance were treated to traditional African drumming and dance from Masai Cultural Arts, followed by a talk on tracing your ancestry by author and genealogist, Paul Crooks.

Eastbury Primary School has become the first primary school in Barking and Dagenham to achieve the Religious Education (RE) Quality Mark.

The school has been awarded the honour for their RE curriculum that provides opportunities to develop children’s knowledge and understanding of world religions.

Rush Green Primary School has been awarded the School Games Gold Award for the work they did during the 2018/19 academic year.

Launched in 2012, the Government-led award scheme, facilitated by the Youth Sport Trust, rewards schools for their commitment to the development of competition across their school and in the community.