Age: 68
Family make up: Lives alone.
Interesting fact: Greta came to live in England from Poland when she was 3 years old.

Age: 8
Family make up: Lives with Mum (Meena), Dad (Anil), Grandma (Rupa) and Sister (Mira).
Interesting fact: Tara is a leader in her Brownie pack.

Age: 26
Family make up: Lives with Son (Ali) and her sister's son (Roger).
Interesting fact: Debbie enjoys reading books.

Age: 6
Family make up: Lives with Mum (Mary), Grandad (Bob) and her non-identical twin sister (Milly).
Interesting fact: Lily loves dressing up, playing with Mum’s make-up and making up imaginary games.

Age: 8
Family make up: Lives with Mum (Emily) and Dad (Simon).
Interesting fact: Sue won a community award for supporting projects in her community.

Name: Dale Deacon
Age: 10
Family make up: Lives with Mum (Donna), Dad (Dave), Sister (Amy-Jo) and Brother (Kyle).
Interesting fact: Dale loves to play football with his brother.

Name: Kyle Deacon
Age: 6
Family make up: Lives with Mum (Donna), Dad (Dave), Sister (Amy-Jo) and Brother (Dale).
Interesting fact: Kyle likes to make model aeroplanes with his dad.

Name: Bert
Age: 89
Family make up: Lives with Wife (Ada).
Interesting fact: Bert has been married to his wife Ada for more than 50 years.

Name: Ada
Age: 86
Family make up: Lives with Husband (Bert).
Interesting fact: Ada is retired from work.

Age: 11
Family make up: Lives with Mum and Dad.
Interesting fact: Leon's mum is a doctor and his dad is a nurse.

The football pitch is in the park. You can play football for free here at weekends or after school with friends and family. Football is a great way of having fun and keeping fit.

Council tax money pays to maintain the football pitch for the community to use.

The cafe is a good place to meet up with friends, family and neighbours. They sell coffee, tea, milkshakes and snacks.

The local council office is where the local government work. They make decisions about important things that need to happen in the area and decide how to spend the council taxes they have collected from the local community.

The local supermarket is called Superco. This is where Debbie works. You can buy nearly everything you need here for your meals and home.

Superco is a privately owned company which means that it is not paid for by the local or central government.

This is the health centre. Tara’s mum and Leon’s mum both work here. You can visit the centre when you are feeling unwell or to get information about staying healthy.

Health centres are paid for with income tax. Income tax is money taken out of people’s wages by central government in London. Some of this money also pays for hospitals, doctors and nurses.

The charity shop sells items that the public has donated to raise money for charity. They sell toys, clothes and lots of other lovely things here that can be much cheaper than buying items brand new.

The Pride Place street lights are important to allow the community to walk around safely when it is dark. Street lights also make it safer for drivers on the road. The lights have special sensors in them that tell the light to turn on when it gets dark and turn off when it gets light.

Most adults have to pay council tax to the local council every month. Some of this money is spent on street lighting, and repairs to faulty lights.

The library is an important place for finding out information. Both children and adults can also borrow books for free. Lily’s mum works here and she enjoys helping people find the right book. Some libraries have computers that you can use too if you don’t have a computer at home.

Some council tax money is spent on library buildings and resources.

The Fire and Rescue Service do a great job of keeping us safe in our community. The people who work here are very brave and sometimes have to put themselves in dangerous situations to save people’s lives.

Some money from council tax goes to the fire and rescue authority and they also get money from central government.

This is the job centre. People come here to look for jobs. They can also receive support and training while looking for a job. There are lots of job adverts posted here by companies who need to find good employees to work for them. Job centres also help unemployed people to apply for money from the central government (called benefits) that can help them pay for basic things they need to live, like food and bills, until they find a job.

Job centres are paid for by income tax. Income tax is taken out of people’s wages by central government in London.

This is the recycling centre. You can bring items like paper, cans, empty glass bottles, plastic containers, old clothes and shoes here to be recycled. Many people bring these things here when they are coming to the supermarket to do their shopping.

Some council tax is used to pay for household bins and refuse lorries, to make sure all our rubbish is taken away and recycled if possible. It also pays for the recycling depots, where rubbish that is too big to fit in the dustbin goes.

Mrs Goleska lives in a retirement flat, which is nice because it is close to the library and to Sue Lee’s house, who often comes to visit her. Retirement flats are for older people who may need a little bit of help to look after themselves.

Money from council tax helps to pay for some retirement flats. Some flats are private, but people receive money from the council to help them to live there.

This is where most of the children who live in Pride Place go to school and where Ms Barratt and Mrs Nahal work. This school is for children between 4 and 11 years old. When they get older, they will go to secondary school. The children learn all about subjects that will help them get a job later in life.

A large amount of council tax money is given to schools, to spend on things that children and young people need to receive a good education.

The community centre is a space used to run activities for people of all ages in the local community. There is a youth club on a Friday night and playgroups for toddlers and their parents on a Wednesday morning. Sometimes there are keep fit classes, discos and charity events held here.

Community centres are usually owned by the council. Some council tax money pays for them to provide a range of sporting, arts and social activities.

This is the police station. You can go here if you or someone else is in danger and they will help. You can also call them if there is a serious situation like a bad accident.

A large part of council tax goes directly to the police authority. This money is spent on providing things like emergency services and community policing, to keep us safe in our homes and communities.

You can catch the bus into the city from here. Chantelle and Amy-Jo take the bus to get to Pride Place Secondary School and Sue’s mum catches the bus to get to work.

Some council tax money pays for public transport. It is important that everyone can travel to places in their community. If more people use public transport, it means there are fewer cars on the roads, which creates less pollution.

The railway station in Pride Place lets people travel to places that are further away without using a car. If more people use public transport, it means there are fewer cars on the roads, which creates less pollution. 

Central government owns both the station and railway tracks and keeps them in working order. Private companies rent the tracks from the government and run their trains on them.

This is the main road in Pride Place. There are many different homes, shops and other buildings on this road, and sometimes there can be a lot of traffic!

Money from local council tax helps to pay for things like road repairs, traffic lights and making sure roads are safe for drivers to use.

The war memorial was built to remember people from the community who died in wars, either abroad or in this country. Mrs Goleska’s son, Peter, died like this, fighting for his country in the British Armed Forces.

Some council tax money is used to look after war memorials, making sure they are safe, well looked after and don’t have any graffiti on, in order to show respect for the people who died fighting for the country.

The park is used by a lot of different people in the community. It is nice to get outside and take a walk in the fresh air. There are places in the park to sit and chat with neighbours, walk your dog and places to play and keep fit. Sue, Leon, Kyle and Dale like to play on the football pitch here.

Some council tax money is used to keep community parks in good condition. It also pays for public footpaths to be looked after and signposted, so that people can enjoy walking in their community.

The cemetery is a very special place where we bury people who have died. Family and friends can go to visit the grave to remember that person. Mrs Goleska’s husband and son are buried here and sometimes she decorates their grave with flowers.

Council tax money is used to employ people to make sure cemeteries are looked after and kept clean and safe.