The Children’s Commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza was given a tour of The Brian Clarke Church of England Academy

Children’s Commissioner for England praises 'trailblazing' Oldham for raising school attendance rates

Dame Rachel de Souza toured the new Brian Clarke Academy where their education is so good, children are 'running' to get to school during a visit to the town.

Dame Rachel said: "These young people are running to school because their education is so good."

Dame Rachel then attended a reception in the Oldham Council Mayor’s Parlour to celebrate the successful work across the borough in improving rates of attendance through data analysis, communications and multi-agency partnership work following the Covid pandemic.

Read the full story on our website here.

Council to remember those buried in unmarked graves

The Leader of Oldham Council has announced that permanent memorials will be placed in Oldham's cemeteries to remember adults, children and babies who were buried in unmarked graves.

The plan for the memorials was announced by Cllr Arooj Shah at Oldham's full council meeting on Wednesday 11 September.

It comes after family members of stillborn children discovered their relatives were buried in a large unmarked grave in Royton cemetery.

Cllr Shah said: "I've now asked our cemeteries team to arrange and install memorials in all our Council cemeteries to remember those who were laid to rest in these circumstances."

To read more click on our website here.

Road renamed to honour Sir Norman Stoller

Oldham Council is set to rename a stretch of road in Oldham town centre to 'Sir Norman Stoller Way' in honour of Sir Norman Stoller, a renowned local businessman and philanthropist.

The road, located between St Mary’s Way and Horsedge Street, will pass Mahdlo Youth Zone and Summit Up, recognising Sir Norman’s significant contributions to youth work and the community through the Stoller Charitable Trust.

As part of the celebration, a historic blue plaque commemorating the invention of the tubular bandage by Sir Norman’s company, Seton Products, has been restored and reinstalled.

Read the full story on our website here.

Ambulance open day

North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust are holding a free Community Day event.

You can meet your local paramedics and call handlers, take part in first aid demos and find out about career and volunteer opportunities.

The open day will be held at the Werneth Suite, OL8 4LN on Monday 30 September from 12:30 – 2:30pm.

You can just turn up on the day or book a slot in advance by clicking here.

Helping to break the stigma surrounding suicide

Oldham Council is proudly supporting this year’s Greater Manchester Month of Hope.

The Month of Hope encourages people to play a more active role in preventing suicide through dedicated activities and events held across the region, including Oldham.

For a list of events in Oldham visit www.oldham.gov.uk/MonthOfHope.

And if you are struggling and need someone to talk to, call Samaritans's 24/7 phoneline on 116 123 and if you can’t keep yourself safe call 999 in an emergency.

For the full story read more here.

Don’t Trash Oldham: new gulley cleaning operation starts

The council is launching a new boroughwide gulley clearing operation on Monday (September 16).

The clean-up – part of our Don’t Trash Oldham campaign – will help water drain off our roads, preventing a build-up and cutting the risk of flooding to homes and properties.

The borough has more than 47,500 gullies so cleaning them all is a huge job and will take time. The council has hired an additional vehicle and reshaped our highways team so we can work more efficiently over the coming months.

We’ll be cleaning the gullies on a rolling ward by ward basis.

We’ll be starting off in Alexandra on Monday September 16 and finishing in Crompton.

Everyone can do their bit to help out - if you know we are going to be cleaning gullies in the area you live in then make sure your vehicle isn’t parked over one.

We can’t clean it if we can’t get to it.

Keep an eye out on our social media to find out when we’ll be in your area.

For more information click on our website here.

Roadworks reminder

Oldham Way is closed in both directions through to Thursday, 20 September, between Manchester Road roundabout up to the junction of Prince Street/Oldham Way, between the hours of 8pm and 5am.

By carrying out the works when traffic is at its lowest levels we hope to keep disruption to a minimum.

The closure is needed so we carry out drainage work on Waterloo Street Bridge and complete remedial works.

And EON street lighting are using the closures to complete essential maintenance to minimise further disruption in future.

A gift card for the businesses and people of Oldham

A new gift card to lock spending in the town is accepted by more than 45 shops, restaurants, cafés and salons including at Tommyfield Market and in the Spindles shopping centre.

The card works like a regular gift card but can only be spent with Oldham businesses.

To buy your gift card now click here.

School applications for September 2025 are now open

Make sure you don't miss out on applying for your child's Year 7 place.

The deadline to apply is 5pm, Thursday October 31 2024.

And primary school applications for September 2025 are also open.

The deadline to secure your child's future reception place is 5pm, 15 January 2025.

Apply at www.oldham.gov.uk/admissions

Tell us how we can help keep your community safe

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority wants you to have your say.

A survey has been launched by the GMCA, run by the leaders of the 10 Greater Manchester councils and the Mayor Andy Burnham, to ask your views on how to help keep people safe, reduce harm and offending and strengthen communities.

The survey is now live and can be found here.