Rob's Weekly Round Up

24 October 2025

Helo Bawb,

With the clocks going back this weekend, we officially say goodbye to British Summer Time. That extra hour in bed is always welcome, but it also marks a noticeable shift as the pace of the season changes. 

It’s a natural turning point in the calendar, and one could be forgiven for thinking it marks a winding down, but there is still plenty going on in and around the Vale to celebrate.

Following months of planning, hard work and community support, Hubbub - the new Ysgol y Deri retail space - has officially opened its doors.

Located in the heart of Penarth, the shop is now fully operational and is a retail training space designed to give young people with additional learning needs the opportunity to gain real-world work experience and lifelong skills.

Hubbub is run by Ysgol y Deri students and helps them prepare for future employment after leaving school, while also deepening their connection with the local community.

The opening follows a heartwarming wave of community spirit, as volunteers from the Council and our partners offered their time, resources, and skills to bring the shop to life.

Stacey Long, Post-16 Transition Lead at Ysgol y Deri, said: “What we’re doing is quite different, the real purpose is to give our learners meaningful work experience and help them develop employability skills they can take forward.

“This is about showcasing our learners in their own community, helping them feel comfortable and included - and making sure others get to know them too.”

The opening was widely covered by local media and received a spotlight on BBC Cymru Fyw – the BBC’s Welsh-language news website and Stacey was interviewed for BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

It’s fantastic to see Hubbub be brought to life, and is a reminder of the difference real-world opportunities such as this can make in helping young people in the Vale gain invaluable skills and connections with their local communities.

Llongyfarchiadau Stacey and to all who have volunteered their time to make Hubbub a success! Gwaith arbenning!

On the subject of strengthening ties with our communities, this week also saw the announcement of a new, single point of contact for families in the Vale to access a range information, advice, support and protection, including:

• Family Information Service 
• Families First Advice Line 
• Team Around the Family 
• Vale Parenting Service 
• Intake Team 

The Vale Family Compass is designed to provide the right support at the right time, helping families to get the help they need earlier and more effectively. 

It brings access to the above services into one place, improving coordination and outcomes for children, young people, parents, carers and their families.

From 3rd of November, there will be a single point of contact for accessing our Family Information, Early Help and Intake services: 

• One Website: www.valefamilycompass.co.uk 
• One Phone Line: 0808 281 6727 
• One Email Address: familycompass@valeofglamorgan.gov.uk 

The teams behind the scenes will remain in place and have distinct functions. 

We will still have a Family Information Service team who provide information to families regarding the Childcare Offer for Wales, the Index for families with children with additional needs and support for childcare providers.  

The Families First Advice Line, Parenting Service and Team Around the Family will continue to support families who need it, and the Intake Team will continue to protect children who are vulnerable or at risk. 

The launch of the Vale Family Compass marks an important step in how we connect with and support families across the Vale. By working together across services, we’ve created a simpler and more joined-up way for people to find the help they need, when they need it.

Diolch o galon to colleagues in social services and communications for enabling the smooth transition to this new service. 

This work links brilliantly into one of our key objectives in our Vale 2030 Corporate Plan – that of ‘Being the Best Council We Can Be’, and over recent days, I have been pleased to meet with colleagues from across the Council who are working as a group to ensure we work in the best possible way to provide the best possible service to our residents. 

Similar work is also being undertaken within our Council Tax service, and I am grateful to all colleagues who are striving to ensure we meet this key objective.  

Just as the Vale Family Compass shows how we’re finding new ways to connect with and support our communities, colleagues across our schools are also embracing new opportunities to support our pupils through the Welsh language.

In Penarth, a cluster of primary schools have come together as part of a pilot project to further developing Welsh language skills in English medium schools.

The joint project - co-constructed with Cardiff University - will see staff from primary schools across Penarth and the surrounding areas attended three Everyday Welsh sessions this term and are aimed at improving the promotion and use of Welsh in schools.

This pilot also aligns closely with the wider the national goal of reaching one million Welsh speakers by 2050, helping to ensure that Welsh continues to thrive for generations to come in the Vale and across Wales.

Pob lwc to everyone taking part in the trial – I can’t wait to hear about how you’ve been getting on with your Dysgu Cymraeg journeys. Daliwch ati!

Some of you may recall the launch of the 2025 Summer Reading Challenge in July – a project which encourages children of all ages to develop their literacy and language skills outside of school over the holidays and is supported by Vale libraries each year.

I’m delighted to share that the project reached nearly 1000 children and young people in the Vale of Glamorgan, with over half of those who took part successfully finished six or more books over the course of the challenge.

This year’s theme - The Story Garden - invited young readers to discover the wonders of nature through storytelling, fostering creativity and a deeper connection with the world around them. 

It is wonderful to see so many children taking part in initiatives like the Summer Reading Challenge in the Vale. Reading is not only crucial for their own development, but it also helps children and their families to utilise their local libraries as vibrant community spaces where lifelong love of reading can grow.

In other news, the staff networks have been busy this week as both Abl and Diverse met as part of their regular calendar of network meetings.

Members of the Diverse Network came together on Thursday to hear about the new Diverse Resource Bank for colleagues about race equality, anti-racism, and active allyship as well as a presentation from Head of Digital Nickki Johns about AI safety.

Meanwhile, members of Abl – the staff disability network – took their latest meeting to Barry Island on Tuesday as a way of getting together whilst enjoying the benefits of being outdoors and being active.

For more information about our staff networks or how to get involved as a member or an ally, click here.

Finally, a quick reminder that Oracle Fusion will be unavailable from today Friday 24 October until Monday 27 October, while essential background changes are installed. 

The system downtime is needed to support updates to procurement in Oracle and the system will be available again as usual on Monday morning. These changes won’t affect the procurement process itself, but users will notice a refreshed and more user-friendly design when they log in from Monday. 

That’s all from me for this week - and as always thank you very much for your efforts - they are very much appreciated.

For those not in work over the weekend or next week over the half-term holidays, enjoy a restful and relaxing few days off.

Diolch yn fawr iawn,

Rob