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Pupils at Kew Woods primary school in Southport have planted a time capsule to help mark the planned opening of a new look play area they helped design.

The time capsule was planted last year by pupils on the school council to mark the construction of Ovington Drive play area in Kew – right outside the school gates.

In early 2018 pupils worked closely with Sefton Council’s Green Sefton team to come up with a number of designs and suggestions for a revamped Ovington Drive play area.

The metal time capsule, which includes items of school clothing and the school logo, a letter from the school council about what they love about the year 2018, and photographs of pupils along with details about their aspirations for the future, is set to be opened in 100 years-time.

Cllr Ian Moncur, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, said: “We were delighted with the response from children at Kew Woods who came up with a wealth of fun, interesting and quirky ideas for the new look Ovington Drive play area.

“By planting the time capsule it will be a lasting memory for everyone who has been involved in this important project.”

Christina Jackson, headteacher at Kew Woods primary school, added: “We have been fully behind this project and it was a great idea to get pupils thinking on what to put in the time capsule to mark the opening of the new play area.

“Things will change so much in 100 years-time but we want whoever opens the capsule to get a real understanding of what life was like at Kew Woods primary school in 2018 and how the play area has an important part in our community.”

Sefton Council has shown it demonstrates real ambition for Sefton and has a strong track record of partnership working and place leadership, according to the Local Government Association’s (LGA) peer review team.

The six-strong team of expert local government officers and councillors were invited in by the Council and spent four days in Sefton during September talking to over 140 staff, councillors of all parties, and public and private partners.

They considered five core themes: understanding local context and priority setting; leadership of place; financial planning and viability; organisational leadership and governance; and capacity to deliver.

Their independent findings, which are being presented to Cabinet on Thursday November 29th, praised the Council for listening to and serving its communities well through a challenging period of austerity.

They also highlighted the Council’s knowledge of Sefton, combined with strong political and managerial leadership and successfully managing a 51% reduction in grant funding through effective budget planning.

Throughout the review, the peer team commented on how impressed they were by the energy, commitment and appetite for change held by the workforce which they felt put the Council in a strong position to continue its transformation journey and effectively play its role in achieving the Sefton 2030 vision.

Leader of the Council, Cllr Ian Maher, said: “The Peer Review provided us with a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase Sefton and all the things we have done that we are proud of, despite difficult financial challenges. We are very much a listening Council, with clear ambitions for our communities and I’m glad that this has been recognised by the team.

“I know I’ve said it before but I must reiterate how amazed I am by how passionate and adaptable our workforce is despite constant change and how they continue to strive to provide the best services they can to our communities despite these challenges. I’m delighted that the Peer Review team have highlighted it in their report findings.

“Their independent check on how we are doings in terms of planning for and delivering for the future has provided us with confidence that we’re definitely on the right track. Their suggestions going forward will support us our continuous journey of improvement and will help us deliver the best services to local people.”

A Peer Review is not compulsory and provides an informed and independent assessment of a Council’s direction of travel and makes recommendations for its future improvement and learning.

The Peer Review team has suggested some areas for the Council to consider in the full feedback report, which includes prioritising the refresh of the core purpose, accelerating work on a local economic growth strategy and clearer parameters around commercialisation.

On Thursday, Cabinet will be asked to comment on the feedback received and authorise officers to develop an associated action plan to be considered by January 2019 Cabinet.

For a full copy of the report visit http://modgov.sefton.gov.uk/moderngov/ieListDocuments.aspx?MId=9379&x=1&

Sefton Council is once again supporting Small Business Saturday to honour the many impressive independent traders who set up shop in the borough.

Small Business Saturday, which takes place on November 30, is a grassroots campaign to celebrate and recognise the hard work and dedication of restaurateurs, family businesses, small scale manufacturers, online entrepreneurs and corner shops throughout the UK.

A spokesman for Sefton Council said: “We are delighted to be supporting Small Business Saturday and it gives us great pleasure to be able to help so many businesses keep their bills to a minimum through our business rates support.

“On Small Business Saturday, and throughout the year, we encourage as many people as possible to go out and support all types of small businesses in our thriving borough.

For more information about Small Business Saturday visit www.smallbusinesssaturday.co.uk.

Sefton’s registrars will continue to operate during the 2019 Christmas shutdown period.

Registrars will be available, via appointment only, to register a death in the borough at Southport Town Hall on:

December 24 (9.15pm – 3pm)
December 27 (9.15am-4pm)
December 30 (9.15am-4pm)
December 31 (9.15am – 3pm)

A limited number of marriage notice appointments will also be available during this period.

Waterloo Town Hall will be closed during the shutdown period.

For more information or to book an appointment call 0151 934 2012/2013/2011.