Have you ever considered fostering or adoption? Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people in Plymouth are being encouraged by Plymouth City Council’s Fostering and Adoption Service to consider becoming adopters and foster carers. There are currently more than 400 children and young people in care and the council is supporting LGBT Adoption and Fostering Week, […]
Plymouth’s young people turned out in force over the past two weeks to vote in the city’s UK Youth Parliament elections. A total of 8233 young people voted, the highest ever number of voters in a Plymouth UK Youth Parliament election. Plymouth’s new Members of Youth Parliament are 16 year old Ethan Fairfield and 15 […]
Graduates who are passionate about working with children and families and who are looking to make a career move into children’s social work can now apply to the latest intake on a successful City Council backed training initiative. The regional Step-up-to Social Work scheme aims to enlist a record number of candidates in 2019 to […]
Young people leaving care in Plymouth could get a helping hand to lead an independent life under proposals discussed at Cabinet today (15 January). The proposals recommend 18 to 24-year-olds who live in Plymouth and are leaving the care of the local authority are exempt from Council Tax until their 25th birthday. Councillor Sue McDonald, Cabinet […]
The findings of the recent inspection by Ofsted of Children’s Social Care Services, including education and inclusion for children in care in Plymouth have been published today (Monday 7 January). Inspectors have found that since the Single Inspection Framework (SIF) Inspection in 2014 and the Focused Visit in May last year, senior leaders have taken […]
Plymouth City Council is stepping up its efforts to attract more people in the city to become foster carers or to adopt. The Council is giving a boost to its foster carer recruitment campaign, which will include a group of looked after children who are recording a Christmas radio message thanking everyone who made an […]
Steps are being taken to stop private companies cashing in on vulnerable children. A report which sets out a clear set of guidelines for providing residential placements for young people in care, will be considered by the Council’s Cabinet next week. Plymouth, like most local authorities, is subject to the national trend of decreasing budgets […]
Hundreds of people turned out for the community launch of Together for Childhood in Plymouth – an exciting new project with a vitally important goal helping to keep children safe from sexual abuse. The programme is a hugely positive undertaking for the city, with the NSPCC, Plymouth City Council and Plymouth Safeguarding Children’s Board joining […]
A Plymouth head teacher has urged teachers and parents across the county to do all they can to get pupils vaccinated after a flu outbreak forced her to temporarily close her school last winter. Dozens of children and staff at Woodlands School in Plymouth, whose pupils have complex physical and sensory difficulties, were taken ill by […]
Families in Plymouth have helped to shape the future of children’s health and care services as part of a process to choose which organisations will deliver those services from April 2019. The Council’s Cabinet will now be recommended to name community interest company Livewell Southwest as the ‘preferred bidder’ for the provision of the city’s […]
Some of the city’s most vulnerable women look set to get more support to help them lead happier lives, thanks to a special project being set up. Women whose children are repeatedly involved in care proceedings are to be offered tailored support to help them break this traumatic cycle, which is often caused by a […]
Drivers coming into the city centre via Exeter Street could face some delays as work starts on a new crossing. Contractors working on the British Land leisure complex will be digging up the road in order to install ducts beneath the surface to house cabling for the new pedestrian crossing. A traffic order is being […]
Spotless! This is the morning after the night before. What a night, what a line-up, what a spectacle – thousands of people had a great night out last night at MTV presents: Ocean City Sounds but when the music stopped the hard work began. Our crews were up until the small hours cleaning the Hoe […]
An area of Plymouth has been chosen to pilot a ground-breaking new partnership to bring Plymouth communities and agencies together in an effort to prevent child sexual abuse. Together for Childhood aims to provide help and support for children, young people and their families at the earliest possible stage. Ernesettle has been chosen as the […]
Plymouth is hosting an event today, Tuesday 3 July, to celebrate breastfeeding and promote good nutrition and health in the first year of life. The ‘Starting Off Well’ event is taking place at the Guildhall and has speakers from Plymouth City Council, Livewell Southwest, University of Plymouth and First Steps Nutrition Trust, as well as […]
From archery to street dance via go-karting, boxing and a Poole Farm experience day, there really is something for everyone in this year’s Summer Mix activity programme. Hundreds of activities are taking place at a range of different venues across the Plymouth to suit all interests and abilities. They’ve been organised by Plymouth City Council’s […]
Volunteers are needed to work with Plymouth City Council’s Youth Services. The Youth Services recently hit a target of 70 volunteers but more are always needed to support local community projects. Councillor Sue McDonald, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People for Plymouth City Council, said: “Volunteers are an essential part of our Youth […]
Plymouth is moving a step closer to being a Breastfeeding Friendly city after all of its Everyone Active leisure centres are now signed up to the Plymouth Breastfeeding Kite Mark Scheme. Now all Everyone Active sites in the city – including the iconic Plymouth Life Centre – are officially Breastfeeding Friendly. The Livewell Southwest initiative […]
A group of 20 Plymouth students were given the opportunity to try their hand at a variety of construction skills at Skills Group UK this week. The students, who are all taking part in Skills Aid Plymouth (SAP) along with their learning mentors, were treated to an assortment of activities including bricklaying, tiling, woodwork and […]
Plymouth City Council is aiming to raise the need for more people to come forward and offer a vulnerable a child a loving home as part of national LGBT Adoption and Fostering Week. There are currently more than 403 children and young people in care and the City Council is supporting the awareness week from […]
A school expansion project totalling £1.8m has just been completed at Holy Cross Primary School in St Judes. The City Council identified Holy Cross as an ideal candidate to receive government basic need funding in order for it to grow and provide needed much needed additional places to cope with an increase in demand. Holy […]
A forum designed especially to help women return to work has been officially launched by the City Council. The forum was the Council’s pledge to make sure that women had access to all the advice and support they would need to help them return to work after maternity or child care leave. The support forum […]
The number of young people applying for a secondary school place has increased this year and thousands of primary pupils in Plymouth will today find out which school they will be going to this September. The Council have confirmed that 93.16 per cent of young people received their first choice of school, 5 per cent […]
The latest group of newly qualified social workers from Plymouth City Council Children’s Services, have been presented with certificates of completion by the Lord Mayor, Councillor Dr John Mahony, at a special ceremony. The certificates mark the successful completion of the social workers’ assessed and supported first year in practice. Newly Qualified Social Workers have […]
A new project has been launched in Plymouth to provide support for young adult carers between the ages of 16 to 21. The City Council currently commission the Plymouth Guild’s Carers Hub to provide free support and guidance to carers over 18 years of age across the city and the new project, will be provided […]
Young people in the North of the city are being given a helping hand to get on their bikes, thanks to Plymouth City Councils Youth Services and local Neighbourhood Police Team. A pilot bike maintenance and recycle project was launched in Southway last July to try and support young people in achieving healthy lifestyles and […]
The Education and Childcare Minister has written to six Plymouth schools who have raised aspirations and ensured disadvantaged pupils can fulfil their potential. To launch the Pupil Premium Awards, Sam Gyimah MP has written to all the schools to congratulate them on their efforts to boost achievement and raise aspirations among their disadvantaged pupils. The […]
A group of 20 Plymouth students were thrown in at the deep end for a lesson at the National Marine Aquarium (NMA). The students, who are all taking part in Skills Aid Plymouth (SAP) along with their learning mentors, were treated to a tour of the aquarium followed by a lesson involving a fish dissection, […]
League tables published today show that the performance of Plymouth’s secondary schools and colleges indicate the achievement of students in GCSE’s has fallen slightly; however achievement at A levels has improved from previous years. GCSE results in 2015 show a decline when compared to the performance of our schools in 2014. The percentage of pupils […]
Young people from across the city have been helping to design a new emotional health and wellbeing service for Plymouth’s secondary and special schools. Over 60 young people from ten city schools, ranging from age 11-18 took part in a special workshop event organised by Sarah Staples and Josh Pope, Plymouth’s Member and Deputy Member […]
