Dear All
Welcome to this first edition of our fortnightly Depute Chief Executive Update for 2023. As always, I hope that you and your families are keeping safe and well.
January has flown by! It seems a long time since the Christmas and New Year festivities. I hope you all enjoyed some time with loved ones over the festive period and heartfelt thanks once more to those of you who delivered our frontline services during that time.
Our focus at the start of a new year is always the Council Budget. The Council Budget meeting this year will be held on 23 February and work is well underway to finalise our financial position and identify ways of bridging the funding gap. You will find the reports for the Budget Meeting in the usual way, through the link in the Committee Diary on the Council website where they are published the week before the meeting.
We begin our regular news roundup with a focus on some of our great employees and their recent successes:
Employee recognition……
Local Hero
Those of you who follow football will be aware that there was a major surprise in the Scottish Cup last week, when sixth tier Darvel, a small, part-time Ayrshire team, beat Aberdeen, who are in the Scottish Premier League. The Darvel goalie had a great game, and has an East Dunbartonshire connection. He is none other than Maths teacher Chris Truesdale from Lenzie Academy and after celebrating their fantastic win with his team-mates on Tuesday night, Mr Truesdale was back in class at school on Wednesday. Our huge congratulations to Chris and his team for an outstanding result!
New Year Honours
The start of 2023 was an extra special new year for one of our long-serving school crossing patrollers. Joyce Murray from Bishopbriggs, a crossing patroller at Balmuildy Primary School, was awarded A British Empire Medal in the New Year’s Honours List for community efforts. This was in recognition of more than five decades (54 years) as a volunteer with the 1st Glasgow Company of The Boys Brigade and her service as a school crossing patroller for over a decade. Provost Renwick has written congratulating Joyce on her achievement and our very best wishes go to Joyce on this wonderful award. Visit The Hub for more information.
Positive inspection reports for East Dunbartonshire Schools
Positive inspection reports for two of our primary schools were reported to our Education Committee last week. Education Scotland inspectors visited the schools towards the end of last year, and both received reports to be proud of, which recognised the good work taking place. You can read more in our News section on the website and our congratulations to Headteacher Andrew Gallagher and all the staff at Holy Family Primary School in Kirkintilloch and to Acting Headteacher Kate Turnbull and all the staff at Westerton Primary School in Bearsden. Well done to both schools.
News from the Council….
Community Grants on offer
Do you know of a community group in East Dunbartonshire which could use a financial boost? The latest round of the East Dunbartonshire Community Grants Scheme is now open, with £71,017 available to be distributed. Groups can apply for up to £3,000 per year (eligibility criteria applies). The deadline for this latest round of funding is Friday 10 February 2023. For more information, visit our News pages.
Exciting times ahead for the Allander
It's a new year and a new dawn for the Allander Leisure Centre. The current Bearsden facility bid farewell to its final patrons on Sunday. It is anticipated that the first customers will be welcomed to the new, state-of-the-art sports and leisure complex on 6 March 2023. The site is being redeveloped as part of a £42.5 million investment by the Council - which also includes a support centre for adults with learning disabilities. The existing Allander is closing to allow essential utility disconnection and connection works - and the transfer to the new building nearby - to take place safely and efficiently. For full info, check out our News pages.
School Meals Consultation
The Council launched its School Meals Consultation on Monday 9 January, to gather the views of parents, carers and pupils in all our Primary and Secondary Schools. The feedback gathered throughout the consultation period will help our Facilities Management team plan future menus for catering in our schools.
If you have children or young people at any of our schools we want to hear from you! The online survey is available until Friday 13 February - it should only take five to 10 minutes to complete! Thank you.
Look Aboot Ye exhibition
A new exhibition aims to celebrate the unsung heroes who helped to save lives and protect communities during the pandemic. 'Look Aboot Ye: Caring Through COVID' by Karen Strang is on at the Lillie Art Gallery, Milngavie, until 23 February 2023. The exhibition features a selection of around 100 portraits of key workers, home carers and “shielders” - created and gifted by Karen during the first months of the pandemic. For more info, check out the News pages on our website.
Paths revamp at Cairnhill Woods
The resurfacing of 700m of paths has been completed at Cairnhill Woods in Westerton, including the raising of some sections which were prone to flooding. The works, funded by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT), are part of larger phased improvements in the woods. They will ensure that the paths are accessible for users for years to come. More info is on our News pages.
Employee Wellbeing News….
Healthy Working Lives
Our Healthy Working Lives update for January is published in the Healthy Working Lives section of the Employee Zone. Well done to all of you who have embraced the Love Your Liver and Dry January campaigns which are running this month. The February update, with details of the HWL campaigns for the month will be published towards the end of next week.
Employee Wellbeing
The Wellbeing page of the Employee Zone has a wealth of information and signposting to support across a range of wellbeing matters, including financial wellbeing, emotional wellbeing and bereavement support. Do visit the page if it may be of assistance to you – and share the link with colleagues if you think they might benefit.
Please remember that if you need it, our Employee Assistance Programme includes a 24/7 confidential helpline and support service called ‘Time for Talking’ which is available to all our employees.
Dates for your Diary…
30 Jan – 5 Feb Welcome to your vote week
1-28 February LGBT History Month
4 February World Cancer Day
7 February Internet Safety Day
23 February Council Budget Meeting
And finally….
As always, my continued thanks to you all – stay safe and keep well. The next edition of this Depute Chief Executive Update will be in a fortnight’s time, the week beginning 13 February.
Ann