Once again the Council-run competition had a large number of high quality entries from young people across the District who designed posters promoting healthy lifestyles.

The poster competition is held to coincide with National Food Safety Week (6-12 June) and the winners in each category received a £30 gift voucher and certificate and £120 for their school.

Congratulations go to the winners, Grace Crook, a Year 6 pupil at Edward Francis Junior School, who was the winner in the 8 to 11 years poster promoting healthy eating category.

Shauni Hardy, a Year 11 pupil at Sweyne Park School, was the winner in the 11 to 16 years poster promoting the benefits of not smoking category.

The Chairman visited both schools last week to present the winners with their prizes. Following the presentations, he said: “The poster competition always encourages a large number of entries from young people across the District.

The standard this year was exceptionally high and it was a pleasure to meet both Grace and Shauni to present them with their prizes. My congratulations to both of them on winning this competition which promotes the important messages of not smoking and eating healthily.”

We received several high quality entries this year from young people via their School, College, Academy or Youth group.

The poster competition for young people was held to support National Food Safety Week 6-12 June 2011.

The competition was to design a poster to promote the benefits of healthy eating or not smoking and help raise levels of awareness of the issues for young people.

Congratulations to the winners:

8 to 11 years, poster promoting healthy eating
Grace Crook,
Year 6
Edward Francis Junior School

11 to 16 years, poster promoting the benefits of not smoking
Shauni Hardy,
Year 11
Sweyne Park School

The winners in each age category received a £30 gift voucher and certificate and £120 for their School, College, Academy or Youth Group.

Rochford District Council’s Head of Environmental Services Richard Evans said “Once again we have had a great response to our poster competition. It was incredibly hard to pick winners this year from all the wonderful entries we had in. It’s great to see so many wonderful entries from young people in the District who have been so creative in getting messages out there about the benefits of healthy eating and not smoking”.

Here are some of the other entries – Well done to everyone who took part

Claudia Catterall, Year 5, Edward Francis Junior School

Rachel Leadbeater, Year 5, Edward Francis Junior School

Daisy Smith, Year 7, The Fitzwimarc School

Dannii-Ella Ingram, Year 10, Sweyne Park School

Megan Killick, Year 8, The Fitzwimarc School

More than 500 youngsters enjoyed a day packed full of fun Easter activities in Sweyne Park.

Rochford District Council’s Leisure Services Team put together the day of events and activities for youngsters to coincide with the Easter Holidays.

From arts workshops to face painting to geocaching, there was something for everyone to enjoy.

The Fun Day also welcomed ex-Olympic fencing International James Beevers who taught youngsters the basics of the centuries-old sport. There was also judo, cricket, archery, multi sports, Bouncing Bunnies, an Easter treasure hunt and a guest appearance from Max the Dragon to add to the fun.

The Fun Day is part of the Council’s holiday activity programme that is delivered in partnership with Rochford Extended Services and Virgin Active.

…and it looks like there’s a busy summer ahead too!

Rochford District Council in partnership with Rochford Extended Services and Virgin
Active will once again be running a comprehensive programme of sports and arts activities during the School Summer Holidays.

Activities will be taking place across the District from archery to music and scuba diving to theatre.

Once again Rochford District Council will be providing a five week Summer Swim Programme and there will also be the return of the popular Rochford Play Rangers
across the District.

2012 Special Offer

As part of Rochford District’s celebration of London 2012 we are offering one free place on our summer holiday activities to anyone born on 20 December i.e. 20.12 (Proof of Date of Birth must be provided and Terms and Conditions apply).

Details on all the holiday activity sessions we provide can be found at www.rochford.gov.uk/holidayactivities

Look out for the Summer Programme available in July

Swim programme payments

Please note that once again this year we will be selling vouchers for the summer swim programme and no cash payments can be taken.

Please check our website and brochure from mid June for full details.

The funding has come from Play England’s Play Builder Fund and has been allocated to allow the development of an entirely new ‘natural’ play space.

Natural play uses the elements to create a challenging and fun space for children and young people, and encompasses items such as climbing boulders, mounding and rope bridges, which encourage running, jumping, climbing.
Over the next few months Rochford District Council’s Leisure Services team will be asking young people in the area what they want to see and how they want their new natural play space to look. If you have a bright idea about what you think the play area can look like then you can email your suggestions to leisure@rochford.gov.uk or call 01702 546366.

Rochford District Council’s Portfolio Holder for Young Persons, Adult Services, Community Care and Well-Being, Health and Community Safety, Councillor Mrs Lesley Butcher, said: “This funding is extremely important to benefit young people in the District and give them somewhere where they can play.

It is very important for young people to have somewhere they can go and this new facility will give them that opportunity. However, to make it a success we want to know what young people who live in the District want it to look like and what they would like to see, that’s why it’s extremely important for them to come forward with their ideas and designs.”

The goal of the Play Builder fund was to transform local areas into innovative and adventurous play spaces. Funding enabled local authorities to work more closely with children, families and communities using the sites. Local authorities were also expected to demonstrate how their new play spaces were sustainable when it comes to the ongoing maintenance.

Street20 is the new popular, urban, funky form of cricket designed to be played in crowded urban environments and using facilities such as five-a-side football pitches, multi-use-games-areas, basketball courts and sports halls.

Just take two bats, two sets of plastic stumps, a ball and you’re ready to go!

The ball used for this game is a tennis ball wrapped in electrical tape, which makes the ball act in the same way that a cricket ball does – only without the sting!

So if you think you’re a budding Alastair Cook, or an up and coming Graeme Swann then head for Rayleigh Leisure Centre on Saturdays, starting November 13, between 5-6pm for ages 12-16, male and female, all abilities are welcome.

Matthew, a Year 8 student at the school won the vouchers after his name was picked out of a prize draw of those who had signed up to the scheme, which is available for young people across the District.

The new pilot aimed at improving access to services is an initiative set up by Rochford District Council which allows the Council to contact young people via a free mobile phone text messaging service.

The Council has been sending text alerts to all those who have registered containing information about events, such as this years Wild Woods Day on 5 June and services which young people have said they want to hear more about.

A second prize draw of £25 of Love2shop vouchers is due to take place in mid June. All young people between 11 and 19 years old who visit the website and sign up for the service within this time will be automatically entered into a prize draw for a £25 Love2Shop voucher.

For more information and to sign up please visit http://www.rochford.gov.uk/textalerts

The youngsters ran around the woods solving clues and staying hot on the trail of the prized Easter Eggs in the event which also had a London 2012 theme.

Emma Stack, who took Alfie aged six and Sophie aged two, down to the woods for the hunt, said: “My children enjoyed the activity very much, can’t wait until next year!”

The Easter Egg Hunt is part of Rochford District Council’s packed Easter Holiday events programme. For more details on the Easter Holiday activity programme and to see what activities are coming up for the summer holidays, keep checking www.rochford.gov.uk/holidayactivities

The café was opened in June 2008, and last Wednesday (25 November) the Chairman and his wife received a warm welcome from the 60 teens who use it to enjoy activities including indoor and outdoor sports, such as table-tennis and football. In addition there are art and craft activities such as clay modelling and cookery, as well as just being in a safe place to meet with friends and have something to eat or drink.

The café is also an important place for teens to learn about health and safety issues with nurses, the police and other professionals invited as speakers.

The café was set up following comprehensive consultation with young people, the local primary school and the local community, which identified a need for provision for children and young people.

The project has been supported by various partners including; Rochford District Council, Great Wakering Parish Council, Rochford CDRP (Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership), Extended schools, Great Wakering Primary school children’s centre and Vinvolved.

Councillor Humphries spent around a hour at the café speaking both with the teens who use it and the organisers who run it.

He said: “I would like to thank Councillor Barbara Wilkins for inviting my wife and myself to the Teen Café at Great Wakering. I was delighted to receive such a warm welcome by all here and have the pleasure of experiencing the wonderful community spirit and team participation that is so apparent”.

He added: “This is a fantastic initiative for the youngsters of Great Wakering and the surrounding areas and gives them a place to congregate and enjoy the benefits and camaraderie”.

Whilst there, Councillor Humphries also took the opportunity to hand out some certificates to young people. James Liston, Daniel Deadman, Sophie Waghorn, Jenny Deadman, Sam Weir, Emily Harding, Adam Deadman and James Cougborough received awards for volunteering through Vinvolved. Volunteering included running music workshops and supporting the planning group of the Wakering Young Peoples Community project.

Young people who use the café are mainly from Great Wakering but there are also visitors from Rochford, Southend, Potton Island, Shoeburyness, Barling, Hockley and Ashingdon.

The Café is open on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6pm to 8pm.

For further information about Great Wakering Young People’s Community project, of which the Teen Cafe is just one part, please contact Great Wakering Primary School 01702 219435.

Consultation revealed that if there is nowhere specific for young people to go they will congregate at a central point or somewhere familiar to them all, this could be a bus shelter, bench in town or just the corner of a road and unfortunately this can be intimidating to other people.

In response to their request Rochford District Council in partnership with Rochford and Canewdon Parish Councils and Rayleigh Town Council, funded a project to install shelters in Canewdon, Rayleigh and Rochford. A temporary shelter has also been installed in Ashingdon which will be monitored to see how popular it is.

This was part of a larger project to provide facilities for young people of the District, offering provision and passive surveillance for safety. The shelters have been proven to reduce crime rate and the fear of crime for both local residents and young people.
Benefits of a shelter for young people include:

• A place to go and meet which is non- confrontational
• Develops involvement and pride in their neighbourhood
• Removes a possible first step towards crime
• All round visibility allows users to feel safe

Benefits for the wider community can include:

• Reduced damage, graffiti and fear of crime
• Enhanced community harmony
• Children’s play areas remain undamaged and useable
• Reduced maintenance costs

This year, Legacy Rayleigh at Holy Trinity Church is getting involved for the first time and will be opening its doors with a programme of activities and performances for young people.

The Parish Rooms at the Church will play host to DJ and breakdancing workshops, acoustic open mic sessions and a band night.

Festival favourites from previous years, including the popular Made in Essex show celebrating the best of contemporary art and craft, make a welcome return the Mill Arts & Events Centre.

Look out for Urban Canvas who will be bringing the art of Italian chalking to Rayleigh High Street as well as music from the Southend Band, a children’s arts workshop at Rayleigh Library and T-Shirt making.

Rayleigh Arts Festival takes place in venues around Rayleigh on Saturday 24 October, between 10am and 5pm. The Festival is sponsored by Virgin Active and Shop at my Local.