Liverpool's Camp and Furnace transforms into haunted asylum this Halloween

CAMP and Furnace is set to unveil a hidden asylum, inviting scare seekers the chance to tour its spooky hallways… That is if they dare. The Liverpool based venue has teamed up with award winning:- 'Scare Projects UK' for an 11 day Halloween event that promises a spine tingling, pulse racing experience. Set towards the rear of the building behind some previously sealed up walls lies:- 'The Asylum,' an old, but very much active institute. Visitors will be taken on a terrifying:- 'scaremaze' as they come face to face with the inmates eternally held there. Not for the faint hearted, The Asylum is open to those 14 years old and over, running from 24 October until 3 November 2019, with 3 sessions in operation each evening. And, for the younger Halloween fans and families, Scare Projects has also created Candy Cavern, a daytime haven of all things spooky.  Run in association with Kids Cavern and Mini Madams, it will include activities such as mask making, slime making, a Halloween mini cinema, spooky story telling sessions, Monster Ball disco, dance classes and Halloween themed arts and crafts.

Paul Speed, managing director at Camp and Furnace, said:- "We're incredibly excited to have Scare Projects UK on board for Halloween, it's the 1st time we've held an event like this and we can't wait to unveil what we have in store. Whether you're looking to scare yourself silly with The Asylum or entertain the kids during half-term, there really is something for everyone, so we're looking forward to kicking things off."

The Asylum runs from 24 October until 3 November, with 3 2 sessions per day. The Candy Cavern runs from 26 October until 3 November 2019, with 3 2 hour sessions each day. For more information, visit:- ScareProjects.Com.

Lack of qualified Swimming Teachers having an impact with the sport within the North West

A survey carried out by STA shows that difficulties in recruiting trained Swimming Teachers are continuing to create widespread problems for many Swim Schools across the North West of England; with more than ½ of Swim Schools saying this is also impacting on the opportunity for children and adults to learn how to swim in the Region.

The 2019 Industry Swimming Teachers Recruitment Survey by STA found that nearly a ½ (42%) of all respondents with Swim Schools in the North West, operating, within both the public and private sector, have a waiting list for lesson spaces, and 83% (1 of the highest in the country) said they could not find appropriately qualified swimming teaching staff to meet this demand; highlighting the dire need for more Swimming Teachers.

This latest study, designed to understand how widespread of an issue Swimming Teacher recruitment is in the UK, is being used to monitor and benchmark against similar research that was undertaken by STA in 2015 and then in 2018.

The 2019 research indicates the recruitment situation is relatively static, no worse or no better than 12 months ago, which gives continual cause for concern and especially where its impacting on children not being able to access local swimming lessons and learn a vital key lifesaving skill as a result.

Kaylë Brightwell, Head of Qualification Development at STA said:- "Recruitment continues to be a widespread problem and causes many operational issues for Swim Schools; from them not being able to cope with demand, being forced to cancel swimming lessons and longer waiting lists, which all impacts on their future growth. For STA, the issue of recruitment and how it's impacting on the opportunity for children to learn how to swim, a key life skill, remains our biggest concern and especially when you consider that less and less children are actively participating in Primary School swimming programmes which is pushing even more demand onto Swim Schools. Unfortunately, the issue is also being further compounded in the private sector by the fact that many Swim Schools already find it difficult to cope with the increased demand for lessons because of pool time availability and a limited number of swimming pools. Increased Swim School competition is also perpetuating the skills shortage; over the last 10 to 15 years, the number of new private Swim Schools that have opened has increased exponentially. As an industry we have a big job to do in attracting new people to the industry, which is why we are raising awareness about the all benefits of becoming a professional Swimming Teacher around World Teachers' Day and the 2019 theme 'Young Teachers:- The future of the profession.' It's a profession that offers flexible teaching hours to fit around a person's lifestyle with good rates of pay; great for parents who want a better work / life balance for example and students, as STA's qualifications are internationally recognised so are transferable abroad too. As the research shows there are countless opportunities for employment as well, with nearly ⅔ of UK Swim Schools currently looking to recruit qualified Teachers and ¾ prepared to financially invest in professional training for non qualified candidates." Plus there is the incredible job satisfaction you get from teaching an incredible and important life skill."

To find out more about becoming a professional Swimming Teacher and to find a local course, please visit:- STA.Co.UK.