 Our Future Leaders UK programme won the Transforming Lives award at the 2023 Municipal Journal (MJ) Achievement Awards ceremony last Friday, 23 June. Congratulations to everyone who has worked on the programme – it is an amazing achievement!
The Future Leaders programme is a Redbridge Council initiative which aims to transform the lives of young people that may be at highest risk of social exclusion by providing them with a range of opportunities and putting them on a path of future success through education and employment opportunities.
Our Community Hubs Programme was shortlisted for the Community Engagement category, and our Innovation in Children’s and Adults services for their tri-borough use of virtual reality. Well done, teams!
Claire Symonds, our Chief Executive said: “The MJ Awards are highly regarded in our field, and to be shortlisted as finalists in three categories is a significant achievement. We are proud that Redbridge is represented by such innovative and dynamic programmes. Huge congratulations to everyone who worked so hard on our ground-breaking Future Leaders UK Programme! Well done to all the 2023 MJ Award winners and finalists.”
Read our intranet news story to find out more and hear from other colleagues and partners. We've also shared photos and videos!
Gary Dursley, our Economic Development Officer from the Regeneration and Culture directorate has won the May Star of the Winner award. Congratulations, Gary!
Elizabeth Hannam, Economic Development Team Manager, nominated Gary for organising the first Redbridge Jobs and Apprenticeships Fair since the pandemic, which was a great success with 40 local employers and over 800 residents in attendance. Read our news story to find out more.
A big well done to everyone nominated - it’s a great reflection of your hard work. Please take time to congratulate our May nominees.
Our June nominations are now open so if you would like to shine a light on a colleague who has gone above and beyond, please fill in our online nomination form by Saturday 15 July 2023.
Visit our Star of the Month intranet page for more information.
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Our Chief Executive, Claire Symonds, is on a much-deserved holiday and in her absence, Adrian Loades, Corporate Director of People, kindly stepped in to provide the latest monthly corporate update.
In his video blog (vlog), Adrian congratulates our latest Star of the Month winner, talks about the upcoming Shaping our Future virtual roadshow, introduces our new Community Protection Taskforce, and updates us on the Annual Staff Survey results.
Watch Adrian’s vlog now to find out more.
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Last Thursday, 22 June, marked the 75th Anniversary of Windrush Day. Our Staff Racial Equality Network (REN) and Vison hosted various events for staff which you can catch up on by visiting the intranet. Don’t miss out on Linda Green’s emotional Living Library where she talked about how she was caught up in the Windrush Scandal and how it impacted her and her family.
There’s still time to view Jacqui Cooke’s Portraits Exhibition at Redbridge Central Library, which finishes tomorrow, Friday 30 June. Jacqui is a Redbridge resident and has painted people to highlight the commitment, sacrifice, and selfless acts that have in many cases have gone unrecognised.
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Via are delighted to invite you to the Dawn to Dusk photo exhibition. The week-long exhibition will start on Monday 3 July from 4.30pm at SPACE Ilford with a launch event celebrating the power of photography as seen through the eyes of individuals in recovery.
Via is a charity that supports people to transform their lives for the better, helping them to manage their health and wellbeing independently. Formerly known as WDP (Westminster Drug Project), they help thousands of people every year across the UK.
If you’re interested, please email the VIA team by Friday 30 June.
Via look forward to welcoming you for an evening filled with inspiration.
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The Intelligence, Insights and Change team has organised a hackathon to look at how we can improve Ilford with some short, sharp actions.
This pilot session will see us:
- Take a morning walk around Ilford to identify assets, and opportunities for improvement
- Understand what colleagues are already doing in Ilford and share some new ideas that could be developed
- Pick five to eight ideas that we think will have the most impact.
We would then meet again six weeks later to see what has been done, what the impact has been, and try to identify some new ideas.
This has been in collaboration with Regeneration colleagues and their work on placemaking and how we get staff to engage with the great work they have been doing in Ilford.
There will be four sessions, several weeks apart. If you cannot make the first session, you are welcome to join future ones.
If you are interested, then please join us by meeting at the front of Lynton House at 10am on Tuesday 4 July. Please contact Ferzanah Ahmed for an invite with further details.
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We are working in partnership with financial education specialists Affinity Connect who would like to invite staff to attend an online course on Tuesday 4 July, 5pm to 6.30pm.
The course explores the key aspects to a financially secure future and how to:
- Understand your income
- Plan your spending
- Keep track of your borrowing
- Plan your financial goals
- Prepare for those unexpected costs
- Start to plan for life beyond work whenever that may be.
Don't miss out, register through the Affinity Connect website.
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Redbridge Place based Partnership (RPbP) are proud to invite you to join Adam Breeze from Sign Solutions in this exciting opportunity to gain insight into what it is like to grow up profoundly deaf.
We will learn what it’s like to have British Sign Language (BSL) as your first language and challenge some misconceptions around being deaf. This session will be insightful and useful for us all, but particularly to colleagues who work closely with residents or patients that may come into contact with a deaf person.
The free Lunch and Learn session has been organised by the Public Health team and falls on Wednesday 12 July, 12pm to 1pm on MS Teams. If you are interested, please add to your calendar and accept the meeting so we have a clear idea of numbers.
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By the end of this month, the web version of Yammer will be rebranded to Viva Engage to better align with Microsoft Viva and become a key pillar of the Microsoft Employee Experience Platform. The image next to this update is the Viva Engage logo which will replace the Yammer logo.
All the Yammer features and functions will remain with some enhancements – expect a better user experience, accessibility, and efficiency. Yay!
To find out more, please read the Microsoft blog.
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We have been working closely with the external film production agency, FilmFixer, to organise an advert to promote McDonalds rewards.
Our attractive high street was chosen to film the new McDonald’s advert which will be aired later this summer. We’re lovin’ it!
FilmFixer has worked with Highways, Parking, and local businesses to set up the shoot.
The actress in the scene is seen cycling from the Kenneth More Theatre along Ilford high street.
Filming opportunities like this can be potentially very profitable for the council and we are keen to help as much as possible and be seen as a film friendly borough. Watch this space.
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Do you worry a lot? If yes, then watch this recorded webinar by Lead Wellbeing Coach, Grant Payne and his brother Gary Payne, a registered Mental Health Nurse and Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist.
The brothers discuss and reflect on the dynamics of ‘worrying’. The webinar:
- Explores what worry is and how it can affect us
- Identifies strategies to help interrupt and overcome worry and develop greater mental fitness
- Explains how to recognise the signs and symptoms of worry.
Watch now to learn how to worry less!
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