Enfys Spring 2012

Enfys Spring 2012

Your Views

Your News

Your Magazine

Inside this issue What’s Occurring?

Spotlighted Tash’s Cocktail Corner

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Editor’s Welcome Hello!

Welcome to the Spring issue of Enfys!

What a busy start to 2012 we have had. As well as the 20th anniversary launch event, we have run a massive Agile Nation recruitment campaign and achieved Green Dragon Level 2 and IIP Silver accreditation!

In this issue of Enfys you will find the regular office updates as well as a bumper update from the Project Development team, an insight into the research work Denise has been doing and a summary of the Bright Ideas scheme to date.

We also have some fun Easter facts and some cocktail recipes to get you in the mood for summer!

As ever a big thanks to everyone who contributed content. We couldn‘t make Enfys happen without you.

The Enfys Team

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What’s Occurring?

r ho c An

t ur o C

Prior to the Christmas break the annual Anchor Court Christmas buffet was held. Along with some fun quizzes we had a particularly impressive spread of food.

We have had a very busy start to the year in Anchor Court as preparations for the 20th Anniversary celebrations fast approached.

We welcomed Jason Cummins to the office for a week‘s work experience in February. He was able to gain experience of every department and worked extremely hard all week. He was a pleasure to work with and decided by the end of the week that he would like to come back.

You can read his letters of thanks on page 17.

We also had a very successful fundraiser for the Lennox Children Cancer fund. As well as a raffle to win a rather nice bottle of red wine (won by Sharon) we also had a ‗Name the Teddy‘ competition. Lola the piglet was won by Dylan, who decided to donate Lola to the children supported by the Lennox Children Cancer fund.

And finally as 10 years in Anchor Court approached we decided it was time to smarten up the office with a small amount of redecoration, which saw a fresh coat of paint on the walls, some new carpet laid in the main walkways and a spring clean.

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What’s Occurring?

Another busy few months for us here with three level 2 courses, an Evolve course, and two additional modules completed. We currently have a level 3 course running and we have had the level 3 course material translated into Welsh for one of our

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th W ales

participants.

We have also had the assignments translated into Polish for one of our level 2 participants. Susie has been working hard on the Evolve project and currently has outcomes for 15 employers. We are loving the diverse nationalities of our participants and this was demonstrated in one of Quita‘s courses where we had British, Spanish, Bulgarian, Italian and Indian women all enjoying the training.

In an effort to get some more participants, we decided to try marketing in Morrison‘s supermarket in Rhyl. We spent a day there in January and had a few responses but plan to try it again in Tesco Llandudno Junction in April – wish us luck!

We incorporated a team development day with our Christmas lunch on the 16th December and had a really productive but enjoyable day. The aim of the day was to have the opportunity to develop a sense of team, by acknowledging our successes, relinquishing past concerns, planning for the future and looking at how we can share responsibility for the overall outcomes of the team. Amy prepared various exercises and tasks for us some of which were fun, some of which were serious but all of which focused on, our own abilities, talents and our future needs as well as our successes as a team. One of our tasks was to reveal a hidden talent which proved very interesting, Amy and Carl‘s attempt to enter the Guinness book of Records by eating Ferrero Roche chocolates was inspiring! The day ended with a few drinks at a local bar (some of us had more than a few but as it was Christmas they shall remain nameless) and we all went home feeling we‘d had a really good and positive day.

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What’s Occurring?

Christmas came and went and the feared snowy winter thankfully never materialised for us here in the North but we are still pleased to see the first signs of spring making an appearance. This time of year sees the usual rush to get holidays in

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before April with Susie having time off for studying, Amy is off to Germany and Dewi took time off to travel the country attending various gigs.

Quita went to Austria on her first skiing holiday and is now well and truly hooked and looking forward to her next one. Just don‘t ask her about her taxi to the airport! Following some early morning phone calls they realised they weren‘t being picked up for the airport at 6.30pm but at 6.30am – there followed blind panic and the fastest packing and hotel checkout ever known!

I may previously have mentioned my forthcoming holiday – the rolled eyes throughout the office whenever I mention it suggests I may have mentioned it once or twice! I am off to Sydney on the 18th March to see my son who moved there almost a year ago and whereas I am obviously looking forward to seeing him, as one who‘s furthest ever flight was to Cyprus, twenty four hours on a plane is a bit daunting. Think my Kindle will be red hot by the time I get there!

Mair Rowlands 5

What’s Occurring?

S.East Wales

We would like to welcome our new Project Training Officer Karen Neill. Karen started with us just before Christmas, is settling in well and is already being kept busy running a number of courses at the moment.

We are gearing up for changes in the Treforest Office; the builders are in this week setting the office up ready for the office move.

We have had some excellent outcomes from our participants recently, with all of the project officers noting that they have been informed of either promotions the women have been getting or new jobs they have been taking up. One of our Hungarian participants has gained a great promotion and has been mentoring our other Hungarian participants, helping to increase her confidence and theirs.

One of our employers Voluntary Action Merthyr Tydfil (VAMP) has had excellent feedback from UNISON on their Equality & Diversity Policies which Cathy Kennedy helped them to develop saying they ―have been developed with care and top level commitment‖.

Laura Mckeown

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Employee Forum Update As you all know the first employee forum meeting was held in January. It was a very productive session, with the terms of reference and remit of the forum being cemented.

Going forward, the minutes and key action points from that meeting are available to you all on SharePoint and the points raised at the meeting have been fed back to SMT. The next meeting is due to be held in October, so please make sure that you inform your reps of any concerns, or issues you think need to be discussed.

Remember this is your forum.

Your Reps are:

Anchor Court: Jane Nyhan and Deb Dennehy Treforest: Laura Mckewon and Ellie Harwood North Wales: Mair Rowlands and Susie Ventris-Field Llanelli: Tracy Eynon and Sally Thomas

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Project Development Team Update Hi colleagues I can see the daffodils nodding at me out of my window which must mean that spring has finally sprung here in Treforest! Since the last edition of Enfys a lot has changed for the development team.

Elin and Hazel have joined our happy band, delivering Ascent Level 3 across the whole project and continuing their work on developing our training materials to be the best they can be for our participants. Helen Reed joined us as a temporary development co-ordinator, primarily to carry out scoping work on the priority industry sectors for Wales to inform our work for Sector Skills Councils, and has done a fantastic job in a short space of time.

As I speak we are shortlisting for two new posts – Project Development Administrator and Project Development Co-ordinator, and we look forward to welcoming the successful applicants to Chwarae Teg and our team. All this welcome change and growth has meant that we are moving…..but not far. From April we will be in our new home on the ―west wing‖ formally known as the Treforest meeting room. Yes, Natalie has finally had enough of us taking up too much space in her regional office so has thrown us over the other side where, after a bit of rejigging, well organised by Kath, we will be taking up residence soon.

A few highlights of what we‘ve been up to in this last quarter: 

We worked in partnership with Business in the Community to develop and launch ―the Agile Organisation Award‖ category as part of their prestigious Wales Impact Awards. The closing date is 30 March but initial indications show that the application pack has been downloaded more times in the first week than at the peak of any other award category.

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We launched round two of the Ascent Programme Training Allowance which is now open for project participants to apply.

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Project Development Team Update 

The educators strand has been officially born and christened – Fair Foundations. Fair Foundations will concentrate on Foundation Phase educators and we will be issuing a tender very shortly for the development of our workshop materials and lesson plans to raise awareness of challenging gender stereotypes and promoting non-traditional choice at an early age.

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ILM have made significant changes to their vocationally related qualifications which will come into force from September 2012. This will mean a number of changes for us as an ILM approved centre, mostly around assessment. One of the positives from this is that we can develop a level 3 programme which will better meet the needs of our participants at that level – exciting challenges for Hazel, Elin and I…watch this space.

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The progression records (the filling for our lovely new organisers) have now gone to print and will be winging their way to regional offices shortly – yes more boxes of stuff for you! These will not only give Ascent participants a lovely smart reminder of Chwarae Teg which they can use every day but the carefully thought out resources inside are a fantastic tool to take them through the Ascent journey with us from their training, through to the support, advice and guidance, and onwards through their CPD.

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Ellie was invited by Swansea Metropolitan University to give a lecture to CIPD students currently exploring the employment relationship. The Course Director, Samantha Morgan, invited Ellie has she had attended a presentation Ellie gave to the University last year and had found her ―inspiring‖. Ellie spoke about the existing inequalities in the workplace and their consequences, as well as sharing best practice approaches in creating a diverse and flexible workforce. This is completely above and beyond the call of duty and Ellie rose to the challenge delivering a knowledgeable and passionate lecture that received high praise from those attending. Ellie 9

Project Development Team Update

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We held a very successful SEWTEN meeting at Coleg Morgannwg.

Delegates representing FE and HE institutions, work-based learning providers, SSCs, private training companies, local authorities, Careers Wales and Welsh Government, came to hear Dr Vicki Stevenson from Cardiff University discuss practical ways to encourage more girls to study science. Lucy followed with a presentation on our new Get on with Science project and Ellie rounded things up with a presentation on how Fair Foundations will tackle gender stereotyping in early years education. The level of interest, questions, debate and discussion which followed the three presentations was a great testament to the skill and passion of the presenters. The feedback on the day included - ―huge thanks to Chwarae Teg for enabling the network‖, ―there is nothing like this anywhere else which brings us together in such a supportive way‖, ―inspiring and knowledgeable speakers‖….and this is just the few that I picked up. I think the test of a good network is when people just don‘t want to leave because they want to talk to one another and us – we officially closed the meeting at 12 noon and left the venue after the final delegate at 2.15pm!

Phew…and on top of all that our 20th Anniversary and Wales winning the grand slam (sorry, had to get that in somewhere)…what a great start to 2012!

As I look out of my window again at the daffodils, I was just thinking that‘s what we‘re like at Chwarae Teg. A small bulb full of energy and good things, sitting patiently waiting for just the right moment, then bursting into activity and growth, creating something lovely which can make such a difference to people – how cool is that!!!

Happy spring everyone Emma Richards

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Spotlighted Christine talks to Nick Clegg I went to the LibDem conference on Saturday and met the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg. Kirsty Williams (leader of the Welsh Lib Dems) had invited me to join a small q&a session where I got to ask him about what the Government are going to do to support women through public cuts and welfare reform. ―Women are going to be disproportionately impacted by welfare reform and public sector cuts, pushing families further into poverty. How do you think we can support women and their families?‖ His answer: Raising the tax allowance will benefit more women Changes to pensions will benefit women Increasing the number of childcare places for 2 year olds in deprived areas Providing nursery funding for 3 & 4 year olds Christine O‘Byrne

Carer’s UK Launch online support mechanism—Carewell The Carewell website has been created to offer support to carers to help them make positive changes to their lifestyle, offering tips from health experts and carers themselves.

Help spread the word! http://carewelluk.org/

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Green Feature Green Dragon Update The date for our Green Dragon audit was set for the 10th of April 2012 and saw us successfully achieve the Level 2 environmental standard. Well done us!

*Reminder * The Chwarae Teg Environmental Policy and Action Plan are now available to all on SharePoint. They are only a page long so please have a read to make sure we are all working in as environmentally friendly a way as possible!

Top tip

Make use of a water butt for watering your garden this spring/ summer and reduce the pressure on British water

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BDH Update Denise Rogers - Chwarae Teg’s Research Officer provides and overview of the work she has been doing during her time with Chwarae Teg. Research into the Role of Women in the Welsh Workforce To mark our 20th anniversary Chwarae Teg has commissioned research on the role and contribution of women to the Welsh workforce and how it has changed over the past 20 years. The project will be led by Ecorys with support from Arad.

The research will explore the experience and attitudes of women and businesses in Wales and data collection methods will include: An analysis of existing statistical data A survey of 600 women (including employed and self employed women, unemployed and economically inactive women and women in training and education) A survey of 400 employers In-depth interviews with around 25 women and 5 partners A website discussion forum.

The scope of the research will include women‘s employment status, activity and inactivity rates, pay, career progression, educational attainment, occupational segregation and choices, access to childcare and flexible working. The findings of the project will be reported in Autumn 2012.

JRF research into poverty and ethnicity Chwarae Teg is also a member of a consortium of third sector organisations who have been commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation to undertake research exploring issues of poverty and ethnicity. We want to find out if the experience of being on a low income is different depending on: 

The family‘s ethnic heritage

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Whether a family has been in Wales for a long time, or has arrived more recently

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Where the family lives in Wales

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BDH Update Ctd The research will take place in four locations in Wales with around thirty families of Somali, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Czech, Polish and Welsh heritage.

Chwarae Teg aims to recruit a number of Pakistani and Bangladeshi families in Cardiff and 2 Pakistani families from RCT. IWA and Chwarae Teg report on men and flexible working The Institute of Welsh Affairs and Chwarae Teg commissioned a study which explored the availability and uptake of flexible working opportunities by men who had caring responsibilities in employment in Wales. Dr Stevie Upton, Research Officer at the IWA, carried out the research in Autumn 2011 with six medium sized organisations based in Wales: • Careers Wales North East • Milford Haven Port Authority • NewLaw Solicitors • Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority • Valleys to Coast Housing • Wales Millennium Centre The final report, Capturing the Benefits of Flexible Working, focuses on men‘s use of flexible working arrangements to allow them to care for family members, and on the experiences of employers in meeting their requests. It finds that the organisations involved in the research had seen improvements in productivity, and even financial savings, following the introduction of flexible working policies. None reported an increase in their administrative burden and some had witnessed a decrease. Staff were also reported to be more focused, more motivated and more willing also to work flexibly in their employer‘s favour as the business need arose.

Stevie presented the findings as the key note speaker at the Emerging Themes in Business conference in Newport.

Full and summary reports are available on our website: http:// www.chwaraeteg.com/research-reports/

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Bright Ideas Update Bright Ideas Update Since the launch of Bright Ideas in August 2011 we have seen a great number of you submitting your ideas to support CT working smarter. Bright Ideas has seen 8 suggestions, all of which have been discussed at SMT. All the suggestions that were put forward were valued and created a good debate in SMT where advantages and disadvantages were discussed. I have detailed below what the ideas have been to date together with the outcome. Please keep your Bright Ideas coming through! And thank you for all the great suggestions so far.

Katy Bright Idea Summary Bright Idea 1: Font The standard font of the organization is Arial 12. Arial 12 uses 30% more ink than Times New Roman, Calibri and Verdana. Changing the organizational font would save money and better meet our environmental responsibilities.

This was a great suggestion with great potential for a better use of resource. Arial 12 has been chosen as the default font for all Chwarae Teg materials, both internal and external, as it is deemed to be an accessible font by those that specialize in accessibility.

Based on this Arial will remain the default font for all CT materials because of this reason.

Bright Idea 2: Newspapers Instead of buying newspapers maybe we could access them electronically. Accessing electronic versions would allow us to use only the articles that are relevant.

Another great suggestion. SMT felt that there was a benefit in having hard copy newspapers to allow staff to get away from their desks. Following discussion at SMT, a review of the papers was undertaken by each office.

Anchor Court made a saving of ÂŁ4.00per week on delivery charges which a ÂŁ208.00 is saving a year! The project offices have also reviewed the papers they subscribe to.

Bright Idea 3: Skype Skype should be introduced as a method of communication to reduce cost and increase productivity.

This idea was put forward at a time when Sharon was already in the process of setting up Skype across Chwarae Teg.

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Bright Ideas Update Ctd Bright Idea 4: Post All mail should be sent second class with the exception of urgent mail which should be sent first class. This will result in better use of financial resources.

Sometimes it‘s the little things that make a small difference over time. Sending mail by second class is already the accepted policy, however an email will be sent out to remind all staff.

Bright Idea 5: Clear Desk Policy A clear desk policy should be introduced so that no sensitive information is left out overnight.

Another great suggestion. Following discussion at SMT it was agreed that this should be adhered to wherever possible, but a policy would be unnecessary. All staff have been provided with Data Protection training and are therefore responsible for ensuring that they treat all sensitive information in the correct manner.

Bright Idea 6: Catering Using charities and social enterprise agencies as the first choice when ordering external catering for a meeting.

This was brought to the table during SMT, and it was agreed that it was a sensible idea. However, it will not always be possible if we are dealing with a small organization and give little prior notice. All staff should do their upmost to support charities and local enterprises whilst ensuring cost effectiveness and service delivery.

Bright Idea 7: Cutting down on paper Colleagues should access handouts for meetings by using their laptops.

Again there was a lengthily discussion at SMT. A number of concerns were raised about the practicality of this, especially as not all staff have laptops, and that using laptops during training and meetings may prove to be a distraction. There were also concerns about powering the laptops when the battery runs down.

Instead a variety of other paper-saving methods were suggested which are already used across the organisation;    

Double sided printing 2 handouts per page More use of PowerPoint; email slides after training Sharing handouts

Bright Idea 8: Water Stop using water barrels and drink tap water instead.

This is a great suggestion that could certainly save Chwarae Teg money. SMT looked at the benefits and disadvantages as well as the actual cost of water barrels. However providing quality drinking water to colleagues and visitors is something that SMT feel is important.

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Tash’s Cocktail Corner Classic Margarita

Hedgerow Collins

50ml Tequila

50ml Gin

25ml Grand Marnier

25ml elderflower cordial

Juice of 2 limes

Sugar

Salt

Lemon Juice Handful blueberries

Rim a martini glass with lime wedge then dip in salt.

Shake the Tequila, Grand Marnier and Lime Juice with ice.

Crush the blueberries with the juice of half a lemon and a drizzle of sugar syrup.

Strain into glass.

Add the Gin and elderflower cordial.

Why not try a frozen margarita—add above ingredients to blender with ice and enjoy!

Shake over ice before straining into a tall glass.

Top with soda water.

Elderflower and Pink Grapefruit Cooler

50ml elderflower cordial

Mix the cordial together in a jug and

50ml Pink Grapefruit cordial

add water or soda water depending on

Water/ Soda water to dilute

whether you want a bit of fizz!

Please enjoy these drinks responsibly 17

Announcements A number of people have celebrated their birthday these past months: Heidi Rehwald

Christine O‘Byrne

Cath Bowen

Sally Thomas

Denise Rogers

Cathy Kennedy

Ann Elliot

Laura McKeown

Sharon Ellis-Pope

Dylan Thomas

Carl Williams

Dewi Jones

We welcome a number of new starters over the next month: Anne Williams—Project Development Administrator, Treforest 

Simon Jenkins—Project Development Coordinator, Treforest 

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Andrew Reed—Senior Project Officer, Treforest

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Richard Samuel—Senior Project Officer, Llanelli

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Delyth Phillipps—Senior Project Officer, Colwyn Bay—starting on 14th May.

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Julie Whitehouse—Project Administrator— Llanelli—starting on 8th May.

Congratulations to Emma Richards who is engaged to be married.

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Announcements

A letter of thanks from Jason Cummins:

I would like to thank you for giving me such a great time and showing me how to do the things you do. I haven‘t needed to ask any questions because the information was so clear and easy to understand. Once again thank you for showing me that an office is not boring but a wonderful place to be.

I would like to thank you for teaching me lesson in life and that is that someone will always be there for you. I have learnt a lot in the past week. You have given me introductions to a lot of things you do and I am happy to say that I would like to come back here once I have finished school. I have learnt that Chwarae Teg means fair play and that you are an organisation that helps women reach their full potential and start up their own businesses.

Thank you for your time and being there for me.

I would like to thank all of my colleagues, both Agile Nation and CT Head Office for such a lovely welcome back. I‘ve had a quite a few emails through wishing me a happy return and after almost a year off, it‘s been really lovely!

Gemma Littlejohns

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Poem Our Office

Our office may be very small I‘d say it‘s more compact But the characters within it Are something - that‘s a fact.

Now Dewi‘s not long joined us But is a big part of our band He‘s organised and always there To give a helping hand

There‘s Jane the opera singer And chatter up of men And I wonder if she‘ll mention That sea view once again

There‘s Dylan in the corner So busy at his screens Who‘s found himself a bunk house A haven for his dreams

Now Quita is our trainer The glamour girl of wales Who‘s always there to put us right On days when makeup fails.

Amy is our leader Going ninety miles an hour We don‘t know how she does it Where does she get the power

And then of course there‘s Susie Our very own African queen Her passion and enthusiasm Just really must be seen

And then there‘s me, what can I say I cannot match the rest But as a team I have to say You really are the best Mair Rowlands

Another successful raffle saw Debs win a bottle of red wine and Chris the Chwarae Teg Cardiff City football shirt.

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Easter Fun

Easter Fun Facts The name Easter comes from Eostre, an ancient Anglo-Saxon goddess, originally of the dawn. In pagan times an annual spring festival was held in her honour. 

Easter is now celebrated (in the words of the Book of Common Prayer) on the first Sunday after the full moon which happens on or after March 21, the Spring Equinox. Therefore it can occur on any Sunday from March 22nd through to April 25th. 

In medieval times a festival of egg throwing was held in church, during which the priest would throw a hard-boiled egg to one of the choirboys. It was then tossed from one choirboy to the next and whoever held the egg when the clock struck 12 was the winner and retained the egg.

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Easter Bonnets are a throw back to the days when the people denied themselves the pleasure of wearing finery for the duration of Lent. By tradition, it was obligatory (or at least lucky) for churchgoers to wear some bright new piece of clothing - at least an Easter bonnet, if not a complete new outfit. 

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The custom of giving eggs at Easter time has been traced back to Egyptians, Persians, Gauls, Greeks and Romans, to whom the egg was a symbol of life.

The Guinness Book of Records holder for the largest Easter egg ever made is the Belgian chocolate producer Guylian who made the chocolate egg with at least 50.000 bars on behalf of the city of St. Niklaas. The egg measured 8.32 metres high. Twenty-six craftsmen worked altogether 525 hours to build the egg. They needed 1950 kg of chocolates 

Each year 90 million chocolate bunnies are made and 76% of people prefer to eat the ears first.

Emma Richards

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Easter Fun Chocolate Easter Egg Nests – Kath Chivers—Good for any time of year, not just Easter There are certain foods that I just have to make each Easter for the family and chocolate nests are one of them. It is a quick, easy to make recipe that will certainly keep the kids entertained and look so pretty when they are finished. They can be made with shredded wheat, rice krispes or cornflakes.

Ingredients 50 grams of milk chocolate 50 grams of dark chocolate (or you can use 100 grams of milk chocolate and I tend to use Cadbury‘s for that extra chocolaty taste!!)

3 cups of Rice Krispie, Cornflakes or 5 Shredded Wheat 1 bag of Easter mini eggs (you wont need them all but I‘m sure you‘ll find use for the extras).

Method Put a saucepan with some water in the bottom of it on the stove and bring it to a simmer. Break the chocolate up into bits and place into a glass bowl (the bowl needs to be large enough so that it can sit over the simmering water). Place the bowl onto the saucepan and stir the chocolate until it has melted. Take care not to let the water boil. Once the chocolate is all melted and smooth, carefully remove it from the heat and stir in the cereal.

Line a baking tray and place approx. 15 fairy cake cases in the baking tray.

Spoon the chocolate cereal mixture into each holder making sure that it is divided equally and that you shape them round with dips in the middle. Place a few mini eggs into the dip of each of the nests and set them aside to cool and set. You can put them in the fridge to speed things up.

Enjoy!!!

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Dates for your Diary May—National Smile Month 8 May—Bank Holiday UK 11 May—National Share a story month 18 May—Fruity Friday 19 May—Start of Olympic Torch Relay 21 May—World Day for Cultural Diversity.

23 May—World Turtle Day 5 June— The Queen‘s Diamond Jubilee 8 June—World Ocean Day 17 June—Fathers day 21 June—June Solstice 27 July—12 August—London Olympics

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Last but not least‌.

A big thank you to everyone who has contributed to Enfys.

The next edition of Enfys is scheduled for the September and the final edition of the year will be in December.

Please send you stories, messages, thank yours etc. to Enfys@chwaraeteg.com.

Have a great summer everyone.

Enfys Team

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