Rob's Weekly Round Up

24 June 2022

Dear colleagues,

There is a great deal to get through this week, but I make no apologies that this message is longer than usual - there is so much good work happening and it’s important that it is shared.

I’d like to start with a really important update on the news I shared a few weeks ago that the Council would move to increase the hourly rate of pay for staff on grades 1 and 2 as quickly as possible.

I can now confirm that the new rate of £9.90 an hour will be paid from 01 July 2022.This rate matches the nationally recognised Real Living Wage which is set by the Living Wage Foundation. Rates are also being increased for our agency workers. We are now in the process of writing to all staff receiving the increase and I’d like to thank all of those involved in making this happen so quickly.

Over the course of the last week I have been lucky to see some of our great work first hand. Yesterday I was at Barry Waterfront for the launch of the Council’s bid for £20m of Levelling Up Funding from the UK Government. In recent weeks, colleagues have been working hard to prepare an ambitious bid for the Vale. The proposals, which were agreed by Cabinet on Thursday afternoon, are now available to view online and colleagues from our Regeneration team will be at Barry library next week to talk to residents about the bid before it is finalised. Thank you to all those who worked on the Bid, led by our Regeneration team and supported by colleagues from across the Council.  I am aware of how much hard work went into finalising the bid and the cabinet papers – well done to all those involved.

Earlier in the week I joined colleagues from the Electoral Registration team for a presentation to prize winners in a recent register to vote campaign. With those aged 16 and 17 now eligible to vote in Welsh elections it is more important than ever that young people get on the electoral register. It was great to meet young people who were interested in local politics. One told me she was amazed when the letter came through the door because she was looking to buy an iPad the night before. A very happy coincidence, and one brought about by colleagues in Electoral Registration and Communications who have run the campaign. Diolch pawb.

On Wednesday I was able to play a part in the Council’s marking of Windrush Day. This year’s celebration was marked by raising the Windrush Day flag outside the Civic Offices and lighting up Hood Road tunnel in the Windrush colours. It was an important statement in recognising the contribution of the Windrush generation to modern life in the UK as well as being another show of our commitment to developing a more inclusive workplace. This is something all staff can support by joining the Diverse Staff Network.

This coincided with the launch by colleagues in Learning and Skills and Big Fresh of an extended offer for free school meals in the Vale. Welsh Government announced on Monday that Reception pupils will be given school meals without charge from September, with pupils in the next two year groups joining them in April. I am very proud that here in the Vale we’ll be offering a much faster rollout, with all three year groups being offered free school meals from the start of the new school year. Only one other local authority in Wales is able to do the same and it is only possible thanks to the success of the Big Fresh venture, which will now be able to offer more hours to staff and create a number of new positions.

It has been a big few weeks for the Big Fresh team who also put in an impressive performance in the 2022 ‘Eat Them to Defeat Them’ catering challenge. The challenge saw school catering teams from across the country create a selection of dishes for each week of the competition.

I’d like to give a shout out to Tracey Smart, Kitchen Manager at Palmerston Primary School, who was inducted into the competition’s Hall of Fame. She was very ably assisted by Shirley Curnick, Catering Assistant at the school, and the pair received a prize of £100 and a certificate to recognise their achievement. Well done to the both of you.

Food poverty is one of the greatest challenges our communities face. I am proud to say it is also one where colleagues like those in Big Fresh and those behind schemes such as Big Bocs Bwyd in our schools, are doing amazing things to address. Another scheme to add to this list is the Food Vale partnership: a partnership of dedicated individuals, community groups, organisations and businesses working together. The Vale of Glamorgan has been awarded Bronze Sustainable Food Places status, becoming only the second place in Wales to achieve the prestigious accolade.

The award recognises pioneering work in promoting healthy and sustainable food. The Vale’s submission for the award focused on the Sustainable Food Action Plan, the Council’s own climate change challenge plan - Project Zero, and an innovative Food Access partnership in Llantwit Major. To have received it is another demonstration of how the Vale is leading the way, not just in Wales but across the UK, in how we tackle some of the biggest issues addressing our communities.

It’s always nice to be able to share the positive feedback that I receive on our work and I have two great examples this week.

A resident from Penarth wrote to me directly to praise the “professionalism, understanding, and knowledge” of Ali Saeed in our Building Control team. I’d like to say a huge thanks to Ali who has clearly made an excellent impression on this resident and shown them all that is good about the Vale.

I also received a glowing compliment about Gwyn Nelson who leads the work of the Wales Coastal Monitoring Centre which is based here in the Vale. Gwyn has recently worked with pupils from a number of schools in Barry. The Barry Island Primary School headteacher, Matt Gilbert, emailed me afterwards to say that “Gwyn and his team used their expert knowledge and advice to support lesson plans with the schools’ Year 6 teachers. The conclusion of this wonderful project now involves the children showcasing their skill development as part of an exhibition for parents.”

I am told that the Whitmore feeder schools would like to say a huge thank you to Gwyn and his team for all their hard work. I’d like to echo those sentiments. You can see more of how the Council is supporting the education of pupils with real life learning experiences through Project Zero in this video from Barry Island Primary that was created by Year 6 teacher Nia Hicks.  

Thursday marked the start of Youth Work week. We have a thriving Youth Service here in the Vale, who support young people across the county from 11-25 years old. Their work covers services open to all such as youth clubs and after-school clubs, and targeted support for those that most need it, often focusing on wellbeing, homelessness and those young people not in education, training or employment. The service is one of our best examples of partnership working - both with internal and external colleagues. The staff are professionally qualified and most importantly hugely passionate about what they do.

Their work during the pandemic has been recognised through nominations and awards. Including a Bronze Quality Mark for youth work in Wales which has seen their work shown as a case study in good practice to other youth services across Wales.

Offering more people more opportunities to participate in decision making is one of our top priorities as a Council and the Youth Service is at the centre of this work. In 2021 the team was awarded the Participation Standards Charter and they are currently a key player in the internal network of officers that will deliver on our commitments in the Public Participation Strategy.

During Youth Work Week, there will be additional activities run in schools by the Youth Wellbeing team and in youth club provisions as part of the Universal team’s offer. Follow their social media accounts - Instagram, Facebook and Twitter – to find out more.

There are also a couple of notable anniversaries that I’d like to mention.

Ysgol Gymraeg Gwaun y Nant in Barry recently celebrated its 25th anniversary, albeit a year later than planned. A week of celebrations were held which included an Eisteddfod, a whole school trip to Folly Farm and a party for pupils.

The school was established in 1996 to support a growing demand for Welsh medium education in Barry. Initially based in a portacabin next to Ysgol Sant Curig, the school found a permanent home in Gibbonsdown, adjacent to Oak Field Primary school. It now serves 250 pupils.

The headteacher, Rhydian Lloyd, this week told me how proud he is to be part of a very hardworking team that delivers an excellent education while also preparing their pupils for a bilingual future. Da iawn Rhydian - We are all proud to have you as part of Team Vale.

The work of Rhydian and his colleagues to support children to learn in a language which many of them do not speak at home takes great skill. Improving the support that we offer to pupils learning through the medium of Welsh is a priority for the Council. Many of our colleagues are involved in the development of the Council’s Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP) and I am proud that working alongside the teams at schools like Gwaun y Nant and the recently opened Welsh Language Centre in Barry they are having great success.

On the issue of promoting the Welsh language, I was also delighted to hear this week that Oakfield school in Barry achieved the Gold award for the Welsh language Charter – Gwobr Aur Cymraeg Campus.  This is a wonderful achievement and Oakfield is the first school in the Vale to achieve the award and one of very few across South Wales.  Well done to the team at Oakfield – newyddion gwych!

In my career, I have been fortunate to work alongside many colleagues who have dedicated their entire working life to public service, and  our libraries team will today be waving off a very special and long serving colleague, Diane Williams. Diane will be retiring from Penarth library, just a couple of months shy of 50 years of dedicated library service. Having worked in libraries across Cardiff and the Vale since 1972 I am sure Diane’s work will have brought knowledge and joy to countless residents. Our libraries serve a wide range of people, of all ages, and her work will have touched so many lives. Diane, on behalf of the whole Vale of Glamorgan Council and all those you have helped over the years I’d like to say diolch yn fawr iawn. Enjoy your retirement - it is without doubt, very well deserved.

There is one more thank you from me for this week. I have written several times in recent months of the very challenging times our waste and recycling teams are working in due to the national shortage of HGV drivers. Thanks to an innovative approach to recruitment and most importantly a phenomenal effort from the crews and support teams very steady progress has been made through the backlogs and a normal collection service has now been resumed. Gwaith da pawb.

And finally I’d like to draw your attention to the Council’s ceremony to mark Armed Forces Day on Saturday. At 12pm outside the Civic Offices, the Mayor of the Vale of Glamorgan Council, Cllr Susan Lloyd Selby, will join myself, the Leader of the Council, Cllr Lis Burnett, the Deputy Lord Lieutenant, and representatives from the Armed Forces and other dignitaries for a short flag-raising ceremony. All staff and members of the public are welcome to attend. Armed Forces Day is a chance to show your support for the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community.

Thanks as always for your work this week. For the next fortnight I will leave you in the capable hands of two of my SLT colleagues. I have no doubt they will have just as many examples of our collective great work to share.

Diolch yn fawr pawb.

Rob.