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Young People

Foster Care Fortnight Celebrations at the Strand Shopping Centre

6 May 2022
Charlene Smith
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Categories: Bootle Strand, Front Page, Latest News, One Vision Housing, Sefton Council, Sefton CVS, Young People, Your Sefton

It’s Foster Care Fortnight (9th – 22st May), the annual celebration which allows us to raise awareness about how fostering makes a real difference to children’s lives.

The theme for this year’s Foster Care Fortnight is #FosteringCommunities and we wanted to give the local community, businesses and services who are all part of our ‘Fostering Community’, the opportunity to hear first-hand, the heart-warming and exceptional experiences from people whose lives have been touched by fostering.

To do this, our friendly team, Sefton’s Foster Carers, and young people, will be at the Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle for 4 days for you to come and chat to us. We will also be bringing some great events and activities for you to get involved in so please come along.

Wednesday 18th May – Saturday 21st May

Strand Shopping Centre – Upper Level, Unit 165 Parkside (Next to JD Sports and opposite Greggs Bakers)

Events and Activities

Decorate a Feather for our Art Installation

Our #EverydayAngel campaign celebrates our foster carers, who are our #EverydayAngels and it also urges local people to think about giving a loving home to a child and become their #EverydayAngel.

In line with our campaign, we are excited to be developing an art installation which consists of hundreds of paper feathers which will make up a pair of larger angel wings. Our fostering families have already been making our individual feathers look beautiful and we are also inviting you to pop along to the Strand to decorate your own to be added to the display.

BE AN ANGEL

You can become part of our #EverydayAngel team by coming along and taking a selfie in front of the fabulous neon wing stand that we will be bringing to the Strand while we are there. Make your visit to us even more memorable by taking a snap of you and your friends to post on Instagram or Twitter.

 

Wednesday 18th, 10 – 4pm Drop in Anytime

Our friendly team including our foster carers will be on hand for you to drop in anytime and have a cup of tea and a chat. In your own time, you’ll be able to speak to experienced foster carers and the team about how to become a Foster Carer and the benefits that come with it.

Thursday 19th May, 10.30 – 12noon Open Discussion Q&A

You are invited to be part of an audience listening to a great panel of speakers including our foster carers, young people whose lives have been turned around and representatives from the Council who are supporting our fostering families.

The event will be introduced and led by Laura Knights, Sefton Council’s Head of Children’s Social Care.

Will also be playing a video we have produced with 14-year-old Jamie who is from Sefton and who is currently living in foster care. In this heart-warming video, Jamie shares his wishes and feelings past and present.

Friday 20th May 10 – 4pm Drop in Anytime

Another chance for you to meet our friendly team including our foster carers who will be on hand for you to drop in anytime and have a cup of tea and a chat.

In your own time, you’ll be able to speak to experienced foster carers and the team about how to become a foster carer and the benefits that come with it.

Saturday 21st May 11 – 1pm Weekend Info Session

If you’ve been thinking about fostering what better place to learn more than at our weekend information session.

Meet one of our amazing foster carers Dawn, and Amina, a young person who has experienced living in foster care and now lives with Dawn.

They are eager to share their story about how fostering has transformed their lives. You’ll also be able to speak to the team about how to become a foster carer and the benefits that come with it.

We would ask you to register your interest in our events so we have an idea of numbers.

Email fostering@sefton.gov.uk or call us on 0800 923 2777

Sefton urges people to think about fostering during LGBT+ Fostering and Adoption Week

10 March 2022
Charlene Smith
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Categories: Front Page, Latest News, Young People

This week we are celebrating LGBT+ Fostering and Adoption Week (7th – 13th March). We want to take this opportunity to encourage lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender+ people to think about giving a loving home to a child and foster with Sefton Council.

Sefton needs more foster carers from all backgrounds regardless of their sexuality, gender, single, married, in same-sex relationships, race, ethnicity or religion.

If you feel like you have space in your hearts and your home, then please get in touch with us.

For this year’s celebration, we are sharing Mark and Dave’s beautiful story. The couple have been fostering with Sefton for 15 years and say with the support and help from Sefton and the fostering community, becoming foster carers has been the best decision they have ever made.

Mark: At the moment we’ve got three foster children 6, 10 and 13. We also have other previous foster children who are still with us and are a massive part of our family.

Sometimes we have to count how many plates we need at the table and how many seats we need there is that many of us. That includes children their friends their partners, we’re just one big family and we love it.

Dave: We have different experiences of fostering children of all ages. It’s great to see the young ones coming through, they are such a delight. They’re learning and their minds are like sponges. They want to be loved and to be hugged and its beautiful.

When you’re looking after the teenagers you can really get stuck in with sports and games. We like the outdoors so it’s great for us to get out and about with them.

There’s never a shortage of one of them wanting to play a game of pool, badminton or have a rounders tournament in the back garden. Seeing them wanting to engage is heart-warming.

Mark: When our eldest came to us he was sad. We gave him the stability and support he needed during difficult teenage years. 10 years on and he’s working and he’s really doing well in his life and being in foster care hasn’t held him back because we’ve pushed him forward and encouraged him.

Dave: If anyone from the LGBT+ community is concerned or worried or apprehensive about fostering, please find out more. We started 15 years ago, and it has been an amazing journey we’ve never been held back, and we’ve always been encouraged to be the carers that we are today.

Mark: I completely echo what Dave has said. If you are thinking about fostering honestly it is one of the most rewarding things you can do. It can be challenging at times, but you are bringing happiness and life to children who actually need love, a good home and support.

Sefton’s Foster Carers are paid for their skills, receive full training and support, plus allowances.

Anyone who is thinking about fostering can find out more by speaking to one of the team or by visiting the dedicated website at https://seftonfostering.co.uk/ 

Or call the freephone number – 0800 923 2777

If anyone is thinking about adoption, please visit www.adoptioninmerseyside.co.uk.

Foster with your local authority in the Liverpool City Region

25 February 2022
Charlene Smith
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Categories: Front Page, Latest News, Sefton Council, Young People

The search continues for more foster carers to look after children and young people in the Liverpool City Region as part of a region-wide recruitment campaign.

Sefton has joined forces with Knowsley, Liverpool and St. Helens Council, to raise awareness about fostering with your Local Council.

The four authorities will be holding a joint virtual recruitment event on Tuesday 1st March at 6pm.

Applications to foster children and young people have declined significantly throughout the region since the start of the pandemic, yet there are nearly 3000 children looked after across the four authorities.

The need to find safe and loving homes for some of the most vulnerable children in our region is more important than ever before.

Cllr Mhairi Doyle MBE, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, said:

“It’s great to be joining Local Authorities across the City Region with one main purpose to appeal to local people to think about fostering. We need more carers to provide the support and stable homes that these young people need to really thrive.

“Fostering is so flexible and there are lots of different roles available to suit you and your family. You don’t need any special skills or qualifications. Foster carers just need to be able to provide a solid and reliable foundation for children and young people.

“If you are interested in fostering, then contact your Local Authority. You will benefit from the support and training we provide.”

The event on Tuesday 1st March will be an opportunity to learn about the process, benefits, support and training available when fostering with your Local Authority.

There will also be the opportunity to listen and chat to an experienced foster carer who will share their experiences of what fostering is like on a day-to-day basis and talk about why they are passionate about caring for local children as part of a local authority team.

You can join the meeting via the Zoom link Launch Meeting – Zoom

For more information about Fostering with Sefton please visit www.seftonfostering.co.uk or call free on 0800 923 2777.

Free bucket of balls for under 16s in half-term offer at Bootle Golf Course Driving Range

10 February 2022
Martin Driver
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Categories: Front Page, Green Sefton, Latest News, Young People

Golf balls spilling out of a basket.Under-16s will have the chance to try out the new driving range at Bootle Golf Course, for free during next week’s half-term holiday.

Between 9am and and 3pm from Sunday 13th to Sunday 20th February, under-16s accompanied by a paying adult will qualify for a free bucket of balls to hit.

Swing

Sefton Council opened the new, ÂŁ240,000, floodlit driving range at Bootle Golf Course on Monday 31st January. Players can use its 10-bays to practise their swing between 8am and 9pm Sunday to Friday and from 8am to 7pm on Saturdays.

Prices are just ÂŁ6 for 100 balls or ÂŁ4 for 50 and people can just turn up to the course shop, pay and play.

Great-value

Cllr Ian Moncur, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member Health and Wellbeing said: “One of the reasons we developed the new driving range was to give people new to golf, a chance to try it out so I’m delighted we can provide this great-value offer to under-16s, just weeks after its opening.”

Sefton Council’s built the new Bootle Golf Course after carrying out a consultation with golfers and local residents. People who responded supported the provision of better practise facilities at the Council-run course.

Positive feedback

Cllr Moncur added: “The new driving range will mean golfers in Sefton will be able to practise all year round and well into the evenings during the darker winter months when short days can make fitting a round in a bit difficult.

“I am pleased to see that despite the bad weather since we opened, we have had a steady stream of players at the driving range and some positive feedback.”

Bootle Driving Range has a dedicated coaching bay and the Council’s Green Sefton team will be advertising for a course professional to provide training.

Prices

Adult prices to play a round at Bootle Golf Course start at just £13. Information about Sefton Council’s Bootle and Southport Links courses, including prices, can be found at www.sefton.gov.uk/golf.

People can also contact the Bootle Golf course office on 0151 928 1371 to book tee times.

Last month, Sefton Council welcomed the news that the Cazoo Classic will be held at Hillside, on Sefton’s glorious Golf Coast, in July.

Sefton Council supporting Children’s Mental Health Week 2022.

8 February 2022
Martin Driver
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Categories: Front Page, Health, Latest News, Young People

Spread the Word ad for Children's Mental Health WeekSefton Council is joining the Borough’s CCGs and the CAMHS partnership in Sefton to support Children’s Mental Health Week 2022.

Taking place from Monday 7th to Sunday 13th February, this year’s Children’s Mental Health Week has a theme of ‘Growing Together’. Children and adults across the Borough are being asked to consider how they have grown, and how they can help others to grow.

In the UK, social workers have warned that since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of children with mental health problems has risen steeply. Official figures show a 25% increase as the effects of successive lockdowns and school closures take hold.

As many as one in six children and young people have a diagnosable mental health problem, and many more struggle with challenges from bullying to bereavement. Growing Together is about developing emotionally and using challenges and setbacks as starting point to adapt and trying new things.

Moving beyond our comfort zone into a new realm of possibility and potential but this emotional growth process is often a gradual one that sometimes leaves us feeling a bit ‘stuck’. That’s where the local support services can help.

The Council and its partners will be using the week to signpost links to the Borough’s mental health and emotional support services using the #SeftonGrowingTogether hashtag.

Find out about Sefton CAMHS.

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