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Ofsted has this week published a detailed and positive assessment on the care at Springbrook Short Breaks Home for Disabled Children.

Owned and managed by Sefton Council, the Home provides short breaks for disabled children and offers high quality care and enriching activities as well as much valued respite time and support for families and carers.

The Ofsted report gave Springbrook Short Breaks Home a rating of ‘Good.’ The Report cites the overall experiences and progress of children and how well they are helped and protected. It also notes the effectiveness of leaders and managers in making continuous improvements and providing a high quality service to our families.

The Report is similar to that of 12 months ago which saw a huge improvement from an ‘inadequate’ to a ‘good’ rating in just one year thanks to the dedication of staff to get the best for our children and families.

Another year on, this Report goes a step further praising the improved leadership and management in the home and confirming that the new team are raising standards even higher. They rate them ‘good’ as opposed to the ‘requires improvement’ rating last year.

Parents spoken to as part of the inspection, told the Ofsted Inspector that they were happy with the care their children received, saying, ‘staff understand the anxieties that we feel as parents and go above and beyond to include us.’ Children also benefit from the ‘passionate and enthusiastic’ attitude of the staff when they go on visits to parks and the zoo says the Report. It noted that staff and children ‘make the most of their stays in the home.’

Risthardh Hare, Sefton Council’s Interim Director of Children’s Services said:

“I am delighted to read the outcome of this Ofsted inspection and so proud of my colleagues who have worked so hard over the past few years to improve across all areas including management, leadership and quality of care.

“I am so proud that Sefton can provide such a highly regarded service to our children, young people and families and it is gratifying to see Ofsted recognise the passion of our staff when they work with our children.

“It is fantastic to see the recognition of the improvements we have made in terms of managing the home more effectively in order to create this enriching environment for children and young people.

“The whole of Children’s Services in Sefton is on an improvement journey and success like this give us a solid foundation to build from. This is only a small part of the services we offer but I am positive about improving our services across the board for children, young people and families in Sefton and keen to build on this momentum in the coming months.”

Children from a primary school in Sefton have seen their artwork go on display this week in the run up to the Eurovision Song Contest.

Pupils from St Benedict’s Catholic Primary School in Bootle have been working with visual artist Nicola McGovern to decorate an egg, which was today (30 March) unveiled at Liverpool ONE.

Inspired by the Ukrainian and Eastern European tradition of egg painting, Pysanka Eggs is a partnership between Liverpool ONE and Liverpool City Council.

The project is part of EuroLearn, made possible thanks to generous funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund with additional funds from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Funding from Spirit of 2012 will also support EuroLearn as well as the future evaluation of Eurovision’s benefit to the city region.

The display features seven eggs, one for each city region plus one for Ukraine. The Sefton egg called Sounds We Love is inspired by the nightingale, the national symbol for Ukraine,

Nicola explains: “The story goes that the bird came from India and sang songs to cheer people up. So, our egg explores sounds that make us feel good. This ties in really well with the themes for the EuroLearn programme of mental health and well-being, home and sanctuary. Pupils illustrated sounds they love from home, nature, instruments and favourite activities and these drawings have been included in the final design of the egg.

“There is also a night-time cityscape of Liverpool and Kyiv painted on the egg, which celebrates the links that Eurovision 2023 has created between the two cities, and a heartbeat, which unites us all. The sounds we love and the cityscapes are encompassed in an overall structure inspired by Pysanka, the Ukrainian and Eastern European tradition of egg decorating. 

“EuroLearn has been a great project to be involved in because it encourages a wider audience to get involved in Eurovision. The children participating have been so imaginative and excited about working with an artist in their schools. I hope they have fun trying to identify all the sounds on our egg when they visit it on display in public.”

Rachael Chadwick, Deputy Head at St Benedict’s, said: “We are very excited about Eurovision being held in our city so it was wonderful to be part of this project. The children offered interesting and varied responses on the theme of ‘sanctuary’ and it was a fantastic experience for them to work with a professional artist. We can’t wait to see the eggs on display!”

Year 5 pupil Freya Romano added: “It was fun working with the artist. I think the egg will look really nice. I’ll go to see it with my mum.”

Sefton Council are throwing their support behind National Supported Internships Day and encouraging people to learn more about the opportunities available in Sefton.

The awareness day, founded this year by the DFN Project, supports young people aged 16 -24  with an Education, Health and Care Plan into paid employment and aims to open up supported opportunities for young people to get a taste of work in different sectors.

Here in Sefton, the Council works with local colleges  to find high quality, supported placements for young people with additional needs. The opportunities have ranged from placements with Solicitors to the NHS and the feedback from young people who take part has been extremely positive.

Watch our two videos to see how Supported Internships have had a huge impact on young people in Sefton.

Video 1

Video 2

Sefton Council is encouraging businesses to get in touch with the team if they can offer an opportunity to a young person in Sefton and play a role in helping people with disability find meaningful and fulfilling employment.

The Council also want to ensure young people are aware of the opportunities available to them and link in with colleges to ensure the continued success of the Supported Internships Programme.

Cllr Diane Roscoe, Cabinet Member for Education said:

“We want to make sure that education, skills and employment opportunities in Sefton benefit everyone in the community.

“I’m proud to see the Council and local colleges going some way to making this aspiration a reality through Supported Internships. They provide young people with vital experience, knowledge and crucially, confidence in the workplace.

“We’ve always known that young people with a SEND in Sefton have a lot to offer employers and it is brilliant to see that message breaking through as young people and local businesses continue to benefit.

“I would encourage businesses and young people to find out more about this superb programme and get involved this Supported Internships Day.”

Please contact stephen.evans@sefton.gov.uk for further information