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Welcome to this week's bumper edition of Insider
This week we congratulate our care leavers, and those who worked with them, on an art project showcased at a national event called ‘Listen
Up’ 2014 in London. They won a special award for the project aimed at getting their voices heard. Well done to everyone involved.
Please be aware that from 4.00pm today RAP (Remote Access Portal) will be switched off but you can continue to access DCC systems and information from a managed device. More information
And as Ping Pong tables spring up in Exeter, find out what our priorities for public health are.
Contributions to Insider are always welcome - we look forward to hearing from you soon.
Colleagues not receiving Insider? Tell us!
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 All change in HR
Paul Jones, our Head of Service for Human Resources, retires from the authority later this year after more than 11 years with Devon County Council.
From 1 September 2014, responsibility for HR functions will fall under the remit of our Head of Services for Communities, John Smith, who is a qualified HR professional and has held various senior HR roles at the Council over the years.
Look out for more information in Insider on Paul and John’s careers in the coming weeks!
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Exeter Library’s Royal visitor!
Her Royal Highness, The
Duchess of Cornwall, officially opened the newly refurbished Exeter Library on
Tuesday.
Escorted by our Head of Libraries, Culture & Heritage Services, Ciara Eastell, The Duchess was given a tour of the library which has
been transformed by the Council’s multi-million pound investment, and was
introduced to staff and community groups who regularly use the extensive
facilities. (PDF version)
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PSN and secure e-mail – important message
Do you have a secure e-mail account – i.e. an email address ending in ‘gcsx’ – or do you manage staff with such accounts?
As a result of new security requirements for the Public Services Network (PSN), all PSN users, which includes anyone with a secure e-mail account, will now be subject to Baseline Personal Security Standards. What does this mean? (PDF version)
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 Important notice for Blackberry users
As part of the programme of work to achieve accreditation to the Public Services Network (PSN), please be aware that from Tuesday 29 July you will be prompted to change the password on your Blackberry.
Find out more (PDF version)
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 New contact number for Employee Self Service
From today (Friday 18 July), the contact number for urgent employee self-service queries will change to 01392 381303, and any calls to 01392 383300 will no longer be directed to this team. Information and guidance for using self service can be found here.
• If you have a question about self service, you can refer to the Frequently Asked Questions
• If you would like instructions on how to access ‘Your Self Service’ and start using it please read our User Guides.
• If you are a network user within Devon County Council and you have not received ‘Your Self Service’ log on details please email with your details. For all other queries please email
Our SharePoint
home page is changing
On Wednesday 23 July, we will be changing the purpose of the SharePoint home page. Currently, the home page displays links to SharePoint sites you are a member of, but these are being removed and replaced with a collection of some useful links (see image). This will support our goal for SharePoint to be used as an open collaborative tool throughout the Council.
How do I get to my favourite sites? To navigate to your most frequently used sites, please make sure you Follow them. You can do this by going to the site and pressing the Follow button near the top-right of the screen.
You can then see the sites you follow by using the Sites link at the top of the SharePoint page. There are more detailed instructions on following sites here.
Why are we making these changes?
- To access both links you need to sign in with your email address, i.e joe.blogs@devon.gov.uk
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Individual email accounts – duplicate names
To minimise
the risk of emails going to the wrong person and to align individual email
account display names with email group names, our Information Governance
Team will remove outdated directorate acronyms and replace them with one of our
common functions as appropriate.
Please remember our staff directory is being used to double check where people are based so please make sure your entry is up to date.
Find out more (PDF version)
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Help through your journey...
Make the most of our support
Our HR Strategy is in place to support and develop you throughout your career. Find out more through this poster which you can print and display.
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STARS and With Compliments winners announced next week
Councillor Barry Parsons, who has responsibility for performance
and engagement, will be choosing the winning compliments and Sue
Clarke, our Head of Education and Learning, will choose this round of winning STARS.
Check out who has been nominated so far for a STARS award for the last quarter - April, May and June.
And keep nominating your colleagues who have gone above and beyond for this quarter, or download the nomination form on our public site and email or
post it back to us
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Devon Discounts - new offers
As the school holidays approach, have you
thought about Laser Camp to keep your little ones entertained? Perhaps you could do with a new pair of reading
glasses or sunglasses for the summer - then Snazzy Specs could be the funky fashion
accessory you’ve been waiting for. Find these discounts and many more through our employee online
discount website, Devon Discounts
Username dcc.staff
Password discounts123 then tick 'Remember Me' box.
You
must not to disclose login details to people who are not employees of Devon
County Council.
And if you know of a supplier who gives
discounts to DCC employees please email
with the details
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 Fire Service Strike Action
Scheduled at set times between Monday 14 July - Monday 21 July (inclusive)
Please familiarise yourself with the strike days and times (PDF version). During a strike there is a risk that response times to incidents may be reduced and we therefore need to be extra vigilant during this time. The Fire Service will be prioritising calls to emergencies where there is a risk to life
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Meetings in session
County Council Thursday 24 July @ 2.15pm. Agenda
This meeting will be available to view as a webcast
Job vacancies
View this week's DCC vacancies
Coaver Cafe Hot Meal of the Day
The menu for week beginning Monday 21 July is as follows
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 Pictured: Our winning Devon care leavers with Ben Scott - Senior Youth Support Worker, Participation and Democracy Development Team
Our children in care and care leavers' art project triumphs at national event in London
A group of our care leavers and children in care have been celebrated at
a national event in London to showcase a special art project aimed at exploring
their dreams and
aspirations. The group, who were nominated through invitation only, took their work to the ‘Listen Up’ 2014 event hosted by the 'Who Cares Trust' in Westminster.
This is the leading national event for children in care and care
leavers across England which brings together decision makers and care
professionals from around the UK.
During the evening, everyone was asked to vote
on the best stall showing the most creative ways of working with young people
in care and care leavers showing that they have gone the extra mile. The group were delighted to hear that they'd won - coming home with a stunning trophy and tickets to the London Eye!
The group began a series of art project workshops
two years ago to give young people the chance to try out a variety of
art disciplines. Find out more from Principal Social Worker - Andrea Morris, Senior Manager Looked After Children - Robina Khan, and Cabinet Member for
Children, Schools and Skills- Cllr James McInnes. (PDF version)
 How is Devon shaping up?
Our seventh annual report on the health of the population in Devon has just been published, reflecting the move of responsibility for local public health away from the NHS to local authorities.
The public health report indicates that small changes to lifestyle can have a big effect and lists ten priorities for public health. (PDF version)
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 There's some'ping' happening in Exeter this summer!
Yesterday saw the launch event of Ping! Exeter, which will see over 30 ping pong tables spring up across Exeter’s landmarks and locations.
Active Devon introduced the event, explaining how everyone can get involved across the city, and many people picked up a bat and gave it a go, while the La La's choir set the scene singing 'ping pong' - a Dolly Parton classic!
Visit the Ping! Exeter website and find a table near you
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Celebration of headteachers’ service to Devon’s children
A celebration of over 400 years of service to children in Devon by 14 headteachers has been held by the county’s schools chiefs.
Find out who was there
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 Print a MASH poster now!
The Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) is a partnership between our children’s social care, education and youth services, NHS, Devon and Cornwall Police and the probation service working together to safeguard children and young people.
Please print out this poster and display it at your place of work and in public areas.
Remember - if you are worried about a child or young person and want to speak to someone, contact the MASH on 0345 155 1071 or email and give as much information as you can.
Find the poster and more information online
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 Farway Primary School joins Jubilee
The governors of Farway Primary School have decided to join the successful Jubilee Federation, currently consisting of Broadhembury and Branscombe primary schools, which have been working together since 2011.
The decision by the Farway governors was taken after a wide-ranging consultation exercise with parents and the wider community
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Sunflowers stand
tall for charity
The team at Orchard House in Newton Abbot has been successfully growing sunflowers for Cancer Research.
Members of the team each bought a seed, and the competition was to see who had the tallest sunflower.
Pictured is Support Worker, Steve Cocker, one of the competitors. He said: “As well as raising money for charity, it’s good for the birds and the bees.”
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Spotlight on skin cancer
Devon has some of the highest rates of skin cancer in the UK. However 80% of skin cancers could be prevented...
Westbank is looking for volunteers, who may have been affected by skin cancer and/or have an interest in raising awareness, to help them promote skin cancer prevention to teenagers and to older adults / outdoor workers through the delivery of volunteer-led workshops and one off events. How you can help
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 Depression: Asking the right questions
Depression ARQ is a
partnership of 27 national organisations, including charities, NHS Trusts and
Royal Colleges. They are seeking the views of anyone affected by depression, in order to inform future research. Please take part in their survey or share this with friends and colleagues. You can also follow the progress of the survey on Twitter @depressionarq
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Devon to benefit from sustainable transport funding
We have received £1.1 million from the Government for
sustainable transport schemes.
This will aim to improve integration between sustainable modes of
transport, improve bus services, and promote real-time information
system on the county’s bus network, as well as providing people with
information on journey options available to them, such as walking and
cycling routes and carsharedevon.com
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 It's official! Devon’s best bus driver announced
And the winner is...
Eddie Davies, from Country Bus, who drives the 176 into Newton Abbot. He received a surprise visit from Councillor Stuart Hughes at Newton Abbot bus station and was presented with a certificate and high street vouchers. Also pictured is Ali Ellison, Managing Director of Country Bus.
The competition was launched earlier this year to coincide with national Catch the Bus Week
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 Active Travel to School
Each year we support Life Skills events at various locations throughout Devon for the benefit of over 4,000 year 6 children.
These events outline core skills which children need in their daily lives.
An animation was shown at the beginning of this year's presentation, which has been well received by teachers and children alike, and will continue to promote the sustainable and safe travel message to children throughout Devon
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Who said:
"What the letter isn’t and hasn’t been at all is a caveat for poor
results... It is just a case of saying to the children well
done, we are really proud, but remember the context of the exams and
that it’s only a little bit of what they take away from the school.”?
Send answer
Last week's quote:
"No, I am not a hero. I just ordered pizza."
Last week's winner
Iannis Ireland - Head Teacher of Starcross Primary School
Last week's answer is Pilot Gerhard Bradner
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With a heatwave predicted in some parts of the UK, if you're stuck in a
stuffy office with air-conditioning, sealed windows and a
distinct smell of sweat in the air, you're probably wishing you were
somewhere (anywhere?) else. But be careful what you wish for
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A: Devon County Council, Topsham Road, Exeter EX2 4QD, Devon UK.
T: (01392) 380 101 |
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