Category Archives: Children’s Services

Council lied about risk assessments for axed lollipop patrols

CROYDON IN CRISIS: First, they failed to hold a public consultation over the ending of school street patrols. Then, they failed to inform the affected schools. Now, following an investigation by this website, it is confirmed that the council deliberately … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's Services, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Oasis Academy, Ryelands Primary and Nursery, Schools, Scott Roche, Selsdon, Shirley North, Shirley South, Transport, Woodside | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Here’s the safety reports your council did not want you to see

EXCLUSIVE: Here are the six road safety assessment reports that Croydon Council lied about, and then tried to withhold from the public After breaking the news that Croydon Council was to axe six primary school road safety patrols – “lollipop … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's Services, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Oasis Academy, Ryelands Primary and Nursery, Schools, Scott Roche, Selsdon, Shirley North, Shirley South, Transport, Woodside | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Perry misleads parents as he confirms lollipop patrol cuts

Town Hall reporter KEN LEE on how Croydon’s £84,000 per year Mayor is ignoring parents and pushing through cuts on road safety patrols for little children to make a saving of £58,000 Whatever the “review” was that Jason Perry’s council … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's Services, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Schools, Scott Roche | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Surrey, Lambeth and Bromley beat Croydon as rotten boroughs

Based on official Ombudsman figures, our council remains among the most complained about in England. But might there be a glimmer of improvement in the figures, or has our borough just been overtaken for rotteness by others? EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN … Continue reading →

Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Mayor gets his mumbler to suggest a ‘review’ of lollipop cuts

Has Mayor Perry’s council backed down from ending lollipop road safety patrols at six of the borough’s primary schools? That’s what it sounded like at this week’s Town Hall meeting, as KEN LEE reports Did one of Croydon Mayor Jason … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's Services, Claire Bonham, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Schools, Scott Roche, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Parents stop traffic in Upper Norwood to save lollipop patrol

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Mayor Perry’s council tried to block protest petition over proposals to axe school safety patrols from being presented at next week’s Town Hall meeting. By STEVEN DOWNES Parents and children from Cypress Primary School in Upper Norwood … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's Services, Claire Bonham, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Schools, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Agency spend scandal: Perry blasted for ‘ridiculous shambles’

EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Rowenna Davis, the Labour Party’s candidate for Croydon Mayor, has described the cash-strapped council’s “runaway” spending on agency staff as “disgusting” and “unforgivable”. “It’s a ridiculous shambles,” Davis said. Davis, a councillor for Waddon ward and, … Continue reading →

Posted in 'Future Croydon', Business, Children's Services, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Dean Shoesmith, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Council accused of cover-up over multi-million agency spend

CROYDON IN CRISIS: LibDems’ election candidate has examined expenditure accounts and confirms that spending on temporary staff has risen to £53m per year under Tory Mayor. By STEVEN DOWNES  Richard Howard, the Liberal Democrat candidate standing for Croydon Mayor next … Continue reading →

Posted in 'Future Croydon', Children's Services, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Dean Shoesmith, General Purposes and Audit Committee, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Richard Howard, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Council’s agency staff bill includes £726 per hour consultant

EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Council’s spending on agency staff has quadrupled under Tory Mayor Jason Perry One ‘transformation’ consultant is paid £726 PER HOUR Adecco employee allowed to sign off hundreds of thousands of pounds in Croydon Council payments to… … Continue reading →

Posted in 'Future Croydon', Business, Children's Services, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Dean Shoesmith, General Purposes and Audit Committee, Improvement Board, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

‘Council’s finances remain broken’ MP Irons tells Commons

Local government minister admits that Croydon’s finances ‘are not small problems to deal with’ Natasha Irons, the Labour MP for Croydon East, yesterday made an 11th-hour plea to government ministers to act to salvage something from the wreckage of Croydon … Continue reading →

Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon East, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Natasha Irons, Section 114 notice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Perry accused of ‘betrayal’ as he smuggles out more youth cuts

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Local MP and opposition councillors accuse the council of having no clear plan on what will replace an in-house team which works to reduce drugs and knife crime and to engage the borough’s youngsters. By our Town … Continue reading →

Posted in Amy Foster, Children's Services, Crime, Croydon Council, Croydon East, CVA, Education, Fieldway, Knife crime, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Natasha Irons, New Addington North, New Addington South, Policing, Restaurants, Schools | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Council failed to tell affected schools about their lollipop cuts

CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘Mayor Perry must really hate Croydon’s children’ says one local politician who criticises recent Town Hall pay hikes while the council was planning to axe school road safety patrols to save just £58,000 per year. By our … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's Services, Claire Bonham, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Schools, Scott Roche, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Complaints against Perry’s council on rise, Ombudsman says

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Our Town Hall reporter, KEN LEE, on another year where our council is close to the top of a league table – for most upheld complaints Katherine Kerswell, Croydon’s £204,000 per year chief executive, if she bothered … Continue reading →

Posted in Adult Social Care, Bromley Council, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, Lambeth Council, Planning, Southwark Council, Surrey, Sutton Council | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Perry slammed for £439,000 in ‘golden hellos’ paid to new staff

Political Editor WALTER CRONXITE on the latest revelation about the spendthrift council under its Tory Mayor Croydon Council, which came under fire after this website revealed that it had paid a “golden handshake” of £437,000 in a hush money settlement … Continue reading →

Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Mayor Jason Perry, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Croydon families get help from second ‘hub’ in South Norwood

Croydon families will soon have more support, with a “Family Hub” opening at the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Centre in South Norwood. The council said: “The opening of this hub marks another milestone in the council’s commitment to making sure Croydon’s families … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's Services, Croydon Council, Education, Family Hubs, Health, Selsdon and Addington Village, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale, South Norwood | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Free STEM workshop for children with autism, BLBG, Mar 29

Croydon families have a unique opportunity to participate in a free Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths – STEM – workshop designed specifically for children with autism. Taking place on Saturday March 29 at the Hub Broad Green on Keeley Road, … Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Broad Green, Community associations, Education, SEND | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Council reaches out to residents for more help with fostering

Croydon has a critical shortage of foster carers, according to the council. There are 231 children and young people looked after by 142 fostering households across the borough. “But more carers are needed to provide safe and loving homes for … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's Services, Croydon Council | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Council Tax hits £2,500 per year as debts continue to mount

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Council chief exec and Mayor pass the buck to central government for borough’s continuing financial problems, while confirming that they are to axe another 360 jobs. Watch the world’s worst comedy double act – Perry and Kerswell … Continue reading →

Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Housing, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, SEND | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Croydon follows Brighton and Medway with care-leavers’ app

Croydon Council has released a care leavers app to support what they now term as “care-experienced young people” – care leavers – who are taking their first steps towards independent living. The council claims that Croydon Cares “has been co-designed … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's Services, Croydon Council, Mayor Jason Perry, Youth Services | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Mayor Perry accused of ‘cover up’ over Sentamu case review

EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Sources at Croydon Town Hall say that they suspect there is a cover-up over what the council’s social workers, Metropolitan Police and community groups knew about Hassan Sentamu, the teenager convicted of the vicious murder of … Continue reading →

Posted in Andy Brittain, Children's Services, Community associations, Crime, Croydon Council, Knife crime, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Mayor of London, New Addington South, Policing, Youth Services | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

MP Jones ‘deeply concerned’ at council cuts to youth service

CROYDON IN CRISIS: While Jason Perry, Croydon’s part-time Mayor, recommends a pay rise for himself, he’s cutting a youth service in what has been described as a ‘stealthy’ move, one which could have ‘catastrophic’ consequences. By WALTER CRONXITE, political editor … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's Services, Crime, Croydon Council, Croydon West, Fieldway, Mayor Jason Perry, New Addington North, New Addington South, Sarah Jones MP, South Norwood, Youth Services | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

The Jase and Kathy Show – a Christmas Special for Croydon!

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Inside Croydon has obtained a leaked video from an internal council webinar earlier this month, where the Mayor fails to mention the £83m overspend predicted in a recent report to government, and council CEO seems to blame … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's Services, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Debbie Jones, Improvement Board, Inside Croydon, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Libraries, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, The Penn Report | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Care leavers given short notice of council’s work scheme

A two-month paid internship scheme in Croydon’s housing contact centre sounds great, but applications are online only and all the borough’s public libraries – with free internet access – are closed until after Christmas Who would want to work in … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's Services, Croydon Council, Libraries, Youth Services | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Council axes Fieldway youth team two weeks before Christmas

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Around a dozen youth workers, many based in New Addington, were told they would lose their jobs last week, as Mayor Jason Perry looks to outsource outreach provision to charities and voluntary groups to save some cash. … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's Services, Croydon Council, Fieldway, Mayor Jason Perry, New Addington North, New Addington South, Youth Services | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Children’s services passes Ofsted inspection despite 5 deaths

The sigh of relief from the Town Hall could be heard all the way to Purley, as inspectors passed the council’s under-pressure children’s care department as overall ‘Good’. But with only 80% staff and a series of deaths of youngsters … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's Services, Croydon Council, Debbie Jones, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Stuart Collins | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments