Author: John McCabe

Sefton Council is recruiting School Crossing Patrols to fill this vital position within the community, keeping children safe on the borough’s roads. 

The local Authority is appealing to parents or guardians who may have the time to dedicate to this role.

School Crossing Patrols are employed to provide a safe passage across the road for children or anyone needing assistance at a designated site.

They operate at the start and end of each school day and the role is term time only.

On offer for this much valued service is payment of £10.60 per hour plus travelling expenses where applicable. Successful candidates are also entitled to holiday pay plus a retainer fee (half pay) when the schools are closed for half terms etc. There is no upper age limit.

If you, or anyone you know would be interested in these vacancies please call The School Crossing Service on 0151 288 6153.

Long standing plans to support improvements to health and care in Sefton have reached an important milestone with the establishment of Sefton Partnership – a collaboration between the NHS, Sefton Council, Sefton CVS, Healthwatch and other local organisations.

On 1 July, Sefton Partnership was formally established for the borough, as one of nine local area partnerships within the Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System. These partnerships will lead on shaping health and care in their areas, and for Sefton means a continuation of long standing work to bring health and care closer together, to improve and shape services around the needs of local people.

Deborah Butcher, place director for Sefton Partnership, said: “It’s the beginning of a new and exciting chapter for health and care. We will enhance and accelerate the ambition for Sefton Partnership, whilst ensuring we continue what the NHS, the Council and other local partners have been working to deliver for some time. The new changes brought about by legislation will give us the mandate to remove some of the barriers between organisations, to help them provide a more seamless service, focused on the individual, to better provide for their health and care needs.’

After nearly a decade of proudly supporting, coordinating and commissioning care for the health needs of Sefton, NHS Southport and Formby and NHS South Sefton Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG) will be replaced by NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board, which is the new statutory NHS organisation.

The CCGs’ services and staff will transfer to NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, though they will continue their work on improving outcomes for Sefton residents by supporting the work of Sefton Partnership in the borough. The CCG’s websites and social media accounts will be reshaped to support Sefton Partnership. A new management structure, drawing from the expertise and talents at the CCG and Sefton Council, is being established for the Partnership and plans for how it will support the needs of the borough are being finalised.

Fiona Taylor, chief officer of the CCGs, said “I’m immensely proud of the achievements that the CCGs and partners have made over the last nine years. Not only have they enabled progress towards improving the health and wellbeing of people in the borough, they have helped to lay firm foundations for collaborative working and high standards of care that Sefton Partnership can build upon.’ 

‘I’ve been working closely with the place director Deborah Butcher, to facilicate an effective transfer and help Sefton Partnership hit the ground running. I wish Deborah and my colleagues in the NHS, Sefton Council and our partner organisations all the very best, as they take health and care in Sefton into this new era.”

Deborah Butcher, place director for Sefton Partnership, said: ‘On behalf of everyone in Sefton Partnership, I’d like to thank Fiona for her dedication to Sefton, her contribution to improving health care, for all that she and her team have achieved and for her tireless dedication to improving the lives of people in the borough.”

Dwayne Johnson, Chief Executive of Sefton Council, said:

“We are all sad to see Fiona leave but we will all remember her passion and commitment to residents of Sefton. Fiona has been a loyal and dedicated NHS employee and worked in partnership with the Council for a very long time. We will miss her positive personality and her open and honest approach, but wish her every success in her future.”

For more information follow us on Twitter @SeftonPartners or go to:

www.cheshireandmerseyside.nhs.uk/your-place/sefton

With support from local schools, Sefton Council will again assist eligible families with free school meal vouchers during the long summer holiday.

In addition to the rollout of vouchers, worth £15 per child per week, the Council is encouraging as many residents as possible to find out from their child’s school if they are eligible so than claim the support, which can be used to buy food in supermarkets and online.

Cllr Trish Hardy, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing said: “With local families struggling to cope with the spiralling cost-of-living, I am pleased that Sefton Council, with support from schools to distribute, has again been able to continue providing these holiday vouchers.

“This additional £15 per week for each eligible child will help families manage over this difficult period but if people are experiencing severe hardship, a disaster or emergency over the long summer break, or at any other time.

“Details of our Emergency Limited Assistance Scheme can be found at the ELAS webpage.”

Sefton Families that don’t receive free school meals at the moment but think they might qualify should contact their child’s school or visit the Free School Meals webpage.

The vouchers, which the Council is providing through its Household Support Grant funding allocation from the Department of Work and Pensions, are for buying food and essentials only. They cannot be used to purchase alcohol, tobacco, lottery tickets, phone top-ups or stamps.

Cllr Hardy added: “In addition to the school meals vouchers, we have now paid out over £12.5 million of the one-off, £150 Council Tax Energy rebate payments to the almost 83,500 eligible Council Tax Band A to D households, which will also provide them with some help.

“And, over 20,600 households have responded to the letter we sent them by using the secure code to provide their details and register to receive the payment.

“I would urge anyone who has received the letter to register today, and if they have any concerns about the process to visit the Council Tax Energy Rebate webpage where they can find out more.”

Apprentices employed by Sefton Council, took the opportunity to share their experiences at a recent virtual ‘Meet and Greet’ with local councillors ahead of National Apprenticeship Week.

With apprenticeships spanning health and social care, energy and environment, HGV driving and more besides, the Councillors, including Council Leader Ian Maher, joined by Chief Executive Dwayne Johnson, took the opportunity to listen to the stories of staff who took part and to celebrate not only their achievements, but also Sefton Council’s strong record of developing apprentices and retaining them at the local authority.    

National Apprenticeship Week takes place 7-13 February. Organisations throughout the UK will celebrate apprenticeships and apprentices, by sharing their successes and busting common myths.

Sefton Council will mark the week with a series of drop-in sessions for its staff to hear about apprenticeships available to them, as well as a series of case studies to be shared with residents in the hope of inspiring more people to take this route to further their career prospects.

In attendance at the ‘Meet and Greet’ with councillors, was Macy Loasby, who recently secured a full-time position in the local authority’s security service, having gained a Level 2 qualification in Business Administration. Macy said:

“Taking up my apprenticeship has been an amazing experience for me and has given me a clear pathway to a career I want to pursue. I’m now studying for my Level 3 apprenticeship while working for the Council and am excited for what the future holds. It’s been hard work up to now, but totally rewarding and something I would encourage anyone to do.”

Councillor Paulette Lappin, Cabinet Member for Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services, said: 

“Speaking to apprentices throughout the year I’m always inspired hearing where they’ve come from and what they’re achieving, even more so in the last two years when working conditions, and the way we work, has been so greatly altered. They deserve great credit for their ability to adapt in such trying circumstances, as well as for their skill, passion and hard work.

“What some people I speak to don’t realise, is how challenging an apprenticeship is, and in many cases how academic – it’s very far from an easy route into the career of your choice, but it is an enjoyable and effective one.

“Whether you’re starting out on your career, or want to change your career path, then give apprenticeships serious consideration, as the chances are there will be one to suit you and the direction you want to take.”

To find out more about apprenticeships in Sefton, visit the Sefton Apprenticeships webpage or email Sefton Council’s Apprenticeship team.

To find out more about National Apprenticeship Week and how you can support it, visit the National Apprenticeship Week website.