Confirmation of re-opening will be posted on Facebook early next week.

The platform will initially be accessible to leisure centre members, however we anticipate that the platform will be rolled out to non-members in May.

Using the Leisure Hub is a simple, efficient and interactive experience and will provide users with access to information, all in one place!

Members are able to:

• Book activities
• View timetables
• Make payments
• Join and pay online
• Switch memberships
• Manage your account

Members can now sign up and get started; click here.

On-call firefighters are crucial part of Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service as they provide invaluable front-line support to wholetime colleagues and communities across the county. They provide ‘on-call’ cover for their local fire stations and respond to a range of fire and rescue emergencies when an incident occurs, any time day or night.

Unlike wholetime firefighters, on-call firefighters aren’t based at the fire station 24 hours a day. They can continue their day-to-day activities but when they are ‘on-call’ and their alerter goes off, they need to respond. Many of our on-call firefighters already have primary employment and fit in their ‘on-call’ hours around their other commitments. The hours our on-call firefighters provide ‘on-call’ cover vary between day, night or weekend cover, or a combination of all three. On-call firefighters are trained to the same standards as their wholetime colleagues and therefore, respond to the same type of emergencies. We want to recruit more on-call firefighters across Staffordshire and create and support a diverse, healthy and professional workforce.

For further information; click here.

The six shortlisted titles for the Young Teen Fiction Award 2023 are:

• Spark by M.G. Leonard
• Unraveller by Frances Hardinge
• When I see Blue by Lily Bailey
• Fight Back by A.M. Dassu
• Once Upon a Fever by Angharad Walker
• The Bone Spindle by Leslie Vedder

Congratulations to these fine authors and thank you to everyone who nominated – there were over 9000 nominations for the shortlist this year!

11-14 year olds, if you have not read any of the shortlisted titles it is time to get reading! Borrow from your local library and decide who you think should win.

You can vote now, if you have already read them all, at the link: www.staffordshire.gov.uk/YTFshortlist

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram using #YTF2023 to keep up to date.

The winner will be announced at our celebration day hosted in partnership with our friends at RAF Museum, Midlands on 5^th July.

Stephen’s story is both challenging and inspirational. He was a normal young person who made the most of everyday opportunities. Although his life was short, Stephen provides a positive role model of a life well lived.

Like most young people, he juggled an active social life, school work, family commitments, and part-time employment. But he also had ambitions to use his talent for maths, art, and design to become an architect, and wanted to have a positive impact on his community.

Tragically, his dream of becoming an architect was never realised. On 22 April 1993, at the age of just 18, Stephen was murdered in an unprovoked racist attack. He didn’t know his killers and his killers didn’t know him.

The Stephen Lawrence Research Centre at De Montfort University and The Reading Agency have partnered to commemorate Stephen’s life and legacy, with the SL30 Reading Challenge designed to encourage a new generation to think about the world they live in as a place where everyone can thrive. The Challenge features free reading activities for children and young people that will celebrate the key themes of hope, love, care, and acceptance for all.

The Challenge is available to children aged 0-14 years from 1st April – 1st May 2023. Head to your local library to find out more.

Discover more about Stephen Lawrence Day and access learning resources for Primary and Secondary aged children at the Stephen Lawrence Day website.

The Big Help Out is open to all, and any organisation or individual can join in with or register an event via the app.

The objective of The Big Help Out is to raise awareness of volunteering throughout the UK and provide opportunities for people to experience volunteering and make a difference in their communities. This is not a profit making or fundraising initiative.

To mark His Majesty The King’s Coronation thousands of organisations across the country are getting together to give us all the chance to help out in our own local communities.

Starting on Monday, May 8th, there will be opportunities for everyone to join in. No matter what you are good at, there’ll be something to suit helping hands of all shapes and sizes! From checking in on someone who’d like a bit of company or volunteering for a charity the more of us who join in, the bigger help we will be.

If you can spare an hour…fantastic. The day?…amazing. If it becomes a regular thing, so much the better. If we all do a bit, it will really help a lot.

Help us to do something amazing. Join in, Lend a hand. Make a change!

Click here for further information; The Big Help Out | Home