Rob's Weekly Round Up

18 July 2025

Helo Bawb,

I hope you’ve all had another brilliant week and had the chance to enjoy the sunshine last weekend. 

As the temperatures soared, so did the headlines here in the Vale. Whether you're cooling down or still chasing the sun, here’s what’s hot off the press this week.

We are now over halfway through Disability Pride Month and there has been no shortage of events to mark this important month of awareness and visibility.

On Monday, I had the pleasure of joining colleagues, our friends at ValePlus and representatives from the charity Mind outside the Civic Offices in Barry for the raising of the Disability Pride Flag organised by the Mayor of the Vale of Glamorgan.

DPM FlagDisability Pride Month encourages open conversations and raises awareness about the rich diversity of experiences within the disabled community. It also highlights the ongoing need for accessibility and allyship - values we’re proud to champion here as an organisation.

It was wonderful to see Vale colleagues and the community coming together to show their support. Events like this remind us how powerful visibility and inclusion can be, but also how we can all be better allies to the disabled community.

Members and allies of Abl – the Council’s disability staff network - also gathered on Monday to mark Disability Pride Month, which culminated in a network meeting in the Dunraven Room at the Civic Offices.

The Abl Network aims to champion staff with disabilities, provide information and support, and raises awareness to foster a more accessible workplace.

Abl also welcomes and encourages colleagues to get involved as allies to demonstrate their support and commitment to building a more supportive and understanding environment for everyone.

For more information about Abl, or if you’re interested in joining the network – click here.

In other news, the Vale Nature Festival returns to Cosmeston Country Park this weekend for a free, family-friendly event celebrating nature across the Vale of Glamorgan.

nature fest imageThe festival – which is organised by the Vale Nature Partnership - brings together local organisations and community groups to celebrate our natural environment. Visitors can explore a range of interactive stalls, take part in citizen science activities, enjoy live storytelling, and try out hands-on crafts and nature-based activities.

The free event will be taking place on Saturday 19 July between 11am - 4pm with tickets available here.

On the subject of Cosmeston, I’d like to say a few words about the recent opening of the Aqua Park at Cosmeston Lakes.

Earlier this year, a decision was taken to approve the use of the eastern lake at Cosmeston Country Park to pilot an outdoor water park, which could also enable further income opportunities for our Country Parks – especially in supporting the re-wilding and conservation work already underway at Cosmeston.

The Aqua Park pilot is now fully underway and will conclude at the end of the summer, where a review will then follow to assess how the pilot went.

Trialling the Aqua Park at Cosmeston is an opportunity to do things differently as a Council, and although sometimes our decisions divide opinions, this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try new things. If they work then great, and if they don’t, we learn and reset.

That’s the type of thinking we need as we evolve as an organisation, so that we can be the best council that we can be for our residents.
While we’re exploring new opportunities through pilots like the Aqua Park at Cosmeston, it’s equally important to highlight the ongoing work that’s making a direct difference in the lives of our residents right now.

One such example is the incredible effort behind this year’s School Essentials Grant scheme.

There has been huge demand for our School Essentials Grant scheme and we’re proud to be stepping up to support families across the Vale during this crucial time.

Since the scheme for the upcoming academic year went live on 1 July, we've already paid out £163,825.00 in grants to low-income families. This funding is helping to ease the pressure of back-to-school costs, ensuring 676 families and 1,218 children have access to the essentials they need for a confident start to the school year.

Just last week alone, £74,700.00 in grants was processed - highlighting the real level of need for this assistance.

I’d like to extend huge thank you to Vicky Rees and Frances Jones, who have worked tirelessly to process this phenomenal number of applications in just over two weeks. Their dedication has made a real and immediate difference to hundreds of families. Gwaith arbennig!

From helping families prepare for the school year to celebrating schools that champion inclusion and wellbeing, I’m also delighted to share some fantastic news from All Saints Church in Wales Primary School, which has achieved not one but two national awards recognising its outstanding commitment to inclusivity and pupil support.

all saints awardFirstly, All Saints has been officially accredited as a School of Sanctuary. This award celebrates the school’s whole-community approach to creating a warm, welcoming, and inclusive environment for all children, including those seeking sanctuary. 

The assessment panel praised the school’s inviting atmosphere, inclusive displays, and inspiring pupil leadership - highlighting groups such as the Young Interpreters and Red to Racism - whose members spoke confidently about supporting others and championing equality and anti-racism, with praise also for Mrs A. Williams, who led this work by helping to realise the school’s vision of being a truly safe and inclusive community.

The school has also been awarded the Basics of the Young Carers in Schools Programme Award. This recognises the school’s strong commitment to identifying and supporting young carers in its community. This success follows a detailed portfolio submission led by Mrs E. Evans, the school’s ALNCo and Young Carers Lead, whose work was also highly commended by the awarding team.

Congratulations to everyone at All Saints for these well-deserved achievements – it is inspiring to see such dedication to inclusion and pupil wellbeing in action.

Lastly, following the success of our OneDrive sessions, digital experts Chess return with a live webinar designed to help all Vale staff – regardless of role or experience – get the most out of Microsoft Teams.

Whether you’re new to Teams or looking to sharpen your skills, this session will give you practical, confidence-boosting tips to help you work smarter. Learn how to use key features more effectively, navigate daily tools with ease and run more productive meetings.

To join the live Microsoft Teams webinars:

Tuesday 22nd July, 11-12.30pm Register here 

Thursday 31st July, 2-3.30pm Register here

As always, thank you for your contributions this week – they are always very much appreciated by myself and the Strategic Leadership Team (SLT). 

For those not in work this weekend, enjoy a restful and relaxing couple of days off. 

Diolch yn fawr iawn, 

Rob