First Issue with Think Outside the Box:

Lismore Primary

Lismore Primary School is a much valued and necessary part of Bingham and Craigmillar community and has been for years and hopefully years to come.

OK, here are my personal views. I hope you share them or indeed add your own views, the more comments and findings we do the greater the chance of saving the heart of this community - children are our future after all.

Instead of knocking it down to make a profit on the land and developing more housing - please sit back for a moment and look at the bigger picture -

Lismore Primary being right in the heart of the community - although its issues which need to be addressed - brings much needed stability and security to those involved, directly or indirectly.

There are plenty of ways to up the attendance of current and new pupils, up the grades of those whom are attending and overall up the community spirit - and dare I mention the possibility of making money for the community and the projects that can be set up in the near future - with out it going to the governments pockets. Take a look at the new housing being built in Niddrie, attracting more families(children) which could be schooled between the two schools in the local area creating a larger community spread, I agree with what i have heard. Putting the children into 'rival' schools will deeply unsettle the children and their education, bullying will become a major knock on effect and children do not learn well under that kind of stress. However keeping Lismore open and bringing in new families from similar backgrounds will stand in good stead for community relations. If they are still worried about the low number of children within the school can we not open the public transport up and introduce children from close by areas.

Lismore is also needed because for some families the extra cost of travel on a daily basis could dramatically effect their current financial situation - what with petrol and public transport prices rising every year it seems diabolical to stretch their benefits/wages even more, this in turn affecting the children's school attendance and education. Also: are we not taking some the independence away from the children. Many make their own way there meeting up with friends on route and in a safe community environment, no strangers, no busy roads to cross. Indeed with all the governments efforts to introduce a 'walk to school' attitude are we not shooting ourselves in the foot by relying on transport - in effect adding to our ever growing CO2 emissions due to the extra traveling involved and discouraging children's healthy attitude to fresh air and exercise.

Make use of the school and use the building to its full potential:

Bring in more after school activities, involving not just the children that attend the school but everyone eg: Community Cleaning and Environmental Issue awareness. Bring in evening classes some which could have a small fee, but that money goes directly back into the school and its events, Have Bingo nights, book signings and readings on a monthly basis. Join together with other Sporting Centres to promote healthy living styles from exercise to nutrition, local Library. Start community workshops showing the children basics in DIY a many youngsters nowadays don't know how to change a fuse - independence is important. And I personally would be glad to take part in such events, I'll even organise some of them. Who wants to help?

I myself once attended Lismore - and thank god it was there. It brought me the sense of security knowing I could walk to school safely with my friends and have that freedom and independence so eagerly wanted and needed for children, having the school on my door step ensured my attendance was kept up as traveling at that time for my family me and my single parent was sometimes difficult mainly for the reasons mentioned earlier.

Instead of pulling families out of Bingham we should be pulling them in!!!

Alexa