Donna Manson has been offered and has accepted the post of Chief Executive for Devon County Council. Subject to ratification at Full Council on 8 December 2022, we will welcome Donna to the Council in February.

In addition, Julian Wooster has been appointed as Interim Director of Children’s Services (DCS) at the Council, pending a more permanent appointment to this vital role. He will join in January.

You can read more about their extensive experience and why they were chosen as a good fit for these roles on Inside Devon.

Although some services are closed over the Christmas period, in order to maintain critical services and deal with emergencies, some staff are required to either work or be on stand-by. To support those who have to work and meet urgent business requirements more effectively during this time, we have updated the Christmas period working arrangements Inside Devon guide to provide information and links for people working.

Some people may find the festive period brings unwanted or unexpected feelings or memories.

Our employee assistance programme (EAP) continues to be available to anyone who needs to talk to someone. Provided by Care first, the EAP offers confidential, impartial advice and support online, through live chat and over the phone, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Do look out for one another and of course, speak to your line manager if you need further support.

Care-experienced young people aged 21 to 25 who are supported by children’s services have once again received the gift of a Christmas hamper.

What started as an initiative two years ago by the Children in Care Nursing team for just a small number of care-experienced young adults in Devon and Torbay has now become an annual collaborative project. Our Permanence and Transition Team, our Participation Team, Torbay Youth Trust, our Children in Care Nursing Team and Exeter Foodbank work together to make sure that this age group still realise that they are cared for and in our minds.

School holidays can be particularly difficult for some families because of increased costs, such as food, especially now, when costs of living are so high, and rising.

So, we have arranged a programme of funded holiday-time activities, with hot meals, to run for up to four days over the Christmas 2022 school holiday.

Families can see the full programme of available activities, and book a place through our providers by visiting our website.

Did you know childcare support isn’t just for nurseries? You can use it for things like clubs, activity or play groups and childminders.

Lots of working families don’t realise they can access government support towards childcare costs. If you’re working with children and families, please encourage them to apply for the childcare support they are entitled to by going to childcarechoices.gov.uk.

We've already received positive feedback about the new fostering Devon website we launched last week. Our Youth Participation team heard from young people who say the site shows we've listened to them about what they need from it. They've also suggested more ways to continue to improve it.

Take a look at our new fostering website here.

December brings a time of celebration and is known as a time to eat, drink and be merry, however this year in particular the festive period may bring some challenges for us all.

We are sharing some ideas and tips to promote wellbeing and maintain a healthy balance, and information about the support available if you need to reach out. 

The festive period means there are many upcoming religious celebrations. This may mean team members are taking more annual leave than usual. We should show the same respect to each of our colleagues who are celebrating during this period.

Some dates to be aware of:

• Saturday 3 December - Gita Jayanti
• Friday 16 December - Dhanu Sankranti
• Sunday 18 to Monday 26 December - Hanukkah
• Wednesday 21 December - Winter Solstice 
• Saturday 24 December - Christmas Eve
• Sunday 25 December - Christmas Day

It’s estimated that a typical UK household will spend almost £1,130 extra this December. Whether it’s food, gifts or decorating the house, the cost can be a worry – but it doesn’t have to be that way. 

Recycle Devon has launched their own 'advent calendar'. Each day they will share a different idea or tip on how to keep costs down this Christmas. Follow the Recycle Devon Facebook, Instagram and Twitter social media accounts to view the calendar.

Information sharing plays a vital role in delivering better, more efficient services and is essential for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of vulnerable people throughout Devon. 

Unfortunately, we have seen a number of instances where excessive or inappropriate information sharing has resulted in security incidents occurring, so the Data Protection and Information Security team would like to reiterate the rules we should all follow when sharing information. Read the Data Protection and Information Security team's fortnightly post on Inside Devon.

Are you looking to adopt SharePoint to be a single point of access for your team files and documents and to simplify your daily activities?

Or are you already a SharePoint site administrator or thinking about becoming one?

The Digital and Technology Service is running a full day, virtual tutor-led interactive courses.  Find out more and book onto a course in 2023.

Exeter Mosque is holding an open day on Thursday 10 December from 2pm to 5pm.

The mosque's address is 13 York Road, Exeter, EX4 6PG.

There will be a range of activities to do at the mosque, along with guided tours. Visit the mosque's Facebook event to find out more.

From Thursday 1 December, Stagecoach South West will offer employees of Devon County Council (DCC) a special discounted price on bus tickets. This offer is for DCC employees only, using a @devon.gov.uk email address, and is subsidised by the County Hall Travel Plan scheme.

You can only access these discounts through the Stagecoach Bus App, which you can download for free from the App Store or Google store. Please note this offer replaces the previous on board bus ticket purchase scheme where you displayed your badge for a discount. 

North Devon flu vaccine clinic

We still have some appointments available at the flu vaccine clinic at Taw View in Barnstaple on Friday 16 December. Clinic time is approximately between 10:30am to midday with bookings at two-minute intervals. As the number of vaccines is limited, we will not be able to accommodate walk-ins, so this is by appointment only.

If you are frontline staff but are unable to book a clinic, you can get a vaccine at a pharmacy and reclaim the cost through iTrent if not eligible for a free vaccine. Please remember to record your flu jab on iTrent.

Are you a frontline worker in need of a seasonal coronavirus (COVID-19) booster? Book or manage your vaccination.

If you’re looking for an easy, secure way to collect feedback or personal information, you need Microsoft Forms. To learn more about what it can do for you, check out our trailer on Microsoft Stream and join the Digital Change Team on their session ‘Let’s Create a Form’. The next session takes place on Thursday 8 December.

Book on this or any of the upcoming sessions through the Sway Bookings page. 

Next year single sign on will be introduced for everyone with a @devon.gov.uk email address. This means that your work laptop or desktop login will allow you to open iTrent without the need for any additional usernames or passwords. The HR Team will let you know when your email address is updated.

It would really help our HR team if you could log into iTrent employee self-service and check/update your email addresses. Please click on ‘view profile’ and review the ‘contact information’ section. If your work email address is not shown please can you update this field. Find more information on Inside Devon.

Virtual Manager programme:

• You - Wednesday 7 December
• People - Wednesday 8 February

Pre-retirement - Tuesday 24 January

Communicating and engaging with your team - Tuesday 31 January

Focus on your finances - Thursday 2 February

✔️ A reminder that your username for DeL is now your iTrent assignment/payroll number. This is the number you use to log into iTrent.

• Looking for Christmas presents on a budget, whilst preventing unused items from going to waste? The 'For Sale' community has lots of options!
• Monday 5 December is International Volunteer Day. We would love to hear about the experiences of a few of our colleagues who volunteer to benefit local communities throughout Devon.
• Join a virtual information session on Monday 12 December from midday to 2pm for providers and professionals covering the Holiday Activities and Food programme, innovation grants and Disabled Children’s Short Breaks.

Click on the image to see this week's photo on Inside Devon. You might spot some clues.

Last week's winner: Phil Townsend, Principal Highways Development Management Officer 

Last week's answer: River Walkham, Horrabridge

Photo credit goes to Sally Kenyon, thank you! Send in your own photos.