Education Secretary Michael Gove in talks with Birmingham Council

“We know in Birmingham we have many examples of excellence when it comes to providing education, but equally we have a number of areas where we need to do better,” Government Education boss Michael Gove was told today by council leader Mike Whitby.
He vowed to “eradicate under-performance in any of our schools.”
“Looking particularly at the new tools and freedoms available to us, such as academies, free schools and university technical colleges – Birmingham is saying today that these exciting forms of provision will become an integral part of our approach to school improvement – where autonomy and school-to-school support combine to drive up standards.”

League tables make grim reading for Castle Vale School

The secondary school league tables for England have been published by the Department for Education.
Of the 142 secondary schools in Birmingham, Castle Vale Peforming Arts College comes bottom of the list in A*-C passes at GCSE including English and maths.
29% of pupils at the school achieved 5 A*-C GCSE passes including English and maths; the average for Birmingham schools is 58%, and the average for the country as a whole is also 58%.
Castle Vale School also comes bottom of the Birmingham table in English with 32% of pupils making the minimum expected progress in their time at secondary school (Birmingham average is 73%), and it also comes bottom of the table in maths, with 22% achieving the minimum expected progress (Birmingham average is 66%).

Callum’s Crossing gets green light

The Council has agreed to provide a crossing on Farnborough Road near to the spot where 10 year-old Callum Henry was killed last September.
Matthew Henry, Callum’s uncle, who has led the Castle Vale Road Safety Campaign along with local councillors, has been told that the crossing will be installed as quickly as possible.
“Thank you to everybody who signed and helped with our campaign,” said Matthew.
“We would like to invite you all to our first road safety public meeting on 22nd February, Castle Vale Swimming Baths at 7:00pm.”

20mph speed limit for Castle Vale?

Plans to impose a 20mph speed limit across Castle Vale are in their early stages. Councillors and council officers are considering the proposals which will go to public consultation before any decision is made.

Prison and three year ban for persistent drink driver

A man has been sent to prison for 12 weeks for driving a vehicle while he was three times over the alcohol limit, and despite the fact that he had been banned from driving. David Albert Allen, 45, of Castle Vale pleaded guilty to driving a Ford Focus on the Chester Road last November while he was disqualified from holding a driving licence. Tests showed that he had 246 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.
Birmingham Magistrates heard that he was involved in a serious accident, has been a persistent offender, and has failed to respond to non-custodial punishments.
He was jailed for three months, and banned from holding a driving licence for three years.

Callum tragedy: man charged with causing death by careless driving

  A MAN has been charged with causing the death of a ten-year-old boy in a road traffic collision in Birmingham last year. 
Callum Henry died following a collision on Farnborough Road in Castle Vale on Wednesday 21 September 2011.  A blue Mazda 6 car, travelling towards Tangmere Drive, collided with Callum as he was riding his bicycle. The 10year-old sustained serious injuries and was taken to hospital. Despite the best efforts of the medical staff he died as a result of his injuries the following day.  The driver, a 25-year-old local man, was arrested following the incident and on Sunday 22 January he was charged with Causing Death by Careless Driving.  He will appear before Birmingham Magistrates Court on 31 January.

Stolen ring: police appeal

Police are appealing for the public’s help in tracing a ring stolen from an Erdington home in a burglary between Christmas and New Year.   The ring has the letters ‘UND A ERR’ engraved on it. .
Anyone who is able to help the police investigation is urged to call Birmingham North police on 0345 113 5000

Green waste collections back next month

Doorstep green waste collections are set to resume across Birmingham from Monday 6^th February, after being suspended during the winter . The first 2012 collection from individual houses is set to take place on either the week beginning 6th or 13^thFebruary, depending on where a household falls in its alternating cycle of green/mixed and paper collections.

Cigarettes theft: do you recognize this man?

CCTV still photo of man wanted in connection with Boxing Day theft at Shell garage

Police want to question this man in connection with a theft of some cigarettes at the Shell Garage, 829, Tyburn Road, Erdington on Boxing Day. Police would also like him to help them with enquiries relating to another incident at the Total Garage, 912, Kingsbury Road on the following day (27th December).
Anyone who has information, or can identify the man on the CCTV image, should e mail:  b.wheeler@west-midlands.pnn.police.uk

Jack Dromey rapped by Parliamentary Standards Committee

The Parliamentary Standards Committee have today published their report into the complaint against Jack Dromey for failing to register properly his financial interests. He omitted to tell Parliament that he was still being paid by the Unite trade union for six months after he had been elected as MP for Erdington. He was paid around £28,000 for the six months’ work with Unite between his election in May and October of the same year, with an extra £30,000 as a golden handshake; he also had the use of a company car.
During these six months from May to October 2010, he was in paid employment by a trade union at the same time as he was taking part in some relevant debates, says the report.
The Standards Committee, in a 54 page document summarising their investigation and findings, concluded that they regarded Mr Dromey’s breach of the rule book as serious, though they accepted that it had been unintentional and that he had apologised on a number of occasions since.
They accepted his written apology and concluded that he would not need to make an apology by a personal statement to the House of Commons.