Online Safety for Children, New Adult Social Care Plan, NCC Legal Challenge Update & More
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Today's Quote of the Day - "A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly." — Jane Austen
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Justin Doddy, Editor
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School children learn how to stay safe online at Safety Zone event
Nottinghamshire Police currently has a team of SEIOs who cover neighbourhood areas across the force and are embedded at schools across the city and county.
“A lot of kids have TikTok accounts or Snapchats and they sometimes have followers on there who they may not always know who they are.
"It's just getting them to understand and realise that that could be anybody from anywhere in the world and they may not just want to be their friends."
These are the words of Nottinghamshire Police Schools and Early Intervention Officer (SEIO) PC Natalie Sinclair who educated schoolchildren about how to keep themselves safe online at the annual Safety Zone event held at Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre in Rushcliffe.
PC Sinclair and fellow SEIO PC John Graham engaged with hundreds of Year 5 and 6 city schoolchildren as they delivered engaging interactive online safety sessions at the event on Friday (11 September).
Officers and schoolchildren took part in a game and discussion about whether or not it would be safe to share different types of personal information with strangers, such as bank details, first names, social media usernames, passwords and posting photos online of their hobbies or places of work.
Pupils were encouraged to continue having fun, but to be careful of how much information they share publicly.
They were also taught top tips for creating stronger passwords, such as using a string of random words which are more difficult to decode.
PC Sinclair said:
"The kids we engaged with on Friday reacted really well to everything we did and at the end of each session we asked them what they had learned.
"Artificial Intelligence (AI) is moving so fast these days and it's so important for young people to be made aware of the potential risks and know how they can stay safe and protect themselves when they're online.
"It's also about making them aware of the consequences of certain behaviours and understanding that if they are misusing social media and posting things online that they shouldn't be doing the there are consequences to such behaviour."
Nottinghamshire Police currently has a team of SEIOs who cover neighbourhood areas across the force and are embedded at schools across the city and county.
SEIOs work primarily with secondary school communities in Nottinghamshire throughout the year and provide bespoke, professional support to educational institutions to engage vulnerable young people who are at risk of offending or disruptive behaviour.
They are part of a wider support network to mitigate the risk presented by pupils, thereby reducing the need to transfer young people to pupil referral units or alternative education provision.
The officers can also help divert young people, where appropriate, away from the criminal justice system through early intervention and restorative justice.
Safety Zone is an annual two-week event organised by Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, with the first week held for city schools and the second for county schools.
Organisations who supported this year's event, and which gave their valuable input, were Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, Nottinghamshire Police, East Midlands Ambulance Service, British Transport Police, the Canal and River Trust, Nottingham City Transport, National Grid, charity Hope UK and Via Road Safety.
The event involves interactive workshops covering a range of topics, including how to keep safe around open water, safety on the railways and around electrical substations and pylons, and first aid.
Parents, carers, educators and young people are encouraged to visit Nottinghamshire Police's website where they can find out how to keep themselves safe online and what they can do if they're a victim of an online crime.
https://www.nottinghamshire.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/online-safety/online-safety/
Content courtesy of Nottinghamshire Police
Nottinghamshire County Council has published its new Adult Social Care Plan for 2026-28
The plan has been shaped by local people, carers and staff, focusing on what matters most: getting the basics right, faster access to support , clearer information, better communication and services that work together seamlessly.
Over the past year, improvements have included better support while people wait for assessments, increased help for unpaid carers, greater use of technology to support independence, more community-based services and stronger partnerships across health and voluntary organisations.
Looking ahead, the council's priorities include:
⭐ Promoting wellbeing and independence
⭐ Improving information and advice
⭐ Supporting communities and unpaid carers
⭐ Delivering flexible, joined-up support
⭐ Helping people prepare for life changes
⭐ Developing a skilled and consistent workforce
The plan aims to help people live with dignity, independence, choice and connection within their communities. 💚
Further information on the 2026 – 28 Adult Social Care Plan can be found on the county council’s website at Adult Social Care Plan 2026 to 2028 | Nottinghamshire County Council
Content courtesy of Nottinghamshire County Council
Mayor Claire Ward is calling on East Midlands employers to help shape the region’s future workforce through the new Generation East Midlands campaign.
Businesses across Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire are being encouraged to pledge practical opportunities for young people, helping them gain valuable workplace experience, develop skills and build confidence for the future.
Employers can support the initiative by offering:
• Work experience placements
• Workplace visits
• Mentoring opportunities
• Apprenticeships
• Entry-level jobs
• Interview support
The campaign is part of EMCCA’s Youth Ambition programme, which aims to ensure every young person is seen, heard and supported to achieve their potential. It comes at a time when around 40,000 young people across the region are not currently in education, employment or training.
By joining Generation East Midlands, employers can play a direct role in creating opportunities, tackling barriers to employment and helping to build a stronger, more inclusive workforce for the future.
Businesses interested in getting involved can register their interest or discuss making a pledge by contacting pledge@eastmidlands-cca.gov.uk.
Content courtesy of East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA)
Nottinghamshire County Council leader says his authority has a “good case” for a potential legal challenge over the government’s plan to re-shape and merge the area’s authorities.
By: Lauren Monaghan, LDRS
The government made headlines last Monday (September 7) when Angela Rayner, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, announced an abrupt pause on Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in England.
LGR for some English local authorities has been in the pipeline since December 2024, when the government set out its plan to shake-up and merge councils to create new unitary authorities and abolish the existing two-tier council structure seen in some areas.
It meant that by 2028, Nottinghamshire’s nine local authorities would be reduced to just two unitaries, with the government confirming in July that sections of Broxtowe, Gedling and Rushcliffe would be merged with Nottingham to form one unitary and a second unitary authority would cover the rest of the county.
The plans had been subject to criticism since being announced, with concerns the LGR process was being ‘rushed’ through and for potential service impacts, local representation and the public consultation itself.
Rushcliffe and Broxtowe borough councils previously intended to assess whether a judicial review on July’s decision was possible. This involves a judge reviewing the lawfulness of a decision or action made by a public body but can only be launched to challenge the way a decision was made, rather than the rights and wrongs of a decision.
A lawyer was appointed to assess whether a judicial review on the decision had a “potential to succeed” but concluded an application for review was more likely to fail than to succeed.
Now, and despite the government’s LGR pause, Nottinghamshire County Council is ramping up its own efforts to push for a potential judicial review over the government’s re-shaping plan – shortly after sending two letters to Ms Rayner seeking more clarification on the decision.
In the authority’s cabinet meeting on Tuesday, September 22, councillors are being asked to delegate authority to council leader, Mick Barton, to “commence legal proceedings” on the government’s LGR decision.
Council documents state the estimation of the total costs – if “proceedings reached the substantive stage” – incurred by the council would be between £450,000 to £500,000.
There are strict time limits for organisations to apply to judicial review claims – within three months of the date the grounds of a claim first arose.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, council leader, Mick Barton, said:
“They’ve called an [LGR] pause, we’ve still got a legal right to do what we’re doing and I want to make the government know that we’re still serious.
“If we pause it [judicial review efforts], and they come back at the end of October and say they’re going with their original [LGR] decision, we’ve lost our 90 days timescale, so I’m still going to go ahead with this.”
Cllr Barton says his authority is expecting a response from Ms Rayner by the end of September regarding its most recent letter seeking clarification over the shake-up decision.
He said:
“I want them to know we’re definitely going for judicial review.
“I’ve done this really calmly and really professionally. I’ve asked the [government] twice now, I know my case and I know why I don’t think they should have gone with the city option because it went against the finances, the boundaries, the building blocks.”
The leader says he believes the authority has got a “good case” for a judicial review, adding:
“We want the best outcome for the residents, is what we want to achieve. We are in neverland at the minute, I’m waiting for an answer with the government
“Our legal people are speaking with a barrister, they’ve said we’ve got a fairly good case, but I need to answers from government to why they came to the decision they did.
“The government could come back and say ‘actually we’ve got this wrong… we’ll pick option 1b [the whole of Broxtowe and Gedling merged with Nottingham]. If that’s the case, we haven’t got a judicial review then because what can we go on? But until these scenarios appear, I can’t comment on them.”
Cllr Barton says the County Council had already spent £1.1 million on “putting LGR together” for the county, before the re-shaping pause was called, and his authority is currently waiting to hear how much it will be reimbursed for the costs.
The authority’s cabinet will decide on this move next Tuesday.
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Justin Doddy, Editor
Bassetlaw Today
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