We are proud to announce that Queen Mary University of London will be opening a satellite campus for teaching medicine on the 12th floor of Lynton House.

The space will be used for education purposes, enabling medical students to learn in the classroom and mock ward environment.

Having a world class University in Ilford reflects Redbridge Council’s commitment to supporting local people to improve skills and gain employment by expanding local opportunities.

Queen Mary University of London is ranked among the best universities in the country and is one of 24 leading UK universities who make up the prestigious Russell Group.

A huge shout out to our Property and Regeneration teams who have been working closely with Queen Mary University of London to bring this project to fruition. Well done!

Our Operational Director of IT, Zakki Ghauri, advises that a simple way of staying safe online is by ensuring that your devices have the latest software and updates.

Read his staff blog now to protect yourself.

With the cost-of-living crisis upon us, some extra money can make a difference.

If you, or a family member or friend would like to earn more money this autumn, make sure you get in touch with our Staffing Elections team by tomorrow, Friday 26 August if you would like to door-knock at properties.

You will be collecting completed Electoral Canvass Form from a designated area between Wednesday 21 September to Monday 31 October. For every completed form, you will earn £1.50 – and there could be 300. You will have to visit the office at Redbridge Town Hall once a week to deliver the completed forms and stick to the completion deadline.

Please call the Electoral Services team on 0208 708 7171 or email our Staffing Elections team to express your interest.

In this week’s video blog (vlog), Claire talked about the Disability Awareness Festival, and how students across the borough fared with their A-Level results.

To catch up on previous updates, visit the intranet.

Join our staff session on Wednesday 7 September to find out how to access a percentage of your salary in advance, save money for a rainy day, and why communication is key to an accurate payroll.

The session will be held from 2pm to 3pm on Teams. Add to your calendar now.

The payroll team have also created handy guides including, ‘How to read your payslip and Understanding your tax’. These will be available on the intranet from next week.

Our One Brilliant You information sessions will be starting the first week of September.

Book a session to find out more about what One Brilliant You means for you, what resources are available and to ask any unanswered questions.  

The first Manager’s session will be on Tuesday 6 September – add to your calendar.

The first staff session will be on Wednesday 7 September – add to your calendar.

The first front-line team session will be on Tuesday 27 September in Main Building, meeting room 1 at the Ley St Depot. Managers of front-line teams are asked to let their staff know about this event and support participation if possible.

We encourage all our staff to attend one of the sessions. Please visit the events calendar to view all sessions throughout September and October.

The bidding for National Management Trainees (NMT) is now open. You better to be quick as there are only four NMT’s looking for a new placement which will start in October.

The National Graduate Development Programme’s (NGDP) is the Local Government Association’s flagship management trainee programme which offers councils a unique opportunity to grow their own local government leaders through a broad two-year programme that includes four six-month placements at Redbridge Council.

If your team would like to get that project you’ve been discussing for ages off the ground, one of our graduates can help.

The bidding process involves interactive sessions, organised by the NMTs, for interested managers and leaders across the organisation to meet the NMTs to advertise and discuss their placements.

Make your bid by using our online form and sending it to the OD and Strategy Team by 5pm on Friday 9 September.

Find out more on the intranet.

We’ve made the mammoth disappear! We’re sorry…we know many of you loved the mammoth but as it’s no longer outside the Town Hall, we’ve had to make it extinct from our corporate Teams backgrounds.

If you’re currently using a background with the mammoth, please change it to one of the new mammoth-free versions which are now available under the options.

We have released six new clips of grime crime offenders on our August edition of Redbridge’s Wall of Shame and we need your help identifying the culprits caught on camera trashing our streets.

Let us know if you recognise anyone on it.

If you would like to meet others who make happiness a priority, then find your nearest Action for Happiness group online.

Action for Happiness is a global movement who aim to make the world a happier and kinder place.

Each group is set up by volunteers who want to help people connect, learn, and spread happiness locally.

Every month, you will explore one of the 10 Keys to Happier Living which are evidence-based ways to create a happier and more meaningful life. The groups currently meet on Zoom for 90-minute sessions.

Our employee assistance programme is available 24hrs a day and seven days a week.

If you're struggling at the moment due to things like your workload or uncertainty about the future, our employee assistance programme can offer you support, counselling, and guidance through this emotionally difficult time.  

Don’t wait for a crisis to happen before you access this support. Staff who have used the programme have given positive feedback with comments such as, “It really helped me”, “I wish I called them earlier” and “I feel so much better now”.

This service is open to staff and their families by self referring. Call 0800 328 1437 or go to the employee assistance website (password Redbridge).