Exciting half-term adventures await at Warwickshire Country Parks

Join the rangers for a week of outdoor adventure and family fun during next week’s half-term at Warwickshire County Parks! From building woodland dens to creative craft sessions and spook-tacular Halloween shenanigans, there’s a fantastic line-up of events that will keep children of all ages entertained. Whether your little ones are budding naturalists or simply love the great outdoors, Warwickshire’s Country Parks offer the perfect setting for memorable half-term experiences. Don’t miss out on the chance to make lasting memories with your children while exploring the beauty of Warwickshire’s countryside. Visit the Warwickshire Country Parks Eventbrite page for event details and booking information.

Warwickshire County Council libraries are delivering a series of free drop-in sessions between November 2023 to January 2024 to support new and existing customers in learning how to use Hublets, which are free digital tablet devices available in most Warwickshire library settings for e-reading.

Hublets are now available to use at Leamington, Nuneaton, Rugby, Atherstone, Bedworth, Warwick, Kenilworth, Southam and Stratford libraries, and allow users to enjoy eMagazines, eNewspapers, eBooks, and other online eResources without the need to have or bring their own digital devices to the library.

The extraordinary achievements of a local resident in Warwickshire have been recognised in a formal awards presentation by the Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire, Tim Cox.

Joanne Horne, from Stratford on Avon District, was presented with a British Empire Medal at the Embankment Restaurant in Stratford-upon-Avon on Sunday 22nd October, for serving her local community by going ‘above and beyond’ to change the world around her for the better.

New look on the way for website homepage

The Warwickshire County Council website homepage is set for a new look making it easier for residents to get to the information they need.

Using feedback from residents, the homepage is being redesigned to improve the user experience, supporting customers to access the most popular links and service information, as well as presenting a clear overview of what the Council does.

Stay connected

The importance of connecting is highlighted in the 5 ways to wellbeing; there is strong evidence that social relationships are important for promoting wellness and for acting as a buffer against mental ill health for people of all ages. Nurturing relationships with others and finding ways to connect can combat loneliness and isolation.

Covering approximately one mile of woodland, this free-to-join one-hour walk provides the perfect opportunity to take a mental break from the stresses of day-to-day life, chatting with the Park’s knowledgeable ranger about the fascinating flora, fauna and history of the park along the way. The tour will take in the tranquillity of this ancient hilly woodland and, on a clear day, provide views across four counties.

“The support helped me to improve my business plan and develop a new service.”

A North Warwickshire commercial cleaning business whose founder swapped laptops and desktops for hoovers and carpet cleaners has urged other small businesses to access the local business support.

Growing a greener tomorrow in the 2023/24 tree planting season

Green-fingered residents in Warwickshire are being encouraged by Warwickshire County Council to plant a tree or two during the upcoming 2023/24 planting season.

The UK tree planting season runs between the colder months of November and March when trees are naturally dormant and there is less chance of them being damaged during the planting process. Trees planted during this period will tend to have the best chance of survival to maturity.

This new pilot scheme from Warwickshire County Council is aiming to make the county’s school streets safer for its youngest residents.

The pilot School Streets scheme, which is taking place at Eastlands Primary School in the Hillmorton area of Rugby, has created a zone where non-residential motor vehicles from outside the School Street zone are restricted from entering the area and travelling past school entrances during the school start and finish times. School Streets operate only during term time.

Purple Playhouse secure long-term future for nursery site

Vital nursery places in Leamington have been secured for generations to come after a popular nursery secured a new long-term lease.

The Purple Playhouse Nursery, which is on the site of Sydenham Primary School, has signed a 10-year deal to remain at its current site with Warwickshire County Council, through its managing agent Warwickshire Property Management Ltd (WPM).

The nursery currently has places for 65 children, from age two to school age, and was graded Outstanding by Ofsted in 2019.

New display at Warwickshire Libraries explores rich diversity of fantasy genre alongside British Library exhibition

Visit Warwickshire Libraries between October 2023 to February 2024 to enjoy a free exhibition all about the rich diversity of the fantasy genre, from Arthurian legends to manga and live action role-playing games. The display will be on show at different libraries across the county over the next five months and will launch on Friday 27 October at Rugby Library.

The exhibition is called “Fantasy: Realms of Imagination” and explores how fantasy is flourishing today across a range of different media including literature, TV, film, games and more, and looks back at the origins of the genre.

Warwickshire continues collective commitment to cost of living challenges

Organisations and agencies from across the county met recently to look at how cost of living pressures continue to present very real challenges for Warwickshire residents.

Hosted at the Camp Hill Education Sports and Social (CHESS) Centre in Nuneaton this was a follow up event to a successful cost of living summit held in November 2022.  The purpose of the event was to reflect, take stock and plan for the future.

Warwickshire County Council invites people interested in a career in Local Government to join the NGDP graduate programme

As a participant in the Local Government Association’s highly regarded National Graduate Development Programme (NGDP), Warwickshire County Council is able to offer a unique opportunity for current and future graduates to gain an in-depth working knowledge of local government.

The NGDP opens doors for successful candidates to work across the many and varied County Council services. From delving into strategic finance and climate change initiatives; to supporting vulnerable communities and a wide range of essential services, our graduates play a pivotal role in shaping Warwickshire’s future.

Ukrainian support programme extended due to its success

A programme created to help Ukrainian refugees in Warwickshire find employment has been extended due to its success.

The Ukrainian Working in Warwickshire Programme (UWWP), launched in September 2022, was originally intended to run for 12 months, but has been extended initially by a further four months until the end of January 2024.

Since the programme began, 210 Ukrainians have been referred and 130 have attended or completed the course, with 38 gaining employment across several industries including hospitality and catering, and warehousing and logistics.

Business Ready programme has been an unqualified success

“The Business Ready programme mirrored the county council’s ambitions. It supported high-tech, low-carbon innovation which will provide employment opportunities into the future.”

A major business support scheme helping businesses in Warwickshire and Coventry generated more than £19 million in value and creating 175 jobs in its seven years of existence.

Business Ready, which ran from 2016 to June 2023 to address a market failure, has enabled more than 1,500 start-ups and tech-based SMEs to access targeted business support, mentoring, grants and more from a team of expert business advisers.

Community connections for carers this winter

On behalf of Warwickshire County Council, carers support service the Carers Trust Heart of England, helps unpaid carers across the county to look after themselves and provide help to those they care for.

There are around 53,000 unpaid carers in Warwickshire who provide regular support to people they know, helping them with daily activities such as cooking and cleaning, personal care and access to services.

This support is vital to many people to help them stay safe and well and maintain some independence.

More funding available for adult numeracy projects in Warwickshire

Organisations with ideas for adult numeracy projects are being encouraged to apply for funding before the deadline at 1 pm on Monday 6 November 2023.

The Multiply Project is a scheme, launched by the Government, to offer organisations funding for ideas that can redress the growing problem of poor numeracy in adults.

Multiply was launched in response to research which showed that around 17 million adults in England – half of the working-age population – have the numeracy skills of primary school children.