R Mag Issue 6 by RenCouncilRMag

Celebrating Success

Issue 6

MAGAZINE

Our Staff Recognition Awards

#RenBudget19

Leonie Bell

Our 1140 plan

What’s On!

Facts and figures from our 2019–20 budget

Meet our Paisley Partnership Strategic Lead

Doubling free childcare by 2020

Previewing our Spring/ Summer Events

Get the most out of working for Renfrewshire Council

CONTENTS

Revealing Renfrewshire . . . 6

Budget 2019–20 . . . . . . 26

‘Frosty view from ‘The Hamills’

All the facts and figures from a positive budget

Celebrating success . . . . .8

MAGAZINE

IN THIS ISSUE…

Partner Profile . . . . . . . 28

Our 2018 Staff Recognition Awards

Meet West College Scotland’s Liz Connolly

Our values . . . . . . . . . . 13

ISSUE 6

Have your say and shape our future

Additional Support Needs review . . . . . . . . 30

Buddies Recycle . . . . . . 16

Our approach to getting it right for every child

FYI: What do you need to know?

‘ParentPay’… . . . . . . . . 31

Page 22–23

Give a home a helping hand

Spotlight: Leonie Bell . . . 17

Meet the team

Our Strategic Lead for Future Paisley Partnership Board

Doubling free child care by 2020 . . . . . . . . . 32

Going to town . . . . . . . . 20

Our expansion plans for early years

Showpiece venue looks set to impress

Staff Stories . . . . . . . . . 34

City Deal . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Socks and locks

Major milestone reached as construction starts this summer

What’s On? Page 14 • Previewing our spring/summer events

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• New CMI Management Courses • We’ve bin busy • Complaints Handling—a guide • Tried the ICT Self Service portal yet?

R Magazine is produced by the Council's communication and marketing team. Other formats are available. Please email: internalcommunications @renfrewshire.gov.uk

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WELCOME

Welcome Welcome to this latest edition of our staff magazine and thank you once again for your continued feedback and contributions. In this issue we celebrate your fantastic achievements and spotlight our winners from the 2018 Staff Recognition Awards. It’s a real highlight in the Council calendar and I never fail to be impressed by your passion, drive and commitment both to public service and to the relationships forged with our partners. Every single one of you makes an important contribution to the success of our organisation and I would like there to be more opportunities to share our stories and successes. I am keen to hear more about your day-to-day engagement with our local communities and colleagues and find out what it means to you to work here at Renfrewshire Council. Over the coming weeks we’re holding a series of workshops that everyone can get involved in to have your say about how we work as an organisation. I want as many people as possible to take part and share what is important. This will help us define a new set of values for our Council and shape how we work together and with our communities and partners in the future. Find out how you can join the consultation on page 13. Our investment in our venues, museum and outdoor spaces is progressing at pace and, if you haven’t seen the artist’s impressions of the revamped Paisley Town Hall, don’t miss the article inside. We also meet our Strategic Lead for the Paisley Partnership, Leonie Bell, who explains

her team’s role in fulfilling our commitment to transform Paisley into a centre of excellence for cultural regeneration. In response to the Scottish Government’s pledge to increase free early years childcare hours to 1,140 by August 2020, our implementation plan will offer parents a range of options for accessing their child learning and childcare place across local authority or recognised private establishments. A number of infrastructure and construction developments to support this expansion will begin shortly. You can read about our plans, together with an update on our Additional Support Needs (ASN) review and the roll out of ParentPay inside. Continuing our new series of partner profiles, I’m delighted to introduce West College Scotland’s Principal and Chief Executive Liz Connolly who talks about our important new partnership and her ambitions for the college. The editorial team are always on the lookout for new ideas to keep the content you read here interesting so please do keep them coming.

Sandra

REVEALING RENFREWSHIRE

'Frosty view from The Hamills' Claire Cabrie “The picture was taken a couple of years ago. As it was sunny and frosty I decided to go out and take some pictures with my camera. The Hamills have always intrigued me as it changes with the seasons and there is always wildlife to spot, like the heron, ducks and swans. On this occasion however it was the trees that had captured my imagination. Glimmering silver at the water’s edge.” Send us your photos of Renfrewshire —perhaps a favourite place to walk, an event you've been to or one of our many historic buildings— and we'll feature it in the next edition of the magazine. We might even throw in some tickets to one of our fabulous events! Send them to internalcommunications@renfrewshire.gov.uk by Friday 31 May and we’ll pick a winner.

REVEALING RENFREWSHIRE

Send your photos to: internalcommunications@renfrewshire.gov.uk

STAFF AWARDS

Staff Recognition Awards 2018

STAFF AWARDS

STAFF AWARDS ition Awards ceremony This year’s Staff Recogn was a fantastic showcase at Johnstone Town Hall d a celebration of our talented people an at its best. of partnership working w venue and the ever— With a new category, ne helm, anticipation e th at t et rn Bu n ya Br g charmin finalists. With traditional was high among the 23 e Trail, our Chief Executiv music from Fèis Ceilidh e for the categories, Sandra Black set the scen ing employees recognising our long serv rs and judges. and thanking our sponso bulous winners… Congratulations to our fa

STAFF AWARDS

Place Award Winner

City Deal Team

mplary’ With an approach recognised as ‘exe RF) and (SU um For on by Scotland’s Regenerati a Scottish by ful’ ning mea described as ‘deep and g doin are team this Parliament committee, three ng veri deli for e sibl something right! Respon City Deal key projects under the £274 million e worked hard hav y the , ent infrastructure investm the business to engage with local communities and . The projects sector as they progress each project erfront are: Airport Access Project, Clyde Wat Airport w sgo Gla the & Renfrew Riverside and 28–29) es pag on re mo d Investment Area. (Rea

STAFF AWARDS Who made the shortlist

• Destination Brand and Events team • Foxbar Place Plan Team

People Award W in

Project SEARCH

ner

This long-respected employability scheme for young people with learning disabilities or autism, in partnership with Glasgow Clyde College, is described by its graduates as ‘the perfect opportunity’. Its success is testament to the collaboration and commitment to ensuring every student is offered the right support to achieve their potential. Almost 60% of Project SEARCH graduates have gained sustainable employment half of whom are employed directly by the Council.

Who made the shortlist

• Attainment Challenge Team • Disabilit y Resource Centre

Community Aw ard

Winner

Who made the shortlist

• Sheltered Housing Ser vice Team • Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking

Unpaid Work Team

g work for people Organising and managin Payback order is made completing a Community ork of solid relationships possible through a netw nfrewshire. The team’s with partners across Re through activities which focus on rehabilitation positive environmental have a sustainable and g-held associations with impact is reflected in lon ediland. In 2017/18, the organisations such as Br hours of unpaid work team supervised 60,000 al d is well regarded by loc across Renfrewshire an s nt’ ce Vin hes and St community groups, churc hospice.

STAFF AWARDS

Organisation Award Winner Business World Team

Business World replaces our HR, fina nce, payroll and purchasing systems with one single ICT system, and the challenge to deliver such a project should not be overstated. The multi-service team of officers, project managers, analysts, subject matter experts and external par tners have worked tirelessly to get the best out of this new system for the benefit of our organisation. Resilience, com mitment and perseverance have characterised this team who, despite numerous difficulties and cha llenging decisions, have successfully delivere d against revised target dates.

STAFF AWARDS

Who made the shortlist

• Claimant Support Team • Organisational Development & Workforce Planning Team

Sustainability Award Winner

Renfrewshire Growing Ground Forum

Germinating for some time, this foru m is firmly rooted in strong suppor tive relation ships with local growers, council services and community planning par tners. Chaired by the Hea lth & Social Care Par tnership, it’s a truly collabo rative approach representing 53 organisations acro ss our region in response to rising demand. The imp act has been significant with growing ground plot s increasing from 115 in 2009 to 197 in 2018, indi vidual plots have risen by 69% and community garden s have grown fivefold.

Who made the shortlist

• Housing Asset and Investment Team • Team Up to Clean Up

Young Achiever Award Winner

Who made the shortlist

Amna Lateef, Finance and Resources

Described as a ‘breath of fresh’ air, Amna’s has a flair for digital and has quickly esta blished herself in the HR & OD team with her enthusiasm and passion for doing thing differently. Notable achievements include securing additional funding to improve our e-learning platform, becoming a ‘Dig iteer’ for digital skills training, and creating a streaml ined online solution to simplif y measurement and evaluation.

• Ross Crawford • Lauren Johnstone • Colin McKenzie

STAFF AWARDS

Team Member o f the Year Award Win ne r

Maxine Hendry, Communities Housing and Planning Services

Maxine’s drive and commitment to raising the profile of tackling domestic abuse has bee n remarkable. Working alongside colleagues in HR, she has helped shape a new domestic abuse policy for employees, securing a signed statement of inte nt from our Chief Executive. She has also been instrumental in developing Renfrewshire’s exemplar multi-agency approach to high-risk domestic abu se cases and has par tnered SafeLives to deliver training for staff and elected members. Her work has taken her to Holyrood, Westminster and most rece ntly Sydney —which meant she missed her big moment in Johnstone!

STAFF AWARDS Who made the shortlist • Cathy Mearns • John P Wallace • Nicola Williamson

Attainment Challenge Team

’s Award e iv t u c e x E f Chie Winner

The outstanding work of this dedicat ed team has received an ‘excellent’ rating from Education Scotland for their progress in improvi ng learning and closing the attainment gap. Fam ily study sessions, a school activities fund and a literacy scheme are just some of the initiativ es which have seen significant year-on-year improve ments in listening, talking, reading, writing and numeracy. Their ‘ver y successful’ approach is down to the commitment, drive and vision of the team, our schools and the close collaborati on with the University of Strathclyde.

Our Judges

, Renfrewshire Council • Chair, Sandra Black n Renfrewshire • Mark Ferguson, Uniso st College Scotland • David Alexander, We Service ottish Fire and Rescue • Graeme Binning, Sc lice Scotland • Gordon Crossan, Po d ty of the West of Scotlan • Clare Ennis, Universi d lan ills Development Scot • Maurice Gilligan, Sk erce mm Co of r be shire Cham • Bob Grant, Renfrew ire Champions Board • PJ Hislop, Renfrewsh e Star Project • Sharon Mc Aulay, Th lior Fortius • Gerard McCleave, Me Paisley First • Graeme McGowan, ewshire Council • Laura McInt yre, Renfr ge Renfrewshire • Alan McNiven, Enga tish Enterprise • Mark Newlands, Scot Clyde Greater Glasgow and • John O’Dowd, NHS

Stats

ions • 139 nominat d teams te is tl • 15 shor evers • 4 young achi • 4 individuals

Our Sponsors • UNISON • MK Business Psychology • Enva • Castlerigg Consulting • Scottish Leather Group

Our values We want to transform the way we work and how we engage with each other and with our communities. You’re at the heart of this change and we need your help to shape our future organisation and define the values that support this.

Tell us

Get involved

How do I book?

• What matters to you?

• Book your place at one of the ‘Our values’ workshops. Designed to spark lively discussion and get you thinking, these fun, interactive sessions are a brilliant way to have your say.

• Go to www.renfrewshire. gov.uk/ourvalues

• What’s our identity? • What are we good at? • What’s it like to work here?

• Spaces are limited so book early

We look forward to seeing you there!

www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/ourvalues 13

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WHAT’S ON?

Put a Spring in your step with these fun events! We’ve got another great programme of events coming your way in 2019— so make sure you get the dates in the diary, get the group chat going on WhatsApp and start planning for some fun!

This issue, we’re focusing on the first two big events staged by the council’s events team. You’ll find more information about these events on the Paisley.is website (www.paisley.is). While you’re there, check out the What’s On section which is your handy guide to loads more great events happening across Renfrewshire every week.

Paisley Food and Drink Festival Friday 25 and Saturday 26 April Head into Paisley and enjoy a fabulous weekend of food-related fun with friends and family. Friday’s programme is geared towards the grown-ups with a host of activities designed to help you let your hair down at the end of the week. Renfrewshire CAMRA will bring their ever-popular beer festival to the event with stylish marquee in Abbey Close offering up guest ales— and a real ale trail through the town. If ale isn’t your thing, we’ve got a Friday night rum and DJ session, a gin bar and tastings from Gin 71. Saturday has a family focus with live music and foodie workshops for kids and adults alike. Add in over 30 traders and vendors with a variety of quality food offerings and you’ve got all the ingredients for a great weekend!

Did you know? Renfrewshire CAMRA will bring over 70 cask conditioned ales and craft beers to this year’s event.

WHAT’S ON?

British Pipe Band Championships Saturday 18 May Enjoy the skirl of the pipes and beat of the drums as one of the most prestigious events in world bagpiping comes to Renfrewshire. Over 120 of the finest pipe bands are expected to compete at St James Playing Fields.

There’ll be a full day of free family fun taking place alongside the traditional music and Highland dancing. It’s also a really easy event to get to… travel into Paisley by public transport or park at one of several free event car parks around town and then take the free shuttle bus to and from the Championship site.

BUDDIES RECYCLE

Calling all stafref!to

rnitu Can you donate fu cle project the Buddies Recy a difference e k a m it lp e h d n a ople in to the lives of pe Renfrewshire?

Founded by Morag Alexander and Karen Perratt, the project gives recycled and used furniture to people on low incomes who are offered tenancies but cannot access grants, helping them turn their house into a home. The project gives recycled and used furniture to people on low incomes who are offered tenancies but cannot access grants, helping them turn their house into a home. Founders Morag Alexander and Karen Perratt opened the Buddies Recycle store in Paisley in February and are looking for donations. The duo are asking staff to help if they can. Morag and Karen are working with partners, including furniture upholstery project Impact Arts, and services across the council to make Buddies Recycle a success, with the Community Payback Team providing free uplifts for stock and the voids department in Clark Street donating what it can to the store. The project began two years ago when Morag’s idea won her a Lens Award. Since then, Morag and Karen have been working hard to secure the shop and stock for the project. Buddies Recycle is currently focused on helping people referred by the housing support and homelessness team but Morag and Karen hope demand will allow them to expand. Morag said: “The project came out of frustration at the lack of access to cheap, good quality used furniture. We’ve all had clients who have been on minimum wage and are not entitled to anything when they get a tenancy. “Buddies Recycle is about helping people to keep them in better mental health and making it easy and affordable for them to turn their house into a home.” To donate any used furniture to the Buddies Recycle project email Morag on Morag.Alexander@renfrewshire.gov.uk and Karen on Karen. Perratt@renfrewshire.gov.uk The store cannot currently take white goods as it is unable to carry out PAT testing and can only accept sofas with a fire safety label.

“Currently people on minimum wage get a tenancy and are expected to sustain it but they need furniture for their house, so it feels like home. It’s about improving their mental health and making them feel better about themselves. “We’re hoping the shop will make a real difference to the lives of people in Paisley and Renfrewshire.” Karen Perratt

LEONIE BELL

Leonie Bell Paisley Leonie is our Strategic Lead for the Future building on Partnership Board. She tells us how she’s ture bid the legacy of our Paisley for UK City of Cul h cultural to transform Renfrewshire’s future throug regeneration.

LEONIE BELL What attracted you to your job at Renfrewshire Council? It was seeing the ambition and energy in the UK City of Culture bid. Paisley did such an amazing job and the bid captured everyone's imagination, including my own. Renfrewshire Council is prioritising culture, and in the current climate that is bold, exciting and progressive; so when the job came up it was too good an opportunity to miss. Can you give us a brief overview of your role and where it sits in the organisation? The role is called Strategic Lead, Paisley Partnership and it picks up where the UK City of Culture bid left off, building on its commitment to transform the town culturally, economically, physically and socially. My team will be working to deliver the bid's legacy projects and looking for new opportunities and partnerships that will benefit and transform Paisley and Renfrewshire’s future. We are a small team but we have big plans and we want to collaborate across the Council, Renfrewshire Leisure, Paisley, Renfrewshire, nationally and internationally. What will your priorities be in your new role? My priorities are to make Paisley a centre of excellence for cultural regeneration, to position creativity as a core part of what we all do and to make sure that everyone across Renfrewshire has access to the opportunities that culture and creativity bring in terms of individual and community wellbeing and

prosperity. Culture and creativity have a role to play in every part of our lives from our health, learning and skills to our identities, communities, outlook, hobbies, interests and the design and preservation of our places, buildings and heritage. Paisley can be a thriving and connected 21st century town, surrounded by neighbourhoods and communities that are creative and flourishing culturally, with the High Street as its civic, cultural and retail heart. Paisley is becoming a leader in cultural regeneration and people around the world are looking at what we are doing. Our plans for Paisley are progressive and ambitious and people will keep watching us so we need to make sure that we keep pushing forward. What experience do you bring to the role? I’ve worked in culture for over twenty years. In 1999 I worked on the exhibitions programme when Glasgow was UK City of Architecture & Design. I then became Programme Director at The Lighthouse, Scotland’s Centre for Architecture Design & the City where I developed a programme that was a mix of exhibitions, festivals and events which celebrated Glasgow and Scotland’s architecture and design. These took place in The Lighthouse, across Glasgow, Scotland and internationally. After this I led the Scotland wide approach for the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games and the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games cultural programmes. I spent three years as Director of Arts at Creative Scotland, developing an Arts Strategy with responsibility for dance, literature, music, theatre, visual, creative

learning and youth arts. I worked as a civil servant whilst on secondment to the Scottish Government as Head of Culture Strategy and Engagement. I led on the development of a national culture strategy with additional responsibility for cultural diplomacy, festivals, youth arts and national events. It was at that point this job came up and it offered a brilliant opportunity to translate what I’d done nationally into a local setting and to gain valuable experience by working with communities and partners in an ambitious local authority. What are your main challenges? The main challenge is the City of Culture bid was unsuccessful but the Council has turned that into an opportunity and maintained its ambition and support for culture. Without the bid we can do this on our terms and be strategic about how we reimagine Paisley’s future. I think the ambition and attitude Paisley has is world leading. Paisley is a fantastic town with a phenomenal social and political history, and cultural heritage. It’s got everything going for it. Where there are challenges we need to make things right and I believe that doing that with culture at the forefront is important and a massive opportunity for everybody in Renfrewshire. Tell us about your team We’re a small team and we sit together so we interact all the time. What’s important for us is that we have big ambitions. We want to build on the expertise that exists across the Council and its partners and we are hoping to work in a collaborative and integrated way across the whole organisation.

“We’re a small team with big ambitions.” 18

LEONIE BELL What are the major projects for your team? Many of the major projects like the reimagining of the museum, the Town Hall redevelopment and moving the library into High Street are underway and being led by colleagues across the Council and Renfrewshire Leisure. These projects are about the physical regeneration but there are also lots of other exciting projects we’re working on with partners. This includes the partnership between Castlehead High and Glasgow School of Art, a Culture, Health & Social Care Network and the establishment of a research centre with the University of the West of Scotland which will tell the story of the changes currently going on in Paisley and demonstrate the impact they are having. Our role is to have an overview of all these projects and to seek out new opportunities and partnerships and ways of collaborating across service areas. Which local partners are you working with to deliver projects? My role is very much about partnerships and relationships. We’re working with local organisations like The Star Project, Engage Renfrewshire, Paisley First, the University of the West of Scotland and West College Scotland as well as with partners like Glasgow School of Art, Creative Scotland, Scottish Government and international partners like the British Council. Other important partners are artists, creative and cultural organisations and the residents and communities of Paisley and Renfrewshire. We want to work in a really open way that supports greater collaboration between communities and the culture sector.

What does the future hold for Paisley? There are culturally and creatively engaged neighbourhoods and communities across Paisley and Renfrewshire and we want to build on that. Paisley's got an opportunity to showcase its culture and heritage and to use creativity to shape its future, transforming the town and Renfrewshire.

Re-imagining Paisley: The Next Steps Here is an outline of the work Leonie's team will be focusing on: • Supporting the growth of Paisley's creative economy • Developing a cultural regeneration programme that will help lift communities in Paisley out of poverty • Developing Paisley's cultural and heritage sector so that the town is recognised for its cultural excellence • Changing Paisley's image and reputation in Scotland, the UK and internationally • Transforming Paisley into a vibrant cultural town centre

Originally from North East Fife but I’ve been in Glasgow and the surrounding area for over 20 years. I came to Glasgow to study at the university in the nineties and now live just outside the city with my family.

Family Life

My family life is very busy. I live with my partner and our three daughters; Ruby (16), Ingrid (13) and Simone (8).

Hobbies

A lot of my interests relate to my work in that I really do love art, culture, travel,

architecture and design so I do a lot of that in my spare time with family and friends. I also run and do a wee bit of yoga…when there is time left in the day.

Tell us something we wouldn’t know about you

I’m an amateur gardener and grower of things. I resisted my mother’s love of gardening all my life until we got an allotment and then a garden and, now, I am hooked and bore my kids with trips to gardens and with chat about plants, cuttings and seeds.

PAISLEY TOWN HALL

Going to town! The magnificent Victorian-era landmark has been at the heart of life in the town for 140 years—when it reopens in 2021, it will boast an expanded capacity and entirely new rooms within the existing building. By turning our much-loved 19th Century architectural gem into a 21st Century venue, Paisley Town Hall is set to attract new audiences and remain at the heart of local life for generations to come. Exciting new features include: • a new café-bar and dance studio; • transformed audience experience including a lowered stage, new seating, better sightlines and acoustics; • new reception area; • improved access to and around the building; • an entire replacement of the building’s decades-old electrical and mechanical equipment; and • improved backroom facilities allowing more weddings and conferences. The £22 million work is part of a much bigger investment in Paisley town centre, using its internationally-significant cultural and heritage story to transform its future.

This includes a transformation of Paisley Museum which will almost quadruple current visitor numbers, a new modern home for library services on the High Street, and major investment in key outdoor spaces, such as Abbey Close and County Square, which will keep residents, students and visitors in the town longer. That investment will help create conditions in which the private sector will want to invest, broaden the range of top-class cultural experiences the town can offer, and preserve our heritage for future generations. Award-winning architects, Holmes Miller, whose previous projects include the redevelopment of Old Trafford and reshaping Hampden for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, are running the town hall revamp. Initial work to clear out the town hall is under way, with stonework and roof repairs taking place over the summer, ahead of main construction work starting towards the end of the year.

FYI: WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?

FYI What do you need to know?

New Learning Opportunities Supporting and Developing your Career Pathway Want to develop the skills to flourish in your role and achieve an accredited qualification? Sign up to our new suite of accredited Chartered Management Institute (CMI) Programmes and gain an accredited management qualification. In 2019 we’re continuing with our popular Level 2 and Level 3 CMI programmes: • The CMI Level 2 Award in Team Leading is an ideal first step towards achieving a work-based qualification. It covers the roles and responsibilities of a team leader, how to understand and adapt your leadership style, the importance of values and integrity and team motivation and performance. • The CMI Level 3 Certificate in Principles in Management and Leadership is aimed at first line managers. This course covers the principles of customer service and aims to further develop communication and management styles. The programmes are scheduled throughout the year and you’ll find further information and dates on the intranet. In the coming weeks, we’ll also be launching two new programmes in partnership with Scotland Excel—The CMI Level 5 and Level 7 Diplomas.

The CMI Level 5 Diploma (HND level) is aimed at practicing managers who want to develop their core management skills. It covers skills including leadership and decision making, project development & control and managing team & individual performance. The CMI Level 7 Diploma (Masters Level) is for individuals currently in a managerial role who are keen to build on their strategic management and leadership skills. It will cover translating organisational strategy to operational delivery through a recognised and accredited qualification. Finally, don’t forget our Aspire (for first line managers and supervisors) and Leaders of the Future (LotF) (for senior and operational managers) programmes, which will be continuing throughout 2019. New programmes will be launching in April (Aspire) and May (LotF). To secure a place on any of these programmes, speak to your manager in the first instance. If approved, complete the course nomination form available on Renfo and send to orgdev.cs@renfrewshire.gov.uk. If you have any questions, or would like further information about these programmes, please contact the OD and Workforce Planning Team.

FYI: WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?

We’ve bin busy! The new bin collection service is now fully underway, and we posted our highest ever recycling figure of 49% in the third quarter of 2018—a great step in the right direction.

Putting things right Complaints Handling Procedure Complete guide for staff

“A big thank you to all staff within our waste teams who have been working hard to implement this significant service change. Your hard work has made the transition much easier. Everyone is getting used to separating their rubbish into the new bins and this is helping us continue to improve our recycling rate as we move forward. Well done everyone.” Gordon McNeil, Director of Environment and Infrastructure

It’s important that we properly record any complaints at the point of contact and feel supported to make things right as soon as they are brought to our attention. Our customers should feel that we welcome complaints, that we are ready to respond to them and that we learn from the feedback we receive. These insights should be form an integral part of service improvement.

Appendix 3

To do this properly we must: • resolve complaints at the point of contact within five working days, or within 20 days if further investigation is required • record all complaints properly so that we can continually monitor and learn from them • obtain approval for responses to complaints that require further investigation (from a head of service or director). The new guidance document is available to download from the intranet. Printed copies will be circulated across all services with additional copies available from the Document Solution Centre.

ICT Self Service Did you know there’s a new way of logging calls to the ICT Service desk? You can now do it all online using the new Self Service Web Portal. Why should I use it?

You’ll get a call reference number right away and you can update your call or check its progress.

How do I use it?

Instructions can be downloaded from the ICT Support section of the Intranet. 23

CITY DEAL

Manufacturing a bright deal for Renfrewshire

CITY DEAL

This is an exciting year for our City Deal programme with some major developments taking shape which will have a huge impact on our area. We think you might have a few questions…here’s a quick run-through of what’s involved. Can you remind me about City Deal? This is a £1.13billion investment in the Glasgow city region—and £274m of that investment is earmarked for Renfrewshire. It’s supporting three projects—developing land next to Glasgow Airport to create a new innovation district; the first opening road bridge across the River Clyde, between Renfrew and Yoker; and a new direct link between Glasgow Central Station, Paisley Gilmour Street Station and Glasgow Airport. What’s happening next to Glasgow Airport? A major programme of environmental and infrastructure improvements begins this summer—all with the aim of creating a world-class ‘investment area’ at the heart of Renfrewshire. This is at the centre of an emerging new Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS). It’ll be the first of its kind in Scotland—inspired by the huge success over the past ten years of the manufacturing innovation district in Sheffield, Yorkshire. What do you mean by ‘advanced manufacturing’? The simplest way to describe ‘advanced manufacturing’ is ‘better ways to make things’. Using cutting-edge technology (and the finest minds available), to find quicker and more efficient ways of making…anything. Renfrewshire is ideally suited for the new district. We have a proud history of manufacturing (check out the Did you know? box), the University of Strathclyde has a world-leading centre of excellence at Inchinnan and we already have businesses based here—such as Rolls Royce, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Terumo Aortic— recognised the world over as leaders in their industries.

“We are on the cusp of something huge…and Renfrewshire is ideally placed to seize the opportunities advanced manufacturing brings.” Nick Shields, Head of Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service

The first two tenants of the new district are already in place. A new National Manufacturing Institute Scotland will bring together all the skills, research, expertise and innovation that can make Scotland a global leader in manufacturing. With a skills academy, digital lab and ‘collaboratory’, it’ll be the place where the ‘jobs of the future’ start to emerge. The second, a new Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre, will develop new manufacturing techniques for pharmaceuticals—helping to speed up times to bring new medicines to market. What about the new bridge? The new bridge will cross the River Clyde between Renfrew and Yoker, connecting these two communities and doing so much more. Studies show that the bridge could help transform both banks of the waterfront—ultimately, helping to create up to 2,300 jobs by unlocking the potential for residential, commercial and leisure developments along this stretch of the river. New development roads will also link it to the innovation district by the airport. It will be an iconic landmark for Renfrewshire with a stunning design developed by Kettle Collective—the architects behind the Falkirk Wheel. The last road crossing built over the river was the Erskine Bridge, almost 50 years ago, and last year was officially recognised as a site of special architectural interest. What’s happening with the airport link project? Improving the transport links to the airport is vital to the economic growth of Renfrewshire. Our City Deal team is working closely with their Glasgow counterparts and Transport Scotland on the business case for the Glasgow Airport Access Project. Did you know? Merlin engines made here in Renfrewshire powered the Spitfire and Hurricane planes that fought in WW2.

BUDGET 2019–2020

Our budget 2019/20 Providing pupils with the best possible learning environments

Protect the most vulnerable

An additional £29million in school buildings will match the commitment of our children and young people to learning by providing the best possible learning environments. This funding unlocks access to the Scottish Government £1billion school investment fund and there’s also immediate improvements planned for Bishopton, Kirklandneuk and St Anthony’s Primary Schools and to Paisley Grammar School.

More funding for adult social care services will help meet increasing demand and we want to secure the Living Wage for all care staff providing services to Renfrewshire residents. There’s an increase to the Foster and Kinship Carer allowance, training to support victims of domestic abuse and defibrillators being installed in Renfrewshire schools.

Making journeys safer and easier

Support inclusive economic growth

Local businesses will benefit from funds for shop front improvements and there’s an enhanced warden provision for Paisley town centre, improvements to priority markings across the roads network and the establishment of a safety initiative team tackling irresponsible parking at schools.

At £40million, this five-year investment in Renfrewshire roads, cycling routes and pedestrian paths represents

the biggest ever of its kind. It will also mean better business connectivity and improve the experience for visitors to Renfrewshire attractions. A further £5.5million will be invested to support regeneration to the south of the Glasgow Airport Investment Area and provide greater economic connectivity between Paisley town centre and the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland.

BUDGET 2019–2020

Our budget for 2019/2020 has been confirmed at £412million and includes a transformational £79million package of investments. Budget spotlight: • £412million • £79million investment package • £324million capital investment programme • £19million of efficiency savings generated to support the budget • 4.79% increase on Council Tax, equivalent to a £1.10 weekly increase on Band D properties • A 2% inflationary increase in service charges

“This is a positive budget, benefiting every single community and neighbourhood in Renfrewshire. We are in a stable financial position and that has enabled this package of one-off and longerterm investments. It provides major investment in our schools and roads infrastructure and supports those most in need. It is a budget that builds on multi-year investments made last year to support employability, tackle poverty and enhance the local environment. I would like to extend my thanks to every member of staff for their hard work and commitment over the past year which has contributed to ensuring we continue to deliver high quality public services. In the coming months, we will be seeking your views on how we can continue to be better at how we work, and I look forward to hearing your views.” Sandra Black, Chief Executive

Breathe new life into community facilities

£2.3million towards community halls will include refurbishment of the McKillop Institute, Lochwinnoch; Elderslie Village Hall and South End Action Centre, Paisley and repairs to Steeple Hall in Kilbarchan. Renfrewshire Leisure will be supported to establish a new library outreach service and there’s plans for an inclusive adventure playpark.

Recognise the power of culture on attainment

School music tuition is to remain free for the next four years through a £500,000 investment, which bucks the national trend. School pupils will also benefit from the chance to visit their international peers through creation of the Provost’s School Exchange Fund.

Improve the local environment

Building on the continued success of the Team Up to Clean Up campaign, new multi-purpose litter and dog fouling bins will be installed across Renfrewshire, there’s tree works planned at key locations and improvements to the pond at Barshaw Park in Paisley.

PARTNER PROFILE: LIZ CONNOLLY

Liz Connolly Liz is the Principal and Chief Executive of West College Scotland, taking over the reins in September 2018. Here, Liz outlines the importance she places on the partnership with Renfrewshire Council and on her ambitions for the college, which is home to 22,000 students and 1200 staff across its three campuses in Paisley, Greenock and Clydebank. “Every day I think how lucky I am to have a role in an organisation that’s helping to transform people’s lives. “We are in a great place already as we are a great college with fabulous staff who are really committed to changing people’s lives and making a difference. We’ve got a really significant role to play in supporting inclusive growth, which is a key government priority. “I want us to be an organisation that offers everyone who comes through our doors the opportunity to fulfil their potential. I want to help raise their aspirations and encourage them to think about the contribution they can make to society—to the economies in which they live and

work, to the companies they are going to work for or the companies they are going to create themselves. “It’s about providing an environment where people thrive on learning and recognise learning is something they have to do throughout life. Learning is an investment in ourselves that allows us to make an important contribution to our communities. “Being part of our communities is such an important thing for the college and ideally we’d like each of our campuses to be hubs for community activity. “We are keen to see development of our Paisley campus and have been working on an outline business case for funding for the redevelopment of

the campus. “It’s about making sure that we have a campus that’s fit for 21st century learning and is an asset that can be used by the community in Renfrewshire and by the business base. “I love the idea we’ll have a campus where people feel they can come in, have a coffee, discuss things with our teams. A campus that is a gathering place and a real asset for the community. “We work with a whole range of partners across our communities and we have a great relationship with Renfrewshire Council. The relationship with the Council works at so many different levels, from

PARTNER PROFILE: LIZ CONNOLLY

From

East End of Glasgow

Studied

MBA and BA (Hons) Marketing, University of Strathclyde, and attended Harvard University studying Executive Development

Past experience

Liz has worked on charity projects in Nepal, Cambodia and helped build a community centre in a village in South Africa.

“Learning is an investment in ourselves that allows us to make an important contribution to our communities.” the work we do with Renfrewshire schools to playing a key role in the bid for UK City of Culture, to now helping ensure we deliver on the aims of the bid. “I’m also very proud that the college is part of Renfrewshire’s Economic Leadership Panel. We live in a very fast moving and challenging economic situation and no one single person or organisation can have the answers to everything. But the power of getting leaders from across industry and public-sector agencies together

to share their thinking and insights and to collectively think about what the future is going to look like in Renfrewshire and how do we shape that future is so important. Renfrewshire is in a unique position just now with the significant investment that’s been identified in projects like the manufacturing district and the work to make the area a popular visitor destination (see pages 28–29). “West College Scotland has a key role to play in supporting this, helping

Liz joined West College Scotland since its formation in 2013 as its Vice-Principal Corporate Development. Before this, she spent many years with Scottish Enterprise, becoming Chief Executive of three separate Local Enterprise Companies, as well as Operations Director for the West of Scotland.

Hobbies and interests

Liz loves to travel and experience different cultures and is also a concert goer and an avid reader, with at least one book on the go at all times. to develop the workforce that will be needed to deliver our future economic growth whether that’s through the development of our young workforce or supporting the upskilling and reskilling of our existing workforce. “You can achieve so much more when you work in partnership. It is important to recognise that different partners will have different drivers and pressures, but when you look beyond that and identify your shared priorities and common goals and set out to achieve them, that’s when you can make great things happen and have a real impact.” 29

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT NEEDS REVIEW

Putting every child’s needs at the heart of how we deliver our services

Across Scotland, including Renfrewshire, there is an increasing number of children and young people being identified with additional support needs. The needs of these children and young people are all different and as such may need a range of different support to help them make the best of their learning and ensure they succeed. Almost all children with additional support needs are educated in mainstream schools and within these schools, there is a range of staff working to support their needs. In addition, Renfrewshire also has a range of specialist provision for children which includes 16 additional support needs bases, each of which has been developed over the years to provide support for specific needs. For the first time in 20 years, the council is reviewing how this service is provided to ensure that we encourage best practice, ensure effective use of our skilled staff and their experience and meet the principles of school empowerment, to deliver the best service we can for each child. Staff in bases, specialist teams and parents of children with additional support needs will have a key role in shaping the new model through working groups, a programme of parental engagement and consultation meetings and events. Their feedback will help shape the new model which will be implemented over a number of years. More than 350 staff who are involved in the delivery of additional support have taken part in engagement sessions, which will directly inform the new model. The review team aims to engage with more than 400 staff in total. A similar programme of engagement has also begun with parents.

The Review is being led by Gordon McKinlay, Head of Schools. The overall Project Team consists of Head Teachers, Education Managers, Educational Psychologists, the Inclusion Support team, specialist staff and independent experts to support the staff and parental engagement. Gordon said: “Putting every child’s needs first is at the heart of this review. In Renfrewshire, we have a lot of dedicated, passionate and experienced staff and hearing their views and the views of parents and pupils is key to getting this new model right. We want a new model that puts the needs of each child first, that reflects the experience of staff so we can share best practice and make sure we are using all our available resources in the most efficient way. The views of parents, pupils and staff will help inform our new model and any changes are expected to take place over a number of years.”

MEET THE TEAM

Meet the team…Parent Pay

What is ParentPay? ParentPay is an online payment service used in over 8,500 schools across the UK. The system allows parents to add money to their child’s account to pay for school meals, trips, equipment and more online. Parents can also view letters from school and up-to-date information using their child’s ParentPay account. ParentPay was launched in January, with six schools moving on to the new cashless system.

Who’s in the team and what are their roles? There are 6 team members at present (above pic, left to right): • Lillian McMinn Project Team Lead • Ryan Phillips Project Manager • Robbie Weir Service Delivery Manager/ Project Lead • Janet Geddes Project Assistant • Guido Marcuccilli Business Change Analyst • Linda Muir Project Manager

What does the team do? We are responsible for the planning and implementation of ParentPay which will be used by all nurseries, pre-5 centres, primary, secondary and ASN schools in Renfrewshire. This includes working closely with ParentPay and communicating with parents, schools and key service leads on how the implementation of the new system is progressing. We are also engaging and working with staff to find the best solutions to any queries or concerns they may have about the new system.

What are the key stages for the ParentPay project? We have been working on this project for over a year now. Our first task was to work out what we needed the new system to do before going out to procurement and awarding the contract to ParentPay. We are doing the project in phases.

First Six Schools

We launched ParentPay to our first six schools in January 2019 and the feedback has been great.

13 more schools go cashless

We are now in the middle of phase two, which will see 13 more schools go cashless. Once this is done, we will start working on planning and implementing phase three of the project.

19 ParentPay schools by August 2019

The third phase is expected to begin in August 2019 and will include 12 more schools.

All schools cashless by April 2020

We will continue to build on the knowledge and lessons we have learned from each phase and plan to have ParentPay in all Renfrewshire schools by April 2020.

“ParentPay is fantastic and, if kids are late in, it’s very easy for them to be added to pick a lunch.” Auchenlodment Primary

EARLY YEARS

Doubling free childcare by 2020 We’ve got great news for parents and carers… you’ll be able to access almost double the amount of free early learning and childcare hours for your children in 2020. We’re increasing the amount of free early learning and childcare hours available to three, four and some two-year-olds from 600 to 1140 by August 2020, successfully meeting the Scottish Government’s new target. The change will offer parents and carers in Renfrewshire more choice and flexibility when it comes to childcare, allowing them to choose from council, private and volunteerrun nursery classes, centres and 32

childminding. If you currently use more than your funded early learning and childcare entitlement you will also see your childcare costs drop. It’s also brilliant news for children, who will receive the best possible start to their education and learn essential life skills and knowledge in fantastic surroundings. Earlier this year, we became the first council to be rated ‘excellent’ by Education Scotland for our efforts to

close the poverty-related attainment gap. Our expansion plans will play a vital role in our continuing work to tackle this issue. We are currently carrying out a £14million extension and refurbishment programme to ensure our Early Learning and Childcare Centres will be ready to accommodate the new hours. New centres will also be built in Hawkhead, Dargavel, Houston and Kirklandneuk, with work

EARLY YEARS

New builds, expansions and refurbishments

new build establishments

refurbishments

extensions

Progress to date in implementing the expansion plan:

461

children across 22 of our establishments are receiving 1140 hours of early learning and childcare (as of February 2019)

20 out of

additional graduates have been appointed, (as of March 2019)

set to be complete in August 2020. Our drive to recruit more early learning and childcare staff to support the expansion has also begun, with 90 new jobs opportunities announced in March. These vacancies have now closed and our new starts will take up their positions in time for the new term in August. However, this is just the beginning of our recruitment drive which will run into 2020 and beyond.

children are receiving 1140 hours of early learning and childcare in partner provider establishments (as of February 2019)

Refurbishments have been completed at four Early Learning and Childcare Centres (as of March 2019)

If you are interested in finding out more about a career in childcare or considering a career change, visit http://www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/ ELCCareers. We will be gradually rolling out the new extended hours at our early learning and childcare centres and classes to ensure they are available to families across Renfrewshire by August 2020. You should continue to

additional staff have been recruited to support the expansion: 37 early learning and childcare officers & 34 support workers (as of March 2019)

A range of leadership and staff development opportunities have been offered to staff.

apply to your local nursery for a place for your child and when capacity to accommodate 1140 hours becomes available, you will be contact directly and asked to select your preferred option. For more information on our expansion plans visit http://www. renfrewshire.gov.uk/1140ELC

STAFF STORIES

Lots of socks! A big thank you to staff at Renfrewshire Leisure, Renfrewshire Council and partner organisations based in Renfrewshire House and the Robertson Centre who celebrated World Down’s Syndrome Day on Thursday 21 March, raising £850 for Down’s Syndrome Scotland. In a separate event, the staff and children at Glenburn Early Learning and Childcare Centre got together to raise a further £173.55. We encouraged people to come to work on the day wearing all sorts of socks from brightly coloured, mismatched, printed to short, long or solo, recognising that ‘Lots of Socks’ is acknowledged around the world as being associated with Down’s syndrome. The total was made up from cake sales, staff donations, badge sales and raffles at the various locations taking part.

STAFF STORIES

What do you want to share? Let us know.

Emma goes for the chop! Well done to social worker Emma Mackie who donated around 7 inches of her hair to the Little Princess Trust on Sunday 3 March. The Little Princess Trust provides real hair wigs free of charge to children and young people up to the age of 24 that have sadly lost their own hair due to cancer treatment and other illnesses. Emma was inspired by her friend, who was looking to organise an event where people would have their hair cut to donate to the charity. She said: “It used to be that you knew someone who knew someone who had been diagnosed with cancer. Nowadays you know someone with it, have lost someone to it, know someone or are someone who has battled against it and survived it. No matter what age the person is, it’s a life changer.” Emma added: “I’m 40 this month and I wanted to do something worthwhile and good, to start my 41st year as a new woman.” As well as donating her hair, Emma has also raised over £350 for the charity. If you would like to donate, without getting a haircut in the process, you can visit Emma’s Just Giving page. www.justgiving.com/fundraising/emmamack13

Emma has raised over £350 for the Little Princess Trust!

Working on an inspiring project? Tell us about it! Has your department won an award? Let us know! Been to an event in Renfrewshire? Write about it! Are your colleagues going the extra mile? We want to know!

R magazine is designed to inform you about what’s going on within your workplace. We want to make sure you are informed and engaged with what's happening across the Council.

And this is your magazine too. So tell us your ideas for content, your inspiring stories and showcase the great work in your department. Email us at internalcommunications@renfrewshire.gov.uk and we will bring together your submissions to create the next edition of our magazine.

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