“Start by Reading. Empower our children. Acknowledge and celebrate diversity in our school libraries”. Calder Valley Books for Change (CBVC) is a fundraising campaign recently launched by Ciara Sturges, a teacher at Ferney Lee primary school in Todmorden, which is aiming to provide every primary school in the Calder Valley with a range of diverse and inclusive books. CVBC is following in the footsteps of 'Books for Change Folkestone' who, inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, decided to make a change in their home town and raised £3,000 in one month to buy books for 19 schools. Calder Valley seeks to raise £6000 to buy sets of approximately 12 books for each of the 60 primary schools across the Calder Valley. The books will be appropriate from Early Years to year 6; some will be inspiring stories, others will have characters that are not often represented in children’s books, and factual texts aimed at children will also be included. Ciara told us: "In just four day...

The linked article is the government's latest guidance for parents and carers of children attending out-of-school settings during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. This information was updated on 10th July 2020 "This guidance is for parents and carers and covers changes to after-school clubs, holiday clubs, tuition, community activities and other out-of-school settings for children and young people over the age of 5 during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. "These settings provide enriching activities that give children the opportunity to socialise with others outside their household and promote their wellbeing. We also recognise the importance of these settings in providing additional childcare options to parents and carers, particularly those with younger children, who may need to return to or continue to work during the school holidays. "As these settings reopen, it is crucial that we are minimising the risk of transmission of the virus due to increased mixin...

All play areas and outdoor gyms in Calderdale are due to reopen by Friday 10 July – but the Council has issued important guidance to ensure everyone can enjoy the facilities safely, as COVID-19 is still within our communities. Calderdale Council has considered the practical implications of the national advice and is now confident that it can safely reopen every play area and outdoor gym (over 100 facilities) throughout the borough, provided that people take personal responsibility for using them safely and hygienically. Visitors to Calderdale’s playgrounds and outdoor gyms will be reminded by polite notices to keep at least two metres away from people outside their household at all times; to sanitise their hands before and after using the equipment; to ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ when sneezing or coughing; and to come back later if the site is busy. To help with social distancing, the Council has temporarily removed some swings / basket swings from its play areas.

By Jo Corbett From Saturday 11th July we start the on-line Summer Holiday Club which will run for 7 weeks until the end of August. We are taking the best ideas from the last few months! Every week a new theme with accompanying high quality activity sheets. There will be 2 sessions per week, Tuesday and Thursday at 10am, (these stay in the group so can be watched at any time) plus a story time at the weekend. We shall also be adding the 'Best of the Rest' so I shall pick stories and songs from around the Jo Jingling community to add to the group. We love our favourites so to start with I have chosen 12 of the most requested songs and recorded them as individual tracks - with a little green screen animation - so you can watch them over, and over, (and over!) again. I shall add more songs as the weeks go by to keep it fresh. The group is divided in topics - so you can easily find the song/story/video/theme you want. We have tried to create a resource that you can use the whole su...

By Miss Katrina Having read the guidance and visited the social club to measure the space, we are delighted to announce we will be going ahead with Theatre Week 2020 with the theme - A Bubble of Fun! It will look different to previous years. Only 10-12 children (depending on number of siblings) No singing or energetic dancing, more craft activities and time spent outdoors. No visiting specialist teachers, costumes (unless from home), t shirts or morning snack. The dates are 3-7th August 10am - 4pm £100 for first child, £80 for siblings. Venue - Todmorden Working Mens Social Club as a base but mostly outside if weather permits. If you have any questions about how it will look and be run please ring me on 07973444875. We will need payment in advance which will be refunded in full if minimum numbers are not reached. It is recommended that children do not attend any other setting while at ours. They must attend for the whole week. Please avoid public transport. Limited places so please...

As a parent of older children, who have gone through the school system in Upper Calderdale, I know that this news is bound to be a relief for many families with children looking into Post 16 options. Todmorden lost its sixth form in 2017 as more pupils went to the much larger colleges in Burnley and Rochdale. Then Calder High had to close its sixth form in 2018 leaving Post 16 pupils no option but to travel long distances each day, mainly to Burnley, Rochdale or Huddersfield as Halifax didn't have a sixth form college. But now, Coronavirus notwithstanding, Calderdale’s brand new, state-of-the-art sixth form centre at the heart of Halifax is complete and ready to welcome its first students in September 2020. The completion of Calderdale Council’s multi-million-pound construction project marks the start of an exciting new era for learning in Calderdale, and a major milestone in the borough’s wider regeneration. The scale of the building’s transformation is incredible. The Central Lib...

Streets around Calderdale schools are set to become safer, healthier and more pleasant for everyone.  Calderdale Council is working with schools to encourage more active ways for children and young people to get to and from school, such as walking and cycling.  From Monday 15 June, roads outside 14 Calderdale schools will be closed to cars and other motorised traffic at school drop-off and pick-up times. No vehicles will be allowed on certain streets at these times for up to six weeks, as the Council is using its powers to transform the streets into temporary pedestrian and cycle zones. There will be controlled access for residents’ vehicles, deliveries, emergency and utility vehicles.  The new restrictions are part of the national  School Streets  community-based approach, aiming to reduce car usage and air pollution, promote walking and cycling and boost road safety, health and wellbeing.  This supports the Council’s ongoing work to tackle the climate eme...