Culture and Sport for Hard to Reach Groups
Work to provide cultural and sport services to hard-to-reach groups has won Leicester City Council Beacon Status for the seventh consecutive year.
Beacons are awarded by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), and Leicester has now been awarded Beacon Status eight times, having picked up two awards in one year in 2003/04.
Chief Executive Rodney Green said: “I want to congratulate staff and partners for developing important services that help to break down barriers between communities and also contribute to education and health priorities.
“The award follows on from our four-star rating from the Audit Commission earlier this year, and I am delighted that the hard work of the council and its partners is being recognised in this way.”
Leicester is using sport and culture to make a real difference, working closely with partner organisations and the diverse communities that live in the city. The services that scored so highly with the ODPM judging panel include:
- free swimming lessons and free delivery of library services to looked-after children
- specialist sports coaching courses to enable local people to coach disabled and special needs groups
- a project that brought together young people from across the city to learn different sports.
A programme of dissemination activities and mentoring opportunities will be available during the Beacon year. For more information please contact the Beacon Co-ordinator on 0116 252 6738 or e-mail beacon.culture@leicester.gov.uk