Latest News

• • Liverpool City Region Pride

    July 31, 2019Sefton Council’s Chief Executive Dwayne Johnson, joins some of the young people from New Beginnings. Well Liverpool City Region Pride is over for another year, New Beginnings attending for the 5th year running and a fabulous time was had by all.The weather didn’t dampen our spirits, the rain may have washed off our face paint and soaked our hair, but we still marched proudly and celebrated being unique and diverse. For some of our New Beginnings young people this was their first ever Pride attendance. There was an estimated 5000 people who marched this year and I think I can say on behalf of all our young people and adults, we were extremely proud to have contributed to that record number of people.New Beginnings were joined by Sefton Council’s Chief Executive – Dwayne Johnson and one of our South Locality Managers Amanda Hughes as well as colleagues from Sefton@Work and staff from SWACA (Sefton Women’s and Children’s Aid). It was great to have colleagues from across Sefton joining us for the March. This year there was a dedicated Youth Space which was sponsored by The Michael Causer foundation, we at New Beginnings were honoured to be asked to be a part of what was a great space for our young people to enjoy. We were also proudly joined by our local voluntary organisation T.S Starling (Sefton Sea Cadets) for the 2nd year running. MYA SPACE came and joined us for the their first year and put on some amazing performances in the Youth Space. We are already looking forward to LCR Pride 2020 and we are also hoping for another big representation from Sefton. It is also Borough of Culture next year in Sefton, keep your eyes peeled for what could be a very special Pride March next year!! Newbies Pride ReadyMid March stopFounding member vs Newest member of New Beginnings with Sue, Lead Youth Worker.SWACA Staff brightly dressed for occasion.Drying out in the youth space, sponsored by The Michael Causer Foundation.Some of our fabulous MYA Space performers.Sibling support.Cadets and Staff from T.S Starling (Sefton Sea Cadets)Cadets from T.S Starling enjoying the youth space. Interested in accessing New Beginnings, MYA Space or Sefton Sea Cadets?? Here are the contact details: New Beginnings: new.beginnings@sefton.gov.uk MYA Space: SPACE Centre, 106 Marsh Lane, Bootle, L20 4JQ 0151 944 1509 Sefton Sea Cadets: seftonseacadets@talktalk.net https://www.sea-cadets.org/sefton... Read more...
  • Registration for Make Your Mark Campaign Closes.

    July 19, 2019Yesterday registration for this year’s Make Your Mark Campaign closed. 10 of our Sefton School’s have registered for the campaign which launches 23rd August and runs through till Noon 9th October. It is great to see that 10 of our schools (Birkdale High School, Chesterfield High School, Crosby High School, Formby High School, Kings Leadership Academy Hawthornes, Maghull High School, Newfield, Range High School, Savio Salegian College and St Michaels CofE High School) have registered to take part in UK’s largest Youth Consultation, Sefton Youth Service and our two MYP’s will also be going round local Youth Centres and organisations to get young people involved in the vote. We look forward to engaging with the young people of Sefton to ensure they get the chance of having their voices heard on things that are important to them.... Read more...
  • Merseyside Police Crime Commissioner is looking for young people.

    July 19, 2019Merseyside’s Police Commissioner is looking for 10 enthusiastic, skilled young people to volunteer to support, challenge and inform the work of her office and the wider criminal justice system. Jane Kennedy is looking to recruit a group of new volunteer Youth Ambassadors to help shape the way she engages with young people while giving them a greater voice in policing and community safety matters. The role will last for 12 months and is open to those aged between 16 and 24, who live, work or study in Merseyside. Youth Ambassadors will meet bi-monthly with the Police Commissioner and her team and will assist in the creation and delivery of a new Youth Engagement Plan, which they will help to share with other young people by visiting schools, youth clubs and community groups across Merseyside. They will also be expected to attend youth engagement events, inform campaigns aimed at young people and review the services offered to their peers. The new Youth Ambassadors will replace the Commissioner’s Youth Advisory Group which has run since 2013. Jane said: “I’m looking for 10 enthusiastic, engaged young people who aren’t afraid to challenge, have an interest in policing and community safety and want to get fully involved in these new Youth Ambassador roles. “Throughout my time as Merseyside’s Police Commissioner, I have been keen to listen to the views of young people. The Youth Advisory Group has been amazing, sharing their views and feedback with me openly and honestly and I have greatly valued their opinions and feedback. The Ambassador role is a development of the Youth Advisory Group and will enable the young people to deliver a closer engagement with and challenge to myself and to the police. “I am looking to recruit a smaller group of dedicated, eager and skilled young people to become even more involved with my work. I am hoping these young people will be real ambassadors for their peers, listening to their views and presenting them to me in order to inform a new Youth Engagement Plan. “I’m looking for young people who really want to make a difference and be a voice for change. In exchange, they will get some fantastic opportunities to learn more about policing and the criminal justice system and influence decision making at a senior level. They will also receive a range of training and development opportunities and some great experience to add to their CV. Any young person interested in applying can find more information and the application form at https://www.merseysidepcc.info/youth-ambassadors.aspx and return it to info@merseysidepcc.info Alternatively, you can post a copy to The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, Wavertree Police Station, Wavertree Road, Liverpool L7 1RJ. The deadlines for applications is close of play on Friday 9th August 2019. For more information, please call 0151 777 5155 and ask for a member of the Community Engagement team or email info@merseysidepcc.info.... Read more...
  • Young People in Sefton to benefit from FREE online counselling

    July 12, 2019Young people in Sefton can now benefit from completely free online counselling to help them in their time of need, thanks to a new collaboration from local health and wellbeing partners. Sefton Council, NHS South Sefton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and NHS Southport and Formby CCG has commissioned Kooth for young people in the area. The service will provide free and anonymous mental health and wellbeing support to local young people aged 11-18, with access to online counselling, self-help materials and a safe online community of young people 365 days a year. Kooth, accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, also offers peer-to-peer support, an online magazine, access to moderated forums and goal setting and mood tracking tools from any connected device. The site is open 24 hours a day; one-to-one counselling sessions with a qualified counsellor are available from 12-noon until 10pm on weekdays, and from 6pm until 10pm on weekends. The service has been commissioned to increase the number of early intervention services available and in response to young people requesting a digital solution in addition to existing local services. https://www.kooth.com/index.html... Read more...
  • Liverpool City Region Pride

    July 5, 2019Lead Youth Worker for New Beginnings, Sue attended the LCR Pride event at The Hilton Liverpool One last night 04th July. LCR Pride is still a free Pride Event, with sponsors such as Barclays bank being the main sponsor once again. This year the wonderful Michael Causer Foundation have sponsored a Youth Zone! This area will be close to the main stage, but slightly away from the main hustle and bustle! Young People will have a host of Youth Workers and activities to get involved in should they wish and also be able to chill out and meet other young people from across the Liverpool City Region as Pride branches out beyond Liverpool. New Beginnings are excited to once again be part of Pride, and we look forward to seeing many of you there celebrating and standing together for what promises to be a great day!... Read more...
  • Sefton MYP’s at UKYP Annual Conference 2018

    August 29, 2018On July 27 – 29, two of Sefton’s Members of Youth Parliament, took part in the UKYP Annual Conference held at the University of Nottingham. Gabby Lawless and Meagn Dywer joined other members of the Youth Parliament from across the UK to debate, take part in workshops and help create and change the national manifesto policy. Here’s a write up from Gabby, with her experience of the weekend; This year’s UKYP Annual Conference 2018 was a very successful year for Sefton as both Megan and I had our motions passed and placed on the manifesto. Not only did we both talk on topics we find very important, such as support for youth services and tackling homelessness, but we had the opportunity to talk about mental health support in school. This is something I have had lots of knowledge in, having experienced mental health problems myself. Speaking about this in front of the 200 young people was daunting, however I am very proud of myself as this gives other people the confidence and opportunity to talk about it themselves. That is what the motion was about, breaking stigma and getting young people the support they need from school. After such a good weekend I am beyond excited for the House of Commons Event on November 9th. I am preparing to speak up for the young people of Sefton. This will not only be in front of other MYPs but on broadcast on television TV. Therefore, hopefully young people across the country can see that they have people fighting for them in Westminster. Article by; Gabby Lawless MYP... Read more...
  • Young people in Sefton help to shape their local NHS

    August 1, 2018School children from across Sefton have been learning about local health services as well as giving their views on the NHS. Your Youth Health Day on Thursday 19 July saw pupils from Maricourt Catholic High School in Maghull and Southport’s Stanley High School work with Sefton Young Advisors, to learn which local NHS service is best for them if they are unwell or want some advice on their health and wellbeing. The event was organised by NHS South Sefton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and NHS Southport and Formby CCGs’ joint Engagement and Patient Experience Group (EPEG) which brings together representatives from organisations including Sefton Council, Healthwatch Sefton and Sefton Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) to look at how the CCGs can better involve residents and partners in their work. Health commissioners were joined at the Formby event by staff from Sefton council to hear young people’s views about health care. The event saw pupils taken through everyday scenarios, how to lead a healthier lifestyle, and which NHS service to consider for a range of medical issues, ranging from when to get advice from local pharmacists and the NHS111 phone service for minor conditions, to when to call 999. Ryan McCarthy from Sefton Young Advisors, said: “This event is about getting young people introduced to the health services they might have accessed or access in the future, looking at their knowledge and hopefully improve it by looking health scenarios which may affect them in the future. “It’s also about looking at their feedback around health services because it’s really important because changes can be made from that and health services can be improved.” One pupil said: “I didn’t realise how unhealthy I have been – I do go to bed late, spend time on my phone and also don’t have breakfast.  Those are things I’m going to change now.” This has been the second dedicated young person’s event organised by EPEG, led by Sefton Young Advisers and part of the CCGs’ commitment to ensuring the ‘voice of the child’ is recognised in health services. Graham Bayliss, lay representative for patient and public engagement at NHS South Sefton CCG, said: “The NHS is all about listening to all its patients, but the voices of young people can sometimes get drowned out by adults. “It’s important we’re listening to young people and issues they have, as well as the areas of NHS services they’re not sure about.” On what needs to change about health services, another pupil said: “I think one thing the NHS lacks is mental health support, especially for teens, so if that could be improved that would be really good.” Gill Brown, governing body lead for patient and public participation for NHS Southport and Formby CCG, said: “They’ve really changed my views about how we communicate with young people, especially around social media. “One thing that came across is that we need to do more about mental health service provision for young people, particularly in relation to abuse over social media and the impact that can have on young people.” To watch a video from the event please click here: https://youtu.be/2sCZSRE7ZOI To find out more about getting involved in the work of your local NHS, please email communications@sefton.nhs.uk or call 0151 317 8456.... Read more...
  • New Beginnings loud and proud at Pride 2018

    July 31, 2018Liverpool Pride is over for another year! Angie and Myself are still recovering and the young people are more than likely still buzzing! We had a brilliant turn out from our New Beginnings youth group and we also had our young people’s families in attendance with us. Liverpool Pride was as bright, colourful, loud and vibrant as always. We pretty much had all the seasons in one day, wind, rain, sun and even hail and very aptly a Rainbow! During the day the young people took part in a photography project with The Open Eye Gallery. Andy and Samera worked with the group helping them to capture the day through images. We are really looking forward to seeing the end product and we’ll keep you updated on this. It was also great to partner up with our friends, Sefton Sea Cadets. This was the first time they have been encouraged by Sea Cadet Headquarters to be present as an organisation, so it was amazing to have them with us. We were lucky enough to be joined by our Communications colleague John McCabe who joined us for the march, big thanks to John for his presence and taking some awesome pictures for us.  Once again being part of the Pride March was  amazing and was such an incredible experience for some of our young people joining for their first time! Although the majority of the march was positive, unfortunately we did experience some opposition including Anti-trans protesters. Still now, I don’t think people are aware of the amount hate that is within the LGBTQ+ community itself and this for me as a veteran, was so sad to see. Our young people rose above it though and continued with their own celebrations and enjoyment of the march singing 1,2,3,4 open up the closet door, 5,6,7,8 don’t assume your kids are straight! Sue Logie Youth Worker Targeted Youth Prevention... Read more...
• • Make your voice heard and ‘Make Your Mark’!

    July 25, 2018Hi everyone! I’m Megan and I’m one of the Members of Youth Parliament (MYPs) for Sefton. This means that I represent the young people of Sefton at a national level, making sure their views are heard by decision makers such as local councillors and MPs. MYP’s in Sefton are encouraging young people to get involved in   Make Your Mark, the largest youth consultation in Europe. Young people from across the UK vote on five issues which they feel most passionate about and what they think effects them most. MYPs will then discuss these issues in an annual debate in the House of Commons in November. This is a fantastic opportunity to talk about the most important issues for young people on such a prestigious platform. We want as many young people in Sefton to get involved as possible and if you’re aged 11-18 in Sefton, well congratulations – you’re eligible to vote! For schools that have signed up, the number of ballot papers they have requested will be sent directly to themselves. Here at Sefton Youth Voice we have ordered an extra 10,000 ballot papers for those schools that haven’t signed up. In September, I will be sending out packs of 500 ballot papers to every secondary schools that haven’t pre-registered. A big thank you to Birkdale High School, Chesterfield High School, Hillside High School, Norwood Primary School, Savio Salesian College, St Michaels Church of England High School, Summerhill Primary School and Sefton Youth for pre-registering! Together these total over 4,400 ballot papers! This year’s target for Sefton is 7000 completed ballot papers. We hope that every school and youth organisation in Sefton gets involved! You will also be able to vote from this website from August 22. Make Your Voice Heard Make Your Mark!... Read more...
  • Young people have their say on sex education in schools

    July 24, 2018Young people from SYMBOL (Sefton Youth Making Better Opportunities with Leaders) have been making their voices heard over plans to improve Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) and Personal, Social, Health Education (PSHE) in schools. The Department of Education is considering updating the existing Sex and Relationship guidance which was last revised in 2000. At a recent SYMBOL meeting held at Bootle Town Hall, young people from across the borough discussed the topic. Being a member of SYMBOL means a young person can play an active role in their community, with a direct line of communication with key decision makers, such as councillors and senior managers at Sefton Council including representatives from Public Health. They meet three times a year at different locations across the borough. At the meeting young people talked about their experiences of sex education in school and gave advice on how it can be changed to be more effective. They believed that they would benefit more by having discussions about thoughts, feelings and the various issues surrounding relationships. Cllr John Joseph Kelly, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Schools and Safeguarding, was at the meeting. He said: “Some great points were raised by the young people attending the meeting. “As a new curriculum in SRE and PSHE is shaped, it is important that we listen to young people’s views and experiences in order to make lessons relevant to them and their needs. “Young people believed that some teachers may be embarrassed when talking about the subject and understand it may be difficult for them to make the transition from teaching their usual curriculum subject, to having open discussions about sex and relationships. Advice like this is really relevant and will be shared with Public Health.” During the meeting there was a performance from Access27, a theatre company which portrays the issues which effect young people. The hard hitting ‘Like Glue’ exposed relationship abuse in 5 scenarios including domestic abuse and controlling behaviour. This creative and emotive piece brought the issues to life, leaving a lasting impression on the room. Also on the agenda and keeping to the important topic of sex and relationships, young people and key figures took part in a session which raised awareness of the increase of on-line sexual abuse and e-safety. The workshop gave a greater understanding of how to spot the warning signs that a young person is being targeted and how to report any incidents. For more information visit: www.consult.education.gov.uk/life-skills/pshe-rse-call-for-evidence/ and www.listentomystory.co.uk To get involved in SYMBOL contact Rob Hancock on 07792 315 890... Read more...

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