Isle of Wight Council staff and services have received national recognition after being shortlisted in this year’s Municipal Journal Achievement Awards.
The council has been shortlisted for two awards — Digital Transformation and Senior Leadership Team — and commended in a further two categories — Innovation in Children’s Services and Workforce Transformation.
The accolades showcase the very best in people, projects and practice across the local government arena.
Metcalfe: Our staff are passionate about being positive
John Metcalfe, Isle of Wight council chief executive, said:
“I am thrilled that some of the innovative approaches we have taken to improving services for our Island community have been recognised as examples of best practice by our peers and worthy of consideration for commendations and awards.
“Our staff are passionate about being positive, forward looking and most of all responsive to our Island’s needs. The council’s senior management team leads by example and has worked hard to create an environment in which staff can be bold, ambitious and achieve great things. I am proud to lead a team that does just that every day.
“It is also important to recognise the input of the whole council to this recognition; especially the leader and the Cabinet who have worked so hard with officers to be clear about and invest in their vision for the Island and the council.”
The winners will be announced at a virtual awards ceremony set to take place in October.
Digital transformation — Adult Social Care Prepaid Card System (PCS)
The development of a prepaid card system to manage direct payments to service users responsible for their own care in the community has saved the council more than £5 million over 24 months.
The system, adopted by 99 per cent of service users, has transformed the department’s service provision and been recommended as a system all authorities should use, as well as being endorsed by Mastercard.
Senior leadership team
The corporate management team is committed to the council’s vision for the Isle of Wight to be ‘an inspiring place in which to grow up, work, live and visit’.
They work as a single unit with a focus on doing the right things for the Island and its people while shining a light on what good and great can look like and raising aspirations for their staff.
Innovation in Children’s Services
Primary school pupils had been under performing in maths with the percentage of children reaching ARE (Age Related Expectations) in reading, writing and maths ten per cent below the national average in 2018.
To tackle this, the council devised an innovative maths improvement project which resulted in a 12 per cent leap in Year 6 maths results among the 20 participating schools, and an eight per cent improvement across the Island as a whole.
Workforce Transformation
The relocation of 180 Adult Social Care service staff to County Hall became the catalyst for one of the most successful workforce transformations in the council’s history.
The project revolutionised the council’s ICT and digital communications and brought a new agile way of working with staff allowed to work from home or from other council offices across the Island.
News shared by Isle of Wight council press office. Ed
