CFRS Weekly Update - 18.08.2023

Fire & Rescue Authorities - DBS Checks.
Initial Q&A Sessions for Managers

Following the inclusion of Fire and Rescue Authorities in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions), the People & Talent team are currently working on a supportive and informative roll-out of DBS Checks for the service.

All who work or volunteer for a Fire and Rescue Authority will be eligible for a Standard DBS check. Depending on activities undertaken, the frequency of those activities, and a risk assessment undertaken by CFRS, there may be some discretion for employees to be eligible for Enhanced levels of DBS checks (with or without Barred List checks)

The decision has been made to have an ‘Amnesty Period’ between Monday 28th August and Monday 25th September 2023, where all employees can confidentially disclose any information or convictions they are aware may come up on either a Standard DBS Check, Enhanced DBS Check, or Enhanced with Barred List Check. There will be a confidential and secure form employees can complete, and this information will be sent directly to the HR Team to review.

Information on which level of check will be required for each role will also be shared to ensure employees are only disclosing what is essential. This ‘Amnesty Period’ aims to encourage discussion about DBS and convictions, and for the HR team to contact and support any staff through this roll-out period.

Q&A Sessions

We are holding the below Q&A sessions. To join one of the Q&A sessions, please click the Microsoft Teams links below at the time of the session.

For Managers

These sessions will be an opportunity to ask the HR team any queries managers have about the process, about checks, and how to support and discuss DBS with staff.

For All Staff

The below dates have been scheduled for the All-Staff Sessions, and links will be sent in future Weekly Updates.

Thursday 7th September – 12:00pm – 12:45pm

Thursday 7th September – 19:00pm – 19:45pm

Monday 11th September – 12:00pm – 12:45pm

Monday 11th September - 19:00pm – 19:45pm

 All staff will shortly be receiving a letter with information regarding the ‘Amnesty Period’ and for DBS checks. If you have any queries, please go to https://cumbria.sharepoint.com/sites/Fire-HumanResources/HR%20Team/Forms/AllItems.aspx  or contact the HR team, on HR@cumbriafire.gov.uk

Ollie Wright - Resourcing, Talent & Wellbeing Lead

On-Call Appreciation Events for On-Call Employees, their families and employers

CFRS will soon be hosting special On-call appreciation events on fire stations throughout Cumbria to celebrate the terrific efforts of our On-call Firefighters and to recognise the outstanding commitment and dedication they provide to the Communities of Cumbria.

If you recall back in 2018/19; we hosted these events on our On-call stations. They proved to be a huge success and were extremely well attended by On-call Firefighters, their families and primary employers which included individuals who are self-employed, those who release staff to attend operational incidents and those who are unable to release staff but provide on-going support to the On-call service. Invitations were also sent out to potential employers.

Certificates and letters of appreciation were presented to On-call Firefighters, their families and employers. Certificates of thanks were also presented to organisations who kindly allow CFRS to use their premises for training purposes.

It was an excellent opportunity to show case the work of an On-call Firefighter along with the benefits and transferrable skills the role brings in both the Community and in the operational working environment.

Here are some photo's from the 2018 events:

Whitehaven

Walney

Alston

Keswick

If you have any questions relating to the events please contact your Station Manager or raise them through our dedicated email address oncallfire@cumbriafire.gov.uk

Please look out for further updates in future CFRS update articles…..

Angela Opie, Group Manager Service Delivery

JESIP Research Programme

As you know, the JESIP research programme aims to address the gaps that have been identified in the evidence base around JESIP, to help us understand how JESIP is currently working in responder organisations, and how it could be improved.  As part of this, a JESIP Workforce Survey has been produced, aimed at commanders of all levels, control room staff, and those in non-commander roles from all three emergency services across England and Wales. 

The survey aims to understand how JESIP is currently working in responder organisations through exploring emergency services practitioners’ existing knowledge and awareness of JESIP and their impressions and experiences of putting it into practice. The survey is due to run from now until the end of September. 

Please take the time to review the Survey as your response will contribute to the national data set, which will help to shape any future improvements with regard to JESIP

Thank you for your support in this endeavour.

Survey link: https://online.ipsosinteractive.com/mriweb/mriweb.dll?i.project=S23035200&Id= 

Mark Clement, Head of Performance & Assurance

Leadership Courses

We currently have the opportunity for 2 places on each of the Police’s leadership programme. The programme is aimed at staff members with a leadership responsibility or who may have one in the future.

There are currently two courses running in September. The first one is a modular course and is aimed at corporate staff.

 The course dates are as follows and will take place at Police Headquarters, Penrith:

• Mods 1 and 2, 12^th and 13^th September
• Mod 3, 12^th and 13^th October
• Mod 4, 14^th and 15^th November

There is also a sergeants course running at the end up September – we have agreed that this will be open to Crew and Watch Managers or individuals that would like development in leadership. The sergeants leadership module is based on general leadership and is not police specific.

The course dates are

• 25^th – 29^th September

This is an initial pilot scheme to see if it is useful to our members of staff.

The only request is that attendees provide feedback to the L+D department at the end of the course.

We also have 12 licences for the NFCC Supervisory Leadership Development Programme.

This is online self-directed learning and is aimed at first line managers across the service to give them their skills to lead teams. This is open to corporate and operational staff. There are 4 modules based on the NFCC leadership frameworks. The programme is used widely across services across the UK and is certificated on successful completion.

A link to the programme information is here.  If anyone is interested please contact myself.

Please send requests to be considered for these courses to Scott.Cameron@cumbriafire.gov.uk

Scott Cameron, Station Manager Learning & Development 

Temporary Crew Manager Opportunity - Fire Protection

Fire Protection are looking to fill a Crew Manager role within the team. The candidate will be responsible for the coordination of Operational Business Engagements, deliver Fire Protection CPD and undertake Fire Safety project work. There will also be an expectation to undertake low – medium risk audits of commercial premises. 

This exciting opportunity is suited to those who are looking to develop their careers in Fire Protection and gain invaluable experience in understanding the build environment.

Expressions of interest are invited from Crew Mangers and Firefighters with OIC skills who either hold or are currently working towards the SFJ Level 3 Diploma in Fire Safety.

If you wish to be considered for this 6 month temporary vacancy, please submit an expression of interest containing upto 400 words of why you feel you would be suited to the role to: no later than midnight on Friday 1^st September 2023. If you have any questions regarding this role please contact either T/SM Brian Ing or Paul Hanby.

Brian Ing, Temporary Station Manager, Fire Protection

Fixed Term Firefighter Opportunity at Penrith Fire Station

We are welcoming expressions of interest from wholetime and on-call Firefighters to join Gold Watch at Penrith fire Station for a 3 month fixed term period (may possibly be extended due to service requirements).

This role forms part of the Penrith Day Crewing system (Grey book 42-hour) and sits within the Operational Assurance team.  The Operational Assurance team plays a vital role in identifying and implementing best practices and areas of learning based on incident and exercise analyses, to further improve our operational response. 

For individuals seeking to enrich their operational insight, this opportunity offers a fantastic avenue of growth. Responsibilities will encompass active participation in debriefing processes, contributing to, and driving the service forward with National Operational Guidance and Joint Operational Learning. Working as part of a motivated, flexible team you will be required to work with Microsoft systems to produce PowerPoints, spreadsheets and reports.

If you wish to be considered for this opportunity, please submit an expression of interest consisting of 300 words explaining why you feel you would be best suited for the role. 

Please submit your expressions of interest to felicity.lynch@cumbriafire.gov.uk no later than 4^th September.

Felicity Lynch, Station Manager, Operational Assurance

If you have a story for the next edition of the CFRS weekly update please email us at cfrs.update@cumbriafire.gov.uk