Come and see for yourselves what it is really like for asylum seeking families and individuals entering the UK. Walk through an interactive multi-media exhibition, and learn first hand why some people have to flee from their own country, and what their real situation is like as they seek refuge.

Swinton Precinct—Unit 9 – 11
Next to Martins cake shop and opposite Timpsons,
(near the Station Road entrance)

Monday 14th – Friday 18th June 2010
9.30am to 5.30pm

If you would like to know more about Escape to Safety, please visit www.globallink.org.uk/exhibitions/e2s/

We are inviting schools and residents associations to the exhibitions, as well as local agencies.

Slots have to be booked for the sessions which take about 1hr – Please come along to this “eye opening” exhibition. Let’s break down the myths and barriers together!

For enquiries and bookings please contact Dina Alia on 0161 831 5451 or email Dinaa@refugee-action.org.uk

Salford has secured funding to build or improve 22 play spaces across the city between April 2009 and March 2011.

One of these sites is at Clifton Country Park. A public consultation event is planned there on Thursday 3 June between 3 and 6pm.

Young people, familes and local residents are being invited to design their own play spaces.

Can I encourage the young people and their parents, who live near the park, to attend the event and have a say in what can be an exciting, challenging and healthy play area.

Hopefully they will be able to contribute towards an asset that will be valued by current and future generations of young people.

I was somewhat surprised last week to be invited into the Leader’s office ond offered the post of Executive Support Member for Adult Social Care.

It promises to be both interesting and challeging. Some of the issues I’ll be dealing with include Mental Health, Older People, Leaerning Difficulties and Independent Living.

It’s a completely new role for me and I’m looking forward to working with Lead Member Cllr John Warmisham.

The start of a new year and the opportunity to join the staff at Light Oaks Junior School, where I am a governor, on one of their training days.

It was a very enlightening session on Safeguarding. Every month at scrutiny committee I see the numbers and the scale of the problem. But today it was an opportunity to join with the staff to discuss the range of potential abuse and the signs for which they must be on the look out.

The council normally meets every two months. In two of the intervening months, June and December, we have policy forums which allow councillors to discuss a specific issue which is of importance to the council.

Today’s forum dealt with the issue of Safeguarding Children.

I have to admit that before becoming a councillor, this was a subject to which I dad paid little attention. I’d read about Baby Peter in the newspapers, but had little idea of the scale of the problems and the issues facing all local authorities.

As a member of the Children, Young People and Families Scrutiny Panel, I’ve been introduced to the subject and, with the monthly report card we receive, have started to appreciate the scale of the problem.

Today’s forum gave us the opportunity to consider some of the actual cases (with names changed to protect confidentiality). With the few cases we were able to consider, it could only scratch the surface, but gave some indication of the wide range of cases our social workers have to deal with.

For me this is an ongoing issue with a lot more to learn