■July 2005
Providing • bridge maintenance
paths
www.lancashire.gov.uk www.lancashire.gov.uk NEWS IN Train-ed
snappers ACE snappers could win cash prizes for scenic photographs taken on the route of the Settle-Carhsle
p 6 -" T i '1 F 'T r r r p U y k i f A s U y P I(I b k : : s ^ ^ u l i G
Lancashire Children’s Fund has worked with its project The Grove Holiday Activity Scheme and asked them to put together this article to introduce the Chairman, Canon Chris Rich, to all Vision readers.
We want to know... What is Lancashire Chiidren’s Fund for?
Canon Chris Rich; Lancashire Children’s Fund is part of the Government's way of investing in young peopie between the ages of 5 and 13. in Lancashire we’ve brought together a whole bunch of organisaflons and individuals to devise ways of deciding a fair way of making sure the money is put where it can do the most work..
Are there any young people, aged 15, who help to run Lancashire Chiidren’s Fund?
Canon Chris Rich: it is important to Lancashire Chiidren’s Fund that young people’s views are expressed and acted upon. This is something we spend a lot of time and effort in doing and it means going to speak to young people and asking them to advise us in all aspects of our work. We are always looking for ways for children and young people to participate in and influence the work that we do. In fact the work that you are doing today, interviewing me and then putting the article together tomorrow. Is one way of doing just that. This summer we’ll be planning how we can take account of young people’s views to influence the future in delivery of children’s services.
How did you become Chairman?
Canon Chris Rich; Initially a Lancashire County Council Officer chaired the Partnership but there came a time when they could not do It anymore. Volunteers from, Partnership members were requested and I think I ran away the slowest! Seriously though, I think
they wanted someone who spoke up cleariy about how things shouid be worked out and I think I was seen as someone who could do that.
Is it your only job?
Canon Chris Rich: No, it is a voluntary job. I have got a full time day ;
job as Director of Social Responsibility with the :• Church of England. •
*^3’’ Chairing the Lancashire Children’s Fund Partnership be stressful?
Canon Chris Rich; It can be but on the whole it is not too stressful. You can imagine chairing a meeting when people know that projects they are involved with may lose their funding completely that they get upset about it, so I do try to pull the Partnership together and look at what we are achieving right across Lancashire.
Did you attend any youth groups when you were young?
Canon Chris Rich; Yes I did, in fact I ended up running a youth group when I was 19, with some support That got me really interested in youth and community work. I think most of my work is shaped by my youth and community work and community development training.
Do you have a different personality at • home from at work?
Canon Chris Rich; i try to be the same person wherever I am, but at the end of the day when i'm at work I am responsible for many young people right across the county.
What we say...
This is what the young people say about The Grove Holiday Activity Scheme
%, ’I do lots of things that I could not do anywhere else and attending the Grove Holiday Activity Scheme heips me gain a iot of confidence.’
% 'What I do at the Grove Holiday Activity Scheme teaches me to be more responsible.’
^ ’It helps people to care about each other.’
‘What I have learned, at the Grove Holiday Activity Scheme has helped me make life
. decisions. I have decided to go and study healthcare at coilege.’
'I love helping with planning and making decisions about what we do.’
’I enjoy helping planning the activities and I feei my opinion is valued.’
‘I have become more confident since I started at the Grove.'
‘Summer holidays wouid be boring without the Grove Holiday Activity Scheme.’
JS Children's Fund the children’s charity Lancashire Children's Fund is administered by NCH - The Children's Charity (registered charity number 1097940).
If you are considering seeking funds from LCF please note that all Children's Fund monies are now allocated until March 2008. Any future announcements will be posted on our website.
H '
rail line. DalesRail trains
depart from Blackpool, Preston, Blackburn and Clitheroe - the route is ideal for a Sunday day trip. Winning photographs,
which can cover land scape, heritage, architec ture and lifestyle, can win photographic equip ment vouchers to the . value of £250. The Sunday service
runs over the summer imtil 16 October and links to special buses to nearby towns and vil lages. Brochures on the service and the photo competition from 01200 429832 or visit:
www.dalesrail.com
Showtime specials
COUNTY council services will be highlighted to the thousands of peo ple forecast to attend the Royal
Lancashire Show. The annual block buster will be staged
Children who benefit from Lancashire Children’s Fund’s 89 county>wide projects say: -
listen 2 me
to everyone responsible for delivering children’s services in Lancashire such as Lancashire Counciliors, MPs, MEPs, PCT workers and more. You know who you arel Lancashire Children’s Fund has teamed up with Rock FM's Help a Local Child Charity to raise funds for children right across Lancashire by selling one of these wristbands. They will be available towards the end of July from your local Spar. Keep
tuned in to Rock FM on 97.4 FM for more details. Lancashire Children's Fund is currently evaluating its projects and listening to children giving their views on the services available to them and how they are delivered in the county. We wili let you know what they think soon, with the interim evaiuation report being submitted to the Lancashire Children’s Fund Partnership in September and being published in the autumn.
So make sure you all listen 2 me
The Grove Holiday Activity Scheme is jointly funded by Lancashire County Council Youth and Community Services and Lancashire Children’s Fund.
0 )
from 26 to 28 July in Ribchester. X-antMishire County Council trans port staff have negoti ated to lay on extra buses fi-om Blackburn to avoid congestion. Service number 45,
which already runs once every two hoiurs between Blackburn and Ribchester, will run every hoim during showtime. Another service already links Clitheroe to Ribchester.
Free maps
LANCASHIRE . schools win soon he receiving free maps thanks to a new
project. The Geographic
Information System for Schools project will pro vide the maps as a learn ing aid in National Curriculum subjects.
Providing • mus eums » recycling July 2005 Bureaucracy bonfire in £15m efficiency drive
A MASSIVE £15m is to be spent on improving Lancashire County Council services - without a sin gle penny being added to Council
Tax biUs. The money will be axed from the coun
cil’s existing annual cost base and then reinvested to improve frontline seivices.
The major efficiency drive involves
providing managers with better cost and service information to get more “bang per buck”. Public sector costs sparked a major row in the May general election - but Lancashire County Council’s “Gershon” savings were already planned. County Councillor Chris Cheetham, Cabinet member for Adult and
Community Services, said: “This is noth ing to do with reducing services. It is all about spending money more wisely and knowing precisely what we are spending on what service. ‘The old approach meant an increase
in workload would usually have been met with an increase in staff levels. That may or may not be needed in future and
having improved information will help in making that decision. “The money saved will be ploughed
back into improved services. One thing we are doing, for example, is using fewer suppliers — suppliers we know are reli able. It means we generate less paper work and bureaucracy, with the result ing savings benefiting the public.”
Exams: schools aim to pass
Drive is on to help every school past five-GCSE barrier
EDUCATION bosses in Lancashire have set themselves the ambitious goal of ensuring that EVERY school beats chal
lenging new exam targets. By summer 2006, the aim is that no school in the entire
county should see less than 28 per cent of pupils achieve five GCSE passes at grades A-C - compared to a nationwide tar get of just 25 per cent. Everyone will be a winner if pupils jrerform better.
'■■’" ‘GinhamDuhni'headdf I^ncashire’s &hool Effectiveness Service, said: ‘There are only a small number of schools not hitting this target, but we are determined to see none at all in the future. “It is one of the most important targets we could aim at
. --r- ....• '' •' ■
as such a pass rate is the gateway to higher education and a brighter future for yoimg people. “It opens the way to better careers and higher incomes.
All the evidence suggests that low incomes and low attain ment levels lead to a poorer quality of life. It is vital that every single one of our schools get children off to a good start in life. A school-by-school study of Lancashire exam passes in
2002 revealed that eight schools were not passing the bar rier. That has since dropped to six. One-to-one coaching and mentoring is now being offered
to “borderline” pupils in relevant schools, together with a widened curriculum to enthuse pupils. Extra funding is already being offered to schools and
extra homework clubs and after-school activities are being organised. “For some children, of course, , leaving school with any
qualification at all is a huge achievement,” Graham added. “We also have to accept that different catchment areas
mean differing levels of achievement - but we cannot use that as an excuse for failure. “We cannot be writing off the life chances o f any young
people at the age of 16. The rewards of this extra effort are considerable, both in terms of cash for schools and a proper start in life for children.”
Meet the experts to stoiy
BEWARE of using household detergent when cleaning your
antique furnitiue and paintings. , The results can be ruinous - and expen
sive - according to Lancashire County Council’s conservation manager. Heather Davis has seen some amateur
horror stories in her 20 years restoring ancient artefacts. From next spring no one will have an excuse as she and her team will be sharing their professional secrets with the public in a purpose-built conservation centre for Lancashire.
'
“Thousands of people love antiques and we will be running classes for everyone,”
-{,1V The Lancashire Children's Fund Is a partnership of statufo^, voluntary arid community sector agendes that is responsible for the strategic direction of the Children’s Fund programme in the county coundl area.
she said. “The St Mary’s Centre in Preston will be
mainly for the county council’s profession^ restoring service which has expertise in everythnrg fixrm Egyptian mummies to
ancient carpets, clothing and paintings. “But it is only right that we share our
experience through classes, if only to avoid people ruining Lancashire’s heritage!” Heather’s team is also behind a £5,000
investment in conservation books that can be viewed as reference material in libraries. ‘The classes will be an ideal way to com
plement the book-based learning,” she sard. “We will also be rurming separate ‘class
es’ for children who love learning ‘horrible history’ if it is presented properly. “Restorers, for example, used to use a pig
ment that came from cow dung and every one knows how children love things such a s' Egyptian mummies.” The rrationally important centre, in a
redimdant church, is funded by Lancashire County Council with grants from the Regional Development Agency and the Heritage Lottery Fimd.
Youngsters with five or more A-C passes will he equipped for better careers while the Local Education Authority ivill gain at least £1M of Whitehall cash to invest in county schools.
•THREE stars in one school: from left, Helen Belbin, Helena Townley and Rose Starkie excelled in teaching awards. Judges wowed by the Dallas all-stars
STAFF at Dallas Road Primary School, in Lancaster, showed they are top of the class after scooping a hat-trick of honours in the North West
Tfeaching Awards 2005. Helena Tbwnley was named
'Ifeaching Assistant of the Year, Rose Starkey received a distinction in the Tfeacher of the Year in a Primary School category, while headteacher
Extra help for Pendle children
PEOPLE working in early years and childcare in Pendle are the first in the county to be offered a new resource loan service designed
especially for them. Local Sure Start pro
grammes and Braiey and Whitefield, Brierfield and Walverden, Water- bridge and Walton Lane Children’s Centres as well as Lancashire County Council’s Children First Resource Centre are tcarrring up to make it easier to borrow the range of resources available. Lancashire is one of a
handful of local authori ties in Britain equipped to deliver the comprehen sive loan service which includes toys, hooks and topic-based equipment.
Helen Belbin accepted a commenda tion in the -Award for Healthy Schools. County Councillor Alan Whittaker,
Cabinet member for Schools, said: “It is a tremendous achievement. • “We had five other honours at the
ceremony which reflects much hard work and dedication.” Other Lancashire wiimers were
Colin Crabtree, St Joseph’s RC Primary School, (Tfeacher of the Year in a Primary School) and Graham
Hewetson, Ashton Community Science College (Lifetime Achievement). Natasha Davies-Puddy, Ashton
Community Science College (Outstanding New 'Ifeacher), Michael Flynn, All Hallows RC High School (Headteacher of the Year in a Secondary School) and Elaine Jackson, Ormskirk School, (Tfeacher of the Year in a Secondary &hool) all received distinctions.
A59 BURSCOUGH TO TARLETON Laiu^ashire County Council WORK STARTS HERE
25th JULY FOR 24 WEEKS Delays Pq^ible"
L
starting on 25th July 2005 for approximately 24 weeks, Lancashire County Council will be resurfacing the A59 through Burscough (approx. 8 wks.) and installing a new street lighting network (approx. 24wks). The resurfacing works will extend from the A5209, Square Lane, to Warpers Moss. The street lighting works will stretch from the A5209, Square Lane, through the village centre, northwards towards Tarleton.
•The wotks will be confined to Monday-Friday ‘off-peak’ hours (0915- 1600hrs) and Sunday (no time restrictions). No work will be carried out on Saturdays
• Traffic will be controlled by temporary traffic signals or ‘stop and go’ boards .
• The road will not be closed • An alternative route for through traffic will be suggested • Moderate to severe delays can be expected.
County Council http://wwv/
.lancashire.gov.uk/environmentfenv_highways/roads/schemes.asp
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