Robs Weekly Round-Up

26 May 2023

Dear colleagues,

Earlier this month I used one of my messages to staff to highlight the upcoming Gwyl Fach y Fro, the celebration of Welsh culture held at Barry Island last weekend. I am very glad that I took my own advice and went along to see what was on offer as the event was absolutely fantastic.

Organised by Menter Bro Morgannwg and supported by our Tourism and Events team, the Welsh Language Festival drew huge crowds to the resort. It included music, dance, as well as food and drink, but what most impressed me was the role our schools and their pupils played across the day.

The community stage featured performances from Ysgol Sant Baruc, Ysgol Dewi Sant, Ysgol Sant Curig, Ysgol Pen y Garth, Ysgol Gwaun y Nant, Ysgol Iolo Morgannwg, Oakfield Primary, Colcot Primary and Cadoxton Primary, while pupils from Ysgol Bro Morgannwg sang on the festival’s main stage. The children and young people were fantastic and the confidence with which they performed is a testament to the support of all colleagues working across our schools. Everyone who took part and played a role in the success of the event should be very proud indeed.

I’d like to thank all of those who helped prepare pupils for their performances, the colleagues in our Tourism and Events team for their support, colleagues in Neighbourhood Services who will have worked hard to ensure the infrastructure required to the event was in place, and most importantly, all those who performed and their friends and families that came down to support them.

The number of Welsh speakers in the Vale of Glamorgan is growing and the first-class Welsh-medium education provided by our teams is a big factor in this. The Council has made significant investment in Welsh medium education since Ysgol Bro Morgannwg opened nearly 20 years ago. 

It was perhaps quite fitting then that five days after the festival, on Thursday, the Council’s Cabinet approved the expansion of Ysgol Iolo Morgannwg in Cowbridge and the school’s move to a new state of the art facility.

The new £13.74 million school campus will double school spaces to 420 by September 2025 and help give even more children in the Vale a 21st Century learning environment. The school will be at the heart of the community and will promote Welsh language education, in support of the Council’s commitments in its 10- year Welsh in Education Strategic Plan, and Welsh Government’s Cymraeg 2050 strategy to target one million Welsh speakers by 2050. Ysgol Iolo Morgannwg’s new campus will also feature an adult education centre and a Welsh language immersion centre for primary school-aged pupils from 7 years old and above.

This is another excellent project led by our Learning and Skills team and supported by colleagues from across Corporate Resources. Gwaith da pawb. I am looking forward to seeing construction progress this year.

Whether you made it Barry Island last weekend or not, with the sun now shining and another bank holiday, half-term, and summer season now just ahead, many of you will I am sure be looking for other events to attend. As always, our teams are working to support a full programme of summer events across the Vale. Cowbridge Food and Drink Festival is this weekend. Next Friday will see the latest event – a contemporary string quartet - staged as part of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama residency at Penarth Pier Pavilion. The Vale Food Trial showcasing the best of the Vale's producers will run between 09 and 18 June. The 3 Streams Festival of the Arts in Llantwit Major in the same week promises to be special. The Barry Island Transport festival is always popular and likely to draw big crowds on 11 June. You can see what's on by visiting the Visit the Vale website. More events are being added every day.

This is only a selection of what is coming up. All of these events are supported by the Council. I’d like to thank in advance Sarah Jones for all her work this summer. Sarah works with the organisers of each and every event. Those of you who know Sarah will know she is a whirlwind of energy and enthusiasm and her support is one of the reasons so many events return to the Vale year on year.

The Vale’s events programme is an excellent example of how we have adapted how we work as a Council to adjust to the economic challenges of recent years. While we are not able to provide the level of financial support we may have previously, our teams now support event organisers and local businesses in different ways. Our teams offer expert advice, professional services, and foster the networks that link organisers together. Events no longer need financial incentives to come to the Vale. Instead, they are attracted by the big crowds pulled in by the reputation of our well managed and accessible resorts and the support our teams offer. This is the legacy of our Council’s economic development work over many years. Far too many people have been involved in this to list here but I am sure they recognise their contribution more than ever as the summer season rolls around. Diolch.

The next chapter in this work was agreed at Cabinet this week. A series of priority improvements for Penarth Esplanade were identified following an extensive programme of public engagement last year. Work will begin on these shortly and I hope to soon be writing about the difference they are making to Penarth seafront.

All of our resorts are managed in partnership with other public sector agencies and this week also saw the launch of Operation Elstree. This summer, as always, we will be taking a collaborative approach to tackling crime, safety concerns and anti-social behaviour across the County’s popular summer destinations, including Barry Island, Ogmore, Cosmeston Lakes, and Penarth Marina.

Our teams will work with South Wales Police, RNLI, the Coastguard, South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, the Vale’s Alarm Receiving Centre, British Transport Police, Welsh Ambulance Service and Cardiff Council to plan for events, share intelligence, and review and coordinate responses to incidents. This work is led by our Safer Vale team and while often done behind the scenes is essential to ensuring visitors to the Vale are able to enjoy their trip.

Having so far covered the great work done in our schools and the value of partnership working I’d like to close with an example that pulls the two together. On Tuesday a short film was released online showcasing the work of the Vale’s School and Community Counselling Service. The scheme is funded by Barnardo’s which also produced the film. Since it was released on Tuesday it has been viewed more than 9000 times. The film features Ffion, a pupil in the Vale who has received support from the scheme, and if you’d like to end the week with an insight into just what a difference the work of our colleagues makes then I would highly recommend it.

Thanks as always for your efforts this week. Diolch yn fawr iawn.

Rob.