Booting out cyberbullying in our schools

If for anyone else, life may become more bearable for children in school playgrounds and classrooms with the launch this week of an anti-bullying pack.

The kit is designed by Tower Hamlets Council to equip schools in East London to tackle bullying.

It provides tips on how to spot bullying and what help can be given to those that are affected by it.

The concept is not new – most schools already have anti-bullying policies in place and teachers and prefects alike can usually spot it.

So why spend money on duplicating a policy and dishing it out as novel?

It could be because there are new forms of bullying that parents (or even chidlren themselves) are not aware are actually classified as bullying and can cause serious distress to victims.

Helen Jenner, the Service Head for Early Years Children and Learning at Tower Hamlets Council (whoa … what a long title!) says that: ‘New forms of bullying like cyber-bullying have emerged in recent years, and it’s important that schools know how to identify these problems and deal with them if they occur.’

Now what is this cyber bullying?

Like me, you may suspect is involves the internet. Correct.

The department for Children, Schools and Families defines it as:

“an aggressive, intentional act carried out by a group or individual, using electronic forms of contact, repeatedly over time against a victim who cannot easily defend him or herself.”

This booklet will certainly teach mischievous children in our schools that making fun of someone on YouTube or bombarding them with nasty texts for the fun of it is not acceptable.

Can East London produce a solid London Mayor?

As the day for Londoners to elect a mayor draws closer,
Alan Craig (pictured) of the Christian People's Alliance appears to have stuck out as the better known mayoral candidate to come out of East London this time round.

Craig has lived in East London for many years and is based in Canning Town. He is also a Councillor in Newham.

He is touting family values: he believes that many of the problems London is facing today, i.e. crime and teenage alcholism, are because of the breakdown of the family unit.

He is also known for strongly opposing plans to build a mega-mosque in West Ham. His manefesto states that ‘it is forwarded by the secretive and separatist Tablighi Jamaat Islamic sect … and it will also foster fundamentalism’.

Can Craig upstage Ken?

YOU can decide that on May 1 when you make your way to the polls.

Flats or Flair: what’s the priority for Hackney?

Priorities, priorities, priorities. This could soon be the buzz word for artists and homeless people in Hackney.

The Hackney Gazette reports that a group of artists are against plans for high rise developments because they fear the place will become a ghetto.

The paper claims that artists including Tracey Emin and Dinos Chapman have expressed their concerns in an open letter to the London mayor, Ken Livingstone.

With all due respect, Shoreditch (and Bethnal Green Road) already seems to have traits of a ghetto, nevertheless …

Have these artists considered that for an area currently experiencing serious levels of overcrowding, these very ‘detestable’ tall towers may house several families and homeless people?

According to Team Hackney, overcrowding in Hackney in the social rented sector is serious and worsening.

But on the other hand, maybe the artists are right. The towers could look ugly in trendy Shoreditch - and who knows what their presence would bring?

This is where the ‘priority’ word comes in: is housing or recreation a priority for Hackney at this point in time?

Whose cry will matter most to Ken Livingston or his colleagues at Hackney Council: artists or those in need of accommodation?

Interestingly others in the area, like supporters of the Hackney Independent, believe such high rise buildings will not benefit ordinary working class families or the homeless.

They say such flats going up in the area are aimed at rich middle class professionals.

This ropes in the possibility that the need for new flats are actually a priority for another group: rich property/building companies with an aim to build flats for yuppies.

They are unlikely to help the many families in need of basic accommodation or the homeless. They may not even impress the angry artists.

At a time when Ken Livingston is trying to win the hearts (I think I mean votes here) of every Londoner – artists, homeless, rich property developers – we may not know whose voice will be heard for a long while.

Meanwhile, above is a video of other folk who decided they had another priority for high rise flats in Hackney: operating pirate radio stations.

Teenagers hobbies to be funded by Council

Life is not as miserable for teenagers as our newspapers – or some teenagers themselves – would have us believe.

Havering Council, together with Havering College, is offering youngsters money to invest in their favourite hobby or sport.

Called the Havering Talented 30 scheme, the fund aims to assist teenagers develop their skills fully. Those who are selected will be given £200 for this purpose.

Havering cabinet member for Culture and Leisure, Councillor Andrew Curtin, said: “Excellence in the arts and sport is an absolutely basic part of a well-educated and civilised society.”

For more info on the scheme contact Havering Council (info@havering.gov.uk).

Olympic torch celebrations in Newham

While thousands of pro-Tibetan protestors gave the police grief over the Olympic torch in Central London, residents in Newham played it safe.

The local council organised games, music and other entertainment to mark the torch's passing through London.

Somehow I couldn't bring myself to join in the fun and games.

Stratford theatre piece wows Barbican audience

If you’re looking for a cocktail of reggae and ghetto action you might want to check out Theatre Royal’s most popular play, The Harder They Come, based on the 1972 Jamaican film.

Produced in East London, the production has now moved to the Barbican Theatre and has impressed folk there.

It tells the story of Ivan, a country boy who leaves the Jamaican countryside to seek fame and fortune in Kingston through his music, but the harsh reality of the music scene drives him into a fast and furious life as an outlaw.

The show features many returning cast members from the Theatre Royal Stratford East production, such as Rolan Bell as Ivan and Joanna Francis as Elsa.

Does peace stand a chance in Hackney?

This weekend residents in Hackney held a Palm Sunday Ecumenical march, commemorating Jesus’s entrance into Jerusalem.

They prayed along the streets as they marched.

Leading the march alongside church clergy was Councillor Faizullah Khan, who said: ‘As a borough, we have achieved peace and harmony through tolerance and understanding, and we can all help to develop and expand this.’

This is a borough with one of the highest number of gangs in London and serious crime figures.

Even the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has admitted she wouldn’t feel safe walking alone in Hackney.

We remember victims like Stevens Nyembo-Ya-Muteba, a father who was killed by teeangers in his block of flats for asking them to keep the noise down.

This same weekend of this march, a store manager
Jamie Simpson was knifed to death by three youths while cashing up.

But Cllr Khan still finds this a peaceful and harmounous place to live.

Is it that he is not aware of the bloodier side of the borough or that the march simply wasn’t the place or time to raise such gruesome issues?

Neither is likely to be true.

Regardless of that, the 150 local people and the various leaders who walked and prayed in the streets are proof that locals believe that peace can still be achieved.

They have not given up that hope.