E7 Now & Then

This is the second of three blogs we are running, recording the most recent food hygiene ratings in Forest Gate, according to Newham Council and the Food Standards Agency.

This week we look at the scores given to the education and health and care sectors. For a full explanation of the process and what the scores mean, see the previous blog. This also explains why there are a few omissions form the survey.

Almost all of the scores are, thankfully, high. The poorest rating is for the Stratford Academy (1 star). Hopefully this is a totally rogue result. As the accompanying photo below shows, either the governors and environmental health officers reacted extremely angrily to the result and razed the entire building, or the inspection was taken before the planned demolition of the school site, prior to its relocation in Grosvenor Road.

Next week we will provide a very lengthy blog of the "hospitality" sector, featuring Forest Gate's restaurants, pubs and hotels. Appetites will certainly not be whetted by some of the truly shocking scores that emerge. Watch this space!

Once again, results are provided by street, in alphabetical order, for each sector.

Education

Boleyn Road

Stepping Stones Childcare RC School

St Bonaventures
Boleyn Road
September 2013
5 stars

Chestnut Road

Chestnut Nursery School

124 Chestnut Road
April 2014
5 stars

Cranmer Road

Godwin Junior School

31 Cranmer Road
November 2012
5 stars

Earlham Grove

Earlham Primary School

Earlham Grove
May 2013
2 stars

Chestnut Nursery

177 Earlham Grove
July 2011
3 stars

Forest Street

Olive Dining, Forest Gate Community School

Forest Street
July 2013
5 stars

Osborne Road

Kay Rowe Nursery

Osborne Road
April 2014
4 stars

St George's Road

St Angela's School

St George's Road
September 2010
4 stars

Sandringham Road

Sandringham Dining Centre

Sandringham Road
June 2013
5 stars

Sebert Road

First Step Montessori

5 Sebert Road
April 2014
5 stars

Woodgrange Infants School

Sebert Road
November 2012
5 stars

Shaftesbury Road

Shaftesbury School

Shaftesbury Road
May 2013
5 stars

Shrewsbury Road

Alphabet House Nursery

Shrewsbury Family Resource Centre 2
Shrewsbury Road
April 2011
5 stars

Stafford Road

William Davies School

Stafford Road
May 2013
5 stars

Station Road

Fields Community Centre, Little Diamonds Nursery

147 Station Road
October 2013
4 stars

Tower Hamlets Road

St James CofE School

Tower Hamlets Road
December 2013
5 stars

Upton Lane

Stratford Academy

Upton Lane
November 2013
1 star

Upton Park Road

Elmhurst Primary School

Upton Park Road
April 2013
5 stars

Health and social care

Halley Road

Wakelin Court Residential Home

96a Halley Road
February 2012
3 stars

Neville Road

Scass Ltd - Day Services

2a Neville Road
June 2012
5 stars

Odessa Road

Touchsky Residential Home

240-242 Odessa Road
February 2013
5 stars

Romford Road

Westgate House

178 Romford Road
November 2012
5 stars

Shrewsbury Road

East Ham Day Centre, East Ham Memorial Hospital

Shrewsbury Road
June 2013
5 stars

Upton Lane

Floron Residential Home

236 Upton Lane
April 2011
5 stars

Blossom House

371a Upton Lane
June 2012
4 stars

Newham has recently joined the national Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS), under which all premises selling, or processing food for public consumption are inspected, and awarded a Food Hygiene rating certificate.

Inspected premises are encouraged (although not compelled) to publicly display their star rating score. Many choose not to, and in some cases, as will be seen, for obvious reasons. A bit of compulsion here would be much more reassuring for the public, and apply pressure for improvement. Not a priority for the laissez faire government we have, apparently.

Approximately 150 premises in Forest Gate have been tested and their ratings appear on the Food Standards Association (FSA) website
We will be presenting these results over three postings, with a photo, details of the ratings and time of the last inspection accompanying each.

This week we start with food shops, the scores of some of which are frankly more eye watering than mouth watering. In following weeks we will look at schools, social care institutions and finally restaurants and hotels.

Food premises are accorded between 0 and 5 stars for their premises, depending on how they score against standards set by public health officers, in three categories. They take account of:
- how hygienically the food is handled
- the conditions and structures of the premises (including cleanliness); and
- how effectively the business manages is records relating to food safety.

A top score of 5 will mean that the business performs well on all three criteria.

A score of zero, that they perform poorly on all three. Persistent zeros or scores of 1 can result in a premises being closed down. In extreme cases of poor hygiene standards, an inspector can close down dirty premises, with no warning.

Scores of between 1 and 4 are, as they sound, grades, which will reflect how well the premises score, overall, against all criteria. They could be excellent on two and poor on one, for example and get a score of 2 or 3, or simply mediocre on all three criteria and get a similar score.

The records relating to Forest Gate are very patchy, in terms of the comprehensiveness of the cover, and the range of results emerging. We would estimate that upwards of 50 per cent of local food-related premises have yet to receive a certificate - for example a cluster of premises around the Forest Station (Forest Tavern, the Fox and Hounds, the Co-op, Kaffine, Artemis -coffee stand) are without scores. Their time will come, as the inspection programme is rolled out.

Anyone wishing to get fuller details of the condition of any premises mentioned below can obtain a full copy of the relevant inspection report, via an FOI, to Newham Council.

The results are presented in street alphabetical order, and then in numerical order. The date given is of the latest inspection.