Community Notices
Go wild for reading with Knowsley Libraries!
It's FUN! It's FREE! It's LOCAL!
Organised by The Reading Agency and the Public library network, the Summer Reading Challenge is the UK’s biggest annual reading promotion for children.
This year, they’ve teamed up with the World Wildlife Fund for a very special nature-themed challenge, Wild World Heroes, that will inspire children to take action for nature and the environment. With plenty of brilliant books to enjoy, the Challenge is the perfect summer activity to build young readers’ skills and confidence during the long break from school.
Aimed at children aged 4 – 11, Wild World Heroes is available in all Knowsley Libraries this summer and runs from Saturday 10th July – Saturday 11th September 2021.
How the Challenge works
Children sign up through their local library and receive a Wild World Heroes collector poster
Children borrow and read 6 library books of their own choice during the summer, collecting stickers and extra incentives along the way
Children who complete the Summer Reading Challenge receive a certificate and a medal
The official Challenge website, wildworldheroes.org.uk, hosts digital rewards, author videos, games and more for children to enjoy all summer
How do schools benefit?
The Summer Reading Challenge is intrinsically inclusive and can contribute to the achievement
of ALL your pupils including those with special educational needs and disadvantaged pupils
It enhances and supports your school’s reading policy and your mission for all children to read more widely and for pleasure
Children discover new authors and illustrators and explore a wide range of different types of books.
It encourages parental engagement and family involvement in reading and helps your school make links with the library and the wider community
It allows children to become more independent in their reading when choosing books and encourages using imagination and empathy to explore a text beyond the page
It keeps your pupils reading over the summer, ready for their return to school in the autumn, and supports the successful transition between year groups and key stages
The link below is an animated promotional trailer suitable for all the family.
Wild World Heroes, Summer Reading Challenge 2021 - YouTube
Yours sincerely,
Gerry Williams
Halewood Uni Wise - uniform exchange and swap
Dear parent/carer
You may know that an initiative between Halewood Town Council and our local churches operated the first uniform swap last summer and despite the difficulties around the Covid restrictions it was a success, with many parents from all the Halewood schools both donating and sourcing uniforms.
They are planning to repeat the initiative this year and will operate from St Mary’s Church which is on the corner of Leathers Lane and Hillingdon Ave, access is via the gate on Hillingdon Ave. They will be open for donations of good quality, laundered items of school uniforms and for collections by parents/carers of any school in Halewood each Saturday from July 3rd until August 21st between 10.30 – 12.00 am. They will also be open for donations only on June 26th.
Anyone is welcome to come and use this free service which aims to keep good quality clothing out of landfill by encouraging re-use of them.
They know how many families were really grateful for the chance to access this service last year from the feedback they had and are delighted that with help from volunteers they will be able to support Halewood families again this year. They welcome volunteers to help staff the swap shop too.
Plantation are very happy to support this fantastic initiative and will keep you all posted with future updates as they come out.
Many thanks
Knowsley Council are constantly looking at new ways to gather valuable feedback to improve our services. This year, we’re introducing POET, a survey which aims to evaluate SEND and EHCP support you have received.
What is POET?
POET Stands for Personal Outcomes Evaluation Tool and is an annual survey for children & young people, parents & carers, and professionals with each group having their own survey to complete.
This is your opportunity to share your experiences and feedback on any SEN or EHCP support you have received to help us understand what works well and what doesn’t work well.
The survey only takes 10 minutes, and your responses are anonymously sent to ‘In Control’ which is a charity working with the Department for Education who set up the survey. None of your responses or personal details are seen by the local authority.
Why should I complete POET?
The feedback you give will be used to develop and improve services, based on what matters to you.
POET is your opportunity to provide your views on what is working and what isn’t working and play an important part in shaping the future experiences of families.
Locally, we will use the results of this survey to monitor how we are doing and how we can make improvements. The information you give us will also be used in a national report to help improve the way things are done for others in England. You will not need to give any personal details and there will be no way of identifying individuals.
How do I complete POET?
There are multiple ways to complete the survey. The easiest is to access the survey online via the links below:
You can also download a PDF of the survey for you to print, complete and post back to us.
- Download a printable copy of the children & young person’s survey
- Download a printable copy of the parents & carers survey
- Download a printable copy of the professional’s survey
If you don’t have access to a printer, you can request a copy of the survey be sent to you by emailing sendadmin@knowsley.gov.uk.
Completed paper copies should be sent to:
POET Survey
SEND Team
Inclusion
Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council
PO Box 21
Archway Road
Huyton
L36 9YU
Where can I see the feedback you receive?
In Control create a report using the feedback received which we will then publish on the Knowsley Local Offer. If you prefer you can request a copy of the report by contacting poet@in-control.org.uk.
Where can I find out more information?
You can find information about POET on In Control’s website or by contacting us at send@knowsley.gov.uk or In Control at poet@in-control.org.uk.
If you would like to know more about the work of In Control or see previous Children and Young People’s POET reports you can visit their website at www.in-control.org.uk or contact them on 0121 474 5900.
NEW COURSES ON OFFER! - Knowsley Family Learning and Parenting Service
There are 3 new courses being offered.
- Love Your Money
- Ready for School
- Story Sacks.
Love your money is a 4-week course, 1 hour per week for parents/ carers of children up to the age of 7.
The course covers content to help parents to start healthy conversations with their children about being responsible with money.
We also cover content such as pester power and ways to deal with these issues.
Ready for School is a 3 week course, 1 hour per week targeting parents/ carers of children who are transitioning from Nursery into Reception.
This course is 3 weeks long and covers the basics of getting their child ready for school. We look at reading/ writing/ maths and general readiness for school.
Story Sacks is a 3 week course, 1 hour per week for parents/ carers of children from Nursery-Year 2. The parents/ carers will be provided with all of the resources to make their own simple story sack, including a good quality early reading book along with puppet and game making resources. Each week we will focus on one topic.
Attached are all of the leaflets.
We hope you find these useful.
