Heritage Community Events

Lister Steps & The Old Library Project Community Events L ister Steps are restoring The Old Library on Green Lane into a new multi-use space for our community. Get involved with our springtime events & activities to be part of the story! Every Monday | Knit & Natter 10am to 12pm at Lister Steps Join us every Monday & learn to knit over a cup of tea and a friendly chat. Equipment provided, beginners welcome! Every Friday | Researching our Roots 1pm to 3pm at Lister Steps Interested in local history? Our volunteers will help you carry out your own research into L13’s heritage & share what they’ve discovered so far. Drop in once or come every week! Thursday 5 March | Try out Belly Dancing 6.30pm to 7.30pm at Lister Steps Have fun & keep fit at our belly dancing trial session. No experience needed & everyone is welcome. Contact us to book your free place. Saturday 14 March | The Old Library Open Day 10am to 3pm at The Old Library Visit The Old Library to see the latest progress on site. Sturdy footwear is essential. Thursday 26 March | Liverpool’s Heritage: people, places & spaces Doors open at 6.30pm at The Racquet Club, Hargreaves Buildings, 5 Chapel St, Liverpool L3 9AG Join us for an evening of fundraising as we debate how old buildings across our city can bring new life to communities. Contact us to book your ticket for £6, including refreshments. Saturday 28 March | Community Litter Pick 10.30am to 12noon at Newsham Park Meet at Lake View Kiosk Cafe & help us tidy up the park for the Great British Spring Clean. All equipment provided. Wednesday 1 April | One Year on Site 6.30pm to 8pm at St Cecilia’s Club Hear from members of the project team as we look back at the first 12 months on site & our plans once we relocate. For more information, email: olivia.johnson@listersteps.co.uk or call: 07988 778 372. You can also visit our website at: www.listerstepshub.co.uk Lister Steps, Old School Site, Lister Drive, L13 7HH

Visionary Local School is World Leader

Parents, does your child or young person struggle with sensory impairment? Have you heard about St Vincent’ School in West Derby? We went to meet the Principal, Dr John Patterson, to hear all about it… Set in lush grounds, the school is impressive from the moment you step inside. The walls are plastered with awards, but these are not decorations; they are a showcase of how the pupils within the school are thriving, thanks to the carefully crafted, creative curriculum and the dedicated staff. It’s no wonder Ofsted have awarded the school successive ‘Outstanding’ inspection results. St Vincent’s has clearly come a long way since it was established, 185 years ago, then run by nuns. The school is an oasis of creative restoration and a launch-pad into the world. It offers the full National Curriculum, catering for children from Foundation Stage to post 16, for day placements as well as residential.

Principal Dr Patterson explains, “We provide full time school for children with sensory impairment as an alternative to mainstream, but many parents don’t realise that it doesn’t have to be a choice of one or the other. A pupil with sensory impairment would benefit greatly from taking part in our curriculum for arranged day-visits in collaboration with their mainstream school. Pupils enjoy music, dance, art, drama, sport, ICT and environmental studies. Come and visit us!” The school specialises in maximising academic achievement, personal development, independence and self-worth, and clearly ‘walks-the-talk’. Every pupil has an individual Education and Care Plan enhanced with specialist therapies such as speech and language, physiotherapy and music therapy. This excellence is too good to be kept within the confines of the school, though. Children and teachers from around the world visit to learn from their practices and take them back to their home countries, bringing transformation to areas of the world where visually impaired people are in great need of improved understanding, inclusivity and resources.

Here are just some of the school’s amazing achievements: • Pupils develop business ideas, and their entrepreneurship generates trade for the area: the launch of SightBox, containing sports equipment designed by the students, prototyped and sent to manufacture. These boxes are purchased by Rotary Clubs and schools around the world in support of Visually Impaired pupils internationally (@ sightboxuk). St Vincent’s has partnered with Silver & Rose Opticians to provide specialist glasses for young people with albinism around the world. • Readings using braille of students’ own work at civic events such as the recent launch of Liverpool’s Year of Reading. • Song writing with Nathan West of East of Ely fame. • The ‘Lasting Legacy’ project, with the support of the Liverpool Rotary Club, remembering those who lost their sight during the Great War. Hand-made ceramics were presented to Her Majesty the Queen, the Palaces of Westminster, and to the City of Liverpool. • Awarded ‘Freedom of the City’ in 2005.

• Reverse Inclusion activities such as Parkrun with sighted-guides, Scouts club, the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, Gardening Club (achieving Britain in Bloom 2018 Outstanding) are just a few of the creative opportunities for students at the school.

Below: Dr John Patterson, Principal

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The school’s enterprise ethos is worth a special mention. Dr Patterson explained, ‘Sensory impaired people are recognised as the most untapped part of the workforce, with high unemployment rates and social isolation. St Vincent’s school doesn’t just buck these trends; it smashes them, signposting and equipping its students to thrive in all areas of life including employment.’ Cabinet Member for Education, Employment and Skills, and Councillor for Yew Tree Ward Councillor Barbara Murray says, “St Vincent’s Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs is based in Yew Tree ward and has been a thoroughly open and welcoming place since Dr John Patterson became Headteacher. I love to visit and learn about reversed inclusion and all the different projects the students are involved in locally, nationally and internationally. The Sightbox is changing lives and it originated here in Liverpool, how wonderful is that!” Deputy Mayor of Liverpool and local Councillor Gary Millar says, “I have never seen a school go to such lengths to ensure they give their students life changing opportunities using technology, ambition,

partnerships, care and compassion. The school is outstanding here in Liverpool and is making some serious noises in Westminster and across the world. They understand the asks from the United Nations and can quote you their SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) where every student and teacher really wants to make the world a better place — St Vincent’s is my definition of what 2020 vision truly means!” What next? Meetings with the Department for International Development to demonstrate how products such as SightBox promote aid, trade and security for sensory impaired people. Also watch out for the school’s involvement when Liverpool hosts the 2021 Special Olympics! Enquiries are welcome. For more information or to arrange a visit, call the school office on 0151 228 9968 or email office@stvin.com, visit the school website stvin.com or follow on Twitter @stvincentsL12 & @DrJohnAPatters1 sightbox.org.uk

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