Date: 21 February 2023

Reference Number: 6045

Cheshire West and Chester Council is encouraging parents and carers with children who attend local authority maintained schools in the borough to take part in a consultation on proposals to vary the current Standardised School Year. 

The Standardised School Year is a set of principles used to set out school term and holiday dates for schools in an area.

Term dates and holidays in England are set by the Council for community and voluntary controlled schools, by the governing body for foundation and voluntary aided schools and by the academy trust for free schools and academies.

The proposal is to vary the current Standardised School Year for Cheshire West and Chester’s community and voluntary controlled schools based on feedback from schools and parents.  

Councillor Robert Cernik, Cabinet Member for Children and Families said: “In 2012 the Council consulted on and adopted the current Standardised School Year, which aligned our school term dates with other neighbouring authorities. In recent years, more councils have moved away from this model.

“We are aware that differing term dates for schools may be causing inconvenience for some of our families and school staff across the borough. At the moment some primary and secondary schools don’t always have the same holiday dates, and we are out of sync with our neighbouring areas, which can make it difficult for parents.

“The Council is now consulting on a proposal that will bring our term dates more in line with neighbouring authorities and will help parents with children at more than one school to know that their holidays will fall at the same time.

“We would like to hear from as many parents and carers of children attending west Cheshire schools as possible, to make sure we get it right.

“To take part in the consultation and view the consultation documents, please visit our consultation webpage where you can have your say in a number of different ways.”

visit: www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/standardschoolyear

Date: 22 February 2023

Reference Number: 6044

Applications are now open for communities in Cheshire West and Chester to receive up to £500 to fund celebrations and activities to mark the Coronation of King Charles III.

The Coronation of His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort will take place at Westminster Abbey on Saturday 6 May 2023 and many communities may wish to celebrate the historic occasion with events over the Coronation Weekend between Saturday 6 and Monday 8 May 2023 and throughout the Coronation year.

An additional bank holiday has been granted on 8 May and, as with other significant royal occasions, this is an opportunity to spend time and celebrate with friends, family and communities.

To help communities celebrate the occasion, each existing ward councillor has a budget of £500 to support the celebrations and activities in their own ward and/or the wider borough. Applicants can apply for a maximum of £500 and minimum of £100 per project, per ward councillor.

Councillor Carol Gahan, Cabinet Member for Finance and Legal, said: “The Council considers the Coronation to be an important and monumental occasion for the residents of the Borough, and we are delighted to be able to offer funding for our communities to come together in celebration of the event. An additional budget allocation has been made available to each existing ward councillor to support community-based activity in recognition of the year of the Coronation. We look forward to the celebrations and seeing community spirit in action.”

Applications will be considered from groups who show they are providing a community-based activity in recognition of the year of the Coronation. Funding applications open on 22 February, and close on 22 March 2023. Payments for successful applications will start to be released on 3 April 2023.

For guidance on how to plan an event and to apply for funding, visit the Council website: https://www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/residents/leisure-parks-and-events/arts-and-festivals/organising-a-street-party/coronation-events

If organisers want to discuss a potential funding application, they can contact their local Communities team:

Chester – ChesterLocality@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk;
Ellesmere Port – EllesmerePortLocality@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk;
Northwich and Winsford – NorthwichWinsfordLocality@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk;
Rural areas – RuralLocality@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk)