Calling all teachers, former teachers, and individuals with a background or interest in education! North East Lincolnshire Council is seeking volunteers to become School Appeals Panel members, hearing cases from both the school and the parents or carers.
Not all children secure a place at their preferred school so it is important that there is an independent body to consider appeals and make balanced judgements which make a difference.
The role is voluntary, with reimbursement for reasonable travel and lunch expenses. New panel members will receive the necessary training and support to be able to fulfil this responsibility and have the opportunity to exercise their skills and meet like-minded people along the way.
NELC particularly wants to hear from people who are educationalists who can also bring their expertise to the panel, but each panel consists of individuals with a background in education and individuals without, so please do not be discouraged from applying even if your experience lies in a different sector.
There are no set requirements for minimum availability, and the role can work around existing commitments. The average panel member participates in 10-15 hearing dates a year.
If you’re interested, and you have some time to spare, please get in touch as this is a very worthwhile role.
Work started this week to refurbish the current sports court in Grant Thorold Park.
The Grant Thorold ‘PlayZone’ multi-use games area (MUGA) will deliver the full refurbishment of the existing tarmacked sports area in the park, and will include basketball hoops, benches, goals, fencing and LED floodlighting.
The PlayZone Programme is aimed at tackling inequalities in physical activity and access to facilities. Its aim is to focus on funding community-led spaces, with an emphasis on refurbished safe and accessible mini pitches that will allow groups to be more active.
With a pitch size of approximately 30 by 20 metres, the PlayZone will have line marking for football and basketball games.
The emphasis is on ‘free to use’ community access, with a booking system to ensure fairness and safety. The PlayZone will also offer the opportunity for more formal sessions to be held, where groups can book for a small fee.
The current sports court will be taken out of use for the duration of the works. Site deliveries are expected in the first week, and ground works and construction thereafter. Heras fencing will be installed around the site while works are ongoing for safety reasons.
Additionally, in the early weeks, the large tree that currently overhangs the court will have the canopy lifted to allow room below for the new fencing and floodlights. Checks will be done before any works are done to the tree to make sure there are no nesting birds.
The planning application for this development was approved earlier this year.
As final preparations are made for Cleethorpes Armed Forces Weekend, North East Lincolnshire Council has reminded people that more public toilets than ever will be available – both for that weekend and the on-coming holiday season.
Ahead of the new development, which will include permanent toilet facilities, 23 portable toilets, including two facilities for people with disabilities are being brought into Cleethorpes on Thursday ahead of the resort’s highlight event of the year next weekend. They will remain for the summer.
The facilities will be provided by local company Lincs Loos, who will also be responsible for daily emptying and cleaning. They will be placed in Pier Gardens, near the old toilet block on Sea Road, which has been closed ahead of demolition as part of the redevelopment of that area of the resort.
The toilets in Grant Street have also been recommissioned and re-opened, so along with the Sea Road temporary facilities, there will be more toilets than before.
For Armed Forces weekend, there are other toilet facilities being brought in by other private businesses, as well as some at the rear of Knoll St Car Park.
People are reminded there are also public toilets are also available at St Peter’s Avenue, Kingsway and the Boating Lake. Many food and beverage outlets also have facilities that can be used by paying customers.
A NEW initiative to encourage fostering by North East Lincolnshire Council has seen its first school join.
Waltham Toll Bar Academy has agreed to become a ‘Foster Friendly’ employer, committing to support staff who are already foster carers, or those who may choose to become so in the future.
The scheme was launched during the recent Fostering Fortnight activities, encouraging businesses and organisations across the borough to support foster carers.
A member of Lincolnshire Gateway Academies Trust, the academy, as with others signing up to the initiative, will offer benefits to include additional annual leave for appointments and training.
Principal of Waltham Toll Bar Academy Nigel Whittle said: “We are pleased to support North East Lincolnshire Council’s campaign and proud to become the first ‘Foster friendly’ school in the borough.
“We are aware of the shortage of foster carers and, as an employer, are committed to promoting their much-valued work and supporting colleagues who wish to take on such important roles.
“Foster parents can provide the stability a child needs and transform their life chances. It can also be a rewarding experience, knowing you’ve made the difference to a young person’s prospects.
“We wish the campaign every success and reiterate our willingness to be involved and partner North East Lincolnshire Council in initiatives that benefit children across the area.”
Martin Brown, the Trust’s Chief Executive Officer, said the initiative would be rolled out to its other schools, which include Cleethorpes Academy, Reynolds Academy, also in the resort, and Pilgrim Academy in Immingham.
North East Lincolnshire Council’s Children’s Services Director, Ann-Marie Matson, welcomed the announcement: “I’m delighted Waltham Toll Bar Academy has become the first ‘Foster Friendly’ school, and hope that other academic settings across the area will follow suit, supporting staff who are also foster carers.
“Foster carers provide homes for vulnerable children and young people. Many of these young people need support whilst they adjust to their new environments, and this can require the need for additional support from our foster carers. If they have jobs elsewhere, they may need additional time and support to help these children, which is where a ‘Foster Friendly’ organisation could prove vital.
“We welcome Waltham Toll Bar Academy and the wider Trust to the scheme.”
Director of Children’s Services, Ann-Marie Matson, with Principal of Waltham Toll Bar Academy, Nigel Whittle, discussing the announcement of Waltham Toll Bar Academy as the area’s first Foster-Friendly School.
Interested in becoming a foster-friendly business? Get in touch with the Fostering team at North East Lincolnshire Council. Email: fosteringandadoption@nelincs.gov.uk.
To find out more about becoming a foster carer in North East Lincolnshire or to discuss how you apply to be a foster carer, visit www.nelincs.gov.uk/fostering, or call 01472 323966.
A new Tourist Information Centre has recently opened in Cleethorpes in time for the thousands of visitors to the resort this Summer.
At its peak, Cleethorpes can attract 30,000 visitors a day, many of which may have never visited the resort before. Situated along the Central Promenade next to Brenda’s Chippy, the centre is full of helpful leaflets and other facilities to make sure visitors enjoy their time in Cleethorpes. It offers Radar Keys for those who need access to disabled toilets; local attraction vouchers; Slipway registrations; Bus timetables; daily/yearly fishing permits and bait digging permits.
Additionally, two resort ambassadors have recently been employed to help run the centre and make sure there is always someone available should they be needed. The team will work alongside the Beach Resort team to help the day to day running of the area.
Coun Hayden Dawkins, Portfolio Holder for Culture, Heritage and the Visitor Economy, said: “Since taking on the role as portfolio holder in June 2023, one of my ambitions was to reinstate tourist information facilities in Cleethorpes, and I’m pleased to say that that has been fulfilled.
“It is imperative that we have a place to go for not just tourists, but also for the local people to see what’s on in the area.”
The new centre will be open from 9am to 6pm during the Summer months (April-September) and from 9am to 4pm the rest of the year. Alternatively, you can call the centre on 01472 323356.
Alongside the new centre, a free drinking water fountain and refilling station has been installed to help reduce the amount of plastic waste in the resort.
The unit has been funded from the Sea-Changers Coastal Fountain Fund and Bunzl, the fund sponsors.
A spokesperson for Sea-Changers said: “We are delighted to support the installation of a Coastal Water Fountain on the Resort Information Office in Cleethorpes.
“Our fund aims to tackle the increasing problem of plastic bottles, left behind along the coast as marine litter, which damage sensitive marine environments and the species that live there.
“Since we started the Coastal Fountain Fund we have funded 39 fountains to be installed right around the UK coasts.
“We hope this fountain will significantly reduce the numbers of non-reusable plastic drinks bottles found on Cleethorpes Beach and also protect nearby areas of environmental importance. Well done to all involved in the installation.”
The water bottle filling station will directly sit within the boundary of the SSSI and in the main visitor area.
Other ongoing initiatives include sculptures like Hammy the Haddock and the globe along the sea front, where visitors can deposit plastic bottles, and which are emptied and recycled regularly as part of the Council’s cleansing programme. That’s alongside the 328 standard waste and recycling bins throughout the resort!
The water bottle refilling station is taking the other opportunity to reduce waste in the first place – not just collect it at the end.
Scott Snowden, Resort Manager, is thrilled with the new Tourist Information Centre. He said: “It’s great to be able to offer such a brilliant facility to the visitors of our resort.
“We have a range of leaflets and offers available for anyone who visits and one of our team will always be here to help you.
“We encourage people to come down and speak to us to see what we can offer them during their time in Cleethorpes.”
Speaking about the new water fountain, he added: “We have lots of cafes and restaurants in the resort, as well as plenty of retail outlets, but sometimes, you just need a quick refill of water to keep hydrated. It just makes sense to have it at the Resort Office, where people naturally come to for information, first aid and general help.”
You can find the location of this and other free refill stations on the Re-Fill app, available to download via www.refill.org.uk- external site
