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The gift of helping others is the best reward
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It’s been a Volunteers Week like no other where people have taken on extra responsibilities to support the community during the COVID crisis. That’s why it’s never been a better time to shine a spotlight on colleagues here in Barnet who volunteer to help others. Belinda Puaar (pictured left, top, with her son) explains why we should sign up to volunteer.
“Volunteering is always something I have wanted to do,” says Belinda. “I decided I wanted to volunteer at Barnet when the COVID crisis came up. I worked for the Food Supplies Hub (all our volunteers pictured left, below) when it started up and moved into the RAF Museum. I enjoyed my time at the hub, it certainly got me very fit with all the lifting and shifting! I also felt like I was doing something useful.”
Belinda is not completely new to the world of volunteering as she already devotes most Saturdays to a charity who redistribute food from restaurants and supermarkets that would be destined for landfill.
“I actually started volunteering for The Felix Project in Enfield, as it wasn’t too far from where I lived, last Christmas to use my two volunteering days that Barnet allows employees to take. The project rescues good, completely edible food that is surplus to the food industry and then sorts and delivers the food to hundreds of charities, primary schools and holiday programmes in London. Including Barnet’s Food Distribution Hub.
“I thoroughly enjoyed my time at The Felix Project. I even managed to get my son involved. The Felix Project was looking for drivers, but because of social distancing you couldn’t have anyone else in the van with you, apart from a family member. My son was working on his Duke of Edinburgh silver medal, so it was really good for him to get involved and join me.
“I can definitely recommend volunteering to colleagues who are considering it. It’s brilliant that we get two days off a year to pursue volunteering. The other thing that colleagues might not realise is that you can volunteer as a team. Group volunteering might be a nice idea to do as part of team building, especially since the ways we work have changed and we are not together in the office so much any more.”
Would you consider volunteering? Under the Employer Supported Volunteering Scheme you get two days paid leave a year. Please contact Danusia Brzezicka or visit the Volunteering Barnet site to find out more. Read the full interview with Belinda on Yammer here.
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Focus on… Neil Marlow, AD - Head of School Improvement
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Checking back in with Lily and Rachel - working as YCB carers
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This week has been an important one for many of you who are parents, as Monday saw the beginning of a phased return to school across the country. First Team has spoken this week to Neil Marlow, Assistant Director - Head of School Improvement at Cambridge Education. An edited version of his answers are below - read the full interview on Yammer here.
Q. The last three weeks must have been very busy for you. What has the council been doing to support schools through their decision making and reopening process?
A. In fact, the last three months have been incredibly busy for the School Improvement Team that I head up. Back in March we were supporting schools when they were trying to remain open, with ever reducing numbers of staff. Then, it was announced that schools were closing on 23 March and we had to shift our focus to ensuring the schools had everything in place to close appropriately. After saying that, it needs to be remembered that nearly all schools have remained open for vulnerable children and those of key workers over this period. So, our team continued to support schools, particularly headteachers, by providing advice and resources for the in-school element, whilst also recognising that the huge majority of pupils were at home but still needed to be educated and needed to feel safe. And now onto the next phase, where schools have been asked to open more
widely for more pupils, from 1 June in primary schools and from 15 June in secondary schools. That has had huge implications for schools and we have supported them by creating documents and resources to help them. We have also been available to offer support, advice, encouragement and understanding. This included running virtual meetings with all headteachers to answer their questions and hear their concerns.
Q. What feedback have you had back from schools so far and when are you envisaging that schools will be able to reopen fully?
A. About half of the primary schools in Barnet are opening their doors to more pupils from this week (Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6) with the other half in the next two weeks. By 15 June every primary school is likely to be open, with the secondary schools beginning to welcome their Year 10 and 12 students for face to face contact. However, that does not mean every Nursery, Reception, Yr 1, 6, 10 and 12 pupil every day. Schools have had to make individual decisions about how many pupils it is safe to have in the building at any one time, so many schools are using a rota system of pupils. When will schools be able to reopen fully? As there are so many unknowns it is very difficult to predict when this may happen. Everyone is hoping for September but there needs to be a lot in place for that to
happen. Social distancing means that schools can only have a reduced number of pupils and, clearly, we need to be guided by the government and the scientists who are advising them.
Q. For those staff who are parents that are unsure about their children returning to school, what advice would you give?
Trust your school; the headteachers, staff and governors. They are doing everything they can to make the school as safe as possible and minimise the risks. It has been an incredibly challenging time for schools and the school leaders will only act in what they believe is in the best interests of their pupils and their staff. So, if they haven’t opened more widely yet, or your child is not able to go into school every day, trust them that this decision hasn’t been taken lightly. It’s completely understandable for parents to be worried about sending their children into school. If that’s you, contact the headteacher, ask to see their Risk Assessment (many schools have this on their website) and then make whatever you believe is the right decision for your child.
To read the interview with Neil in full, click here.
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Back at the beginning of May, we profiled Lily Barnett and Rachel Hodge from our Public Health Team, who responded to the call from the Staff Deployment Programme and moved across into new roles focused on our fight against COVID-19. One month on, we caught up with them.
Lily said:
"We’ve been with the Enablement Team for six weeks now and I'm still really enjoying the experience. I’m now doing shifts on my own, which to begin with was a bit daunting, but with all of the support and encouragement from the team and even the clients themselves, it’s been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life so far.
"In the past week, two clients I had been supporting since I’d started were ready to be signed off, as they were back to doing everything for themselves. It’s funny how you feel so proud and happy for them to have their independence back but sad to see them go at the same time as they become part of your daily routine almost so you miss them! But then there’s always a new person to get to know, who needs your help. It’s really opened my eyes to what people can overcome and even in the current circumstances, the trust given by the people you support and in return the commitment of the team to get people back on their feet, still with a smile on their faces (behind a visor and mask) is nothing short of amazing!"
Rachel said:
"I have been working in the Enablement Team for more than a month now and have nothing but positive things to say. Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Joshila who I shadowed on visits for three weeks before going out on my own. She took such care and time on our visits, really going above and beyond. After my first solo shift she also took the time to call me (on her day off) to ask how it went. Barnet residents are lucky to have frontline workers like her during COVID and beyond.
"As I said in my first update, the Enablement Team has been very rewarding to work in. People are often at their most vulnerable when they’ve recently been discharged from hospital. On a first visit, someone may have low self-confidence, be unable to wash or dress themselves, need support taking medication etc. What was amazing for me to see, was that by the end of the second week they were often doing most things independently again. Seeing the difference a few weeks can make to both mental and physical wellbeing was one of the best parts of this role.
"The only thing I enjoyed more than watching people’s health improve has been the opportunity to meet new people. I was surprised that it often felt bittersweet when someone no longer needed the support of a carer. Ultimately, you are happy they are doing well and no longer need visits, but you’ve usually built rapport over the course of visits, listening to their stories and hearing about their life. Without this experience I would never have had the opportunity to interact with so many interesting people. It has helped me put a name and face to the people who are affected by the work we do as a council."
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Back to school for children… and parents
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Calling all photography enthusiasts
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Usually the back to school routine can be just as unsettling for parents as it is for the children, and this week is no exception with reception, year 1 and year 6 pupils gradually returning after the 10-week lockdown break.
Children and teachers will have to adapt to social distancing and possibly a different class teacher while schools work at introducing a regular curriculum timetable over the coming months.
Schools in Barnet re-opened this week and as part of supporting children and their families with this process, we launched the ‘Barnet, Helping Children Back to School’ campaign. Via our website, parents, carers and teachers can access lots of useful resources and guidance for supporting their children’s wellbeing.
Many parents have been balancing working with helping their children at home with online learning, and might welcome the fact that children have started to return to school. But other school year groups remain at home and with breakfast, after-school and activity clubs not yet open – there are still plenty of challenges for parents to manage.
That includes parents who work for the council. One strong piece of feedback that came out of Kindness Week was that for many parents, work-life balance had the additional strain of managing work and having children at home learning, with disruptions to their usual school routine. This was impacting on people’s mental health.
With this in mind, a support group for parents has been launched via Yammer – Parent Talk. Any colleague can join Parent Talk. The idea is that it will be an outlet for parents to share ideas/news that might help other parents and to discuss commonalities on juggling parenthood and work responsibilities, particularly at this time.
Barnet Yammer can be accessed from any device, as long as you have an internet connection.
• Parent Talk
• Barnet Back to School campaign.
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Every year Le Raincy City Hall in France invites its twin towns Clusone, Italy; Caldas da Rainha, Portugal and Barnet, to take part in their Digital Photographic Competition, which is now in its fourth year.
Although the world is experiencing an unprecedented time at the moment, Le Raincy still wants people to take part in the competition as the objective of being a twin town is to strengthen international relationships through a common project.
Judging by the amount of photography that staff have been posting on Yammer of gardens and sunsets around Barnet and beyond, there should be plenty of interest in the theme of this year’s Le Raincy Digital Photo Competition. There will be monetary prizes for the top three winners from each area - 75 Euros for third place, 100 Euros for second place and 150 Euros for first place.
The theme is ‘Unusual Sights of my City’, so this is an opportunity to get out for a walk where you could rediscover gems in Barnet you’ve never seen before, or not for a while, and take some great photos.
Due to lockdown, many people have been taking photos of London in its much quieter state, so there’s lots of inspiration to be had online before you go out and take some amazing photographs of Barnet.
Two of last year's Barnet winners, Viaduct in Finchley by Meir Berk and Early Morning Tube by David Loebell are pictured above.
To enter: you need to fill in a registration form and enclose it with the photographs by Friday 10 July using Wetransfer to regardscroises@leraincy.fr
For more details on how to enter the Le Raincy City Hall Digital Photo Competition, please visit Yammer.
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