• New Strategic Direction for county council approved

• Plan focuses on five core priorities

• Communities at heart of two-year direction

• Updated Natural Environment Strategy sets out how the county council will protect and enhance nature across Staffordshire.

• New actions include targeted species recovery, wildlife friendly verge management, natural flood solutions, hedgerow restoration and installing features like bat boxes on new council developments.

• Biodiversity Report shows strong progress since 2024, including habitat restoration, targeted action for species, reduced peat and pesticide use, pollinator planting and growing community involvement.

• Staffordshire parents Steph and Matt praise Staffordshire County Council's Hungry Little Minds campaign for the help its given them in raising their daughter, as they become the 8,000th family to sign up.

• The campaign gives advice on actions they can take with their child at each age and stage, including to read and talk to their baby from the moment they're born.

• It launched in 2020 and sends personalised emails to parents twice a month.

• Staffordshire County Council is supporting the Young Friends Against Scams campaign, which provides guidance to young people on protecting themselves from scams.

• The campaign features learning tools to teach young people how to spot fraud, which exists across countless areas such as buying concert tickets, gaming purchases and fake photography/modelling services.

• Young people are asked to sign up as a Young Friend Against Scams to share advice that they have learnt to others.

• Cannock Family Hub continues to support hundreds of families across the district.

• The Family Hub works closely with local organisations, such as West Chadsmoor Family Centre and Cannock Chase Teen ASC and Mental Health Group, which provide weekly sessions that range from helping babies to neurodivergent teenagers.

• More support available at the centre, and rooms at Rugeley Community Centre, include early years activities, well-baby clinics, school nurse sessions, SEND support and much more.

• New highways approach is already improving how roadworks are planned and communicated.

• £15m investment will speed up tackling road defects through local repair teams.

• Emphasis is on local repair teams who can act quickly when problems arise

The council is introducing its first Community Safety Strategy, a three year plan to improve safety across Staffordshire.

It sets out a new approach focused on prevention, early action, and shared responsibility.

Priorities include protecting vulnerable people, creating safer places, tackling root causes of harm, and ensuring clear accountability.

Local pupils have helped to plant 30 pear, apple and cherry trees in Pye Green, as well as a mini forest.

The project was funded by Defra's 'Trees for Climate' programme.

The project aims to teach children new skills, support wildlife, and create a space for the community to enjoy for years to come.

• A touring comic book collection and exhibition will be travelling across Staffordshire.

• Over 1,500 comics donated to Staffordshire Libraries will tour the county's libraries across a 2-year period as part of the National Year of Reading 2026.

• The collection includes X-MEN, Guardians of the Galaxy, Simpsons comics and much more, plus the work of comic book artist Kieron Gillen, who grew up in Staffordshire.

• Secondary School attendance campaign, delivered by Staffordshire County Council, has launched.

• The I'm Here campaign is designed to boost school attendance by providing resources to schools and address challenges in pupils' lives.

• The campaign's webpage includes resources to help with mental health support and two videos filmed with pupils and staff of a Staffordshire school.