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Sefton Council is proud to celebrate ‘What Does Accessibility Mean to Me’ awareness week and is encouraging people to talk and learn about accessibility, diversity, and inclusion.

Running from Monday 18^th to Friday 22^nd October,  this first ‘What Does Accessibility Mean to Me’ is an opportunity for people come together and recognise the differences within our communities to support a diverse range of people.

One in every five people has a disability that may impact their access to information, services, experiences, and opportunities.

Recognising this, Sefton Council formed an Improving Information Group to continue conversations with residents on accessible information. The group is made up of people living in Sefton, all of whom use different methods of communication.

Since the group formed, its members have coproduced accessible communication guides that are shared Council-wide and have established Accessible Information Advocates to ensure accessibility is at the forefront in all areas of the Council’s work.

And most recently, the group coproduced the Council’s Accessible Information eLearning training programme that was launched in November 2020. The training is freely available for all external partners who support the work of Sefton Council. To learn more, people can visit the Sefton Corporate Learning Centre website at https://seftonclc.co.uk/

Cllr Hardy, Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing at Sefton Council said: “The Council are proud to be supporting this awareness week and encourage our residents to share their understanding and thoughts on what accessibility means to them.

“Improving access and inclusion starts by creating awareness and I look forward to continuing to work together to make our Borough an accessible and inclusive place to live, work and visit.”

‘What Does Accessibility Mean to Me’ awareness week is supported by Recite Me, the company that provides the accessibility tool on the Sefton Council website.

By turning on Recite Me, people visiting the Council’s website at sefton.gov.uk can use the service to read website pages out loud in different voices and languages, increase and decrease the size of the text and change the type-style – including into a Dyslexic-friendly font.

To use the service, visitors to the website just need to click on Listen and Translate at the top of every page. People will then see a toolbar of functions that will help make the pages more accessible for them in multiple ways. There is also a user guide to tell people more and an option to switch the service on and off.

People can join the conversation on what accessibility means to them, by using the hashtag #AccessibilityToMe across social media platforms.

Today, Monday 18th October, is UK Anti-Slavery Day, which is an opportunity to raise awareness of human trafficking and modern slavery, and encourage government, local authorities, companies, charities and individuals to do what they can to address the problem.

Individuals are trafficked into, out of or within the UK for a number of reasons including sexual exploitation, forced labour, domestic servitude and organ harvesting. There are thought to be around 13,000 victims and survivors of modern slavery in the UK.

In 2019, Sefton Council passed a motion setting out our commitment to helping eradicate slavery and labour exploitation. People can find help with what to look for if they suspect modern slavery is taking place at www.sefton.gov.uk/modernslavery . There is also information on how to seek help and to report the issue.

Find out about the The Purple Teardrop Campaign ‘Stop the Trafficking, Stop the Tears’.  

Recently, Cllr Trish Hardy, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing, said: “Examples of modern Slavery taking place in Merseyside have been found recently so it is important we all remain alert to the signs that could be happening in our neighbourhood or at a business we use.

“Those signs can include a person living at their workplace with their employer, someone housed with multiple other people in a cramped living space or a person who has no identification or travel documents.

“Signs of physical abuse and their psychological effects or a someone insisting on being present or interpreting any conversations could also mean modern slavery is taking place.”

In September 2020, the Home Office introduced new measures to tackle modern slavery in supply chains. This means businesses and public bodies are accountable for tackling modern slavery and are required to produce an annual statement for each financial year setting out the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their business and supply chains.

Organisations can find out more from the Government’s website. 

Cllr Diane Roscoe, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Education has welcomed news that five Sefton schools have been shortlisted for this year’s Educate Awards.

Outstanding education

Formby High, Maricourt Catholic High, Netherton Moss Primary, Stanley High and St Elizabeth’s Catholic Primary are the schools on the shortlist for the awards, which showcase the work of schools and colleges which are delivering outstanding education and helping students achieve their full potential.

• Formby High School is shortlisted for the SEND Provision Award, Outstanding Arts in Secondary School and the Most Inspirational Secondary School.
• Maricourt Catholic High School is shortlisted for The Communication Award, Careers & Enterprise Award and the Community Partnership Award.
• Netherton Moss Primary School is shortlisted in the Outstanding Arts in Primary School category and Hilary Lyall has been nominated for School Governor of the Year.
• Stanley High School is shortlisted for the Most Inspirational Secondary School.
• St Elizabeth’s Catholic Primary School is shortlisted in the Outstanding Commitment to Sport & Physical Activity in Primary School category.

Efforts

Cllr Roscoe said: “Five Sefton schools being shortlisted for these prestigious awards is great news and I would like to congratulate everyone involved for their efforts in being nominated.

“I wish them all every success on Friday 19^th November.”

The awards, in partnership with Copyrite Systems and Ricoh, is the largest education awards in the North West and will take place at Liverpool Cathedral on Friday 19 November. With over 21 categories, the shortlist recognises inspiring teachers, dedicated support staff and strategic leadership teams.

Calibre

Kim O’Brien, founder of the Educate Awards, said: “A huge well done to the schools and colleges who have made this year’s shortlist.

“After a difficult 18 or so months, it is extremely important that we recognise the amazing schools and colleges which have supported students, families, staff and the wider communities during the pandemic. The calibre of entries was absolutely incredible and deciding on the shortlist was a really difficult process.”

Associate sponsors of the Educate Awards 2021 include: All About STEM, Angel Solutions, CER, CPMM Media Group, Hidden Strength, LCR Careers Hub, Liverpool John Moores University, LSSP, Progress Careers, SupplyWell and Winstanley College.

You can find out more about the awards here.