On Wednesday 19th November eight EFA students from our Surrey Square Primary School group took action alongside Southwark Citizens to demand a meeting with Rory Patterson, the Head of Children’s Services at Southwark Council. Our class was concerned about child destitution and anxious that the Council do all they can to address the issues and help the families most at risk. However, the Head of Children’s Services was not responding to our requests for a meeting. It was time to act. We organised for a delegation of about 30 Southwark Citizens (including 9 people from English for Action) to pay the Council a vist, sing some songs and deliver some cakes along with a card asking for a meeting. Within an hour of emailing our intentions we had a reply. Mr Patterson apologised for not replying previously and agreed to meet with us. We went ahead with our action neverthless and met briefly with a very friendly Rory Patterson. We now have a meeting scheduled for 10th December to address the concerns of the community around child poverty. We are looking forward to working with the council and Southwark Citizens to make the borough a better, fairer place for our children.
