your staff magazine newsr m - cumbria · regional awards cumbria county council has scooped three...

newsr mYour staff magazineYour staff magazine

Winter 2013

Excellence Awards

Budget consultation

excellence

cellencee

awards

2013

awards

2013

awards

2013

Threegreat prizes upfor grabs in our competition!!!

Winter 2013

newsr m

EditorBarry Alcock01228 226447PublisherCumbria County CouncilDesignCommunications Team01228 226420

Thank you: to everyone who contributed ideas, features and time to this edition of newsroom. If you would like a copy of newsroom in an alternative format, please contact Bridget Sanderson: 01228 226308 or email [email protected]

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited without prior written permission of the copyright owner. No responsibility will be accepted for any errors or omissions, or comments made by writers or interviewees. Views expressed are not necessarily the views of Cumbria County Council. Services and goods advertised are not necessarily endorsed by Cumbria County Council.

The Courts, Carlisle, CA3 8NA cumbria.gov.uk

National tv coverage for fostering campaign.

David Corkill.

Winter2013

newsroomcosts just 30p

to produce

newsroomcosts just 18p

to produce

30p

newsroom 2newsroom 2newsroom 2

Carbon count Can you help reduce our environmental impact?

All geared up for winter£4.2 million set aside for road maintenance.

Budget savings: have your say £80 million has to be found in the next three years.

Excellence Awards The 2013 winners revealed.

Learning zone Courses for all county council staff.

The One Show Fostering campaign gets national coverage?

Pedal power There’s never been a better time to get on your bike.

Taking to the high seas Bruce Bennison pushes the boat out to help others.

4

5

6

8

13

14

16

18

There’s never been a better time to get on your bike.

Bruce Bennison pushes the boat out to help others.

Cumbria County Council

news news news

3 newsroom3 newsroom3 newsroom

The Chairman of Cumbria County Council Alan Barry has been busy with his campaign to make defi brillators available across the county. Thanks to our staff, communities and county councillors we

have successfully secured over 50 defi brillators.The defi brillators are an essential tool in the council’s

drive to cut coronary deaths in Cumbria. Key to the campaigns success was a partnership with Cumbria’s

Rotary Club who share the same goal of having easy access to a defi brillator anywhere in the county.

Commenting on the campaign Cllr Alan Barry, Chairman of Cumbria County Council says,

“The campaign was always ambitious and I am delighted that we have managed to secure funding for so many. But the campaign doesn’t stop here, I will still be doing all that I can to encourage as many communities, businesses and council offi ces to have one.”

Cumbria shows overwhelming support to keep Cumbria’s hearts beating

have successfully secured over 50 defi brillators.The defi brillators are an essential tool in the council’s

drive to cut coronary deaths in Cumbria. Key to the campaigns success was a partnership with Cumbria’s

Rotary Club who share the same goal of having easy

cumbriacreditunions.org.uk

Secure savings and affordable loans

Secure savings and affordable and affordable Secure savings and affordable

busy with his campaign to make defi brillators available across the county. Thanks to our staff, communities and county councillors we

The defi brillators are an essential tool in the council’s

Cumbria shows overwhelming support

Don’t get bitten by a loan shark this ChristmasTrading Standards are warning consumers not to get bitten by loan sharks or feel tempted to take out high interest loans. If you need to borrow money don’t resort to illegal loan sharks, high interest pay-day loans or internet credit providers. If you really have to borrow money you could consider using a Credit Union. These are fi nancial cooperatives which are owned and controlled by their members. They offer savings plans and low interest rate loans.

Communications team scoops regional awardsCumbria County Council has scooped three awards at the North West fi nals of the prestigious CIPR (Chartered Institute of Public Relations) PRide awards in Manchester.

The council won gold in the Outstanding In-House Public Relations Team category and also in the Best Internal Publication category for newsroom magazine.

The highly successful Taking the Brrr out of Cumbria campaign won silver in the Healthcare category and was also shortlisted for the Low Budget Campaign award.

The council was shortlisted for two other awards; for our intranet site and our innovative approach to delivering information to residents – YourCumbria.

These awards celebrate excellence in public relations across the public and private sector and winning or making the shortlist is a huge achievement.

Stress affects us all. The chemicals, adrenaline and hormones which build up in our system in response to everyday pressures can be diffi cult and sometimes impossible to escape in our modern challenging lives.

The effects of excess stress can be serious, and can cause signifi cant health problems and psychological damage, from digestive problems, to anxiety and problems with blood pressure.

According to recent research, stress levels have increased signifi cantly, and in some areas have doubled in the past four years.

So if you think you may need some assistance in reducing your stress level take a look at the solutions and support we have available to help you cope:

• Stress advice from the NHS Ask your GP for more information if you’re interested in attending a stress support group.

• PPC Employee Assistance Helpline Call the free phone telephone number: 0800 282193

Struggling with stress?

Winter 2013


For the county’s multi-agency triage team, life

changing decisions are made every day. The team

are at the end of the phone for anyone who has concerns

about a child’s welfare, and it’s up to them to provide the fi rst line of

advice and guidance to make sure the child is kept safe.

The team has been put together over the last 12 months and is made up of staff from the county council, the police and the NHS;

all bring specifi c skills and experience to what can often be a very demanding job. The multi-agency working helps communication between different organisations involved with the child, something that is essential for effective safeguarding and child protection.

Triage team manager Catherine Witt said:“This is a new team and everyone involved has been working really

hard to get the service working well and meeting the needs of the people who call. We get calls from the public, the police, health, social workers, and teachers; in fact anyone who has concerns and needs advice. Since we launched we’ve seen a 39% increase in calls. We listen to their concerns and make the decision about the next steps to take, that can range from simple advice to urgent child protection action.

“We’re on duty 24/7 and regularly deal with emergency situations. People might recall the case of the toddler abandoned in her pram in Carlisle and whose mother was convicted of child neglect in September; it was the triage team that took the call from the police late at night and made sure the child was safe. Those situations can be intense but it’s rewarding to know that your work is making a difference the lives of vulnerable children.”

If you have concerns about a child you can call the triage team on 0333 240 1727.

First callfor keeping

childrensafe

As an organisation, Cumbria County Council uses resources, generates waste and produces carbon dioxide emissions. Almost everything we do from using a computer to throwing away paper has a negative environmental impact and a cost. As an organisation and as individuals we have a responsibility to try to manage, and reduce this environmental impact. Making our buildings more environmentally friendly is a shared responsibility and is about managing the resources we have.

...have you helped?We’ll be introducing an e-learning page for all staff on intouch, holding Carbon Count road shows across the county, putting useful energy saving tips on our website, recruiting volunteers to act as the ‘Carbon Counter’ in your offi ce and holding the odd competition along the way.

If you’re not already doing it, here are three very small changes that you could be making now to help reduce our environmental impact:



Jon Lambert is a member of the council’s gritting team which will

be working day and night, treating 2,400km of highway – about one third of Cumbria’s overall road network.

Jon is responsible for a number of roads to the west and south of Carlisle, including Abbeytown, Kirkbride and Wigton, as well as more elevated areas like Caldbeck and Hesket Newmarket.

It’s a route he knows very well, having worked it for the past seven years, and Jon says he is looking forward to another gritting season. “It’s interesting work and it defi nitely keeps you on your toes,” he told newsroom.

We’re all geared up to keep Cumbria’s road users on the move whatever the weather this winter. The county council has set aside just over £4.2 million to fund this year’s winter road maintenance service, which refl ects the potential scale of the operation over the coming months.

Freezing rain can present the most challenging conditions when treating the roads, according to Jon, who says: “Driving in the snow isn’t too bad because at least you can get some grip.”

He says he and his colleagues tend to keep a closer eye on the weather forecast in winter: “In our line of work we’re always watching the weather, especially when you’re on call. It might be fairly mild just now, but the temperature can soon drop to below freezing in a matter of days.”

You can get the latest information about the winter maintenance service via the council’s interactive online map on our website cumbria.gov.uk/gritting. The map is updated every afternoon to show which roads the council’s gritters intend to treat each evening during snowy and frosty weather.

Gritting updates can also be tracked through Cumbria County Council’s Twitter accounts at @CumbriaCC

All geared up for winter

1 Turn off the lights when you go home or when they’re not needed in your workplace.

Did you know? Offi ce lights left on overnight in a building like the Lonsdale Building use enough energy in a year to heat a 3 bed-roomed home for 5 months!

2 Turn off computers and appliances when you go home or when they’re not needed.

Did you know? A photocopier left on standby overnight wastes enough energy to produce over 1500 copies! A PC monitor switched off overnight saves enough energy to microwave six dinners. That doesn’t sound much, but that’s 2,136 hot dinners in one year!

3 Shut doors and windows. If your building is too hot or cold, call Facilities Management on 01228 221106.

Did you know? A typical window left open overnight in winter will waste enough energy to drive a small car over 35 miles!

It’s not someone else’s job to do this, it’s everyone’s.

When you leave, please make sure you turn off your PC and your monitor. If you’re the last out of the offi ce, please take an extra 30 seconds to check the lights and appliances are off. It could make a huge difference!

For more information on the Carbon Count, to raise an issue or to get advice from the Sustainability Team, please contact [email protected]

Winter 2013

Have yoursay on our

budgetsavings:


The council has already saved £88 million since 2010 and reductions in government funding mean £80 million

has to be found over the next three years - with £24.4 million of this coming next year (2014/15).

The council is consulting on 35 separate ideas which, together, are designed to deliver next year’s savings and still enable the council to deliver its priorities.

All the ideas have come from a careful review of what the council does and how it does it.

Putting these saving ideas together from next year, the council would make changes in four key areas:

1 Protecting and modernising front-line services for those who rely on them most by freeing up more management and administrative savings from across the council.

2 Stopping doing some things and doing other things differently by recognising where the council will no longer have the resources to do everything it does now.

3 Putting prevention before cure by supporting people to remain independent and targeting resources where they are proven to reduce risks to people’s health, safety and wellbeing.

4 Thinking local fi rst by working in partnership with communities to develop solutions to the local challenges facing different parts of Cumbria.

You can have your say online at cumbria.gov.uk/ourfuture or using a copy of the consultation document included with your payslip this month. You can also pick up the document from any library or main council offi ce.

All the responses to the consultation will be considered before a meeting of the Full Council agrees a fi nal

budget when it meets in February 2014.

The county council is asking staff to have their say on its budget savings consultation cumbria.gov.uk/ourfuture which closes on 20 January 2014.



Have yoursay on our

budgetsavings:

Changes ahead for managing budgets

What we needto save over

the next three years

What we’vesaved so far.

£80 million

The stack of coins represents the county

council’s annual budget.

In times when the council is under pressure to deliver more for less and deliver signifi cant savings, the fi nancial team are rolling out improvements to the way the council manages its budgets.

This will result in fewer, but highly skilled budget holders, working with a simpler system to improve budget monitoring and decision making across the council.

The new online collaborative planning system will use a simpler coding structure with reduced cost centres and easy to understand real time information on budgets, expenditure and income.

Roll out of the new process is starting in the Resources directorate early next year with training and support provided on an on-going basis; the rest of the council will follow later in the year.

To make some of the council’s signifi cant budget savings a new council structure has now been agreed following a period of consultation. All feedback gathered during the consultation was considered in developing the fi nal proposals for a meeting of the Chief Offi cer Panel.

The new structure will help us deliver our priorities to the people of Cumbria over the coming years. It puts a clear focus on people and place and will ensure that we have the right skills and capacity to deliver against the council’s priorities going forward.

The implementation stage is now underway and it is anticipated that this process will be completed by early December 2013.

New council structure

ChiefExecutive

Resources

Fire andFleet

Children’sServices

Environmentand

CommunityServices

Health andCare Services


Innovationof the Year

The Unimog ProjectThe Innovation of the Year award went to the Unimog Project for their innovative use of two Mercedes Unimog vehicles, recently procured by the council’s fl eet team.

During the winter months the highways team uses the vehicles for gritting duties, and during the summer months they are converted from gritters to wildfi re fi ghting machines that work on Cumbria’s Fire and Rescue operational duties.

Other fi nalists:The Web Team The Active Cumbria TeamThe Active Cumbria Team

Teamof the Year

HensinghamDay Services team

As part of their day service the team’s ‘Grassroots’ nursery and horticultural project has embarked on a new vegetable growing initiative as well as their “Centre Stage” drama group which involves staff from the day service, service users, families, members of the local community and local drama and arts group volunteers.

Bringing the two projects together means that service users exchange their gardening skills to maintain planted areas outside the Civic Hall Theatre and in return they get a reduced hire rate which enables weekly rehearsal time in the theatre and support with lighting during their productions.

Other fi nalists:Combe House Staff Team Active Cumbria Team

Cumbria County Council’s Excellence Awards 2013

ceremony was held last month at the Roundthorn Country House

Hotel, near Penrith. The awards showcase some of the council’s

brightest stars while celebrating the hard work, commitment and dedication of

staff at Cumbria County Council.

excellence

cellencee

awards

2013

awards

2013

awards

2013Winter 2013

More photos and exclusive video interviews online at: cumbria.gov.uk/newsroom



Employeeof the Year

David CorkillThe Employee of the Year award 2013 went to David Corkill, a support worker at Combe House.

In his own time David has developed and cultivated a garden area for service users. Combe House is a 40 bedded residential home on Walney that was refurbished in 2011 to dementia ‘gold’ standard. However with this came a barren garden - just mud and clay. The service users could not go outside and it was dull and boring.

Following the refurbishment David came to the rescue. A novice gardener, he put plans in place with a limited budget. Through lots of raffl es and events and with loads of imagination, he set about landscaping the gardens and the results have been outstanding.

The colourful, wildlife haven he has created is a credit to his hard work, but the most important part of his creation is the positive effect it has had on the Service Users. The garden is now the heart of the home, a place where residents come to reminisce and engage with the outdoors.

Other fi nalists:Viv Gibson: Child and Family Worker, Allerdale and Copeland Jane Tideswell: Senior Community Support Offi cer, Trading Standards

Staff at Walney Island’s Combe House are also celebrating after being named the country’s top dementia care home.

The 40-bed dementia gold standard Cumbria Care home scooped the prize at the National Dementia Care Awards held at the start of the month in Nottingham.

Winter 2013


Serving the peopleof Cumbria award

This year there were fi ve winners of the ‘Serving the people of Cumbria’ award which recognises staff who go the extra mile in their work.

Ruth Spence: For developing a new system for licensing petrol stations from scratch, identifying where we could work more effi ciently and presenting her management team with a sound and workable new system that would save offi cer time.

Helen Hamilton: For her dedicated and outstanding work relating to the implementation of School Funding Reform within Cumbria.

Emma Martin: For undertaking the development of a Schools Curriculum Pack to support the prestigious Tour of Britain which was over and above her normal work with challenging deadlines to meet.

Jennifer Wood: For demonstrating her positive behaviour, sincerity and empathy in dealing with consumers, businesses, partners, colleagues and victims during high profi le door-step crime investigations.

Elizabeth Gate: Elizabeth has been in the Registration Service for over 28 years and has never lost her positive attitude for her role. For her, the “people of Cumbria” are her top priority. In the last year alone, on top of her normal day to day work with clients, she has been involved in some very stressful situations.

Managerof the YearJohn GreenbankTrading Standards have had to adapt to new working practices, offi ces and changes in personnel. John, through his many skills, has led from the front to ensure that he has created an environment where team members feel valued and trusted.

Other fi nalists:Victoria Foster: Design Manager, Network Development Team – Highways and Transport. Conway Stewart: Senior Manager, Procurement.

excellence

cellencee

awards

2013

awards

2013

awards

2013Cumbria County Council

Apprentice of the YearAdele Fitzsimons

Adele joined the council as an apprentice in the Business Improvement Team. Adele excelled in this team, and it was recognised at an early stage that she had massive potential for development. Described as “an exceptional apprentice”, Adele always produced work of an extremely high standard, always going above and beyond.

Other fi nalists:Abbie Barcock: Connecting Cumbria Project Sophie Connelly: Archive Centre, Carlisle.


Winter 2013


Our new Learning Zone houses all of our courses. With this new system you can view all courses on offer, undertake e-learning courses and book onto classroom based training sessions all in one place.

Complete courses online at a time that suits youThere’s a huge range of courses available for all staff to complete online. All our online courses are available on your home computer as well as those at work. You can access the site via Intouch or direct from your home computer by visiting cumbria.learningpool.com

All staff already have a Learning Zone account. If you haven’t accessed the site before, your username is your 6 digit payroll number and your password will be ‘welcome’. During your fi rst login you will be required to change your password.

My team is very new, having only been set up in August this year in response to a change in government strategy about adoption, the aim being to make things better for the children.

A da

y in the life of

...team manager Annabelle Hogan

I’m very busy and my day varies hugely! I could be playing with children in the morning then in court in the afternoon.

Also, I have six children (all of whom are either fostered or adopted) and my 79 year old mum lives with me. So before I even get to work I have plenty to keep me occupied.

Today is a great example of the variety in my role.

Then spend the last part of day planning for the next day and keeping on top of emails! Being this busy at work and at home takes organisation. My rule is, never go to bed without having got ready for the morning!

I try to get out and about as much as possible. If we are responsible for making decisions about children’s lives, I think it’s only right that we know these children properly.

One thing I think people need to understand about working in fostering and adoption, is that although we follow strict guidelines and processes you need to be creative and innovative to work in my team. Each child needs its own bespoke solution to the problem they face. Right now 51 children are waiting for someone to give them a safe and loving home. If you’re thinking of adopting call 01539 713312.

09.00-11.30 Training on changes to policy and legislation.11.30-12.00 Discussions about families being assessed for adoption.12.00-12.30 Discussions about children waiting to be adopted.12.30-13.30 Planning a regional activity day (where approved adopters get to meet the children looking for new families).13.30-14.00 Very importantly, LUNCH!14.30-15.30 Wrote a report on how we are spending our £20k grant to recruit more families.15.30-16.30 Short listing for the last vacant post in our team.16.30 A quick call home to check on my children and my mum.

Children Moving to Adoption Team


Cumbria County Council will be upgrading its IT system to Windows 7 with support from the Learning and Development team.

On the day of installation we will be there to provide you with a demonstration of the new software and our IT

trainers will also be visiting your offi ce to answer any questions. Your line manager will be provided with details of how to book onto this session 6 weeks prior to installation.

Can’t fi nd it in Offi ce 2010?We have created an e-learning guide with a useful toolkit which enables you to view the old version of Word, Excel etc. and shows you how to fi nd the same features in the 2010 version.

This guide can be found at http://cumbria.learningpool.com/course/view.php?id=233

We will ensure that we keep you updated throughout the process but if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us or the IT team.

Site supportIf you have any queries or if you would like further training on using our Learning Zone we are happy to help. Please contact us with your questions and requirements.

The Learning Zone website is updated daily so please keep viewing the site for further details on these and more training on offer.

Contact details E-learning, Windows 7 and Site Support: Amanda Gill [email protected]

Classroom Courses: LD Admin [email protected]

Qualifi cations: Victoria Daniel [email protected]

To fi nd out more about the Learning Zone contact Amanda Gill on 01228 223471.

What courses are available online?

excellence

cellence e

awards

2013

awards

2013

awards

2013Learning

zone

Category

Behaviours and Attitudes

Essential Skills

Health and Social Care

SocialWork

HR Skills

Example of contents

Better Places for Work courses, Confl ict Management, Customer Services, Dealing with Diffi cult Behaviours, Time Management

IT Security Training, Welcome to Microsoft Offi ce 2010, Appraisal Skills, E-procurement training, Effective Minute Writing, Equality for All

Safeguarding, Autism, Keyworker Manual Handling, Medication Policy, Team Teach

Advocacy, Children’s Services Complaints, Learning from Serious Case Reviews, Professional Educator, Supervision Skills, Strengthening Practice

Bullying and Harassment, Effective Handling of Discipline and Grievance, Performance Appraisal: A Guide for Managers, Positive Attendance

Winter 2013

Cumbria’s campaign to recruit more foster carers went nationwide on 21 October when it featured on BBC 1’s The One Show. With over 4 million regular viewers The One Show is among the most watched programmes on TV.

The fi ve minute fi lm followed Angela Halliday, who is currently in the fi nal stages of her training to become a foster carer. She

spoke about what motivates her and she met experienced foster carer Sally Bennett, and fostering social worker Stacy Tear, to talk about the rewards and challenges of fostering. Filming took place in early October in Carlisle and Penrith.

The One Show’s interest was sparked by the council’s recent TV advert and comes after an encouraging month for the council’s “Become part of Cumbria’s biggest family” campaign which features real local foster carers talking about what they do and why they do it. In September the council received 47 enquiries, double the average, website visits increased by 95% and over 1400 people watched the campaign’s TV advert on YouTube.

There are over 600 children in care in Cumbria but only 203 foster carer households. Nearly 50% of children in care are under fi ve years old.

We need more foster carers Talk to any of our foster carers and they’ll tell you about the rewards and satisfaction fostering gives them. Helping to make even a small difference to a child’s life is hugely satisfying.

If you have room to spare in your home and a lifestyle that has room for a child, then why not become part of Cumbria’s biggest family?

For more information visit cumbria.gov.uk/fostering or call 0303 333 1216.


The One show



Staff moveinto new offi ce

at Skirsgill

Teams based within Health and Care Services have now moved into the former Amey Mouchel offi ce at the Skirsgill site on the outskirts of Penrith, whilst Children’s Services teams are to move to the nearby Barnardo’s Children’s Centre on Old London Road very soon.

The building (formerly known as ‘block N’) has been refurbished to provide a bright, modern workspace with fl exible work areas in keeping with the principles of the Better Places for Work project.

The move from Friargate is part of the county council’s Better Places for Work programme which includes a major review and rationalisation of the council’s property portfolio to generate savings and implement a new agile working programme to encourage more fl exible working opportunities for staff.

newsroom caught up with Lorraine Rudd-Williams, Teams Manager to fi nd out how the move has gone.

“Initially when we heard we were moving from Friargate to Skirsgill we were all a little anxious about moving out of the town centre and from an offi ce we’d all worked from for years. We all knew that Friargate wasn’t fi t for purpose in terms of how we all worked and some teams were split within the building which was far from ideal. Our new offi ce brings us together and really feels like it has been designed with our business needs in mind.

“I can honestly say so far that I’m delighted with how the move has gone. There really is no comparison be-tween the two offi ces and being able to all be together in one bright, open plan offi ce can only be a good thing.”

The nature of some of the work the teams in Penrith do, mean that they need space to meet with their customers in convenient locations. We are therefore creating space within Penrith Library in the town centre so that this can continue with minimal disruption for the public.

Winter 2013


event. Highways organised the road closures, diversions and co-ordinated transport and access to popular viewing spots. And volunteers on the day helped marshall crowds and hand out programmes.

It was well worth the effort – the highlights programme on ITV4 was the most watched of all the eight stages, with nearly 700,000 viewers, and a further 1.55m watched the event live across Europe. ITV4’s cycling presenter Ned Boulting stood at the fi nishing line at Beast Banks, Kendal and declared “That’s the best stage of the Tour of Britain that I’ve ever seen.”

It was all over in just over fi ve hours, but the Tour of Britain’s fi rst ever entirely Cumbrian stage on 16 September involved months of effort and planning from lots of different county council teams.

Economic development sourced sponsorship opportunities and worked with the national

park and district councils on project planning. Active Cumbria and the communications team gave the event as much profi le as possible, through schools packs, competitions and publicity work. Public health promoted the health benefi ts of cycling before and after the

The Tourof Britain brought

an aditional£4.2 million into

Cumbria.

70,000spectators

attended theevent.

Pedalpower



The offi cial opening of the new section of the Hadrian’s Cycleway from Maryport to Allonby had a real community feel, with locals and schoolchildren from Allonby all turning out to witness Cllr Keith Little cut the ribbon.

Many of those at the event then cycled the new 3.7 mile stretch of dedicated cycleway. The £800,000 project delivered by the county council’s highways team is a key part of the Hadrian’s Cycleway, which runs 174 miles through the Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site from Tynemouth to Ravenglass and links to the C2C national cycle route.

All the other partners involved in delivering the project – Hadrian’s Wall Trust, Solway Coast AONB and Sustrans – gave presentations alongside Highways and Transport Area Manager Jonathan Smith, who said: “This is exactly the sort of project which made me join local Government. The cyclepath ticks all the boxes of public safety, health, leisure, transport and community benefi ts. It’s been hard, but it’s been worth it.”

The Wave Centre at Maryport has new electric hire bikes available and Gareth Cosslett from the council’s Communications Team put one through its paces. “It’s a strange feeling when the electric motor kicks in as you peddle – almost as though you’ve developed new bionic powers.”

A Roman adventure

www.cyclescheme.co.uk/c8ffb

The scheme is open for employees ofCumbria County Council to apply online now

Applications must be made between16th September - 17th November 2013

Cycle scheme extended!

The council’s cycle to work scheme applications window has now been extended to 31 December. The scheme offers staff huge savings on the cost of a new bike and safety equipment. The cost is spread over a year and allows you to save on your income tax and National Insurance contributions.

Need more information?If you’d like more information on the scheme visit the Cyclescheme website at cyclescheme.co.uk/c8ffb or alternatively you can call 01228 226780.

Cutting the ribbon at Allonby.

Pedalpower


Winter 2013

SV Tenacious.

Bruce Bennison, right, with Alex.

Standing at the wheel of the three masted tall ship in the pitch dark at 3am in the morning slowly crossing the crowded shipping lanes of the English Channel may not be everyone’s idea of a relaxing holiday. However it does have a certain tranquillity to it. Albeit interspersed with moments of high drama, as for example that slow moving blip on the radar screen transforms itself into a rather large container ship crossing your bow about a mile away...they are awake on the bridge aren’t they?

Add to this the fact that your fellow crew will be a mixed bunch of able

bodied and disabled people from all over the country, most of whom never having met before are now responsible for crewing the ship safely on its voyage from the Channel Islands over to Poole. We are always under the watchful eye of an experienced permanent crew (although there is not enough of them to sail the ship alone – we really have to do it!)

The ship in question is SV Tenacious and she is in many respects unique (and she is certainly a ship and mostly defi nitely not a boat). She was the fi rst wooden hulled tall ship to be built in Britain for 100 years and she was launched in April 2000. She is operated by the Jubilee Sailing Trust,

based in Southampton and she is one of two ships which operate all year round offering these unique experiences to people from all walks of life and all abilities.

Since she was built, thousands of people, like me, have taken the chance to sail her. You don’t need special abilities - as long as you are over 16 and still breathing then you can take part. The ship is designed to cope with many forms of physical disability; there are eight cabins on the ship for wheelchair users and their buddies as well lifts, an audio compass etc. Accommodation has heating and air-conditioning, hot showers and the food is excellent and comes in huge quantities.

I have sailed with the Trust for over 20 years, often buddying severely disabled people in the most challenging circumstances. Now I tend to sail as watchleader, tasked with ensuring my watch of up to 10 people are in the right place at the right (even at 3am) and are hopefully enjoying themselves! Almost always both my buddy and I come out of these experiences with a new perspective on life, on our joint abilities and with a respect for the sea. One such was Alex, a young man of 17 who at the age of 8 had been involved in a serious road accident and now was now tetraplegic. Despite this disability he still had the slightest movement in his fi ngers and could operate a small

Taking to the

high seas to help others

Bruce Bennison,County Manager - Library

Service Review, tellsnewsroom about hisrecent voyage to help

disabled people experiencesailing in the English

Channel.



Are you fundraising or do you have an unusual hobby? It’s your staff magazine and we’d love to hear from you. Could you be our next day in the life or have you got questions that we can help answer?

• Call 01228 226447 • email [email protected]• or write to newsroom, The Communications Team, Cumbria County

Council, The Courts, Carlisle CA3 8NA.

Get in touch

joystick such as a game controller (which he did regularly at home). This meant I could fi nd him a way of steering the ship (all 214 feet and 586 tons of her) using a joystick ‘wheel’, he did this with great skill – much better I have to say than some able bodied people who thought they were driving a bus!

Voyages on Tenacious are not limited to the vagaries of the British weather however and if you fancy trying this out in warmer climes then she sails for the Mediterranean in November and will spend the winter there. If you are looking for something a little more adventurous then her sister ship, Lord Nelson, is currently sailing round the world and there are still places left to join her, for example, on a voyage into the Antarctic next March.

Perhaps the most abiding memory is the shared experience of arriving in a foreign port, often with a sizeable crowd on the quayside whose expressions change to wonder when a motley crew of wheelchair bound, visually impaired and sometimes distinctly elderly people proudly get off the ship.

If you want to fi nd out more about voyages then take a look at jst.org.uk or give me a call - what are you waiting for?

Bruce Bennison

Win a Kindle FireWhether it’s on your home computer or at work, you can visit newsroom online to see more photos from the Excellence Awards and online videos. Visit newsroom online at cumbria.gov.uk/newsroom for your chance to win a Kindle Fire with a 7” colour touch-screen. This powerful tablet has Wi-Fi built-in to its lightweight and compact design; complete with 9 hour battery life it’s designed to travel with you wherever you go.

Name

Address

Daytime telephone number

Send your postal entries to: Communications Team, The Courts, Carlisle CA3 8NA or you can enter online at cumbria.gov.uk/newsroom for your chance to win. Closing date for entries: 10 December 2013.

newsroomtouch-screen. This powerful tablet has Wi-Fi built-in to its lightweightand compact design; complete with 9 hour battery life it’s designed to travel with you wherever you go.

In our biggest ever giveaway newsroom has three fantastic prizes up for grabs...

Three greatprizes up for

grabs!

2

1Win tickets to the pantomimeComplete the following phrase...

Snow White and the dwarfs.a) Six b) Seven c) Eleven

Please select your preferred venue:Sands Centre, Carlisle The Forum, Barrow

BowlsJudo

CricketPolo

DiscusRugbyTennis

Win a family gym membership To win a 12 month family gym membership courtesy of Carlisle Leisure Ltd can you identify which sport is not included in the grid below?

The missing sport is:

F R L L A B T O O FB A T H L E T I C SG N I M M I W S Y US I Y O D U J I C CL Y B L Q V H N L SW R G O L F P N I IO W U P N N R E N DB C R I C K E T G N Swimming

NetballAthletics

GolfFootballCycling

3

If you notice blood in your pee, even if it’s ‘just the once’, tell your doctor.It could be an early sign of kidney or bladder cancer. Finding it early makes it more treatable, so tell your doctor straight away.

nhs.uk/bloodinpee

If you notice blood in your pee, even if it’s ‘just the once’,

Dr Anant Sachev

S36 21124_CAN_BCOC_A3_Poster.indd 2 20/12/2011 23:21

If you notice blood in your pee, even if it’s ‘just the once’, tell your doctor.It could be an early sign of kidney or bladder cancer. Finding it early makes it more treatable, so tell your doctor straight away.

nhs.uk/bloodinpee

If you notice blood in your pee, even if it’s ‘just the once’,

Dr Anant Sachev

S36 21124_CAN_BCOC_A3_Poster.indd 2 20/12/2011 23:21

your staff magazine newsr m - cumbria · regional awards cumbria county council has scooped three...

Documents