Stretch, change, challenge

As I wait to see whether a miraculous lifting of cloud will allow us to see the rare eclipse that is forecast for this morning (it didn’t!) I reflect on a busy week where I have barely stood still.  

Meeting sixth formers

Last Friday I told you about meeting and celebrating with graduating apprentices. What I didn’t have to hand were the photographs from an earlier meeting in the day with sixth formers from the Brighton & Hove High School who wanted to find out more about the running of the council and being a woman chief executive.  They asked challenging and pertinent questions, ranging from reasons for homelessness to the meaning of my politically restricted post, to my career path and driving ambitions. I hope they took away a message that we can all take responsibility for our learning and development and that satisfaction from holding responsible posts comes from some perhaps unlikely sources. For me, in answer to their question about my greatest satisfaction, I had to say that it was seeing the development of colleagues and seeing, and hopefully helping them, achieve their potential. I hope that the students took away from the conversation the importance of stretching and challenging themselves and facing change with positivity. 

Pete Edmunds Year 13 manager

At the sixth form

The BHHS sixth formers

Care Act summit

Stretch and change are regular themes of my blog and have been features of this week. On Tuesday morning, which was World Social Work Day, I had the privilege of opening the Care Act summit for assessment services. The focus was the introduction of the 2014 Care Act, which comes into place this April. Here I met a hall full of motivated, enthusiastic, professional staff who have been preparing for the very welcome, but significant challenge of the new Care Act. 

With Brian Doughty, head of adults assessment

Angela Emerson, head of Financial Assessment & Welfare Rights

Part of the presentation

Brian addressing the audience

More people will be eligible for assessment to gauge their support needs; carers can expect more recognition and support and adult safeguarding will be put on a statutory footing alongside the safeguarding of children.  All these developments are the right things to do but we are going to have to find new ways of meeting them because our resources are reducing. The spirit and creativity in the room was notable. I have every confidence that we will be ready for the Act in April and I appreciate all the efforts of managers and staff alike who have prepared for this.

Brighton & Hove Connected

Change was also in the air when Brighton & Hove Connected (our strategic partnership) met together with week. Its chair, Tony Mernagh, is retiring and after the election we will consider how this partnership should function in the future. But it is important that we meet together as public service organisations with the community and voluntary sector organisations. Brighton & Hove Connected is a powerful brand and has adopted an ambitious needs based community strategy. It's is a key driver behind our corporate plan. We’ll be considering over the next few months whether we should continue to meet on a bi-monthly basis as a board, or adopt an approach through a series of theme based summits.

Presenting flowers to Tony Mernagh     photo Sally Polanski

Tom Scanlon talking through the Health and Wellbeing strategy

Award winning staff

Stretch and change also were the drivers behind the winners of our Big Difference Award for Spring which I presented yesterday. The individual award went to Susie Haworth who has managed an increase of 4000 school meals in very short order in response to the increased eligibility for all infant school children. Susie’s energy, enthusiasm and determination shone through and she had led enormous change in a short time with very positive outcomes. Congratulations to her. The team award was won by our Internal Audit service. They also have experienced enormous change and challenge over the last year. Despite having only temporary leadership, they continued to deliver their work programme while also taking on a very high profile complex investigation. The whole service is key to us being a well run organisation and I was very delighted to recognise their contribution through the Big Difference Award.

Susie Haworth winner the award

Kathy Downes and Sue Coleman from the Internal Audit team

So stretch, change, challenge, call it what you will, we cannot just stay doing things the way we’ve always done them because we’ve done them that way. 

Public servants

And that brings me to the unhappy situation that we find ourselves in with regard to some Approved Mental Health Practitioners. Unfortunately the need to require these professional staff to be part of a 24/7 rota has come to a head. No longer does the voluntary arrangement we have had for a long time mean that the rota is always covered. So we are going to have to insist that people take their part in the rota and fulfil the requirements of their job description. What we can’t do is compromise on the safety and wellbeing of our citizens. We cannot have a situation where our police colleagues, or hospital colleagues, are unable to rely on us to play our key role in the mental health assessment. 

So I finish the blog on a sombre note hoping that we can find a way through and reminding us that we are only here, as public servants, to meet with needs of our citizens. 

As Policy & Resources Committee endorsed last night, and I hope Full Council will agree next week, our key purpose 'is to provide strong civic leadership for the wellbeing and aspiration of Brighton & Hove'. We will be successful if we are judged to deliver a good life, a well run city, a vibrant economy and a modern council.

Thank you.
Penny