In this issue:
Newsflash from March
Coming up
- Supporting Communities Fund now open for applications
- Visitor Levy consultation closes 10 April
- Argyll and Bute school holidays – 7-22 April
Get involved
Quality Conversations Survey
As you know, the aim of Quality Conversations is to ensure employees have time with their managers to discuss goals, performance, objectives and behaviours, as and when needed throughout the year.
Are Quality Conversations working for you? Take 5 minutes to let us know what you think via the anonymous survey links below (managers please complete both surveys).
The survey is open until the 25th of April.
Thanks
The HROD team
Anyone for golf?
The second Argyll and Bute Council Golf Day takes place on Monday 5 May at Dunaverty Golf Club. It’s a great day out and starts with a breakfast roll before playing a Texas scramble in teams of four. We round the day off with a two-course meal.
You don’t need a handicap to play as you’re given one on the day.
This is all about having fun, getting some exercise and meeting people from different council services. If you are interested in joining us, please get in touch with me at susan.tyre@argyll-bute.gov.uk.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Connect for Success
Meet the team behind the Rural Growth Deal
You might have read in the news this month that the Scottish and UK governments signed a £70 million Rural Growth Deal that will see investment to support many local projects over the next 10 years. The principles of Connect for Success are evident in so much of the way we work, but it’s perhaps the collaboration and diligence of colleagues across services to bring the deal to life that really represents our One Council One Place principle, and commitment to deliver what’s needed.
This month we’re shining a spotlight on the team who helped make the deal a reality, as they tell us about how they worked to get the deal signed and what’s next on the to do list.
Jonathan Welch, Aileen Semple and Nicole Finn in the Development and Economic Growth service are the PMO (project management office) for the Rural Growth Deal. With years of experience across a number of roles at the council between them, they have been responsible for collaborating with colleagues in Education, Roads, Finance, Legal and Procurement, and others within Development and Economic Growth, to develop business cases for the many projects that will receive funding as part of the deal. You can learn more about each of the projects here.
As well as developing business cases with consultants and project leads Jonathan, Aileen and Nicole have undertaken project development work that includes site investigations and design work, consultation, applying for consents, legal, subsidy control and finance advice. It has been a lengthy process to get to this stage, with the team working through setbacks and delays to secure this funding.
And now with the deal signed is it time to relax a bit? Certainly not. With Outline Business Cases approved by Government for the majority of projects, the team will be busy working on Full Business Cases, developing these in the coming months and years.
Well done to the PMO team and we look forward to seeing the projects come to fruition in the next few years.
If you’d like to find out more about how the team have worked or more about any of the projects that the Rural Growth Deal is supporting you can get in touch with Jonathan Welch, Transformational Projects and Regeneration Manager, jonathan.welch@argyll-bute.gov.uk
What's new?
Employee-led communities
An employee-led community group or network is often created within places of work to support people who share a common background or experience. As part of our commitment to supporting our workforce and enabling equity and inclusion for employees, we are piloting two groups in 2025:
the Veterans’ Community, for those who have served in the armed forces, and
the LGBTQ+ Community, offering a welcoming space for LGBTQ+ colleagues.
Each group will meet online via Microsoft Teams, starting with an initial session followed by quarterly meetings.
If you’re interested in signing up for one of our pilot communities head to our page on My Council Works for more details.
If you know someone who may benefit, please spread the word. Together, we can build an inclusive and connected workplace.
Introducing your new look Hub
Over the past year the Web Team has been working on a new, refreshed Hub.
The system powering the current site has become technically outdated so is moving to the same platform that the council website is built on (Local Gov Drupal). If you use the council website often, you’ll notice a lot of familiar features from it on the new Hub, as well as new functionality and improvements. The move to the new platform also provided an opportunity to review and update content.
As part of efforts to ensure everyone, working for the council has equal access to news and information resources, most content has now moved to My Council Works (MCW) from the Hub. This includes the majority of HR related information. This means that everyone can access this information online from any device.
The Hub still includes information and certain functions that are restricted/protected and only available to corporate network users and not the public.
The menus on the new Hub will signpost you to the appropriate content on MCW so you can easily find HR and other information.
The new Hub goes live today. The Web Team is keen to get feedback and hear from anyone who has any queries about moved or missing content.
New initiative to help community projects
The Council’s Aspiring Places Project Team recently launched a new online initiative designed to raise awareness of community projects and help connect funding opportunities.
Aspiring Places is a new resource for community groups and organisations to share projects, build connections with other groups and explore funding opportunities.
This new online space will help the council identify the range of community projects looking for funding when opportunities come up.
We’re asking community groups to get involved and share their projects. Please help to share this new resource.
What impact do we make?
As part of your job, do you complete Impact Assessments? We’ve recently launched a new tool that might help you with this important piece of work. The new Integrated Impact Assessment tool is designed to help you complete the following assessments:
- Equality
- Fairer Scotland Duty
- Island Communities
- Children’s Rights and Wellbeing
- Consumer Duty
The online tool will guide you through the process of completing the parts of the Integrated Impact Assessment which are relevant to your proposal. Take a look:
Integrated Impact Assessments – My Council Works
There is an info session with Chris Carr from the HROD team, if you’d like to find out more:
Thursday, April 10th, 2025, 1-2pm
In the meantime, if you’d like to know more then get in touch with Chris – chris.carr@argyll-bute.gov.uk
New volunteer policy
The council works with a number of volunteers who continue to play an important role. They help support staff across a number of services including our schools and hostels, our parks, gardens and flowerbeds and residential units for both adults and children.
Our new Volunteer Policy is now available on MyCouncilWorks. It provides guidance to managers and volunteers on what they can expect from the council, what we expect from them, recruitment, induction and training.
Well done
STEM-tastic event at Kilmory
Nearly 200 children from ten Primary Schools across mid- Argyll enjoyed an exciting day filled with STEM activities at a recent LAND25 STEM event. Organised by our Education Service, with support from DYW Argyll and Bute, indoor and outdoor activities took place at Kilmory and Lochgilphead Joint Campus.
The aim of the day was to engage, inspire and connect pupils with the wide range of potential career paths connected with the land and its uses in Argyll and Bute.
Speaking about the day, Gary Clark, Digital Lead for Education said:
“This was a great opportunity for children to explore the different ways land is used and to take part in a number of activities focusing on links to STEM through landscapes and natural diversity. The day also included a number of panel discussions with industry experts and the chance to discuss careers with a number of local companies.
Our pupils had a great time and we hope it has inspired continued interested in STEM learning and the possibilities available to them. A huge thank to everyone involved in the day and to all our partner organisations who attended.”
Paul Malcolm, Primary Science Development Officer:
“In addition to the LANDS event on the Wednesday a range of virtual learning sessions were delivered throughout the week linking STEM to wider theme of Learning for Sustainability, to also provide inclusion for schools who could not attend in person”
Climate friendly Argyll and Bute
Recycle and save Michael
Last year’s we ran a recycling competition with schools in Argyll and Bute to find new ways of encouraging people to recycle. We got fantastic entries and you may well have seen this one popping up on social media from time to time.
Lucia, from Kilmodan Primary, reminds us with this powerful graphic of the terrible impact plastic waste has on the environment and the beautiful creatures we are lucky to have in Argyll and Bute’s countryside and waters. So, let’s all recycle to save Micheal and all his friends. More information on what you can recycle where you live on our website.
Training and new resources
Good news! We have integrated LEON with HROnline, making it easier and more efficient for any new employees to get started. This means once they’re added to iTrent, they can access LEON the day after.
Remember, if you have a council email address, you can use the single sign on for LEON with just one click. Here you can browse our huge catalogue of e-learning, podcasts and webinars.
We are excited to announce a new webinar designed to foster a more inclusive and understanding workplace.
Our neurodiversity webinar explores the varied nature of neurodivergent minds, how to best support neurodivergent colleagues, and how to create an inclusive work environment.
To register, follow the link below. Your manager will receive an approval email. Once approved, we’ll confirm your place.
Can we ask that you attend the date you select. Any no shows or cancellations less than two weeks prior to the event may result in a charge to your department.
Thank you
The Training Team
What's on
If you’re looking for things to do over the Easter holidays, here are a few ideas and details of useful clubs.
- Free Easter Eggsplorer Trails every day between 18 – 21 April at Dunstaffnage and Rothesay Castles
- Easter at Ardkinglas Woodland Gardens with Easter egg hunts 18-21 April
- Easter Multi-Sport Camp – Helensburgh, Mon 14th – Thurs 17th April 2025 – Live Argyll
- Easter Dunoon Gymnastics Camp (P1-S6) 15th-17th April 2025, 10am-12pm – Live Argyll
- Rothesay Easter Football Camp (P1 – P7), 7th to 11th April – Live Argyll
- Dunoon Easter Football Camp (P1 – P7), 14th to 16th April – Live Argyll
- Indoor and outdoor activities and games with Parent Club
Easter in Hermitage Park, Helensburgh
Our own events team are organising a free family fun day on Saturday 19 April, 11am – 3pm with street food, entertainment, face painting, craft stalls and rides for the kids.
Tea in the Park – our catering team are serving refreshments at Hermitage over the Easter weekend (Friday to Sunday)
Easter savings – don’t forget if you’re going away for the Easter hols, you can save money off top attractions, restaurants, luggage and airport parking with your employee benefits scheme. Visit Vivup – Argyll and Bute to find out more.