Robert Massey, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, writes:

Today I visited Childeric Primary School in New Cross. Childeric is one of the first primary schools in the borough to be completely rebuilt and the new building looks great. The headteacher, Christine Hollis, was particularly proud of the way in which children were so excited by their new school and the way in which the staff all went the extra mile to help with the inevitable disruption caused by such an ambitious project.

We toured the different teaching and play areas and saw just what a difference a modern building can make. Childeric was already doing really well, with a good OFSTED report just 18 months ago and now looks set to go from strength to strength. It's now a real asset for the children of Deptford and New Cross.

Photo: Christine Hollis talks to Robert Massey about the new nursery and playground at Childeric School.

Sarah Brown, the wife of Prime Minister Gordon Brown MP, visited the Kaleidoscope Centre in Catford on Friday 25th April. The event marked Kaleidoscope's shortlisting as one of the country's top new public buildings.  

Sarah Brown with Bridget Prentice MP for Lewisham East, and Len Duvall, London Assembly Member for Lewisham and Greenwich.

Deputy Mayor Heidi Alexander writes...

I recently met with representatives from Southern, TfL and the Forest Hill & Sydenham Societies to discuss the issues arising from planned ticket gating at Forest Hill and Sydenham stations. There was a good turn out for the meeting - Perry Vale Councillor John Paschoud was there as well as Jim Dowd MP and our candidate in the forthcoming GLA elections Len Duvall.
 
Basically, the plans include shutting off access to Platform 1 at Sydenham (the up platform for trains to London) and providing staff to check tickets during the afternoon peak at Forest Hill on the down platform. Whilst oyster pay as you go is expected next year, this project is primarily driven by the train operators need to protect revenue.
 
On Forest Hill station, Southern and TfL now seem to be considering the possibility of a gateline at the bottom of the stairs on the down platform at Forest Hill and were even open to the idea put forward by me and John of creating a new exit at the other end of the platform. This would mean that you could exit this platform via a route through the Perry Vale car park. Clearly there's a lot more work that needs to be done on this option but I've asked council officers to make sure that we work with TfL and Southern to get the best possible long term solution for the travelling public.
 
On Sydenham, I've also asked council officers to look again at some old proposals to provide an operational gateline at Platform 1. Setting up the ticket barriers etc requires quite a bit of space though and it could require some of the road which runs adjacent to the platform. At the meeting I asked Southern and TfL whether they would be willing to put their plans on hold whilst we looked at the options, although it has to be said they didn't seem that keen.  
 
I do think it's completely crazy to be causing greater inconvenience to commuters when we're trying to encourage more people to use the trains and public transport more generally. The East London Line Extension is such a great news story for this part of London - it's a real shame that Southern and TfL want to push this project through when there may be better long term solutions for both stations.

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Councillor Robert Massey, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People writes...

Today the Mayor Steve Bullock and I gave out awards to mentors for looked after children. Mentors are volunteers from all walks of life (today the occupations ranged from fire officer to film producer) who give up time to be there for some of our most vulnerable young people. They do a great job - everyone I spoke to saw it as a challenge, but hugely rewarding at the same time. My thanks go out to all the mentors, as well as Lee McDaid and her team for all the work they put in to recruit such a great group of people.

Robert

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