Sleep in the Park.
A Mass Sleepout to End Homelessness in Scotland. For Good. 
Depute Provost, Andy Forrest and Stuart Baxter, Area Manager, Musselburgh Area Partnership are taking part in Sleep in the Park in Princes Street Gardens on the 9th of December for the world's largest ever sleepout.
It’s hoped around 9,000 people will be taking part to raise funds and awareness of homelessness in Scotland.
Andy and Stuart will be part of the Capital Credit Union team of 6 signed up to support Social Bite raise £500,000 to help homeless people all over Scotland.
A small donation to their fundraising activities would be greatly appreciated. Check out https://www.sleepinthepark.co.uk/our-plan for more information on how your donation can help.
Andy said: “We have calculated that if all our contacts at Capital Credit Union donated just £5 - £10 each, we would smash our target.”
To donate to this excellent cause, please visit;
https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Team/capital-credit-union
Pancreatic Cancer fundraising
Janet Fairnie, Assistant Registrar based at Brunton Hall, sadly lost her husband last year to pancreatic cancer. It's currently the 5th most common cause of cancer death in the UK and almost 10,000 people are newly diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year. 
Some of Janet's colleagues have been involved in fundraising initiatives for Pancreatic Cancer Scotland and recently presented a number of cheques to the charity.
Janet said: "The support I have received from colleagues and friends has been overwhelming. My friend and ex-council colleague, Jean Russell organised an Afternoon Tea which raised £1800, Pearl Lane, a colleague at EL Works raised a further £700 through a sponsored cycle event 'Pedal for Scotland' and Carol Anne Darling, a fellow registrar at the Brunton Hall donated £100 from a fundraising event held by her lady's guild at St Martin's Church, Tranent.
"Pancreatic cancer is a particularly horrible disease but research continues to help with new treatments and I am grateful for the donations raised in my husband's memory."
More information available online.
Education Services celebrates Professional Learning
On Friday 17 November, eight teachers were presented with Professional Learning certificates at a special event held at John Muir House.
The participants – who had taken part in the Education Service’s First Steps Into Leadership, Next Steps Into Leadership or Coaching For Success programmes – came together with their mentors to celebrate the professional learning they had undertaken over the past academic year. Before the meeting each participant was given a series of five questions that asked them to reflect on the impact that their learning has had, before they discussed in small groups how this has informed their practice.
Sandra Banks, who took part in the First Steps into Leadership programme, said “This course has enabled me to examine theories and models of leadership, all within a supportive and collaborative environment. Reflecting upon this, and implementing what I have learned by leading a project and working towards the GTCS Standards for Leadership and Management, as well as exploring East Lothian’s Education Leadership Framework, has all made me a much more assured and informed leader.”
Those who participate in the Coaching For Success programme have the option to apply for Professional Recognition, which is set at masters level, from the General Teaching Council of Scotland (GTCS). Charli Prime, who has gained this recognition, said “Coaching For Success has given me the opportunity to refresh my confidence as a coach, but the most essential skill I developed is being effective at active listening. This is essential for leading a growing team and building trust with young people that have autism or other additional support needs.”
Sean Stitt, who took part in the Next Steps Into Leadership programme, added “It was really enlightening being able to network with others and discuss how our school improvement projects have had an impact. Being able to identify and recognise where our leadership projects align with local and national priorities was also very informative.”
David Scott, Quality Improvement Officer, shared his thoughts on the afternoon: “Today we saw the participants asking critical questions about themselves and how they would apply their learning in their future work. This is professional learning in action, and shows how effective leadership can enhance learning and teaching. I was really struck by the enthusiasm and passion that all these participants had to make a difference to the children and young people of East Lothian.”
For more information on these training courses for Education Services staff, contact Margo Cunningham, Training and Development Officer on 01620 828767 or mcunningham@eastlothian.gov.uk
Graduates improving customer service council-wide
The annual Customer Service Professional Qualifications (CSPQ) graduation ceremony was held at Penston House to celebrate the success of 22 graduates over the last 12 months. 
This has been a particularly successful year for CSPQ in East Lothian as we reached our 100th graduate in August and Stuart Fynan (Contact Centre) won the CSPQ national Candidate of the Year.
Councillor Jim Goodfellow led the tributes saying that CSPQ has come a long way since it was launched in 2008 and the impact this has had on Customer Service. He said: “CSPQ has encouraged staff to improve service for our customers. We can now build on this success and continually improve and encourage others by promoting CSPQ and promoting excellent customer service.”
Depute Chief Executive Monica Patterson said: “ELC is seen by other councils as an exemplar for CSPQ and we are in the top three councils for having the most graduates."
We have:
- 5% of all graduates at Award level
- 11% of graduates at Certificate level
- 18% of graduates at PDA level”
She then acknowledged Stuart Fynan’s achievement of becoming national Candidate of the Year 2017 and Sam Fleming (Customer Services) who was the 100th graduate. Both graduates explained how the qualification had helped them. Stuart stated that he felt much better equipped to deal with difficult calls and mentoring newer members of staff. Sam described how she had learned different skills through the qualification and how she had managed to put them into practice.
Angela Leitch summed up by outlining the importance of development to the council and the impact CSPQ was having, particularly when dealing with customers who have very complex needs.