4.28 — Weeknotes — In Hounlsow for 5 days — not done that for 2 years

Was really nice to get some positive comments after posting the mega weeknotes last week, so has encouraged me to continue to write and get back into the swing of weekly notes, well, try at least.

For the first time since March 2020 I was in the Borough every day this week. Five full days… Very odd. But also really nice to see the building with an increased energy level. So nice to see colleagues coming together with purpose.

Main reason for this is we had our colleague conference on Wednesday to Friday. An opportunity to hear from the Leader, Deputy Leader and the Chief Exec on the ambitions for the Borough. We heard about the challenges that we have as a Borough and the wider National context as well and the challenges that we have as a sector and a place.

The Leader said something that really struck me on Wednesday, 1 in 5 children in the Borough live in poverty, and this is likely to get worse with the cost of living crisis. I think it is shocking really that in this day and age we still have children in this position. It also reminds me just how important the work that we do in Local Government is. We really do make a difference.

We also had some guest speakers as part of the Conference. We were joined by Donna Hall who talked to us about her experiences with the Wigan Deal, lessons learnt and how we may be able to use some of this thinking in Hounslow.

The biggest risk we face is not to do anything! — Donna Hall — So true…

We also had Jon Varney, Chief Executive of Brentford FC, talking about how they have created a high performing team — on and off the pitch. So many similarities with Brentford and Local Government and some alignment with some of the work we are doing as well. One thing that struck me was that they are genuinely putting Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and wellbeing at the core of everything they do. So important to create the conditions for staff to flourish.

Tuesday I was in for CLT where I took an update on the Word of Work program. The numbers of colleagues coming into the building are increasing and this will give us opportunities to use the building in different ways. Therefore a range of activities taking place to progress this over the next couple of months.

Monday was in for our Transforming our Community Experience programme. The thinking here is gathering momentum to ensure that we are really able to serve our communities in the right way through the best digital means possible.

We also launched our Digital Festival this week, throughout November we have a range of sessions for colleagues and into the community to learn about all things digital. We have sessions on wellbeing, Digital Inclusion, Digital Learning and Skills, as well as learning how Digital is transforming the way we design and deliver our services.

We are also working with key partners such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Cisco as well as our colleagues across the council and our health partners at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Tune of the week: Robyn — Dancing On My Own (Official Video)