Welcome

Welcome to your latest edition of In the Know! Read about Aspirations Week, Microsoft 365 and events happening in the city. We hope you enjoy reading and please feel free to share with colleagues.

Council news

Take part in Aspirations Week

The council is currently planning next year's Portsmouth Aspirations Week and teams from all directorates are invited to participate.

The week is being held from Monday 17 to Friday 21 January 2022 and will be full of activities aimed at raising the aspirations of children, young people and residents in the city. These activities will be run by council staff.

Can your team provide speakers to talk in schools? Would you like to represent us at a careers event? Can you provide training to help residents learn new skills, get fit, start a new career, volunteer or do anything else aspirational?

If so, please discuss this with your manager. You'll then need to email jane.gill@portsmouthcc.gov.uk by the end of Friday 10 September with a lead contact name and number, an outline of proposed activity and your target audience.

Those participating will need to fund, resource and organise their own activities. Activities will be run and promoted as part of Aspirations Week.

Payment services to be unavailable on Sunday morning

Council payment services will be periodically unavailable from 4.30am to 9.30am on Sunday 12 September.

This will impact payments made by external customers made online or via telephone - such as council tax, housing rent, parking fines and parking permits - and any internal payments. The downtime is necessary for Capita to carry out Disaster Recovery Testing.

News for you

Upgrade to Microsoft Office 365

Please upgrade to Microsoft Office 365 if you haven't done so already. Upgrading your laptop to Office 365 is easy and installation takes no more than 40 minutes.

Office 365 is new software for your laptop which includes the latest versions of Outlook, Teams, Excel, PowerPoint, Word and OneNote.

Instructions for upgrading, including a step-by-step video tutorial, are available on the intranet.

How to upgrade

MyRewards discounts for September

MyRewards is offering discounts for September including:

• 15% off at the Ethical Superstore with a promo code
• 10% off at Samsung via a pre-discounted site
• 6% off at Argos with an eVoucher
• 5% off at Sainsburys with an eVoucher.

Accessing MyRewards discounts is easy, simply login via the employer portal or download the free MyRewards app. To download and use the app, search “Discounts by Sodexo” on your app store and login with your usual MyRewards details.

Find out more

Essential maintenance of IT systems

All Windows servers are being updated from 7am to 3pm on Sunday 26 September. You should not attempt to use any computer systems during this time.

This update will help ensure all our IT systems and infrastructure are up to date with the latest security measures and reduce the risk of cyber-attack.

Find out more

Events for you

Learn to 'talk about it' this World Suicide Prevention Day

Friday (10 September) is World Suicide Prevention Day. This year, the Portsmouth Mental Health alliance is asking us to learn how to talk and listen to someone who may be at risk of suicide.

• Anyone can sign up to the free 20-minute e-learning module which covers:
• The warning signs that someone may be thinking about taking their own life
• How to say the right thing and that it's okay to use the word 'suicide'
• Where to signpost someone for appropriate help

Whatever you’re going through, you can call the Samaritans for free on 116 123. They are available to help 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If you would prefer to text, you can get support from SHOUT by texting 85258.

Find out more

Tips for choosing a safe club for your child

With schools starting again, parents and carers will be planning clubs and activities for their children outside of school.

To help parents and carers choose a safe setting, we have put together some questions to ask providers, as well as positive signs to look out for when choosing a setting. Please share this information widely with families as they return to school.

See tips

#KnowYourNumbers

When did you last check your blood pressure? If you’re one of the eight million people in England with diagnosed high blood pressure, you need to make sure you #KnowYourNumbers by regularly checking yours – at least once a year.

Regular monitoring and clinical management with medication and lifestyle changes significantly reduces your risk of stroke and heart attack.

You can get your blood pressure checked at several places. From October 2021, every NHS pharmacy in England will be able to provide checks to people aged 40 or over. You can also get it checked via an NHS Health Check appointment offered to adults in England aged 40-74, at home or local GP surgery.

Find resources and more information, including about monitoring your blood pressure at home, online at NHS UK and British Heart Foundation.