Two inspirational children receive certificates of excellence from The Mayor of Southend

March 18, 2022

Two children looked after by the council have been awarded certificates of excellence by The Mayor of Southend-on-Sea to celebrate their achievements.

Callum Nabelski, 13, described as an ‘exceptionally thoughtful and engaging 13-year-old young man’, exercised good insight, compassion and wisdom when alerting authorities to a Southend resident who was unwell in their home.

Callum was working on his paper round when he noticed a resident hadn’t been collecting their papers from their letter box. Callum exercised good judgement and exemplary character by alerting the apartment warden. This led to further investigations, which resulted in the resident, who lived on their own, being able to receive support at a critical time in their life.

George Day, 15, described as ‘a wonderful young man’, attends cadets twice a week and is active in his community particularly during the weeks leading up to Remembrance Sunday when he carries out fundraising activities. George’s ambition is to become an army medic.

Since coming into care, George’s school attendance and attitude to learning have improved so much which resulted in him being nominated by his fostering agency for a national award for excelling in education, which he won.

As looked after children, both Callum and George were invited to a special event at the Civic Centre hosted by The Mayor of Southend where they were joined by representatives from Children’s Social Care and Cllr Laurie Burton, cabinet member for children and learning.

Cllr Laurie Burton said: “It’s really important for us to recognise when children we are responsible for achieve success like Callum and George have. This is something we absolutely should be highlighting.

“Children with the right support will achieve and do great things. Our vision is that all children in Southend should be able to achieve success and both George and Callum exemplify this. We are incredibly proud of them both.”