Westmorland and Furness Council

Honey Barker, our Westmorland and Furness Member of Youth Parliament attended the UK Youth Parliament Annual Conference 26 & 27 October at Warwick University. The UK Youth Parliament seeks to represent no party-political view and UKYP discussions are solely issue-based. Members are elected as representatives with a duty towards every young person in their constituency. They were debating many subjects such as free school meals, voting for 16-year-olds, everyone’s right to be treated with dignity and respect and have equal opportunities in life. We are proud to be supporting our young people and their aim to be heard and recognised at a regional and national level. #UKYP #warwick

In the run up to Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day (10 and 11 November), we are proudly displaying poppies on many of our buildings, fleet vehicles, libraries and care homes to show our support for the Armed Forces community. #LestWeForget

Our new 2MW solar farm is sparking a greener future! ☀💚 Thanks to almost 3,700 panels, we’re generating green energy which is expected to save around 507 tonnes of CO₂e annually. That's enough to power our five leisure centres or approximately 730 homes per year, based upon average UK households! 🏠⚡ The completion of this milestone project at Sandscale Park in Barrow is a significant step forward in our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint and promote sustainability in response to the growing challenges posed by climate change. In addition to contributing to our income generation, the solar farm will mitigate rising energy costs and enhance our energy sovereignty, independence and security, providing a robust solution for future energy needs. Read more 👉 https://lnkd.in/exSmFFqa. Watch the full video 👉 https://lnkd.in/ewHSrUwB. Electricity North West Vital Energi Utilities Limited Green Cat Renewables Ltd #solar #greenenergy #carbonfootprint #climatechange #sustainability #westmorlandandfurness #liveworkthrive

🌳 This week, three new trees were planted as a heartfelt symbol of our commitment to care-experienced young people across Westmorland and Furness, as part of the #Positivitree initiative! 🌱 Set up by the National Leaving Care Benchmarking Forum, the #Positivitrees represent our commitment to helping care-experienced young people grow, thrive, and access the support outlined in our ‘local offer.’ 🌱 A big thank you to our incredible Positivitree planters! #NCLW Find out about our local offer: https://lnkd.in/gKdb4GKh Mil Vasic Jonathan Taylor Amy Holliman Jane Watson FCIM

🎉 Exciting news! We’ve just launched a brand-new web area to help you #UnlockYourPotential and discover our exciting apprenticeship opportunities. Our new webpage is your one-stop hub for: ✅ Apprenticeship vacancies during recruitment windows ✅ Interview preparation tips ✅ Inspiring success stories ✅ Upcoming events and workshops Want to stay in the loop on all things apprenticeships? Follow us on Instagram – @wandf.apprenticeships – for regular updates from our apprentices and a sneak peek into their day-to-day experiences. 📅 Don’t miss out! Our next apprenticeship recruitment window opens in the new year. 👉 Visit: https://lnkd.in/egxNsdQf

At Westmorland and Furness Council, our customers are at the heart of everything we do. That’s why we’ve launched a new Customer Charter, outlining the standards of service you can expect from us. From clear communication to accessible services, we’re dedicated to serving our communities with excellence. Discover the charter here: https://lnkd.in/eb3F-U3n

Staff from 21 Huntley Avenue Children’s Home in Penrith enjoyed a successful night at the National Children and Young People’s Awards last night, taking home two awards. The awards, held in Birmingham, celebrate excellence in care for children, young people, and families, showcase innovation and best practice, and pay tribute to those individuals or organisations who excel in providing quality care. 21 Huntley Avenue, owned by Westmorland and Furness Council, won the first award in the “Children with Disabilities” category. This award recognises excellence in service provision to children with disabilities and their families and nominees had to demonstrate how they go the extra mile in promoting the ability of children with disabilities. The second award success for the council on the night was for the Support Worker Award (North), with two staff members recognised as finalists (Carol Clifford and Sam Fletcher) – with Carol Clifford, Support Worker at 21 Huntley Avenue, taking home the award on the night. In reference to the 21 Huntley Avenue, the home's manager Scott Henry, said: “21 Huntley Avenue have the most child centered staff members I have ever had the privilege of working with, their attention to detail is first class. “The team have a sound understanding of a variety of disabilities. They are all very attentive to all the children who stay in the home not just their individual key children. “The children are very lucky to have such a devoted and dedicated staff team that truly make it a home from home. They strive for excellence and really push boundaries to ensure the children achieve their potential.” A huge congratulations to everyone at 21 Huntley Avenue!

**ASYE Open Evening** Tuesday 12 November, 6-7pm on Microsoft Teams. Book your place by emailing [email protected] We're holding an ASYE open evening for Newly Qualified Social Workers and Social Work Students to share our Children's Social Work Academy Offer, and the benefits of working for Westmorland and Furness Council. Come along and find out more about: - The assessed and Supported Year in Employment as a NQSW. - Our Children's Social Work Academy career pathway and management pathway. - Our induction programme including comprehensive training package and shadowing opportunities. - The support available to you throughout your ASYE and beyond. - What it's like to complete your ASYE in Westmorland and Furness from our current NQSWs and their assessors. - The positive culture at W&F, which was highlighted during our recent Ofsted inspection where we were rated as "Good" overall. - The benefits of working for us - including free parking and much more! #SocialWork #ASYE #SocialWorkAcademy #NewlyQualifiedSocialWorker

A tree-mendous day which was a great opportunity to come together and discuss the importance of enhancing our green spaces and bringing people closer to nature 🌳💚

£370,000 grant confirmed to support major school decarbonisation study Westmorland and Furness Council has been awarded £370,000 to carry out a major decarbonisation assessment across all 69 schools for which the council has responsibility. This follows the successful application for a Low Carbon Skills Fund (LCSF) grant from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. The grant, delivered by Salix, will support the council’s journey to becoming net zero by enabling energy efficiency and usage studies to be carried out at every council owned school. The assessment will investigate where changes and improvements could be made to increase the green credentials of buildings and how budget savings could be achieved on school energy costs. Council officers undertook an extensive review to support the application, the results of which looked into energy usage at every school, through a combination of energy certificates, reports and physical assessments. They were able to draw on their experience from a previous project focussing on the council’s corporate properties, which helped their successful bid for this heavily oversubscribed funding source. The final report is expected to outline proposals for improvements to the buildings through work such as better insulation and options for introducing renewable energy to help schools run more efficiently and reduce costs. The council will be going out to tender in the Autumn to produce a carbon management plan for each school by the end of March 2025.