Rob's Weekly Round Up

14 March 2025

Hi everyone,

As the Leader and I referenced in our message earlier in the week, the Council’s budget for 2025/26 was set at a meeting of all Councillors on Monday night.

I won’t go over the details of that again, but I did want to recognise that this is the culmination of a lot of hard work put in by a large number of staff.

Matt Bowmer, Gemma Jones and colleagues within the Finance Team have spent considerable time making sure that every aspect of Council finance is properly accounted for and that we were able to set a balanced budget for the year ahead. That is not an easy task with growing demand for our services, rising costs and the need to make savings.

I’d like to place on record my thanks for that effort and the contribution made by every other member of staff in getting us to this point.

I’m also well aware of the hard graft put in by colleagues to deliver other important pieces of work, many of which were also discussed by Full Council four days ago.

Notably, these included the final draft of Vale 2030, our new Corporate Plan, and the Council’s response to the Panel Performance Assessment (PPA) that was received just before Christmas last year. Both these reports represent important milestones in our transformation progress.

Most reading this message may not be aware, but I am able to make announcements as part of the agenda for Council meetings. I rarely use the opportunity, but I did make the exception on Monday evening given the importance of the progress on Vale 2030 and the PPA and the amount of work that had been put in to get us to this stage. It was a point I asked Members to bear in mind when these items were debated. Though there will rightly be political disagreement, scrutiny and challenge, the work of officers involved in particular projects should always be recognised.

Cllr Rhiannon Birch also hailed colleagues and others for the work that has taken place since the fire at St Athan Primary School a few weeks ago.

Speaking at Full Council on Monday, the Cabinet Member for Education, Arts and the Welsh Language, said: “I want to pay tribute to everyone who pitched in to help after the recent fire at St Athan Primary School.

“There are so many people to mention here, including the staff who oversaw an exemplary fire drill – all children were out on the yard within two minutes – and the library staff who immediately found alternative accommodation for displaced classes.

“The education psychologists who arrived early in the process to reassure and counsel staff and children distressed by events and members of the St Athan community.

“I must also thank our own staff at the Vale Council, including the education department and other departments, who worked tirelessly over half-term to ensure that provision was made for all children to continue their education seamlessly in suitable surroundings.

“This is a tribute to the people we employ, those with whom we work, and members of our communities.”

Cllr Birch also thanked the volunteers from Morgan Sindall and HLM who offered their help with logistics, setting up classrooms and moving furniture as well as the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) who stepped in to support the learners and school staff.

There was then a vote of thanks for everyone who helped, including staff, officers and the wider St Athan community, which was carried unanimously.

Needless to say, I wholeheartedly echo Cllr Birch’s comments and would like to pass on my personal thanks to everyone involved in producing such a strong response to a difficult situation.

I know how grateful the school was for all the assistance provided by the Council as Acting Headteacher Louise Davies emailed staff from Learning and Skills, Estates and Human Resources to thank them for their work as children returned to school.

Very well done to all involved.

Louise wrote:

“Afternoon All

“Just dropping you an email to yet again express our sincere thanks for making today possible. Honestly, I cannot express my gratitude enough for all the support and advice you have provided us with over the past few weeks.

“It has been so lovely seeing our children back and smiling. I have been into every class this morning to check in with all our children and have chatted to them about our new set up, procedures and to answer any questions they have. It has been a great morning and we continue to tell our children and staff how amazing they were on the day of the fire. The community continue to amaze us in their support and appreciation. Our PTA have shown such generosity in providing the staff with staff room treats and supplies…. We are so lucky to work at St Athan Primary !!!!

“On a personal note, you have all been amazing in checking in on me and offering advice at any time of the day (or night) … I must say I am looking forward to getting back to my day job!

“Thanks all and kind regards, Louise."

In keeping with the feelgood factor around St Athan primary, I was pleased to learn it has been awarded Gold Status as an Armed Forces Friendly School by Supporting Service Children in Education (SSCE) Cymru.

This news comes after the school previously gained bronze and silver awards and provided a welcome boost as pupils got back to the classroom.

The accolade recognises the school’s efforts to support service children, their families and the wider armed forces community, which is prominent in the village.

Helping Entitled Persons from Afghanistan, who have assisted British Forces in that country, has been a major focus of recent work while that group stay in temporary accommodation on the nearby Ministry of Defence (MoD) base.

I’d like to congratulate the school on this recognition, which reflects wider values associated with tolerance, acceptance and equality which are at the very centre of this Authority’s approach.

Very well done to everyone who played a part in gaining this award, I hope it gave you an extra lift on your first week back.

The way in which different groups and organisations stepped up and worked together in the aftermath of the fire gives me great confidence for the future.

Local residents offered support to pupils and staff as did the local library, which since the start of our Reshaping Programme has been run by volunteers.

As the Leader and I mentioned in our budget message on Tuesday, in the future services will need to be delivered differently and working in partnership with local communities and third parties will be central to that.

That cooperation is at the heart of Vale 2030 as we look to keep delivering for our residents in a challenging financial environment.

The example of St Athan shows that not only is this possible, it can result in residents getting better, more comprehensive provision.

Tom Bowring, Our Director of Corporate Resources, and I will be hosting a webinar on April 8 between 2pm and 3pm for staff to find out more about Vale 2030 and our Reshaping Programme.

This is a chance to hear about the Council’s direction, priorities, key projects, while there will also be the opportunity to ask questions.

The session will begin with a 20-minute update covering key developments across the council, including:

• Vale 2030 - our new Corporate Plan
• Brilliant Basics – the essential work that is necessary to deliver good customer service
• Strengthening how we work with other organisations and more!

This will be followed by a 40-minute interactive section when we want to hear the thoughts of colleagues.

Places can be booked through staffnet and questions submitted anonymously by anyone, whether they can attend the event or not.

A recording will then be available to view afterwards.

Vale 2030 is all about the Council leading the way in finding new, innovative ways of operating to best serve our residents.

The School Transport Workshop held recently is an excellent example of this.

That saw the Transformation Team bring together departments from across the Council to discuss this topic.

Providing school transport comes at a significant cost to the Council and is an area that is currently £1 million over budget.

Demand for it is also likely to increase in the coming years as the number of children with Additional Learning Needs (ALNs) grows.

Designed to explore opportunities for collaboration, this event included staff from Social Services, Learning and Skills, Highways and more.

The aim was to build stronger connections between teams operating in the same area and encourage greater partnership working.

Sharing ideas, understanding different perspectives and working in unison to achieve common goals is absolutely central to our Reshaping approach.

The objective is to operate in the best, most efficient way possible, one that benefits the Council as a whole, the people that use this service and also the various departments involved in providing it.

This was a really useful exercise that lays the foundations for similar events focusing on other topics to be held in the future.

The possibility of both primary and secondary school pupils traveling along the same routes was discussed.

Using Council vehicles to provide school transport was another conversation point, while the question of whether travel arrangements for children with ALNs could be better tailored to encourage independence was also raised.

The most promising ideas from the day are now being developed and will be presented to the Strategic Leadership Team (SLT) later this month.

Rising school transport costs is not just a Vale issue, it is a challenge being felt nationwide, but we are making real strides when it cones to tackling the problem.

The ability this Council has to work across departments was recognised in our recent PPA and is an area we want to become even stronger in.

Thank you to all who contributed to making this workshop such a success.

Finally, I wanted to draw your attention to a couple of environmentally friendly events being held on Tuesday (March 18).

From 1pm to 2pm there will be webinar hosted through IDev on how to create a wormery at home, something that can help turn kitchen waste into nutrient-rich compost.

Before signing up for the course, anyone interested is asked to first complete the e-learning module on this subject.

New Biodiversity Workshops also begin in four days’ time, with the first taking place in the Dock Office boardroom from 10am until 12.15pm and then the second between 2pm and 4.15pm.

These will help participants learn more about nature, the threats it is facing and how to help overcome them.

I would encourage anyone to attend these sessions if possible.

Once again, thank you all very much for your efforts this week, they are always very much appreciated by myself and the rest of SLT.

For those not in work, have a restful and relaxing couple of days off.

Diolch yn fawr iawn,

Rob