Author: Bridie Finnan

To mark National School Governors Awareness Day, Sefton Council is launching a new recruitment drive to boost numbers of school governors across the borough.

Sefton launched the #GiveBackGetAhead campaign today to encourage people to think about being a school governor and shine a light on the fantastic governor cohort currently working with our primary and secondary schools.

The campaign will see governors explain how vital the role is, why they love it and what they get out of it. Being a school governor can enhance a CV, provide a place to learn and develop new skills and also give back to the local community and make a difference to children and young people.

No formal qualifications are needed to become a school governor; you just need to be aged 18 or over and pass a DBS check. Everyone has a range of experiences and skills to offer and an effective governing body has people from all kinds of different backgrounds.

The Council is offering a comprehensive series of governor training courses to enable governors to feel confident to carry out their roles when they first start. They also produce a termly governor training programme of learning opportunities which caters for new governors as well as the more experienced who want to further their knowledge in a specialised area.

The campaign will run on social media and in our public buildings and hopes to recruit more Governors  across Sefton primary and secondary schools.  

Cllr Diane Roscoe, Cabinet Member for Education said:

“I am thrilled to be celebrating our governors on National School Governor Awareness Day. They are a fantastic group of people who give their time and commitment to making our schools the best place they can be.

“We want as many people as possible to take a few minutes today to read over our information and think about whether they might want to be a school governor in Sefton.

“It is rewarding and valued position and I would urge anyone who had the time and passion for making a difference to our children, families and communities, to apply now.”

National School Governor Awareness Day aims to raise awareness of governance in our schools and celebrate the contribution that governors make to improving the experiences of children and young people.

Children and families in Sefton will once again be supported over half term as the Council provides vouchers to over 9,000 families who are eligible for free school meals. The vouchers worth £15 per child per week will provide a valuable resource for families who may be worrying about the cost of the upcoming half term.

Vouchers can be used to buy food from local supermarkets, either in-store or online by eligible families who qualify for free school meals. The half-term meals vouchers can only be spent on food and essentials and can’t be used to purchase alcohol, tobacco, lottery tickets, phone top-ups or stamps and is intended to provide vital support to families who may be struggling.

Cllr Trish Hardy, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing said:

“Sadly, for a lot of families across Sefton people are worried about fuel bills, inflation, interest rates and prices in the shops all of which have rocketed and had a real impact on our communities.

“By providing around 9,000 Sefton families with these meal vouches for the school holiday period, we can hopefully help to ease some of their concerns and remove the worry for this half term break.

“It is important that we support those who may be struggling this winter and ensure kids in Sefton don’t go hungry over half term.”

Free school meals and how to apply for them is one of the areas covered in the special Cost of Living section that Sefton Council has set up on its website at www.sefton.gov.uk/costofliving.

Other areas include Welfare Benefits, help with rent and Council Tax, debt advice, health and wellbeing, foodbanks & food pantries and a link to the Sefton Support Hub.

Additionally, there are details of the Emergency Limited Assistance (ELAS) scheme, which can provide a one-off payment to Sefton residents experiencing severe hardship, a disaster or emergency.

Dear Parents,

Following recent ballots by teacher unions, I am writing to inform you the National Education Union (NEU) intend to carry out industrial action over the national pay offer to teachers.

Members of the NEU intend to strike over a number of days in coming months. The union have stated their intent for 3 days of national strike, along with an additional day’s strike regionally.

For Sefton schools, this means intended strike action is due to take place on the following days:

1^st February 2023

28^th February 2023

15^th March 2023

16^th March 2023

Each school will complete their own risk assessment to determine whether they are able to open, partially open or remain closed on the above days. Each school will be impacted differently and some may provide some virtual learning over the strike period for those children not in school.

Schools will communicate directly with families if they are due to remain open, partially open or closed on each of the strike days.

We understand this action may cause difficulties for some families however we also recognise the hard work and commitment that teachers and school staff constantly show to children in Sefton and we know any decision has not been taken lightly.

Tricia Davies, Assistant Director, Education, Sefton Council 

Sefton Council hosted its very first Christmas events over the festive period for cared for children and care experienced young people in partnership with Waterloo Community Centre and the Plaza Community Cinema.

Care experienced young people were invited to a full Christmas experience including Christmas dinner, quizzes and games, great raffle prizes and a personalised gift bought for them by businesses signed up to our Caring Business Charter.

The event saw a special guest performance by Francis Doran, lead singer of Red Rum Club, a local band fresh from their latest US tour!

Our cared for children were invited for a movie night at The Plaza where they joined some of our staff to watch Matilda: The Musical and went home with a goody bag of sweets and treats and a book token ready to spend on a new read for the new year!

The feedback so far has been positive and Sefton are keen to keep events like these going.

“Thank you to everyone involved for a lovely night, the children really enjoyed it”

“Thank you so much to you and everyone who helped to organise last night. My children had a fabulous time and certainly enjoyed their goodies. Trip to town Saturday to spend their tokens!”

Cllr Mhairi Doyle, Cabinet Member for Children’s Social Care said:

“I am thrilled to see us celebrating Christmas with our children and young people this year.

“Some of these young people may have been spending Christmas alone so having this Christmas experience to eat, drink and take home a haul of presents will have definitely made their festive period a lot brighter.

 “We are so grateful to community groups and our Caring Business Charter signatories for their help in pulling these events together, making donations and ultimately delivering a great bit of festive fun to our children and young people.”

This event was a first for Sefton Council who are keen to increase engagement with young people and use their local influence to create great experience for all the children they work with.