Friday 21 April
Dear All
Welcome to this latest edition of our Depute Chief Executive Update. As always, I hope that you and your families are keeping safe and well and that those of you not delivering our frontline services over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend enjoyed the break. A huge thank you to all of you who were working and on standby over the holiday weekend, your efforts to continue to deliver our essential frontline services are truly appreciated.
The migration to Microsoft Outlook has continued over the past few weeks with most personal accounts now completed. The final stage of the migration will see our shared mailboxes and archive mailboxes migrate over the coming weeks.
We rolled out our standard corporate email signature earlier this week (Employee News 14), so if you have not yet done so, please visit the M365 Adoption Hub and follow the instructions to add this to your corporate email account. It has been updated since the first migrations took place to ensure it meets accessibility standards so do please check that you are using the most up to date version. A wee reminder too, that we should not be applying any background designs or colours to our emails, they should remain white to ensure we meet public sector accessibility requirements.
We are continuing to share news of good performance in our schools, with the Lennoxtown Primary and Early Years Centre inspection report confirming the great efforts of Headteacher Rona Coughlan and the school staff – congratulations to all at the school on their recent report which you can read more about below.
Now on to our regular news roundup.
News from the Council….
International Workers Memorial Day 2023
The Council will once again be commemorating International Workers Memorial Day next week, on Friday 28 April. There will be a wreath-laying event at Bishopbriggs Memorial Cairn at 2pm on the day, led by Council Leader Gordan Low and attended by Trades Unions, Community Planning Partners. We’ll be inviting everyone to join a minute’s silence at 12 noon on the day and will send a reminder email out on the morning of 28 April. See Employee News 15 for more details.
Good News from inspectors at Lennoxtown PS
It was good news all round at Lennoxtown Primary School and Early Years Centre when they received their latest Education Scotland inspection report. The inspectors identified that the children are curious and resourceful, there are positive nurturing relationships between children and staff and the vision and drive of the headteacher and senior leaders empowers the wider staff. Read more on their report in the news page of the website.
LGBT Charter Award to Council Schools
Seven of the Council’s secondary schools have been successfully awarded the LGBT Charter Award, recognising that discriminatory behaviour is not and never should be an inevitable part of school life or a necessary part of growing up. Read more on the Charter Award programme and the schools involved in our news article on the website.
Under the Boardwalk…….
A new and improved boardwalk empire opened at Lenzie Moss last week. The improved boardwalk has been completely revamped and the path network improved to provide better access to the popular nature reserve. You can read more on the project in our news release on the website – but better still, with the great weather we’ve been experiencing, head on over to Lenzie and see for yourselves!
Consultation to guide Masterplan for Westerhill
A consultation to inform the regeneration of the Westerhill area of Bishopbriggs is now underway and will run until 16 May. Visit our news release for further information and links to an online exhibition and details of the project, which is part of the Council’s City Deal Place and growth Programme.
Doughnut let your food go to waste!
That’s the message from the Council’s food waste campaign to encourage more of us to use the weekly food recycling service and avoid putting food waste in the residual waste bins. Read more on the action we are encouraging all residents to take in our pun-tastic news release on the website!
News from the EDLC Trust….
No more fees for late return of borrowed library items
Library users will no longer be charged for the late return of borrowed items. In these financially challenging times please don’t be put off coming back to your local library if you are late returning anything. See more on the news section of the website.
Anyone for tennis?
The Trust is offering people of all ages to net a smashing deal through its ace tennis offer for April and May. You can hire a tennis court at Huntershill Sports Hub, or Kirkintilloch Leisure Centre for just £6 per hour. Find our more in the news release announcing this offer.
100 years of the Kirkintiloch Players - Auld Kirk Exhibition
The Kirkintilloch Players are one of Scotland’s oldest amateur drama clubs and they are taking centre stage as part of a centenary exhibition at the Auld Kirk Museum. Visit the website for more information – and visit the museum to see the exhibition from Tuesday to Saturday, 10am-1pm and 2-5pm.
Milngavie Art Club at the Lillie
The latest Milngavie Art Club Exhibition is being held at the Lillie Art Gallery. The Club formed in 1915 and has around 170 artists in its ranks. Admission to the exhibition is free and it runs until 11 May. Opening times are available on the website and through the news release.
Employee Wellbeing News….
Employee Wellbeing
The Wellbeing page of the Employee Zone has a host 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 ‘Time for Talking’ which is available to all our employees.
Monthly Wellbeing Focus
Our Monthly Wellbeing Focus has specific wellbeing campaigns and initiatives being featured for the month, is published in the Monthly Wellbeing Focus page of the Employee Zone.
The Update for May with details of all the campaigns taking place next month will be published towards the end of next week.
Other News….
National Emergency Alarm Testing – Sunday 23 April
You’ll have seen from Employee News 13 issued earlier this week that an Emergency Alerts system is being launched by the UK Government that will warn you about nearby danger to life. Alerts may be sent in the event of severe flooding, fires and extreme weather. These will only be sent by emergency services, government agencies and public bodies that deal with emergencies. The system will be tested this weekend at 3pm on Sunday 23 April – so be aware that this test will affect both your work and your personal mobile phones.
You can find out more about the Emergency Alert system by visiting the government webpage.
Dates for your Diary…
- 22 April Earth Day
- 23 April National testing – UK Government emergency alert system
- 28 April International Workers Memorial Day
- 1 May May Day – school holiday
- 6 May Coronation of King Charles III
- 8 May UK-wide public holiday for Coronation of King Charles III
- 16 May Next screening for Spectrum Film Club
- 16 May – 29 May Foster Care Fortnight
- 17 May International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia
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, after the May Day school holiday weekend.
Ann