03 September, 2021

Dear Colleagues,

I hope this message finds you well. To those who have returned from an extended summer break, welcome back. I hope you enjoyed your summer holidays.  

I would like to start this message with a thank you to the staff engagement group, and in particular colleagues in Organisational Development, who have been busy finalising the Culture Book ready for its launch on Monday 6 September. The culture book builds on our employee engagement work and is an evolution of the Staff Charter. It simply sets out what employees can expect from our organisation and what we aspire to through our values. As part of the launch, I’ll be hosting a special question time session on Tuesday 14 September. If you would like to attend, please book your place in advance. As always, for anyone who is unable to attend the session a recording will be available through iDev.  

Most of our school pupils will also be returning to lessons on Monday, I know all school based staff will have been busy preparing for a new term to begin over the past few weeks – diolch yn fawr to you all for the efforts you have made over the Summer to enable children to return to school safely and I wish you all the best of luck for the next academic year. I hope it goes well and that we are able to continue to adapt to changing circumstances over the next few months.  

Our Learn Welsh courses will also be starting a new academic year from this month, offering a blend of face to face and online learning they are a fantastic opportunity to enhance your skills. Welsh can be a particularly useful skill for those working in roles dealing with the public, as we are a bilingual organisation who offers bilingual services. If you would like to find out more you can read what some of our existing learners had to say about their experiences. Courses are offered free of charge to staff and can be undertaken in work time. I cannot mention these courses without saying ‘Diolch yn fawr’ to all those who are involved in running them, from the coordinators to the tutors themselves. Our Dysgu Cymraeg team really is one of the best in Wales.  

On a slightly different note, the Food Pod that was recently launched in the St Luke’s estate in Penarth, with the help of our housing department, is looking for volunteers. This is a brilliant example of our organisation working alongside the community and aims to ensure everyone can access good quality, affordable food and at the same time reducing food waste. Volunteers will have the opportunity to gain a level 2 food safety qualification, free of charge. I would be grateful if you could pass this information on to anyone you think may be able to help. 

Since I started sending out weekly messages way back in the Spring of 2020, I have been really pleased to receive regular contact from staff across the entire organisation wanting to highlight the excellent work that we do as a local Council.  Please remember if you have a colleague, project, or team you would like me to mention in any upcoming messages, feel free to reply to this email or contact me separately.  I am always pleased to hear from colleagues and even more pleased to reference the really good work that we do.   

I hope you all have an enjoyable weekend. Take care.

Diolch yn fawr, 

Rob.