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Written by Cheryl Smylie
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Wednesday, 21 January 2009 13:37 |
• Aston Pride children are continuing to arrive at school, better prepared for school life. Aston Pride children were 18 points below city averages in 2005, reducing to 10 point in 2006 and now only a 2 point differential in 2007.
• Aston Pride children still perform below City averages in Key Stage 2 Level 4 English, but this national  NDC target, fails to recognise children in areas like Aston have much lower starting point - i.e. a significantly higher proportion of EAL, FSM and SEN pupils. A more useful indicator is Contextual Value Added figures, which measure children’s rate of progression, and these figures are still awaited, although 2006 demonstrated that Aston Pride children progress faster than city averages.
• More Aston Pride pupils are achieving 5 or more GCSE A*-C Grades, with improvement in 2007 up 4% on 2006. This represents a 1% higher level of improvement than the LEA average of 3%.
• Prince Albert School in Aston won a BECTA ICT Award for Best Primary School in the U.K.
• Aston Pride also won a Special “BECTA” award for Aston Pride Computers in the home project.
• Aston Pride Computers in the Home project has been shortlised as a finalist for a national E-Gov Award under the category of 'Building a Fairer Society'. The awards highlight the UK's most effective services which improve citizen business transaction with councils, central government deparments and other public sector organisations. The winners will be presented with their awards on 20th January 2009 at a dinner in the City of London by Minister Tom Watson MP and Government CIO John Suffolk.
• The community safety theme has continued to achieve against its high level outcomes. It has attained its forecast milestones for reducing crime, fear of crime and young people and with the launch of the remaining key elements of its drugs strategy is starting to impact on drugs.
• The then Aston Pride Board member Shakoor Choudhry won a Respect award for taking a stand. Shakoor won the award for his work on the Aston Pride Community Safety Theme, of which he was the chair, and for his commitment to battling anti-social behaviour generally. The award supported by Crime Concern recognises the work of individuals, groups and projects for taking a stand against anti-social behaviour in their local communities.
• The Community Safety Theme Manager was awarded the Queens Police medal in the Queens Birthday Honour’s list in June 2007 for his police service within the Aston Pride area.
• Operation “TRAP” project developed through the Community Safety Theme was awarded a commended “Chairs Prize Award” by RegenWM.
• The latest National evaluation for NDC’s states that in 2004/05 Aston Pride NDC had the 7th lowest overall crime rate per 1000 population (52.1) of all the 39 NDC partnerships in England.
• Crime figures in areas highlighted by the Home Office – such as burglary, theft and violent crime, are now, for the first time, below the Birmingham average. Since 2002 burglary has been reduced by 38%, robbery by 19% and vehicle crime by 37%.
• Between August 2005-February 2008 (latest figures available) worklessness in Aston Pride has reduced by 1.51% compared to a reduction in the overall City rate of 0.676%.
• 871 Aston Pride residents have been placed into work through a portfolio of interconnected employment support projects. (October 08).
• Success was marked when the NDC received a coveted regional award from RegenWM for “Most Transferable Good Practice.”
• Aston Pride’s Employment Connection’s project became a finalist in the Regeneration & Renewal Awards for Tackling Worklessness in September 2008.
• Aston Pride’s sequential approach towards addressing worklessness is now being adopted to form the foundation for the LA’s wider strategy in tackling persistent levels of worklessness in priority wards across the rest of the city, and indeed, is advising and influencing how incoming Working Neighborhood Fund ( WNF) should be channeled in these target areas.
• A range of complementary business support programmes has commenced delivery and has been focusing on the needs of local business, stimulating job creation, growth and further investment.
• Through the establishment of the Aston Pride Business Think Tank, large and small businesses are working collaboratively to make the NDC a better place to work and do business. Strong partnerships with the LSC and Chamber of Commerce is levering in additional support through free business assessments and up-skilling programmes such as Train to Gain.
• The Partnership has embedded a Community Leadership Strategy and Learning Plan, which recognises that more work is required and across all Theme areas with local groups; funding bodies; mainstream services; neighbourhood based teams; and other practitioners to tackle the barriers which have prevented local communities from fully engaging or taking part in localised regeneration within their area.
• The Community Leadership Theme Group ( CLTG) following the recent selection and recruitment of additional community board members has been formally set-up with a terms reference aligned within the constituted arrangements for the Delivery Partnership Board. Membership of the CLTG includes: 2 x Community representatives; Community Leadership Theme Manager, Senior District Manager (Ladywood Constituency), Birmingham Settlement (Delivery Agency for voluntary sector), with space to co-opt additional expertise and community/ resident representation.
• Two key large-scale capital projects involving school security and alley gating are now underway and development work is continuing on projects to impact on robbery, antisocial behaviour and youth issues.
• The new flagship Aston Pride Community Health Centre opened on time and within Budget on the 26th November as planned. The Centre – named by residents – is the latest Aston Pride capital build project and a key tool in the NDC and Primary Care Trust’s strategy for addressing local health and social care inequalities.
• Kirsty Barnes, Community Links Manager who is part of the Community Outreach Family Support Services ( COFSS) project has been awarded the “Community Partnership Award” by the Heart of Birmingham Primary Care Trust for her community work in the Aston Pride area. (October 2008).
• Work is on-going on the Aston Hall and Park Development project. Aston Pride NDC funds have paid for a Community Ranger, a full time and a part time park warden, a sports development officer and a Hattrick Football Development Worker all based at Aston Hall. Since the last MORI intensive work has happened at Aston Park with the new Astroturf pitch in use and other pitches having being constructed and seeded.
• Housing & Environment Theme won a Chamberlain Award for their successful “Street Care Clean-up Campaign” for imaginative teamwork in the Aston Pride area.
• Witton Flood Project provided flood resilient products to over 400 households in the Aston Pride area. This project was recognized by the City for outstanding contribution to the Community.
• Simon Topman, Independent Chair for Aston Pride was awarded an MBE by the Queen for his contributions to the City and Aston Pride.
• Aston Pride has also forged strong links with Aston Villa F.C. and are now official working partners. As principal representatives of the local community, the relationship has been instrumental in opening avenues for greater interaction with local residents and businesses.
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