A presentation took place at Park View School, Chester le Street on Wednesday 25 May, when North Lodge Parish Council Chairman, Dennis Hall, presented students with a prestigious Platinum Jubilee Commemorative Badge…..

Over 250 students were in attendance to hear Councillor Hall speak about the importance of the Platinum Jubilee and its significance to local communities…He spoke also about the role of Parish Councils and the work that they do in  Parish areas…

Councillor Hall said,’ At the heart of all of this Celebration, is the opportunity to commemorate the life of a monarch who represents certain values: commitment to public service, and the importance of doing things to support people where we live in our community’

Councillor Hall went on to say that’ My Council and your School share the same commitment to community values, so it is right today that we both support the Platinum Jubilee with the presentation of a commemorative badge……’

School Head, Mrs Pam Hall, said that she was thrilled that the Council had supported the School with the badges, and explained that these badges will prove memorable for the students, who will all receive one as part of the Council’s Jubilee initiatives…

Dennis Hall

Chairman

On Monday 16th May 2022 a presentation took place at Park View School, Lombard Drive, Chester-Le-Street, when the awards were presented for the Park View School/North Lodge Parish Council Community Arts Platinum Jubilee Awards

The Arts Awards encourages school children to submit artworks on a community theme and the winners’ artwork will be publicly displayed across the Parish.

School children were invited to develop their artistic skills by preparing a piece of art on a civic or Platinum Jubilee theme.

The Awards are supported by North Lodge Parish Council. Council Chairman, Dennis Hall, said that the judges had been given a ‘tough task’ because so many of the submissions from the children at the School were quite exceptional.

“Indeed, for this reason”, he said, “the judges felt that, in addition to the three award winners, the eight paintings that were categorised as ‘commendable’ were considered so good that they also deserved an award”

Councillor Hall thanked the Head of Art, Elaine Wright, for all her arduous work over recent months in delivering the scheme, and also thanked Head of School, Andrew Finley, and the Deputy, Pam Hall, for their tremendous support for the Arts Awards, which are planned to run for a further two years.

Thanks also went to Councillors Margaret Caygill, Patrick Driscoll and John Waugh for representing North Lodge Parish Council on the judges panel in what proved to be a most difficult and challenging task.

 

Annual Report 2021-2022

The latest Financial Information is –

Audit 2020-2021

Completion Notice Audit 2021

 

Please do what you can to help –

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ukraine-what-you-can-do-to-help

 

Watch out for fake text messages pretending to be from the NHS. Since Jan 1st, 412 victims have reported losses totalling more than £531,000. Please use the following links if you would like to see an example of the fake NHS messages reported to Action Fraud:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/actionfrauduk/status/1498945958427594752?s=20&t=RL99N7i-yXmXcqU2xUbiiw

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/actionfraud/photos/a.411244602226592/7380075412010108/

What you need to look out for: 

• Be aware of requests for personal information in messages claiming to be from the NHS.
• Be alert to links or attachments in unexpected messages claiming to be from the NHS.
• Do not respond to requests for money, bank details or passwords. The NHS will NEVER ask for payment or any financial details.

How to report scam messages:

• If you are suspicious about an email, forward it to report@phishing.gov.uk.
• If you are suspicious about a text message, forward it to the number 7726 (it’s free of charge).

For information on NHS coronavirus testing, visit: www.nhs.uk

https://durhampcc.welcomesyourfeedback.net/s/8lyadr

Think WIDE(N) – https://www.ourwatch.org.uk/thinkwiden

The Parish Council is pleased to announce the establishment of a Community Fund. Applications for grants are being encouraged from local voluntary and community groups for funding towards projects and initiatives that will primarily benefit residents and communities in the North Lodge Parish Council area. Funding will be available from 1^st April 2022 to 31^st March 2024. For the first year, a total of £12K is available, with a maximum application limit of £6K. Application forms and full details regarding eligible applicants and purposes can be obtained from the Clerk at clerk@northlodgeparishcouncil.gov.uk or by telephone 0191 3892516.

Bad password practice is more prevalent than you might think – the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre carried out analysis of passwords leaked in data breaches and found that more than 23 million users worldwide used 123456 as a password. You can read more about it here: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/news/most-hacked-passwords-revealed-as-uk-cyber-survey-exposes-gaps-in-online-security
Here are some top tips that will make your life easier and your online accounts more secure:
1: Creating memorable passwords
A good way to create strong, memorable passwords is by using 3 random words. But remember, don’t use words that can be guessed (like your pet’s name). You can include numbers and symbols if you need to. For example, “RedPantsTree4!”
2: Saving passwords in your browser
Saving your password in your browser means letting your web browser (such as Chrome, Safari or Edge) remember your password for you.
This can help:

• make sure you do not lose or forget your passwords
• protect you against some cyber crime, such as fake websites

It is safer than using weak passwords, or using the same password in more than one place.
Here are some useful links on how you can start saving passwords in your browser: Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Safari.
3: Email account passwords
If a hacker gets into your email account, they could:

• reset your other online account passwords
• access personal information you have saved about yourself or your business

Your email password should be strong and different to all your other passwords. This will make it harder to crack or guess.
Need help changing your email account password? You can use these links to find step by step instructions: Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, Outlook, BT, AOL Mail.
For more of the government’s latest advice on how to stay secure online, visit the Cyber Aware website: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/cyberaware