Appeal for singers, writers, dancers and volunteers at 20th Prescot Festival

WITH the 20th Prescot Festival fast approaching, (21 June to 30 June 2024) organisers are eager to get even more local talent involved in the Town's annual celebration of arts and music.

Sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses of all experience levels are invited to join the 100-strong Prescot Festival Chorus for a:- 'Come & Sing' performance of Faur�'s Requiem on:- Saturday, 22 June 2024. The world-renowned Liverpool Cathedral Choir will go on to sing a programme of choral classics in the 2nd half of the concert. The event commemorates 2 significant centenaries:- in 1924 Requiem composer Gabriel Faur� died, and in the same year Liverpool Cathedral was consecrated.

Dancers of all ages are welcome to join the fun of the:- Festival Barn Dance on:- Thursday, 27 June 2024, at:- St. Paul's Church, Prescot. Live music will be provided by aptly-named local folk group:- 'Two Left Feet!'.

Entry to the 2024 Short Story Competition is still open. Unpublished writers living in any of the Liverpool City Region's 6 boroughs are asked to pen up to 1,000 words inspired by the phrase 'What a score!', reflecting the Festival reaching its 20th year. The competition deadline is Friday 31 May, and a �100 prize is on offer for the best story.

As ever, there are opportunities to help behind the scenes too. 'Friends of the Festival' are always needed to prepare venues; including:- Knowsley borough's only Grade I listed building, Prescot Parish Church�welcome visitors and ensure that the 10-day programme of:- arts, music, culture and entertainment flows as smoothly as possible.

Visit:- PrescotFestival.Co.UK for details of all opportunities, as well as the full programme of events, which this year includes Lancastrian brass ensemble Wingates Band (in their 150th year), Birkenhead-based musical theatre company BOST (fresh from their recent triumph in the musical:- The Sound of Music at Liverpool's Empire Theatre), South Liverpool Orchestra, Maghull Wind Orchestra, and other special guests.

The 20th Annual Prescot Festival of Music and the Arts runs from:- Friday, 21 June to Sunday, 30 June 2024 in the historic Lancashire Town of Prescot, Merseyside.

Ofsted praise improvements in Children's Services

OFSTED have praised the ongoing improvement work taking place in Liverpool City Council's Children's Services team.

A 2 day monitoring visit in March, the outcome of which has just been published, has concluded that the leadership team is continuing to:- "drive improvement with pace, determination and a strong sense of purpose" and that:- "timely progress is being made to improve the quality of services for children in need and children who are the subject of child protection plans."

Ofsted found that:-

The risk of harm to children is recognised more promptly than it was a year ago.
Children are seen more regularly by social workers.
Assessments of children's needs are completed in a timelier way.
The quality of assessments has shown signs of improvement since the first monitoring visit was undertaken in December 2023.
There has been a:- "significant reduction" in caseloads of social workers.

There is praise for the commitment and financial investment made by senior leaders to improve services for children, which is described as:- "tangible," with them:- "fully engaged in improvement activity."

Ofsted also found that staff:- "are positive about working in Liverpool and they feel well supported by their teams and managers," and reported they have:- "more time to develop as practitioners and to improve the quality of their work with children and families."

However, there is still inconsistency in the quality and impact of social work practice for children; some assessments are not consistently strong enough'; the quality of social work visits is:- "too variable," and there is work to do in demonstrating a clear understanding of improved outcomes for children, in assessing when support can be stepped down.

Child protection plans were found to:- "clearly identify areas of concern and they contain appropriate actions to respond to the needs of vulnerable children" but are sometimes too task-focused, although "there have been noticeable improvements in this area of practice since the inspection a year ago."

The full report can be found at:- Ofsted.Gov.UK.

As part of the Children's Services improvement journey, the Council is recruiting to a number of roles in its assessment, safeguarding and permanence teams. To find out more, and apply, visit:- Liverpool.Gov.UK.

Councillor Liz Parsons, Cabinet Member for Children's Services, said:- "There is no greater responsibility for a Council than caring for vulnerable young people, and driving improvements in Children's Services is our number 1 priority. A huge amount of time and effort is being devoted to making the changes necessary to deliver on our vision of excellent services, but we fully accept that despite the improvements made over the last year we still have a way to go. I would like to thank our staff who have embraced the changes we are making with such enthusiasm, and I am particularly pleased that the additional resources we have put in place are helping to reduce caseloads. The commitment that has been put in over the last 12 months is starting to pay dividends in improved outcomes for our most vulnerable young people."

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New laws to be introduced to prosecute dangerous cyclists

THE Government has agreed to introduce new laws so cyclists who kill or seriously injure because of dangerous cycling, or who kill through careless cycling, face the same penalties as drivers and motorcyclists who do so. Ministers have backed an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill, put forward by Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP, to introduce the:- 'Offence of causing death by dangerous, careless or inconsiderate cycling, and causing serious injury by careless or inconsiderate cycling.'

The Government will bring forward an updated amendment to the Bill as it enters the House of Lords where it will be further debated. Transport Secretary Mark Harper said:- "Most cyclists, like most drivers, are responsible and considerate. But it's only right that the tiny minority who recklessly disregard others face the full weight of the law for doing so. Just like car drivers who flout the law, we are backing this legislation introducing new offences around dangerous cycling. These new measures will help protect law-abiding cyclists, pedestrians and other road users, whilst ensuring justice is done. I would like to thank Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP for bringing forward this amendment, and to all the campaigners who have tirelessly highlighted this issue; this is in recognition of their efforts in particular."

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