Latest news with #Hounslow
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
'I spent half-term looking for somewhere for my family to live'
"I spent all of half-term looking for somewhere to live," says mother-of-three Shanice Aird. The 29-year-old from west London rejected her council's most recent temporary accommodation offer "an hour away" from her children's school. The Shared Health Foundation is urging the government to put in measures to stop children in temporary accommodation going "missing" from schools and GPs after widespread displacement of families across the country. The charity's new report calls for a notification system so that all authorities are aware when a child moves into temporary accommodation. The government says it is investing £1bn in homelessness services this year to help families trapped in temporary accommodation. Ms Aird was living in a secure tenancy flat in Ealing with her three children, aged three, five and seven, but was moved to temporary accommodation in Hounslow in 2021 after witnessing a stabbing. She is now being evicted from the two-bedroom property by the landlord, but says Ealing Council has only offered her unsuitable alternative accommodation, including one flat an hour away from her children's school. Ms Aird says she will soon be homeless and will have to "sofa surf with friends" after the council discharged her from their housing duty. "We haven't been able to do anything this half-term because I'm constantly on the phone to councils, emailing, trying to get as much help as I can," she says. She admits her children's attendance at school is "awful" as they do not have a permanent home. "It's really horrible because as a mum you want to try and provide as much safety and happiness as you can." Ms Aird says she needs to be close to family and friends to help with her mental health. "I have bipolar type 2 and tend to go into depressive episodes, if it's a really bad episode it leads to me not being aware of what I'm doing," she says. "I'm happy to move to another borough, as long as I've got some kind of family support network." Ealing Council said Ms Aird was recently made offers of "suitable properties both in and out of the borough within easy reach of her support networks", which she refused. "Because of her refusal of these property offers, the council have discharged her main housing duty, and we have made a referral to children services at Hounslow Council who may be able to support her under the Children's Act," it added. More than 164,000 homeless children are currently living in temporary accommodation across England, the highest number on record, figures show. Analysis of government data by homeless charity Shelter suggests there are almost 94,000 children in London living in temporary accommodation. As a result, families are being displaced with some Londoners being moved miles away due to a lack of permanent affordable housing in the capital, according to Alicia Walker, Shelter's assistant director for activism and advocacy. "We're sending children and families from London to Manchester, but Manchester has the very same problem, then the children and families in Manchester might be moved to means we've got a country of displaced people," she says. Dr Laura Neilson, founder of the Shared Health Foundation which co-chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on temporary accommodation, says they want to see children "still have access to education and healthcare" so they "get to live a much more normal childhood than these children are experiencing". "We are asking the government to be more curious about how many children are missing from education because of temporary accommodation," she adds. Felicity Afriyie has lived in temporary accommodation for 21 years with her three children aged 16, 19, and 20. In that time they have lived in more than 10 houses. Currently, they are living in a one-bedroom hostel in Lambeth, south London. In previous temporary accommodation, she says her children's journeys to school took two hours. The 53-year-old says it took so long to do the school run she "spent the whole day" waiting for her children to finish school. "Sometimes you see schoolchildren on the bus sleeping because they come from very far," she says. Her daughter Grace, 20, says: "One of our school journeys was two hours. "Doing that distance to school every day was awful. It's had a massive impact on our education. "You can't expect a 16 year old... that's moved houses more times than they can count to sit a set of exams that will change their life and expect them to perform as well as their more stable affluent counterparts. "It's not fair and it's not a level playing field." Grace says she has dropped out of university due to the stress of temporary accommodation. "Some of us are actually trying to get out of the system," she says. "We've grown up like this and we don't want the generation after us to be in the same position. We're never going to get out of the system when it's stacked against us." Lambeth Council says it had made a direct offer of suitable permanent accommodation to Ms Afriyie but she turned it down and requested a review. The review found that the permanent property proposed was suitable. Local authorities have a legal duty to provide temporary accommodation to anyone who qualifies as homeless. Adam Hug, housing spokesperson for the Local Government Association, is calling on the government to urgently increase the temporary accommodation subsidy in the upcoming Spending Review. "Frozen temporary accommodation subsidy rates have left councils to pick up more than £700m in temporary accommodation costs that they are unable to claim back from government." The government says the forthcoming Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill aims to introduce better protections for all children and better join-up between children's social care, schools and other local services. Through the children not in school registers, there will be a single unique identifier for every child and a requirement for every council to have multi-agency child protection team. "Protecting vulnerable children falling through the cracks are at the heart of the forthcoming Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which represents the single biggest piece of child protection legislation in a generation," a government spokesperson said. "We are also investing £1bn in homelessness services this year to help families trapped in temporary accommodation, driving up housing standards and delivering on our commitment to build more social and affordable homes." Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to 'I kept pretending everything was normal' Temporary housing linked to deaths of at least 74 children Government must tackle temporary accommodation crisis, say MPs Shared Health Foundation
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Housing: Call to stop displaced children going 'missing' from schools
"I spent all of half-term looking for somewhere to live," says mother-of-three Shanice 29-year-old from west London rejected her council's most recent temporary accommodation offer "an hour away" from her children's Shared Health Foundation is urging the government to put in measures to stop children in temporary accommodation going "missing" from schools and GPs after widespread displacement of families across the country. The charity's new report calls for a notification system so that all authorities are aware when a child moves into temporary government says it is investing £1bn in homelessness services this year to help families trapped in temporary accommodation. 'My family will soon be homeless' Ms Aird was living in a secure tenancy flat in Ealing with her three children, aged three, five and seven, but was moved to temporary accommodation in Hounslow in 2021 after witnessing a stabbing. She is now being evicted from the two-bedroom property by the landlord, but says Ealing Council has only offered her unsuitable alternative accommodation, including one flat an hour away from her children's Aird says she will soon be homeless and will have to "sofa surf with friends" after the council discharged her from their housing duty."We haven't been able to do anything this half-term because I'm constantly on the phone to councils, emailing, trying to get as much help as I can," she admits her children's attendance at school is "awful" as they do not have a permanent home."It's really horrible because as a mum you want to try and provide as much safety and happiness as you can." Ms Aird says she needs to be close to family and friends to help with her mental health. "I have bipolar type 2 and tend to go into depressive episodes, if it's a really bad episode it leads to me not being aware of what I'm doing," she says."I'm happy to move to another borough, as long as I've got some kind of family support network."Ealing Council said Ms Aird was recently made offers of "suitable properties both in and out of the borough within easy reach of her support networks", which she refused."Because of her refusal of these property offers, the council have discharged her main housing duty, and we have made a referral to children services at Hounslow Council who may be able to support her under the Children's Act," it added. 'Normal childhood' More than 164,000 homeless children are currently living in temporary accommodation across England, the highest number on record, figures of government data by homeless charity Shelter suggests there are almost 94,000 children in London living in temporary a result, families are being displaced with some Londoners being moved miles away due to a lack of permanent affordable housing in the capital, according to Alicia Walker, Shelter's assistant director for activism and advocacy."We're sending children and families from London to Manchester, but Manchester has the very same problem, then the children and families in Manchester might be moved to means we've got a country of displaced people," she says. Dr Laura Neilson, founder of the Shared Health Foundation which co-chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on temporary accommodation, says they want to see children "still have access to education and healthcare" so they "get to live a much more normal childhood than these children are experiencing"."We are asking the government to be more curious about how many children are missing from education because of temporary accommodation," she adds. Felicity Afriyie has lived in temporary accommodation for 21 years with her three children aged 16, 19, and 20. In that time they have lived in more than 10 houses. Currently, they are living in a one-bedroom hostel in Lambeth, south previous temporary accommodation, she says her children's journeys to school took two 53-year-old says it took so long to do the school run she "spent the whole day" waiting for her children to finish school."Sometimes you see schoolchildren on the bus sleeping because they come from very far," she says. 'It's not a level playing field' Her daughter Grace, 20, says: "One of our school journeys was two hours. "Doing that distance to school every day was awful. It's had a massive impact on our education."You can't expect a 16 year old... that's moved houses more times than they can count to sit a set of exams that will change their life and expect them to perform as well as their more stable affluent counterparts. "It's not fair and it's not a level playing field."Grace says she has dropped out of university due to the stress of temporary accommodation."Some of us are actually trying to get out of the system," she says. "We've grown up like this and we don't want the generation after us to be in the same position. We're never going to get out of the system when it's stacked against us."Lambeth Council says it had made a direct offer of suitable permanent accommodation to Ms Afriyie but she turned it down and requested a review. The review found that the permanent property proposed was suitable. Local authorities have a legal duty to provide temporary accommodation to anyone who qualifies as Hug, housing spokesperson for the Local Government Association, is calling on the government to urgently increase the temporary accommodation subsidy in the upcoming Spending Review."Frozen temporary accommodation subsidy rates have left councils to pick up more than £700m in temporary accommodation costs that they are unable to claim back from government."The government says the forthcoming Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill aims to introduce better protections for all children and better join-up between children's social care, schools and other local the children not in school registers, there will be a single unique identifier for every child and a requirement for every council to have multi-agency child protection team."Protecting vulnerable children falling through the cracks are at the heart of the forthcoming Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which represents the single biggest piece of child protection legislation in a generation," a government spokesperson said."We are also investing £1bn in homelessness services this year to help families trapped in temporary accommodation, driving up housing standards and delivering on our commitment to build more social and affordable homes."
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Meet Britain's 'smartest' siblings from London who joined Mensa aged 10 and 11
Meet Britain's 'smartest' siblings - who have a combined IQ of 314 and were accepted into Mensa at the age of 10 and 11. Twins Krish and Keira Arora, from Hounslow, London, became members of the highly exclusive society just six months apart. Krish took the IQ test in November at the age of 10, after he was inspired by his role model Young Sheldon - the main character in the Big Bang prequel series. He scored a mind-boggling 162 - a result which makes him smarter than Albert Einstein, who is believed to have had an IQ of 160. Meanwhile, Keira decided she wanted to give the Mensa admission a go after seeing that her brother had been accepted. Krish is smarter than Albert Einstein. (Image: SWNS) She became a member this May at the age of 11, thanks to her impressive score of 152. Only people with IQs in the top 2% of the global population qualify for Mensa. Krish said: "I was ecstatic when I got my result. Really, really happy." Keira added: "I wanted to try the test once Krish got his results. I felt a bit of pressure but I was pleased when I did it." Krish is a maths whizz and recently taught himself the Year 9 syllabus in just 22 days, despite only being in Year 6. In his spare time, he enjoys robotics and coding, and reached Grade 8 piano after just two years of playing. Both siblings are part of Mensa. (Image: SWNS) Keira on the other hand loves English, poetry, and music - and is the lead singer of her school band. At the age of 11, her favourite book is Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre - and she recently wrote a poem from the perspective of an AI tool. Krish said: "My maths teacher gave me the syllabus for Key Stage 3 and I taught myself. "I don't want to go too far ahead though, such as into GCSEs and A-levels, because I want to stay with my friends." Keira agreed. She said: "I don't find school academically challenging, but I still enjoy going as I get to spend time with my friends." The genius duo will in September be starting secondary school, with Krish headed off to elite grammar school Queen Elizabeth's and Keira beginning her studies at highly-selective Tiffin Girl's School. Keira starts secondary school in September. (Image: SWNS) Keira said: "I'm a bit scared because I've always been with Krish. But I'm also a bit relieved because it gets a little competitive." Although they are only just starting Year 7, Krish and Keira already have big plans for their futures. Krish said: "I want to study maths at Cambridge and then do something maths-related, like an actuary." Keira said: "I want to study English and Law at Oxford, and then become a commercial lawyer. "I think it will suit me because I'm good at negotiating, like with Krish over the TV remote." Parents Mauli and Nischal, who between them have degrees in computer science, electrical engineering, and business administration, admitted that there were some early signs of the twins' intelligence. The two hope to go to Cambridge and Oxford. (Image: SWNS) Mum Mauli, who is a senior manager at an IT company, said: "We noticed earlier with Krish. His reading speed was far beyond his age and his spelling was very accurate. "When we'd put on YouTube for him, he'd be watching maths tutorials - and by the age of four he was doing complex divisions. "He also had a lot of patience. It's rare for a four-year-old to sit still and do maths equations for half an hour. "With Keira, she was such a lively and playful child that we didn't really notice until later. "But with her 11+ exams, we noticed her approach to complex questions - and then she started getting feedback on her writing. "Teachers say she already writes like an author. She puts such emotion into her stories. It's well beyond her age." Mauli said that she and dad Nischal, who used to be a management consultant but is now a private landlord, are very proud of their kids - although admittedly a little shocked by how everything has unfolded. She said: "We're quite speechless a lot of the time about everything. "It does put pressure on us as parents as we want to make sure we keep exposing them to things that interest them. "But it's amazing for them as when we took them to their Mensa exam, they were the only kids. Everyone else was an adult. "No one else in the family is a member of Mensa - and we're not interested in taking the test. Recommended Reading Girl becomes fastest 8 year-old to run a 5k in the world 'I befriended a stray dog in Bali - I need £3,00 to bring her home to Beckenham' London bride saves £3.5k by finding wedding dress on Vinted "Imagine if we didn't pass! "I'm not as brave as Keira was - trying after Krish got accepted." This July, Krish and Keira are heading to their first Mensa event - where they have been invited to meet with various admissions officers from Oxford and Cambridge University. Their other summer plans include games of chess and monopoly, which they admit get a bit "competitive", as well as a rewatch of their favourite film - the 'twin classic' The Parent Trap.
Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Meet Britain's smartest siblings: 11-year-old brother and sister join Mensa - he's already smarter than Einstein, she's a poet who leads a rock band and they have a combined IQ of 314
A pair of genius twins might be Britain's smartest siblings having been accepted into Mensa with a combined IQ of 314. Krish and Keira Arora, both aged 11, have been enrolled into the exclusive international society after scoring incredibly highly on the IQ test. To qualify for membership at Mensa you have to score in the top 2 per cent of the general population on a recognised intelligence test. Maths genius Krish has an IQ of 162, which is believed to be higher than Albert Einstein's estimated score of 160. He was the first of the pair to join Mensa after getting accepted last November at age 10, while his twin sister Keira - with an IQ of 152 - followed in his footsteps earlier this month, aged 11. 'Its a very proud feeling. Sometimes you think about it and you feel they've done something impossible because they're so young, so it's remarkable - we never thought that something like this would happen,' the twins mother, Mauli told My London. The siblings, who attend their local state primary school in Hounslow, are both musically talented, as well as being academically gifted including being able to programme robots and write author-level poetry. Keira says singing makes herself feel 'happy and confident' and performs as the lead in her school rock band. 'It makes me feel good. I don't think I've ever experienced stage fright,' shesaid. Krish is a talented piano player who is said to have a 'perfect pitch'. 'I really like playing music. It makes me feel calm and peaceful - music is something I really enjoy,' Krish said. Despite their young age, Krish and Keira have a clear idea of where they want their careers to go. 'I'd like to be a lawyer when I grow up,' Keira said. She even highlight commercial law as an area of expertise as she believes she is 'very good at negotiating with people'. After completing Year 9 maths before even getting to secondary school, Krish wants to pursue a job as a mathematician or an actuary. 'Sometimes at school when we do maths I put my hand up they say Krish, not you, don't answer. But I still have a lot of things to learn, I haven't done A Levels yet but I'm very privileged to know I'm really smart - smarter than Einstein,' he said. While allowing Krish and Keira to follow their passions, engineer parents Mauli and Nischal revealed there are some rules they believe have helped nurture their children's academic talent. In the evening, the family turn their lights off at 9.30pm ready for an early nights sleep. They also put restrictions on video games as well as closely monitoring what they are watching and closely follow age ratings. Their routine after school consists of coming back and eating before doing 'something productive for an hour - French or economics, something where they are learning'. The parents added that they then have an hour of down time, giving them time to spend of their iPads, go out with their friends, or practice on the piano. Later this year, Keira will start her studies at Tiffin Girls' School, a highly-rated selective school in Kingston. Meanwhile, Krish will begin his secondary studies at Queen Elizabeth, in Barnet, one of the UK's best grammar schools Can you make it into Mensa? Take our IQ quiz and add up your score to find out 1. In the space provided place a three-letter word which can be attached to the beginning of the given words to form six longer words. What is the three letter word? Which three-letter word which can be attached to the beginning of the given words to form six longer words? 2. What numbers should replace the question marks in the fourth triangle? The logic puzzles are able to deduce what your IQ is compared to the rest of the population: What numbers should replace the question marks in the fourth triangle in this puzzle? 3. What letter should appear next in this sequence? C H K P S ? 4. Rearrange the letters of TINSEL to give four other words. What are they? 5. What have the following words got in common? YARN HURT LONE ARMY 6. If RM = 5, XK = 13 and JC = 7, what does SP=? 7. In a supermarket, the first 25 customers of the day purchased an average of two items each. After a further 15 customers, the average number of items purchased by each customer rose to eight. What was the average number of items purchased by the last 15 customers only? 8. Replace the blanks in this sentence with two words. The same nine letters must be used for both words. What are the words? The employee's actions BLANK BLANK until he was caught on a security camera. PRL CRL JD TPZ PL PRDT 10. On each row place a letter that can be substituted for the second letter of the words either side. When completed a word will be read downwards. What is it? On each row place a letter that can be substituted for the second letter of the words either side. When completed a word will be read downwards 11. Use the letters given to complete the star so that two five-letter words, one four-letter word and two words of two letters can be read. A C E I M N S S U What are the words? Use the letters A C E I M N S S U given to complete the star so that two five-letter words, one four-letter word and two words of two letters can be read 12. What number is missing from the following sequence? 4 9 16 25 ? 49 64 81 13. In each of the following what number should replace the question mark? In each of the following puzzles, what number should replace the question mark? 14. Rearrange the letters of UPRIGHT PARANOIA to give three musical instruments. What are they? 15. Find a word to fit the first clue. Add one letter to this word to give a word to fit the second clue. Add another letter to give the word to fit the third clue and finally another letter to give a word to fit the fourth clue. What are the four words? NOT OFF OFFSPRING IN A SHORT WHILE 16. On each row place a word to fit the clue given, if the correct words are chosen a word will be read down the shaded column. What is it? On each row place a word to fit the clue given, if the correct words are chosen a word will be read down the shaded column 17. What number should replace the question mark? By looking at the other squares, can you work out what number is missing? 18. Vincent lives at house number 106, Claire lives at number 151 and Olivia lives at number 57. Does house number 60 belong to Alan or Alex? For Rearrange the letters of DUE CROP to give a word with a similar meaning. What is it? 19. For each of the following find a word beginning with H that has an opposite meaning to the given word. a) Clear b) Resolute c) Welcoming 20. Replace the blanks in the following sentence with two five-letter words. The same five letters must be used for both words. What are the words? The BLANK told his class that he had been BLANK fishing during the holiday. The answers... how well did you do? 1. Car. 2. Eight in the bottom left corner and 27 at the top. Bottom left numbers divide by 3. Bottom right numbers increase by 4, then 5, then 6. Left plus right gives top. 3. X. The sequence takes the third letter of the alphabet, then the fifth letter after that, then the third again and then the fifth again and so on. 4. Listen, silent, inlets and enlist. 5. When rearranged they all give a name – Ryan, Ruth, Noel and Mary. 6. Three. The difference between the two alphabetical places gives the number. 7.18. 8. Continued and unnoticed. 9. Answer: Pearl, coral, jade, topaz, opal and peridot. 10. Almond. 11. Panic, amuse, onus, am and is. 12. 36. They are all square numbers. 13. a) 288 The square of the number is multiplied by 2. b) 306 Each number is multiplied by one more than itself. 14. Harp, guitar and piano. 15. On, son, soon and spoon. 16. Lawns. The words are polar, brass, rowan, bingo and basin. 17. Seven. Add together the two numbers at the top of each square to give the two digit number at the bottom of the square. 18. Alex. The Roman numerals in each name are totalled to give the house number. 19. a) Hazy b) Hesitant c) Hostile 20. Tutor and trout. Scoring: 1 – 5 correct answers Try again 6 – 9 correct answers Average 10 – 12 correct answers Good
The Independent
12-05-2025
- General
- The Independent
Huge fire rips through homes next to London Tube station
This video shows black smoke billowing out over London as a fire raged through two West London houses. Thick plumes were seen coming from Myrtle Road, opposite Hounslow East Tube station. Forty firefighters were called to the scene since 11.38am on Monday. A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: "Four fire engines and around 25 firefighters have been called to a house fire on Myrtle Road in Hounslow. The rear of a semi-detached building is currently alight. "The Brigade's 999 Control officers were called at 11.38am and deployed crews from Heston, Southall, Chiswick and Richmond fire stations. Fire crews remain on scene. The cause of the fire is not known at this stage." Crews said they had the fire under control by 1pm.
