Good afternoon, I hope this message finds you well. Today is the last day ahead of the Christmas break for many of you, including most staff working in our schools

The recent news on the new variant is not something any of us wanted to hear. After all that has happened since March 2020 everyone had hoped to put the coronavirus pandemic behind them by Christmas. Unfortunately, this is not the case. As you will all have all seen the First Minister has today asked everyone to reduce the number of people they are in close contact with in the run-up to Christmas to help protect their families and loved ones over the festive season. The Welsh Government is issuing strong guidance to support people through the Christmas period, with new measures to follow on 27 December.  I know it’s been a long and difficult term, with colleagues working harder than ever to find new ways in which to keep pupils learning while keeping them, their families, and colleagues safe. I’d like to echo the words of Paula Ham in her message to all schools earlier this week:  It is without doubt that your support has enabled pupils’ readiness to learn following the impact of the lock downs and on-going changes to their daily lives. Earlier this year we were told that schools would return to ‘business as usual’ in spite of the pandemic. You have achieved far more the usual business as you have transitioned to delivering the very best for your pupils under the most challenging of circumstances.

Clearly, the booster dose is vital in improving protection against the fast-moving variant. In Cardiff and the Vale the health board is auto-scheduling appointments and when it’s your turn, you will be invited for your booster. You should receive both a text message and a letter in the post. If you live outside of Cardiff and Vale health board area you can check the details for your health board area online.

As the First Minister has said people should prioritise getting their booster. However, the same measures that have kept us safe for the last 20 months are still just as important. You should continue to work from home unless it is absolutely necessary for you to attend one of our buildings. If you are working in one of our buildings, you should keep at least 2m distance from others at all times and remember the importance of good ventilation and regular hand washing. You should wear a face covering when indoors in any public spaces. You should get tested immediately if you have any symptoms of Covid-19 and isolate in line with the current guidance if you are required to do so.

Amongst all the Covid activity of the past few days I have been lucky enough to be involved in some work that has underlined to me why no amount of disruption will stop our teams delivering for those that need us. On Thursday SLT colleagues and I were at the Docks Office helping our Children Services team organise and wrap more than 1000 presents that will be distributed to families supported by our Social Services department. The gifts have been donated by businesses and other organisations across the Vale. While it is sobering to think that there are children and young people that might otherwise have nothing to open on Christmas Day, it was heart-warming to see how the community has come together to help address this and how our teams have worked so hard to coordinate all these efforts.  

While we were together, Paula, Lance, Miles and I were also able to record a quick video message for today’s advent calendar. I hope it raises a smile or two and conveys our serious admiration, appreciation and thanks to you all.

 I have also been to Penarth this week to get a sneak peak of the Council’s second food pod which opens today. Operated by the Vale Homes team the food pods offer local residents tinned and perishable goods, toiletries and hygiene products on a pay-as you-feel basis. The goods are often donated by commercial kitchens and social enterprises. The initiative has so far been a great success and Future Generations Commissioner Sophie Howe also paid the new pod a visit this week.

These projects are a great reminder of the commitment of our staff and in line with this earlier today I was delighted to be able to surprise Karen and Julie in our Democratic Services team with their long service awards. The pair have both hit the milestone of working for local government for 40 years. It was a lovely way to end the week.

To those of you finishing today for a well-deserved extended break, I hope you have a very Merry Christmas. To everyone else I hope you have a great weekend. As always thank you all for your efforts this week. Diolch yn fawr iawn.

Rob.