What age do Liverpool residents attend the most weddings?

IF you're 30 and live in Liverpool, the chances are you have been to a wedding this year as a recent report has found that it's at this age you attend the most. A study, by One4all Gift Cards has found that 30 year old Liverpudlians have on average 3 weddings a year to attend, forking out on average ₤1,893 to celebrate friend's nuptials each year. The average budget for a wedding gift in Liverpool was revealed at ₤35, with 77% of wedding guests spending up to ₤50 on a gift for the happy couple. The research found that 23% of generous gifters spend over ₤50 whilst 20% confessed to giving no gift at all. 25% of Liverpool adults polled said the cost of a wedding can escalate, while 10% claim that attending a wedding is just too expensive. 13% of Liverpool respondents admitted to having to make sacrifices to afford wedding attendance, with 4% forgoing their annual holiday and the same number even turning down other social occasions in a bid to celebrate nuptials. June, July and August, were all found to be the most popular months for weddings within the Liverpool City Region, while January, October and November were found to be the least popular for tying the knot. Aoife Davey, Group Marketing Manager at One4all Gift Cards, commented:- "Wedding invitations often seem to come in 2's or 3's and it's interesting to see that it's those aged 30 who receive the most. This research demonstrates just how much time and money celebrating your loved ones nuptials can take, particularly with the majority of celebrations taking place over the summer months. Despite this, it's wonderful to see how many of us are so generous when it comes to gifting the happy couple."

Southport School Children Urged to Drive Awareness of Road Safety

THE hunt is on to find the UK's finest budding junior artists to mark:- 'National Road Safety Week,' running over 18 November to 24 November 2019.  For the 11th year running, promotional products, badges and School uniform specialist, Recognition Express, has joined forces with national road safety charity, Brake, to host its annual design a road safety banner competition.

Primary School children aged 4 to 11 have been tasked to create a design for a road safety banner drawn from this year's:- 'Road Safety Week' theme:- 'Step Up for Safe Streets.' To get involved in Road Safety Week and participate in this year's design a road safety banner competition, visit:- ReSchools.Co.UK. The closing date for entries is Friday, 11 October 2019.

Winners will receive a special award along with a large scale printed banner featuring their design to display outside their School during Road Safety Week. In addition, there's a high visibility reflector gift for every pupil in the School.

Since the competition launched in 1998, Recognition Express has seen thousands of entries from across the UK, all demonstrating children's knowledge of the importance of road safety. Said Steve Bibby, director of Recognition Express North West based in Southport:- "Road Safety Week aims to inspire thousands of Schools, organisations and communities to take action and promote road safety awareness during the week and beyond and it is a privilege to be involved. Our competition is a fantastic opportunity to engage primary School children and help establish good road safety sense for years to come. We look forward to receiving some really creative designs and can't wait to see what primary School children in Southport will come up with."

Every 20 minutes, someone is killed or seriously injured on a British road and each of these tragedies is preventable. This Road Safety Week encourages everyone to learn about, shout about and celebrate the amazing design-led solutions that will allow us all to get around in safe and healthy ways, every day.

Tenants in the North West reveal most desirable attributes in a rental property

A home being pet friendly is the most desirable attribute in a rental property, according to research by buy to let focussed marketplace lender, Landbay. The study delves into the psyche of 2,000 private renters in the UK, offering insight to landlords on the wants and needs of their tenants.

The research found that 14% of renters in the UK rated:- 'pets being allowed in the property' as their most important requirement. In the North West the most desirable is also pets allowed, at 14% matching the national average; the most pet friendly Region is the North East (27%), and the least is London, with just 3% ranking it top of the list. Women are more than twice as likely (18%) as men (8%) to prioritise a pet-friendly property.

The 2nd most popular attribute in North West is off street parking, followed by unfurnished homes. In the UK, a home which is unfurnished comes 2nd, with 12% of renters saying this is the most desirable attribute. Perhaps tellingly, renters aged 55 and above (22%) are 5 times more likely to consider an unfurnished property as crucially important than those aged between 18 and 34 (4%).

A garden was 3rd, with 11% of renters rating outdoor space as their most important attribute. Parents (15%) are more than twice as likely to prioritise a garden compared to non-parents (7%.)

Having a dryer came bottom of the list of most desirable attributes in the UK with just 1% of renters considering it key to their home. A king-sized bed, a balcony, and a dishwasher also polled just 1%. In North West, the bottom 3 were a dishwasher, a balcony, and a garage.

Deborah Mudway, Director, Landbay comments:-  "This will make interesting reading for landlords, who could be forgiven for believing little luxuries like a dishwasher, dryer and even a king sized bed make all the difference for tenants. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Landbay is investing in a research series to help landlords understand tenants and opportunities within the private rental sector. This edition shows renters value 2 key attributes above all others that are fundamentally free to bring in. In short, they want to make their property feel like home by bringing both pets and their own furniture with them. The reality is, aside from a deeper clean at the end of a tenancy, this really isn't hard for landlords to implement. Essentially, landlords knowing what renters want can make for a happier, more prosperous relationship which benefits both parties in the long run."

Celebrate the work of Teaching Assistants on 16 September

SchoolS couldn't function with them, but what do they actually do? Former primary School teacher Catherine Lynch of teaching resource experts PlanBee explains ahead of National Teaching Assistants' Day. If your child is at primary School, chances are that 1 of their favourite adults, alongside their teachers, is a Teaching Assistant (TA). That's why a day to recognise, and celebrate, the work of these sometimes hidden heroes of the classroom is the very least they deserve. So stand by for National Teaching Assistants' Day, that will be held on 16 September! Now that we have an Education Secretary whose wife, a former teacher, now works as TA, this may be their moment in the sun. A teaching union leader has said that Gavin Williams, 'has an empathy around the role of teaching assistants which is unusual and very welcome.'  There's no doubt that TAs are appreciated by the Schools where they work and are recognised as an incredibly valuable source of support, with 96 percent of Headteachers believing that TAs add value to their School. But who are TAs, how many are there, and what do they actually do? They account for 28% of the overall state funded School workforce. In primary Schools, TAs often act as a general support to the whole class. They may rotate around different groups of pupils, just as the teacher does. This means pupils of all abilities get some time with a teacher and some with a TA. Some TAs work specifically with pupils with special educational needs (SEND), those with English as an Additional Language (EAL) who have recently moved to the UK, and Looked After Children (LAC) in the care system. They also make a big contribution to behaviour management, which means that your child's learning isn't interrupted by disruptive children. Their role is an immensely versatile 1. It seems to get bigger every year, with more responsibilities added all the time. They are often asked to cover lessons and there is evidence that TAs are used to plug gaps caused by teacher shortages.  Whatever the pressures, there is no doubt that TAs help teachers be more effective educators. They provide an essential contribution to any School and help children to be happy, productive and successful. So why not join us on National Teaching Assistants' Day to celebrate and give thanks to all the TAs out there for everything they do!  Check out the lovely things that people say about TAs and find out more about what's happening on 16 September 2019, at:- NationalTeachingAssistantsDay.Co.UK.