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Council News
 Free town centre car parking extended to 1 April 2023
Bridgend County Borough Council has confirmed that free parking will remain available at two council-maintained town centre car parks. This continued support from the council is aimed at helping local trade and shoppers with the ongoing recovery from the pandemic, as well as with the current cost of living crisis.
Visitors can continue to park for free for the first three hours at the Rhiw multi-storey car park in Bridgend and between noon and 3pm at John Street in Porthcawl. This situation will be reviewed again before the summer period begins next year.
For more information, please visit the council’s car parks webpage.
 Shwmae Su’mae Day – October 15
Shwmae Su’mae Day is on October 15 and is celebrating its ninth year!
‘Shwmae’ is a way of saying ‘How do you do?’ in South Wales, or for those in North Wales, it’s ‘Su’mae’.
The aim of Shwmae Su’mae Day is to show that the Welsh language belongs to everyone – fluent speakers, learners, those who have lost confidence, as well as those who only know a few words.
Why not try starting a conversation with ‘Shwmae’?
There are many ways to take part in Shwmae Su’mae Day and to encourage others to take part – just starting a conversation in Welsh is one of them!
“Shwmae?!”
Last chance to take advantage of Cycle to Work scheme
Staff can buy bikes and cycling accessories at a fraction of the cost, up to a maximum of £3,000, thanks to the Cycle to Work scheme which closes on Friday 21 October.
The scheme enables you to make a monthly sacrifice from your gross salary. As well as Halfords, you can use Tredz and a number of independent cycle shops.
Visit the website and log in. If you have not visited before, log in using your payroll number and the scheme ID Number 1656. Then click on the Cycle to Work tile.
If you have any queries about the scheme, please call 0345 504 6444
 International Pronoun Day – October 15
Adding your pronoun to your signature is becoming increasingly common in social media channels, as well as in company emails. It’s a small but easy way to be more inclusive and to normalise discussions surrounding gender.
It also allows transgender and non-binary people to communicate which pronouns they would like used and avoids them being misgendered.
If you are cisgender (your gender identity matches the sex you were assigned at birth), having your pronouns in your email signature or in social media channels, highlights that you support trans and non-binary people, that you don’t make assumptions about anyone’s gender. It can also be useful for anyone who has a gender- ambiguous name.
Preferred Pronouns
Male:
Female:
Non-binary:
You can simply add your preferred pronoun to the end of your signature.
The addition of pronouns is optional - staff are not obliged to adopt pronouns in their signature.
National Adoption Week – October 17 to 23
One of the best ways to inspire and reassure people to adopt is by sharing real-life stories of those that have experienced it.
During National Adoption Week, the National Adoption Service has launched season two of its popular podcast, ‘Truth be told: Adoption Stories’.
Featuring audio and video episodes in both English and Welsh, season two follows the adoption journeys of seven families across Wales.
The six episodes delve deep into the realities of adoption in 2022. The families touch on some of the current challenges of adoption, including early trauma, as well as examples of where they’ve accessed support and guidance.
We hear about contact with birth families, advice on how to navigate the education system and the importance of diversity amongst adopters.
Listen to families as they challenge stereotypes of the realities of adoption in 2022.
You can listen or watch here www.adoptcymru.com/podcast
Episode One launches on Wed 19 October.
Employee Health and Wellbeing
Action for Happiness: A tip towards creating an ‘Optimistic October…’
Ask for help to overcome an obstacle that you are facing
You can find out more about Action for Happiness on their website. There, you’ll also find a full calendar of tips, a free 10-day coaching program and the Action for Happiness app, where users share the calendar actions each day and support each other in putting them into practice.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Breast Cancer Awareness month helps to raise awareness for the disease, as well as to increase funds for research.
There is additional guidance for employers on supporting employees with long-term health conditions who are returning to and continuing in work.
More information can be found on the website
World Menopause Day - October 18
The aim of World Menopause Day is to raise awareness about the menopause, as well as to pledge support for women who face health issues when approaching, during and beyond the menopause.
More information can be found on the website
Managing menopause in the workplace – a new protocol
BCBC is committed to promoting a culture that recognises the importance of employee health and wellbeing.
In keeping with this ethos, the council has been proactive in creating a new menopause protocol. This aims to raise awareness of the menopause in a positive way, create a culture where communication is encouraged, as well as to provide education and support which can assist both employees and managers to deal with or manage the effects of menopause.
Awareness training has been arranged for 14 November at 10am and 17 November at 2pm. You can book a space by e-mailing learninganddevelopment@bridgend.gov.uk you will then be sent a calendar appointment with a MS Teams link.
A leaflet highlighting support and resources has been created for managers to share with staff or to include on notice boards.
Give blood and save lives this autumn!
The need for blood has never been more important. Can you help? Welsh Blood Service need more people from the Bridgend area to sign up as donors to help patients across Wales. Appointments are available in Bridgend at the Heronston Hotel (CF35 5AW) on:
Appointments are also available at Maesteg Sports Centre (CF34 9EB) on:
Please be advised that if you have recently had a Covid-19 vaccination, then you must wait two days before making a blood donation.
Book your appointment to help save lives today.
 Learning and Development
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Get involved with the Infuse initiative
Council staff are being encouraged to learn about and get involved with the Infuse initiative. This is a £5.6m programme which supports council officers in the Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) area, to access and develop new skills, methods and tools for improving their capacity, as well as their capability for creative innovation.
Infuse, short for Innovative Future Services, is led by Monmouthshire County Council on behalf of the CCR partners. The scheme encourages participants to develop new and innovative ways for delivering public services, in addition to finding solutions for some of our biggest problems and challenges. For example, how we recover from the pandemic, tackling climate change and much more.
The programme gives you a chance to:
- Connect with other like-minded colleagues from across the Cardiff Capital Region.
- Learn from leading experts on how to better understand problems and challenges.
- Gain insights and develop personal skills that can be applied within your role and the council.
- Access opportunities for testing out your new ideas.
Delivered through a range of ‘lab’ events and workshops, the programme takes place on two days a week across a six-month period and is currently preparing to move into its third cohort phase (mid-January 2023).
You can find out more by reading the latest issue of the Infuse newsletter or visiting the Infuse programme website.
If you would like further information, a briefing session will be held on 27 October at 11am.
To register an interest in the briefing session, please contact: Nikki Flower
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A date for the diary...
Data for Decision Makers – Infuse
When: 9:30am-1pm via Microsoft Teams on Friday 14 October
Booking: Via Eventbrite CLICK HERE
Join us for a workshop exploring the skills, tools and mindset needed to ensure your decisions are data enabled. Build confidence in using data techniques that will impact you and the communities you serve. There is no requirement to be a data expert to attend, simply an interest in data is enough.
You can expect to learn more about: -
- Data enabled decision making.
- How to build a learning culture around data.
- How to build a compelling data action story.
- Quantitative data analysis.
To find out more visit here
Training opportunities
Further information on the courses listed below, as well as future dates, can be found on the Learning & Development Website. To login to the website, please use your 5-digit payroll number and the word ‘password’ as password.
 There are also a range of fully funded qualifications available. Just click here to access the list and logon using the same details above.
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