|
|
|
|
|
|
Welcome to this week's edition of Insider
This week, public consultations on waste and highways are underway, and elsewhere in the organisation plans aimed at keeping library services open have been agreed.
Find out how you can contribute to our Children, Young
People and Families Alliance. And we update you on how the Care Act affects us in Devon.
Contributions to Insider are always welcome - we look forward to hearing from you soon.
Colleagues not receiving Insider? Tell us!
|
Library plans receive the go ahead by Councillors
At this week's Cabinet meeting, Members heard that councils elsewhere have successfully transferred
the delivery of their libraries to ‘mutuals’ or ‘trusts’ who run the
libraries on the councils’ behalf
|
Local government pay dispute – Tuesday 14 October
As Insider goes to print we understand the one day strike planned for next week has been called off and more details are to follow
|
|
Good news – your personal mailbox will be 10 times bigger, thanks to Microsoft’s Exchange 2010 Outlook update
ICT Services is rolling out
Exchange 2010 to all staff (almost 6,000 of you!). This will
update your Outlook email service.
The roll-out is planned to
start on Wednesday 15 October and runs through November.
To assist with the
roll-out, please make sure you close Outlook at the end of each working
day from Tuesday 14 October until you have been migrated. There
may be a small delay in Outlook fully opening the first time you use it after
you have been updated to Exchange 2010. The move will only
affect your personal mailbox and it will not update any shared mailboxes you
may work with. Shared mailboxes will be migrated after the personal
mailboxes are complete.
What are the main changes? (PDF version)
|
Payroll Christmas deadlines
There are some earlier deadlines
for payroll over the Christmas period, make sure you know when they are (PDF version)
|
STARS winners announced next week
Check out who has been nominated so far for this quarter (July,
August, September). Our Director of Public Health, Dr Virginia Pearson, is choosing the winners for this quarter (July,
August, September).
And why not nominate for the next quarter?
If you are unable to access the STARS webpage, download the nomination form on our public site and email or
post it back to us
|
Managing sickness absence – responsibilities of line managers
Managing sickness absence
is a key responsibility for all line managers and supervisors. Find policy information and
online guidance to assist managers with their responsibilities in this useful article. (PDF version)
If you would like support and advice in managing the
sickness absence of any of your employees please contact HR Direct on 01392 38 5555 or email hrdirect-mailbox@devon.gov.uk
|
|
|
Getting ready for business
Do you have a business idea?
Come to a free one-day workshop, on Thursday 16 October, exploring a range of topics that begin to
prepare people to start their own business
|
Tea and Talk about it
Thursday 23 October @ 12.00noon in Coaver Conference room
They
do say that a problem shared is a problem halved, but sometimes it’s not that
easy to talk – especially if it’s about mental health. This
Tea and Talk session can help you to understand more about mental
health and aims to help you challenge the
stigma and discrimination people can face. (PDF version)
|
|
|
Spam, spam, spam, spam, spam...
Over the last week, many staff have received an unexpected email which appears to be from Essex County
Council inviting the recipient to click a link, or from 'Administrator' with the subject line 'Important - New Outlook settings' please see screen-shot. This is spam. Never download files from unknown or suspicious sources.
Should you receive
any spam emails in your inbox please forward them to spam@mr1.devon.gov.uk
Further
guidance is available on The Source
|
Our Coaver Club celebrates 50 years
Thank you so much to all those who attended the Coaver Club’s 50th birthday party. The evening was a great success!
Catch up with that and more in the latest newsletter
|
Job vacancies
View this week's DCC vacancies
Coaver Café Hot Meal of the Day
The menu for week beginning Monday 13 October.
**Please remember that we open from 9.45am for
snacks and hot drinks
|
The Care Act 2014 autumn update
The Care Act represents the most significant
reform of care and support in more than 60 years, putting people and their
carers in control of their care and support. For the first time, the Act will
put a limit on the amount anyone will have to pay towards the costs of their
care, this is called the ‘Care Cap’.
The Care Act brings in new entitlements for
carers to help them maintain their caring role and their life beyond their
caring role. All carers will be entitled to an assessment and if eligible for
support for particular needs, they will have a legal right to receive support
for those needs, just like the people they care for.
In this bulletin we cover:
- what we know about Care Act
- what are we doing now?
- engaging and involving people
- further information and timeline
|
|
|
Do you work with children and young people?
The Children, Young
People and Families Alliance has been created to improve the lives of all
children, young people and families in Devon.
We
need people to come together to co-design
action plans to improve services and be accountable for the delivery of the
Alliance. This will be set out in a new Children and Young People's Plan and with the backdrop of
engagement with children, young people and families.
We
are inviting you and young people you work with to attend one of three
events where you will join representatives from stakeholder and Children and
Young Peoples Groups to work together to voices
are heard.
The events are:
-
Wednesday 22
October at Woodlands Adventure Park, near Dartmouth
-
Thursday 23 October at The Big Sheep, Bideford
-
Tuesday
4
November at Crealy Adventure Park, near Exeter
Please email to book your place and find out more about the Alliance, by Friday 17
October
|
Safeguarding Peer Review next week
Many of our children's social care and child protection teams will be aware that we are having a Peer
Review of our safeguarding arrangements for children in Devon from the 13-17 October.
The purpose of the Peer Review is to give an independent
assessment of how these arrangements are improving and advise us on areas for further
development. This short presentation ‘Getting it right for the children of Devon’ summarises what the Peer Review is about and reminds us of some of the steps
we have taken to improve since the Ofsted inspection of 2013.
Further information on the Peer Review web pages
|
Newton Abbot’s dementia centre of excellence completed ahead of schedule
Mapleton Residential Care Home was developed in partnership with the University of Stirling Dementia
Centre, which is nationally recognised for setting the standards for
dementia-friendly buildings.
One of the major challenges was minimising disruption for the 17 residents who lived in the building throughout the works
|
Two South Hams schools praised by Devon education chiefs
The heads and staff of two Totnes area primary schools have been praised
by Devon education chiefs for the way they have dealt with a difficult
start to the academic year
|
Public consultations on proposed highways and waste budget reductions
Highways: The nine-week consultation sets out a number of proposals to reduce
costs, while still enabling us to carry out essential
safety-related work on Devon’s 8,000 miles of roads.
Waste: Residents in Devon are also being invited to share their views on plans to make savings to our waste management service
|
|
|
Inspector’s report on Devon Waste Plan welcomed
Following the examination hearings into the Devon Waste Plan that were
held this summer, the report concludes that, with the modifications
recommended by the Inspector, the Plan is sound and provides an
appropriate basis for waste planning in Devon over the period to 2031
|
Grand Western Canal wins Britain in Bloom Award
The Grand Western Canal Country Park has topped off its
bicentenary year by winning a prestigious Britain in Bloom award for Parks and Open Spaces.
It's bloomin marvellous! (PDF version)
|
Growing success of Farm Wise brings schoolchildren flocking back to event
Approximately 1,400 children from nearly 30 primary and special schools
from across Devon will attend the event next week (Tuesday 14 October) at the
Westpoint Arena near Exeter.
This year sees an enormous range of exhibitors demonstrating the versatile and progressive nature of farming in Devon today
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Practical steps you can take to support your community in preparing for winter weather, from the Met Office
|
|
|
Who said: "I'm turning into an old git, so I'll give you a passionate old git
response to that"?
Send answer
Last
week's quote: ''I mean, stupidity is something you can not - or only partly - save people
from."
Last
week's winner There were no correct answers!
Last week's answer is Günther Oettinger
|
|
|
A lunchtime snack made out of ingredients saved from a skip may not sound very appetising, but a Bristol cafe is proving the opposite.
Skipchen, a non-for-profit cafe, serves up food past its sell-by date and dumped in supermarket and restaurant bins
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A: Devon County Council, Topsham Road, Exeter EX2 4QD, Devon UK.
T: (01392) 380 101 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|