We are asked on a number of occasions to advise our parents of events that are going on in the local area, so as not to contravene Data Protection Regulations and reduce the amount of marketing material sent to you, we have created this page where we will place details of events that we feel parents might find useful.

Croydon
Croydon Council is currently consulting residents on proposed changes to the library service and we want to make sure that the voices of our school communities are represented in this process.
The proposals have been developed following changes made to the service in 2022 to reduce opening hours across the libraries with most sites now only open two to three days per week. We have heard from residents that these hours are not convenient, and we have seen a significant decline in library usage since 2019.
We also know that the current model makes it difficult for parents, children and schools to visit our libraries and we have no capacity for staff to do outreach or reach schools who aren’t able to access their local library building.
 
We are proposing to reduce the number of library buildings from thirteen to nine and to reinvest funding from building costs to increase the opening hours and deliver a wider offer at the nine libraries remaining.
We will also introduce an outreach service which can support schools with books and visits and provide a local library offer in other community spaces for areas which do not have a local library building. This could include community book collections and events for children and adults and will help us to reach communities in the borough not currently well served by our library buildings.
These proposals are not aimed at reducing budgets but seek to use existing budgets to improve the library service overall.
 
Full details on the proposals and an online survey can be found online here: https://www.getinvolved.croydon.gov.uk/libraries-services-consultation  
People can complete an online survey on the link above to share their feedback. Paper copies are available in libraries or for home delivery by calling 020 7884 5159 and leaving a message including your name, full postal address and a contact number.
Feedback and responses can also be sent by email to librariesconsultation@croydon.gov.uk
 
We want to hear from as many people who live, work or study in Croydon as possible during the consultation and we would like your help by:
 
  1. Completing the survey with your own feedback and priorities for Croydon’s libraries
  2. Encouraging your parent community to respond to the consultation. We would appreciate it if you could include the information in school newsletters and we would also be happy to come to school to meet with parents and staff to discuss the proposals.
  3. Encouraging your community of children and young people to share their ideas and aspirations for the library service. We would like to know what’s most important to them and what they would like to see in Croydon’s libraries. We would be very happy to receive this feedback in whichever format is most appropriate for you.
 
All feedback and ideas received will be considered as part of the consultation process and used to further develop our proposals to improve the service.
 
If you would like to discuss any of this further we would be happy to set up a conversation.
 
Many thanks for your support with this. We know that libraries and books can be transformational for children and young people and we want to work with our education community to make sure children across Croydon can benefit from a better library service.
Easter- Learn to Swim Crash Course 2024
MHST Webinars Feb24 Flyer
Carers Board poster (1)

Croydon Healthy Homes

Helping you heat your home and reduce your fuel bills

Please find attached the Guide “Helping you heat your home and reduce your fuel bills” from
Croydon Healthy Homes, which is Croydon Council’s free energy advice service. Free advice and
guidance is available for:

• Croydon residents to improve the energy efficiency/thermal comfort of their home through
access to government grant schemes for insulation, and sometimes renewable
technologies. Not all grant schemes now require a resident to be lower income, so many
households who have not been eligible for support historically, may be eligible for the
current schemes. These grant schemes are for homeowners and private renters only.
• Explaining energy bills/tariffs and helping Croydon residents who are struggling to pay their
bills or need priority support from energy and water companies.
• Reducing fuel bills, heating homes efficiently and dealing with condensation

For more information please visit: www.croydon.gov.uk/healthyhomes, and for online workshops or drop-in sessions dates:
www.croydon.gov.uk/energyevents.

CYE Cakes Cookbook
Written by the galley team this book is filled with 25 of our absolute favourite cakes, this book really is a slice of CYE at home!
 
Great food is at the heart of CYE and we hope that by sharing these recipes we are sharing some of the magic that food and fellowship brings to CYE and a chance to reminisce on your time at CYE.  Full of the classic crowd pleasers we hope this book will make a brilliant addition to your kitchen or the perfect Christmas gift or stocking filler for loved ones.
 
To make an order simply send £8.50 (PLUS £1 postage) to CYE Sailing Centre, 40-17-16 82047098, Ref: YOURNAME-COOK and email admin@cye.org.uk with your full name and address.
free meals poster
Foodcycle Thornton Heath welcomes anyone to attend as a guest and enjoy a FREE hot meal every Saturday at 12.30pm.  There is no need to book - you can just turn up on the day.
They are also always looking for volunteers - please see their website for details: https://foodcycle.org.uk/location/foodcycle-thornton-heath/
Are you aged 55+ and live in South London? MHA Communities South London have a programme of activities that might be perfect for you!

Join MHA Communities South London engaging programme of activities and establish new connections with locals. With exciting activities occurring at the Wilderness garden and around Croydon.
This charity can help support to tackle loneliness and isolation in older people.