A free summer activity programme to help children across Sefton prepare for their first term at school has been launched by Sefton Council. The ‘Thrive Before 5’ campaign offers 21 different activities designed for families with children who will start reception in September.
Banners are now on display outside schools and nurseries across the borough, each one featuring a QR code that takes parents straight to the Early Years Padlet wall where the activities are listed. Printed copies of the Thrive Before 5 booklet can also be picked up from Sefton Family Hubs and Sefton Libraries throughout the summer holidays.
The campaign is a partnership between the council, NHS Mersey Care, Sefton Family Hubs, Active Sefton, Arriva Buses and Sefton Libraries. Families who complete the activities can bring their booklets into school in September to share what they did, and every child will receive a medal recognising their journey into early education.
Separately, the council is searching for a volunteer to chair its All Age Unpaid Carers Strategic Partnership Board, a post requiring 20 to 25 hours each year to guide the Sefton All Age Carers Strategy 2025-2028. Anyone interested must have lived experience as an unpaid carer, either now or in the past, and is likely to need board-level experience. Applications close on 17 July, with online interviews later in the month.
Community groups can also access a free online Project Creator Workshop hosted by Spacehive on Thursday 9 July from 1pm to 2pm, showing how to apply for up to 5,000 pounds from the Sefton Crowd fund. Meanwhile, the council has confirmed its second weed spraying phase of the year is now under way across Sefton’s full 620-mile road and pavement network, with contractors instructed to speed up after wet weather and resourcing problems caused delays that began in March.
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