On Tuesday we hosted the Solihull SEND awards in collaboration with Solihull Parent Carer Voice (SPCV). It was a fantastic evening, with 15 awards given out recognising the achievements of children and young people, as well as teachers and other school staff and organisations who work to support those growing up with additional needs.
There was a phrase we heard over and over that evening ‘despite all the challenges they have faced’. It says a lot, we are talking about kids who, alongside all the other things they have to deal with growing up, are overcoming huge personal challenges every day. It was incredibly inspiring to hear their stories - the reason for every single nomination was read out as they each walked to the stage – and I was honoured to present a couple of awards on the night. I won’t single out anyone in particular here, it simply wouldn’t be fair, and I know the judges had difficulty picking the winners, but I will say every single winner, everyone who was highly commended, and everyone who was nominated hugely deserved it.
SPCV put in a massive amount of work to make the event happen this year, and it showed as everything ran smoothly despite the fact we had to spread across several rooms of the Civic Suite to fit everyone in who wanted to attend! So, thank you to them and to the council staff who supported the event, and to Colebridge Trust for their support too. It was a really fantastic occasion and we are all looking forward to next year’s awards already. We’ll have a press release out next week with more detail, I’ll put the link in my next column or keep an eye on the Council website.
Whilst I’m on a roll thanking people, I must say how grateful I am to everyone who contributed to our drive to get Christmas presents to every child the Council supports this year. The response was absolutely amazing. We worked with MV Kelly, and Birmingham Airport to fulfil gift requests passed on by staff who work directly with the children. Dunelm’s staff and customers contributed to the drive too. We also had a tree up in the Civic Suite where people could take a tag with a gift request, the response was huge from members of the public, council staff, councillors and local small businesses. We’ve collected hundred and hundreds of presents, and our elves are sorting through them all at the moment to make sure they’re ready in plenty of time for Santa before the big day.
I always try to stay focused on local matters in this column, but sometimes things which take place on the other side of the world have a real impact close to home. We’ve welcomed a number of people from Hong Kong to Solihull in the last few years, and they’ve been a wonderful addition to our community. I know many of them were deeply affected by the terrible fire last week. I want them to know that my thoughts are with them during what must be an extremely difficult time.
The HAF (Holiday Activities and Food) programme will run again this Christmas holiday, providing fun activities for children and families. There will be holiday clubs as well as exciting trips, plus family activities, taking place over the wider holiday period. There’s family swimming, badminton and table tennis available at both our leisure centres and craft activities and festive party fun can be had at Evergreen Family Hub, with ice skating at Planet Ice Solihull. Bookings are open now. Activities are free for families entitled to benefits-related free school meals, but also available for all at reasonable prices.
Finally, tickets for Aladdin at The Core are selling fast (Oh Yes They Are!) It opens tomorrow and runs until 4 January. It’s great to have them back in Solihull and I’ve no doubt it’ll be a barnstorming show.
Thanks for reading,
Karen