Robs Weekly Round Up

15 March 2024

Dear colleagues,

As ever, it has been a busy week for the Council with a great deal of fantastic work being done across all departments.

I wanted to start this Friday’s update by giving a mention to the Facilities Team and the work they have been doing with our schools to arrange cleaning contracts.

Schools have delegated budgets and can use any companies for services like cleaning, so it was great to hear that Lynne Armstrong and colleagues have managed to secure widespread sign-up  to our cleaning service ahead of external businesses.

Those efforts mean Ysgol Dewi Sant, Ysgol y Ddraig, St Illtyd’s, Dinas Powys Junior School, and Wick and Marcross Primary will all now be serviced by our in-house cleaning team.

This comes at a crucial time.  Having just set the budget for the year ahead, we all appreciate that money is tight. Knowing that our schools are putting their trust in the service offered by our cleaning team is a real boost as it keeps this spending within the Authority, rather than see it go to third parties.

Diolch to the schools who have signed up and are supporting those services delivered by the Council and diolch to Lynne and her team, including Area Supervisors Paul Edwards and Hayley Fellows for their work.

Sticking with innovative ways of working, the Project Zero Reserve Board will meet next month to consider a fresh collection of funding applications.

Financial support is available for projects put forward by individual staff and teams that contribute to our Project Zero commitment to become carbon neutral by 2030.

A range of different proposals have previously been approved, with energy saving schemes, food projects and cycle to work initiatives among them.

Applications for up to £5,000 can be made at any time, while proposals for larger amounts must be made by April 1 to be considered at the next board meeting three weeks later.

I would encourage everyone to think about whether there is anything they could put before the panel as we all look to reduce our carbon footprint.

On that theme of looking after the environment, the Vale of Glamorgan Local Nature Partnership are staging a number of events throughout March and beyond.

Tomorrow, between 11am and 2pm, Draenog Countryside and Wildlife are holding a free hedgerow skills session on White Farm in Barry.

There is a chance to learn about the importance of planting, laying and maintaining our native hedgerows and their biodiversity benefits in providing food and shelter for wildlife and a natural barrier for livestock.

The session will involve an indoor presentation and opportunity to plant some hedge whips, with booking available online.

An amphibian and reptile training webinar, a wildlife spotting session and a screening of Kiss the Ground are among the other events taking place, alongside activities linked to the Restore the Thaw initiative.

Project managed by Mel Stewart, with support from Ceri Williams, Restore the Thaw is a three-year programme of work to make biodiversity improvements along the River Thaw, its tributaries and surrounding landscapes. 

It aims to benefit local wildlife, landowners and the community, and provides various opportunities for organisations, community groups, and volunteers to take part in conservation work.

A ditch and scrub clearance took place at Rhoose Point on March 6 and beach clean at Aberthaw Nature Reserve last Sunday.

A webinar offering an Introduction to Otter Ecology is scheduled for Thursday, March 21 between 18.30 and 20.00, with training on otter field signs and surveying taking place at Ogmore-by-Sea on Sunday, April 28 from 10am until 3pm.

Alongside monies from the Council’s Project Zero fund, Restore the Thaw received finance from the Waterloo Foundation and Nature Networks, which is delivered by the National Lottery Heritage Fund on behalf of Welsh Government, and in partnership with Natural Resources Wales.

The Nature Network Fund aims to strengthen the resilience of Wales’ protected land and marine sites, support nature’s recovery and encourage communities to get involved in conservation.

Anyone interested in getting involved with the project, either as a volunteer or as a group, can e-mail Mel to find out more.

The events supported by the Vale Nature Partnership serve to highlight what wonderful outdoor locations we have in the Vale.

And this point has been further underlined with ITV national news set to broadcast their weather forecast from Barry Island this evening.

Quick work from Nia Hollins and the Tourism Team helped secure this booking, which is an opportunity to showcase a major Vale resort to a UK-wide audience. Well done Nia.

I believe ITV might also visit Penarth Pier Pavilion and the Hood Road Tunnel in the future to give some other excellent Council projects an even greater profile.

Elsewhere, members of the Council’s Youth Service have been working with design company Hurts so Good on a couple of murals in Barry.

The first is at Buttrills Community Centre where The Hive Guys Youth Project, one of the service’s participation groups for 11 to 17-year-olds, meets weekly.

The design covers a graffiti tag that was previously on the wall and was unveiled last weekend.

A similar collaboration between the Youth Service, Hurts so Good and local members of a youth club has seen another mural painted on the wall of the Barry RFC clubhouse.

Rhys Jones has been a driving force behind these projects, which will make a real difference to the look and feel of these communities as well as the young people who were involved in creating them. Great work Rhys and Team.

On a related matter, I wanted to mention the second of two Estyn inspections that have been taking place recently.

After the Youth Service were the subject of the first, the inspection of the Local Authority Education Service has been taking place this week, with time leading up to it used to collect evidence.

Whilst we need to wait for formal feedback in the report, I have every confidence that we will receive a positive outcome.  I say this because during this and previous weeks I have seen first-hand the hard work that has been undertaken in preparation for the inspection. I have also witnessed all the excellent work that takes place across the Directorate, wider Council and in our schools. 

I’d like to pay special tribute to Paula Ham, our Director of Learning and Skills, her Directorate Leadership Team and the large number of colleagues throughout the service area and beyond who have contributed to the process. This has involved interviews with inspectors, wider discussions on related topics and the gathering of evidence and information.  Special mention also goes to Trevor Baker who served as the Local Authority’s link with the Estyn Inspection team during the inspection and ensured that all their needs and requests for information were met.  I joined the team at the end of the Inspection earlier today and you should all be extremely proud of the way in which you have responded to the process as well as your wider work as part of the Learning and Skills Directorate. Diolch pawb a da iawn i chi i gyd.

On the day that Estyn completed the inspection, it was also time to say goodbye to a long-standing colleague from the Learning and Skills Directorate. David Davies joined the Council shortly after Local Government Reorganisation in the late 1990s and for much of that time has been the Council’s lead officer on Additional Learning Needs and Wellbeing. Today he starts his hard earned and well-deserved retirement and it was great to be present when his colleagues wished him all the very best.  Diolch David am dy waith dros y blynyddoedd.  Thanks David and best wishes for a long and healthy retirement.

Recently, all office-based staff were asked to complete a telephony survey to help our Digital team understand their needs and improve access to phones and messaging.

As a result of the feedback received, the Council is going to replace its current desktop phones with Microsoft Teams Phones. Using Microsoft Teams Phones will enable us to simplify our use of phone and messaging technology, offering a single solution for both voice and text conversations.

This change is expected to take place in April. All those affected by these upcoming changes will shortly receive an email, advising them of what to expect.

There are a small number of situations where a desk phone is the right solution and those users who need them will be contacted to arrange installation.

More information is available on Staffnet+.

As always, a big thank you to all colleagues for your efforts this week.

Although I say this regularly, it is no less sincere. I and my SLT colleagues greatly appreciate your dedication and commitment.

Have a relaxing and enjoyable weekend.

Diolch yn fawr iawn,

Rob