October 1st marks 20 years on air for BHRS and we are planning on celebrating this in style! 

On Friday 3rd October we are holding an extended broadcast from 9am to 10pm and then on Saturday 4th October we are throwing an Anniversary Dinner for everyone who has supported BHRS over the years. 

We are very proud to have been serving the hospital, patients, staff and visito...

I Create, the arts resource unit at Lanark Lodge Day Support Services in Duns are currently preparing for a summer arts festival to be held from 8-13 September. 

The event aims to showcase creativity and bring together artwork from individuals and groups from across the Borders, particularly those who use support services.  The theme is 'Alice in Wonderland'...

The Annual Report of the Social Work Services Department at Scottish Borders Council is now available. 

Copies are available from the:

Communications Co-ordinator
Social Work Services
Council Headquarters
Newtown St Boswells TD6 0SA
01835 825080

http://www.nhsbordersdentists.scot.nhs.uk is a new website offering information about NHS Borders Dental Services.

The website includes information on how to register with a NHS Borders' dentist, how to access emergency dental treatment, and who our staff are and where to find their clinics. Further informatio...

Scottish Borders Council, NHS Borders and the voluntary sector have been working with user and carer representatives on a review of day services and day hospitals provided for older people in the Borders.

They have produced a discussion paper which is out for consultation from Monday 25...

NHS Borders also recognises its responsibility to pro...

Rugby ace Jordan Macey kicks off the Scot...

I CREATE, the Arts Resource Unit at Lanark Lodge Day Support Service in Duns, have recently been treating audiences to two fun-filled, action-packed performances of the musical ‘Grease’.

Building on the success of ‘Journey to Oz’ – their first production in May 2007 – the cast and crew have been working on their performance for the past eight mont...

The Children Services Throughcare & Aftercare team at Scottish Borders Council are expanding accommodation options for young people leaving care through a new  project.

Research has shown that young people leaving care find it difficult to live independently. They do better in education and employment when they are in accommodation with the support and guidance of an individ...

Councillor Frances Renton took on the role last week following a decision by the Council.

Her role will include meeting groups of children and young people throughout the Borders to listen to their views and ideas and ensure that they are heard when it comes to local decision-making.

Councillor Rento...

On Monday, 10th December Scottish Borders Council launched a new teaching programme that will give primary school children a greater understanding of the risks associated with drugs and alcohol and enable them to make...

I Create exhibition – breaking through barriers with artistic expression

The I Create exhibition in Duns Library is a beautiful expression of light, shape and colour. The exhibition, open until Friday 13th, displays the creative talents of individuals from the day service provided at Lanark Lodge. The work includes paintings, prints, photography, sculptu...

The above document is now available for consultation and comments should be sent by the closing date of Monday 14th January 2008.

The paper:

Picture shows prominent male figures in The Borders who have signed a pledge to launch the campaign including, David Mallin (Lothian & Borders Fire & Rescue Service), David Parker (Leader, Scottish Borders Council), John Glennie (Chief Executive, NHS Borders), Chief Supt C Common (Lothian & Borders Police), and ...

This free course, which runs for 12 weeks, 3 days a week, wil...

Community Learning & Development staff at Burnfoot Community School have been recognised for their efforts in helping local unemployed people.

The CL&D Service had been shortlisted for a top accolade at the Second Careers Scotland Excellence Awards and at the ceremony, held at the Glasgow Science Centre on Wednesday 14th November 2007, they received a runners-up place ...

Stay or Go? a guide for parents of teenagers who are thinking about leaving home is being launched today at a major homelessness conference,1 where it will be presented to Nicola Sturgeon MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing.

The guide will help parents and their children talk about the harsh realities of leaving home. It gives them up to date pract...

Scottish Borders Council's Sports Develpoment Unit and the Borders Hockey Development Group have organised coaching sessions to provide an opportunity for all primary aged children to participate in the sport of hockey.

Click here to download an information l...

A free open public lecture is taking place in Springwood Hall, Springwood Park in Kelso on Monday 12 November at 7.00pm.

The lecture will be presented by Professor Marion E T McMurdo, Head of Ageing and Health and Consultant in Medicine for the Elderly at University of Dundee and NHS Tayside.

The topic of healthy ageing is raising interest among social care and healt...

“Get Clicking, Get Surfing” is aimed at providing introductory sessions, at all Scottish Borders Council libraries.  "Get Clicking, Get Surfing" is aimed at those with no computer experience and is to get people used to handling a mou...

For the first time the recently published activities booklet for children & young people in Hawick and the surrounding area is now available online. The guide provides a comprehensive list of activities and facilities for children and young people in Hawick and the surrounding area. The booklet has been produced in partnership by a sub group of the Teviot & Liddes...

BORDERS College is proud to boast a world champion among its former students.

Mountain biker Ruaridh Cunningham from Stow defeated all-comers to win the World Junior Downhill title in front of 10,000 spectators at Fort William.

It is an astonishing achievement by the 18-year-old who successfully combined his studies with excellence in his chosen sport by taking gold and the covete...

The Dialogue Youth supported ‘YOB’ team travelled to London to pick up their award at the Young People Now Positive Images Award ceremony. YOB beat competition to pick up the ‘Best Local Press Coverage of Young People’ award which recognised the best portrayal of young people and youth issues in either a local newspaper or website.

The Positive Images Awa...

Beauty Therapy graduates Clare Tait, 26, and 18-year-old Rachel Carlin spent the summer at the exclusive Spa La Manga Club on the Costa Calida near Murcia. And they impressed bosses at the Hyatt International resort so much with their skills and professionalism th...

Scottish Borders Carers Planning Group have updated their invaluable guide for carers. This useful free handbook contains a wealth of information for approximately 11,430 unpaid carers in the Borders about the support and resources available to them from a wide range of agencies. 

The handbook has been produced in conjunction with carer representatives a...

A public talk by Dr. Michael Shallis followed by an open discussion will take place on Wednesday 22nd August at 7.30pm at the Damascus Drum Cafe, Silver Street, Hawick.

What is climate change really about?
How will it affect us and can we stop it?
Is there an an energy crisis?
What does 'going green' mean, how do we do it and why should we?

These and other ...

The Scottish Executive has recently produced a fact sheet detailing funding available for learners for 2007/08. The fact sheet includes information on the following:-  

A high-level delegation from Georgia arrived in the Scottish Borders last week as part of a childcare study tour to the UK. 
 
The group of ten, including ministers, senior officials and an interpre...

The ‘Learning Journey’ continues even after the event.    Evaluation forms were completed by all those who attended the BIG Event on 24th May from which the planning team will learn what was popular and what needs attention for future years.    These forms were all put into a prize draw and Wednesday 20th June saw the presentations...

AGE is no barrier to learning as proved by Borders College students who scooped two national awards at a glitzy ceremony in Edinburgh.

BORDERS College’s links with Zambia have been cemented with a fact-finding visit to the Galashiels campus by the son of the African country’s first president.

Dr Waza Kaunda was en-route to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh when he dropped into the college to thank staff and students for their generosity over the past few years.

The ...

It has grown from a well-kept secret into a must-attend event for gardening enthusiasts throughout the region.

Borders College horticultural students staged their 16th annual bedding plant sale and open weekend recently - with more than 200 members of the public turning up at the Newtown St Boswells campus to snap up the ...

Borders Ego Boosters are setting up a social enterprise to boost the self-esteem pf people with a physical disability. 

Sandra Towers, a facilitator and member of the Borders Ego Boosters says, "Ego Boosters is where we give anyone who attends our sessions tips for lightening their mood, thoughts and actions. Last year we ran a 6 week programme at the Council's Ab...

“An experience not to be missed” was heard from one of the visitors leaving the Borders Interactive Gathering last Thursday.

Celebrating the National Learning at Work Day, the BIG Event was bigger than ever before. Held at the Volunteer Hall in Galashiels and supported by Scottish Borders Council, learndirect scotland and the Unity Trust Bank, the event attracted nearly 400...

Did you receive lottery funding for your organisation or project?  If so, you could be in the running for a National Lottery Award.

The National Lottery Awards are an annual search to find the UK’s favourite Lottery funded projects. They aim to celebrate and recognise the difference that those projects – both large and small – have made to people, places and communi...

Presentations to 21 nominated ‘adult learners’ from all parts of the Borders took place on March 27th. Everyone was a winner and received a certificate to that effect and a token from WH Smith in Galashiels. There were 10 nominated awards. The winners of these individual awards received cheques for £150, plus an offer from Borders College to take a further training cou...

It was a night to celebrate “the achievements of some remarkable Borderers”, according to Alasdair Hutton, convener of Scottish Borders Council, who opened the Scottish Borders Awards on behalf of the New Ways Partner...

A new service has been launched offering help and support to those who have been bereaved, either recently or in the past.

Resources for those who have suffered a loss are now more readily available through "Linkup", which is based in The Chaplaincy Centre at Borders General Hospital, Melrose.

It provides a lending library of books, leaflets and other useful resources cove...

The Onlineborders community website has received the ‘Highly Commended’ award in the UK national E-government Awards held last month. The award is in the ‘Team’ category and confirms the success of joint working by this unique partnership. The ‘Highly Commended’ award was not given out in every category but only where there were two entries which were very close. West Sussex Accessible Service...

The first fully shared offices of Scottish Borders Council and NHS Borders were formally opened on Friday 24 November with the launch of the new Joint Learning Disability Service.

For the first time, all learning disability service staff have been brought together in the same premises under a single manager, who runs the service on behalf of SBC's Social Work Services Department and NHS ...

Evening Class Brochure for classes commencing January 2007
Brochures for January 2007 Evening Classes aer now available. 

You can collect a brochure from any College Campus from Monday 4 December 2006. 

If you would like us to send you a brochure please contact our Evening Class staff on 01450 365635. If there is no answer please leave a message.

If you know an enterprising, innovative and committed organisation or individual who deserves a helping hand, why don’t you nominate them for a Scottish Borders Award?

A Scottish Borders Award is more than just a trophy. For many small enterprises, it brings tangible benefits that can make a real difference to the...

An ACT Community Learning Contexts course was run in June of this year. 

ACT (A Consortium of Training) is the name of the modular training structure for part time and volunteer workers is a significant part of the training which Community Learning and Development in the Scottish Borders offers to part time and volunteer workers both in their own organisation a...

Borders College welcomed the new intake of Modern Apprentices to its Galashiels campus last week. The students, all employed apprentices with trade firms throughout the Borders, embarked on their first year of Modern Apprentices in Bricklaying, Carpentry & Joinery and Painting & Decorating. Attending College one day a week and work...

The Scottish Borders Sports Development Unit have just released their October Holiday programme which takes place between 9-13 October and caters for children and young people across a range of ages.

Activities on offer include:

Athletics
Badminton
Cricket
Tennis
Trail Cycling
SFA Football Coaching Courses

Early start 6am, to let meds settle, then by 9.30 we were on our way to the capital, light traffic, bright sunshine, a bit windy with just a few spots of rain. Edinburgh looked great, basking in the sun, from the top of Soutra.

Charlotte Square was grid locked so we parked a wee bit off, no problem as Malcolm had it all sorted, and by 11.20, having had a roll and fruit, (got to keep th...

On Wednesday, tw...

Borders College are celebrating one of the best ever Inspectors reports for any Scottish Further Education college.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate Education (HMIE) carried out their intensive inspection of the College in March and May of this year. The review covered seven subject areas in the college, together with a focus on core skills and flexible learning. The HMIE team also examin...

The Scottish Consumer Council works to represent consumer interests to policy-makers, regulators, service providers and suppliers, researching the experiences of consumers and iden...

International Suicide Prevention Awareness Week runs from 4-10 September 2006.  As part of the Choose Life campaign to raise awareness of suicide, a series of public awareness talks - called suicideTALK sessions - will be held throughout the week.  Everyone is welcome.

Monday 4 September

If you are over 18 and living in Scotland, you could get up to £200 towards the cost of learning new skills with an individual learning account from ILA Scotland. 

ILA Scotland is a Scottish Executive scheme which helps you pay for learning that you can do at a time, place, pace and in a way to suit you.  If you earn £15,000 or less, you could get up to &pou...

Viewers of the BBC's Restoration programme will have seen the tour of Greenlaw Town Hall, as the building is up for a popular vote against two other Scottish buildings: a church in Cromarty and a lighthouse in Orkney. The winner will be selected for an extensive restoration programme.

To vote for Greenlaw, call 09013 600 500 between Friday morning and Tuesday evening and persuade BB...

If you have difficulty with hearing, why not join one of the free lipreading classes that are being offered from September in Peebles, Galashiels, Melrose, Selkirk and Kelso? 

Classes are run by qualified tutors from Scottish Borders Lipreading Services and are funded by Scottish Borders Council.  Day-time and evening classes are available.

A new source of information has been set up for anyone in the Borders who has an interest in Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Resources include books, videos and leaflets. The Autism Information Point is based within the Hawick library but all the material is available via the inter-loan service from any library in the Borders.

'Get it Right' and 'Getting it Right' are two information leaflets which provide useful information for both disabled people and providers of disabled toilets.  They have been produced as a result of the dedication and hard work of Borders resident, Isobel McLeish. 

TAVO is delighted to announce that the Thrift Shop at 15 High Street, Innerleithen has won firs...

A Home Safety Check is a free service where local firefighters will visit your home and give you fire safety advice.
   
They will:

This week 9th -15th July is our National Transplant Week!

Organ transplantation is one of our modern day miracles of medicine but it depends entirely on the generosity of donors and their families who are willing to make this life-saving gift to others.

There are currently around 7 thousand people waiting for a transplant in the UK today, sadly many will ...

UK Villages Community Kitty provides grants of between £50-£500 to a range of community based projects. In the past, the fund has awarded grants for projects ranging from a knitting circle, to a playgroup needing toys, sports equipment for cubs, and support for several village halls and playing field committees - as well as a number of Heritage projects. This funding round is open until the 10t...

Nearly 800 people, comprising learners and learning providers from all over the country, gathered at the Corn Exchange in Edinburgh last Thursday, 25th May, for the 15th National Adult Learners Awards ceremony.

Isla Traquair and Stephen Jardine from Grampian and Scottish TV respectively presented the prizes, while Edinburgh Councillor Reverend Ewan Aitken, Deputy Min...

To celebrate Interalia's appointment as an Accredited Training Centre for the Institute of Certified Book-keep...

Celebrate learning in style this year by taking part in one of the many events planned for adult learners week. The biggest feature this year is the BIG Event (Borders Interactive Gathering) at the Focus Centre, Galashiels on Thurs 25th May, 10am - 7pm. The focus is learning at work and you can try your hand at guitar playing, improve your networking skills or even find the route to "pure ...

Onlineborders.org.uk has been selected to represent life in the Borders under the New Ways strategy ‘Our Borders’ home page.

The ‘Our Borders’ home page will contain a comprehensive list of websites aimed at promoting living and working in the Scottish Borders.

This is the first time that all of the websites that deliver useful information to people living ...

A new handbook for parents has just been published. The handbook which has been produced by the Community Safety Forum gves lots of useful basic information and advice on keeping children safe such as household hazards, beach safety and much more. 1,000 copies of the handbook are being distributed on a trial basis and depending on its success will be made available more widely.  ...

HRH the Princess Royal recently visited Jedburgh for the official opening of two local community facilities, which were both the result of a huge amount of hard work by dedicated volunteers. The Jedburgh Community and Arts Centre was first on the list, located in the former St John's School building in The Friars. The Centre is run by a charitable social enterprise on behalf...

Bookings are now being taken for Spring Programme.  We have an new addition to  our ever popular computing classes as we are now offering a leisure class in Sage Accounts.

We also have a variety of leisure classes on offer so why not 

Borders residents can learn new skills at the Interalia Learning Centre in Ettrick Riverside, Selkirk.  As a branded learndirect scotland learning centre, Interalia can offer a range of around 400 courses.

Interalia’s courses include the internationally recognised computing qualification the European Co...

Sarah Duncan, Ann Brown, Liz Hurst and Tricia Mitchell are First Prize Winners in the Allied Health Professions Awards for Innovation in Health Improvement and Improved Health Services 2005 for their Chat Pack Initiative.

The project recognised the need to deliver support to a number of children rural primary schools. Increasing parental involvement in the therapy process and addressing ...

SWAP Access programmes run at further education colleges throughout Scotland and eligible students may receive financial sup...

A campaign to encourage more people to opt for a career in the NHS, Scotland's largest workforce, was launched today.

TV and radio adverts featuring NHS Scotland staff from a variety of occupations will air from the 6 March to coincide with the start of the first ever Scottish NHS Awareness Week (6th-12th March). 

The new campaign aims to highlight the challenging and life-cha...

Learndirect Scotland for Business have published a newsletter to keep businesses informed about developments and news on learning and training in the Scottish Borders

Click here to view the newsletter

In October 2005, Online Borders selected Moodle, an open-source software package to host the online learning for the Scottish Borders. We're not the only ones who thought it was a good choice

The Open University’s Learning and Teaching Office has started a new programme worth nearly £5 million to build a comprehensive online student learning environment ...

On Tuesday 22nd November community guidance practitioners from around the Borders were told to “be prepared for the unexpected” when they attended the Strategy into Action seminar on Community based Learning & Guidance and it didn’t disappoint!  After opening the seminar with a loud bang and a cloud of smoke, motivational speaker Kerr...