News reports located on this page = 3.

Giants duo honoured by Merseyside Police

THE Duo behind Liverpool's biggest ever free event have been awarded 1 of the top honours from both Merseyside Police. Liverpool City Council's Susan Lees and Jen Falding, who both work within the Culture Liverpool team, have received the prestigious, Chief Constable's Commendation; for their role in organising the Giant spectacular, Liverpool's Dream.  The honour recognises an exceptional contribution that has been made to the City or the wider City Region. They were nominated by Superintendent Mark Morgan who acknowledged the tireless effort they invested in the event, working with partners across the City Region to ensure it was safe and incredibly well organised. In his nomination he notes that:- 'despite huge crowds, there were no reported injuries or increase in crime' and 'a huge amount of positive public engagement has been seen.'

The event which took place from 4 October to 7 October 2018, brought in 1.3million visitors to Liverpool and Wirral, and generated a massive ₤60.6m for the local economies.  Susan was the Event Manager, which meant she oversaw every single operational element. Susan Lees said:- "A year ago we were sat in an office, on the rehearsal site; tensions were pretty high, as they always are before a major event, as we were planning everything down to the last second to make sure this was an unforgettable event for all the right reasons. So twelve months on, I was shocked and humbled when I was told about the award! It was a huge team effort and the way the City took the Giants to their hearts will stay with me forever. This was the 1st time I had been the lead event manager on the Giants, and it was an exhausting, exhilarating experience. Now the dust has settled I can appreciate how huge it was, and would do all over again, but I don't think my family would be too happy!"

Jen was the Project Manager whose main task was to co-ordinate the complex relationship between the French team, Royal de Luxe, and the 55 agencies involved in the mammoth event.  Jen Falding said:- "I'm very proud and very surprised! We are representing the wider Giants team as well as all the City partners who came together to make Liverpool's Dream possible. I'm lucky enough to have worked on all three Giants events, but to be part of the finale, which will go down in the City's history, is amazing. The logistics are really off the scale in terms of everything you have to manage including road closures, security and transport. It's always a tricky project to work on, as having Giants explore the streets of the Region will inevitably lead to disruption; but the response from residents, businesses and visitors was overwhelmingly positive."

Liverpool's Dream, which was funded by Liverpool City Region Combined Authority through their Single Investment Fund, has gone on to scoop several awards in the recent months. This includes being named:- 'Best Visual Spectacular 2018,' by the Event Production Awards; which is regarded as the:- 'event Oscars.'

They received the Chief Constable's Commendation on Friday, 13 September 2019, at an event in Aintree Racecourse. 

Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Culture, Tourism and Events, Councillor Wendy Simon, said:- "Jen and Sue are 2 very well deserving recipients of this accolade, and their tireless work behind the scenes resulted in the incredible piece of street theatre enjoyed by more than a million people. It's a real honour for our staff to be recognised by the Chief Constable in this way; it truly was a team effort and there was a huge number of City Council teams involved, as well as all our external partners who made Liverpool's Dream possible. As a spectator, these events appear seamless which is testament to the experience and dedication of all of those involved. I'd like to congratulate Jen and Sue, and the whole Giants team, on this honour."

For more information on what the Liverpool City Region has to offer and also about Culture Liverpool, visit:- CultureLiverpool.Co.UK.

NSPCC urges Primary Schools to help children stay safe from abuse

Primary Schools across the UK yet to receive a visit from the NSPCC's free:- 'Speak out. Stay safe.' programme are being urged to sign up as soon as possible. In 2018/19 the charity visited nearly 8,000 Schools, from the Cornish coast to the Scottish isles, and delivered workshops to almost 1.8 million children, helping them understand how to recognise and report abuse in an accessible and age appropriate way.

In the North West, the children charity's volunteers visited 843 Primary Schools and spoke to 207,874 children in the last academic year alone. 87% of Primary Schools in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have welcomed the NSPCC's free programme, but the charity wants the 3,500 Schools nationwide that are yet to receive the programme to get in touch with them.  Schools can request an NSPCC School visit via the NSPCC Learning website.

In the average Primary School class, at least 2 children have suffered abuse or neglect, making it vitally important that all Primary Schools help to equip their children with the knowledge and skills to speak up if something is wrong.

The 'Speak out. Stay safe.' assemblies and workshops will also help to reinforce key lessons about abuse and neglect that will be compulsory for all Primary Schools in 2020, as part of the Relationships Education curriculum. This will require all Schools to ensure that children know how to report concerns or abuse and have the vocabulary and confidence to do this by the time they go to Secondary School.

Mum Caroline's 7 year old son Luke* was sexually abused by a 13 year old friend of the family when staying at his dad's house. She said:- "If it hadn't been for the Speak out. Stay safe. assembly, I honestly think the abuse would still be happening. The Schools Service needs to keep happening so that children understand what is right and wrong. It gave my son the words to articulate what had happened to him and to be able to say it was not ok."

Karen Squillino, Head of Schools Service at the NSPCC said:- "It can be difficult for teachers and parents to know how to tackle this sensitive but incredibly important subject. Through our Speak out. Stay safe. programme we talk to children about the different types of abuse and let them know there are people out there who can help them.  This new School term we want to encourage any Schools that have not received a visit from us to sign up, so that we can empower as many children as possible to recognise and report any worries they have."

'Speak out. Stay safe.' is delivered by NSPCC staff and trained volunteers to pupils aged between 5 and 11 years old, with tailored workshops available for Special Schools. A friendly NSPCC mascot Buddy helps children to understand they can speak to a trusted adult or contact Childline if they're worried for themselves or a friend.

* The Childs name have been changed at request of the NSPCC die to child protection issues.

Thomas Cook in race to raise funds

ALL travel firms, like easyJet, Tui (formerly Thomson Holidays) and Thomas Cook, in the UK are experiencing 'turbulent' times in this period of Brexit uncertainty. Add to that the problems with Boeing aircraft and unusually warm weather that we have had recently within the UK and Northern Europe, plus many other issues, including terrorism, the cost of fuel increasing, and it has now become the perfect storm. Many travel companies are on the road towards collapse. This rare combination of circumstances along with Brexit, has pushed the travel operator, Thomas Cook, who are the world's oldest holiday firm, into a race against time. The already severe weakness within UK holiday bookings, thanks to the unusual climate means it currently requires an additional ₤200 million of funding to save its 178 year old empire from plummeting into administration and the potential loss of 20,000 jobs worldwide! The consequences should it be forced to place itself into administration will again raise more concerns about the slowdown due to changes in way people shop and support for businesses on our high streets. But don't let this put you off booking your holiday, as those booking holidays with Thomas Cook Tour Operations should take comfort in the fact it's registered with Atol (number 1179) so that would help you get your costs back, should the worst case happen. Also those not covered by the Atol scheme, can also contact your their card company or if you have taken out insurance, your travel insurer. What are your views on this? Please email them to us via:- News24@SouthportReporter.Com and let us know.