Robs Weekly Round Up

13 October 2023

Dear colleagues,

I hope this email finds you all well at the end of the week.

I’d like to start this week with some news I have just received and a shout out to the Big Fresh Catering team who have received no fewer than nine nominations at this year’s LACA awards. With their innovative business model and ever-growing number of commercial ventures the team continue to defy expectations and many people’s stereotype of a local authority catering service, and in doing so never lose sight of their valuable work to provide healthy meals to the Vale’s school pupils. The awards ceremony will take place on the 26 October and it would be fantastic to see them return home with a few of gongs, despite the strong competition across all categories. Pob lwc pawb.

The team are led by the indomitable Carole Tyley. Carole is one of the most inspirational figures I have worked with in the Vale. Carole has been with Team Vale for many years. Having started her career working in school kitchens as a dishwasher, through hard work, love, compassion and a dedication to her colleagues, she is now responsible for over 230 staff and over 15,000 meals daily as Big Fresh’s Managing Director.

In 2015, faced with the need to save £400,000 Carole had the choice between running down the service that she cared so much about, or to innovate. Since The Big Fresh Catering Company was established, our company has invested over £1 million in better ingredients and programmes for schools, including wellbeing centres, food courses, and capital schemes. The impact Carole has had on children and young people is huge. It is therefore no surprise that last night she was on the shortlist for the Chwarae Teg Womanspire awards.

As one would expect in awards such as this with a national reach, the competition was fierce, and Carole was pipped at the post.  That said, she should not be downhearted as to be shortlisted at such a prestigious event in the first place is a huge achievement and hugely successful in its own right.

Congratulations Carole. I hope you enjoyed the evening. I am hugely proud to work with you and your success could not be more deserved.

Also consistent with our commitments to building stronger communities and helping residents of the Vale to live healthier and happier lives I am very pleased to share that in the last week and a half we have opened two first-class sports facilities. 

On Saturday morning the new Richard Taylor Memorial Skatepark at the Knap Gardens in Barry was officially opened by the Leader, a number of colleagues, and supporters of the Richard Taylor Memorial Fund. The new skatepark is the perfect example of what can be achieved when public sector partners and community groups work together. More than £300,000 was raised for the project with contributions coming from Sport Wales, the Richard Taylor Memorial Fund, the Waterloo Foundation, South Wales Police Youth Trust, and the National Lottery Community Fund, as well as from the Council.

The development of the new skatepark was led by our Neighbourhood Services team who developed the design together with local residents and the skaters who regularly used the original memorial park. The large crowd that turned out was testament to how well engaged the community have been throughout and perhaps the most pleasing thing is that people of all ages and abilities took to the new ramps once the ribbon had been cut.

I was disappointed to miss the opening of this brilliant new facility and as with so many big projects it is impossible to thank everyone who has played a part, but I would like to give a special mention to Jonathan Green who managed the project and Hannah Rapa who led the work to engage the community and organised the opening event this weekend. Diolch yn fawr iawn to you both and all others who worked to make this new facility a reality.

This project is evidence that coproduction is not just something we talk about the in Vale and indeed it came hot on the heels of the opening of another great facility. Also designed by the community it serves the Cwrt-Y-Vil Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) in Penarth was officially opened on Wednesday 04 October with a party hosted by Penarth Youth Action (PYA).

PYA were rightly centre stage at the event. The site was identified by the group after they ran their own local engagement project. It will now give young people from the area a space to play and socialise. Facilities like these really do make a difference to the opportunities on offer to young people. The £100,000 project is the latest in a long line of sport and play renovations in the Vale such as St David’s and Belle Vue play areas in Penarth, Windmill Lane in Llantwit Major, and Clos Peiriant and Central Park in Barry. What perhaps makes this one unique is the sense of ownership that the young people involved in the project took from the start. They were of course supported ably throughout by our excellent Vale Youth Service, and I’d like to give special thanks to Penarth Youth Action Worker, Kristan Smart, who I’m told was instrumental in facilitating the project. The success of the project goes to show what can be achieved when we invest both money and time in our communities. Diolch yn fawr. 

These examples of the impact our services can have were at the forefront of my mind this week as SLT colleagues and I have continued to consider our options for next year’s budget. This week has seen the first budget working groups, where cost pressures and potential savings for each directorate are reviewed. These sessions are of course never easy, but they have been constructive and together with Cabinet we are building an approach for the next financial year. Directors are now working on the approach to next year and as always all suggestions from our teams are appreciated.

As I mentioned last week Monday saw the relaunch of The Learning Café. As proud sponsor, I am thrilled to see the level of engagement we've already had with the initiative and cannot wait to see it develop over the next few months.

The purpose of the network is to create a fun, dynamic and inclusive environment that brings people together from across the organisation. The café offers a space to collaborate, share ideas, ask questions, and support each other’s development. It is open to all staff, including those who work in our schools, and if you haven’t already you can sign up now. As part of the new format for the Learning Café you can also sign up for tailored emails linked to eight key themes. These cater to both personal and professional interests and will offer the first look at internal and external learning opportunities as well as sharing some of the latest thinking.

The Learning Café is designed to be truly collaborative and the more input we all have, the more effective the programme will be in supporting our development and that of the organisation. If you have ideas or knowledge to contribute to the Learning Café, please let us know. A special thank you to Natalie Jones for her work in developing the next phase of the Learning Café and for taking myself and SLT through the plans so well recently.

Keeping with the theme of learning and development I’m also pleased to be able to share that as part of the Eich Lle – Your Space programme we have created a new space for learning and innovation in the Civic Offices.

Learning Hub 1 is located on the 3rd floor and is a dynamic space designed to foster creativity, collaboration, and innovation. It’s another good example of us investing in our staff and the facilities they need to succeed, and I look forward to seeing the creative solutions that are designed in this room come to fruition. This is especially important in the current context and we all know from past experience that the ability and space to think creatively and innovatively is vital in helping the organisation move forward in a different and often more cost effective way. If you'd like to use the room, just get in touch with our OD and Training team.

Finally, I would like to thank pupils and staff at Fairfield Primary School for their generous donations to Penarth Food Pod this week. The school donated food collected as part of their annual harvest assembly. The selection of tinned and dried foods will I am sure be very gratefully received by those who regularly rely on the food pod, which is run by a group of highly enthusiastic and dedicated volunteers with assistance from our Vale Homes team. The food pod has also had donations in the past from Victoria Primary School and Sully Primary school. Diolch yn fawr i chi i gyd.

Thank you all as always for your efforts this week. Diolch i bawb.

Rob.