Noticeboard - 27 March 2025

This week's Noticeboard contains a message from Dr Sue Harrison, important updates for the Oracle Transition and the Equal Pay Programmes; arrangements for Primary Offer Day and more.

This week's updates include: 

Message from Dr Sue Harrison, Strategic Director of Children and Families

Dear colleagues

I’m delighted to share news about our new Birmingham Families First initiative this week. Our strapline, “In Birmingham, we bring our services together in local communities to put Families First,” perfectly captures our commitment to prioritising families in everything we do.

We’ve already made some progress in improving services for children, young people and families across Birmingham. But there’s more that we can do.

As a partnership, we are committed to working together to deliver the best outcomes for children, young people, and their families. Birmingham Families First is our 5-year transformation vision to help achieve this.

Birmingham Families First aims to:

  1. Enable children, young people and families to access the support they need earlier and more effectively, in the local communities where they live.
  2. Bring our services together so we can share our skills and experience and deliver more seamless services designed with and around families.
  3. Make better use of technology to support our teams in their work across Birmingham.

To deliver this vision, transformation is happening in Birmingham Children's Trust, Birmingham City Council's Children and Families, Birmingham City Community Healthcare NHS Trust, and Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Learning Disability and Autism Provider Collaborative, in collaboration with schools, voluntary sector and other partners across the city.

What will really make the difference for children, young people and families is for our teams to deliver our services together in local communities.

We are already trialling this approach in Hodge Hill where we are:

  • Bringing teams together in Hodge Hill so that we can see how closer working with partners like schools, GPs, voluntary organisations, police, community & mental health services can improve outcomes for children and families
  • Introducing a new approach where families continue to work with the same professional as they access different levels of support

Our work in Hodge Hill is just the beginning. Our ambition is to take the successful changes and lessons learnt from Hodge Hill and introduce this new way of working across all ten districts in Birmingham, tailored to reflect the needs of each area.

I’ll look forward to sharing more information with schools as work progresses.

In the meantime, thank you, as always, for your dedication and commitment to our children, young people and families.

With my very best wishes for an enjoyable weekend.

Sue

Oracle Transition for Schools

Updates

For any queries or further information please contact the team at oracleschoolsrelationship@birmingham.gov.uk and they will be pleased to assist.

Thank you for your ongoing support. 

Equal Pay Programme

For the attention of Heads and Business Managers in BCC Maintained Community Schools, Voluntary Controlled Schools and City of Birmingham School*

Dear Colleagues

I am delighted to be working back at Birmingham City Council as Schools Lead for the Equal Pay Programme. I appreciate that many of you are keen to understand next steps and the implications for schools. I am currently reviewing plans and will share further details before the Easter break. This will include updates on the introduction of the reshaped Pay and Grading structure for schools where BCC is the employer, along with an update on the Job Evaluation process to be carried out for all NJC posts in those schools*.

For now, we have created links directly from the Schools Noticeboard web page to existing information about the Equal Pay Programme, Pay & Grading, Job Evaluation and Equal Pay Settlement.

Future communication and updates will be shared via the School Noticeboard and via Headteacher Forums and consortia / networks.

If you have any further queries around the Equal Pay Programme, please do not hesitate to contact the team on EPPSchools@birmingham.gov.uk. 

For staff queries on Equal Pay Claims please advise your staff members to contact their legal or trade union representative.

I look forward to working with you over the coming months

Emma Leaman - Equal Pay Programme Schools Lead

Equal Pay Programme Updates

Please follow the links below to see the latest Equal Pay Programme updates. 

Arrangements for Primary Offer Day – 16 April 2025

With Primary Offer Day fast approaching, please see update on the arrangements for the day.

Schools will be able to download their allocation reports via the Schools’ Portal from 00:01 am on 16 April 2025.

Offer emails will be sent on 16 April 2025 and we expect that parent/carers will receive their emails by 4pm - the exact time will depend on their email service provider. Parent/carers will also receive their child’s offer by letter from 16 April.

To support parent/carers, a Newsletter with key information will be sent to all on-time applicants the week commencing 7 April 2025. This information will also be available on our website and shared on social media.

Waiting lists will not be made available until 7 May 2025. This is to allow families time to consider offers made and submit any refusals to the local authority by the deadline of 30 April 2025, the outcome of which will be more robust waiting lists. The deadline for appeals which are subject to infant class size legislation is 2 June 2025. Appeals received after this date will be classed as late and may not be heard before the start of September 2025.

Parents who have applied for schools outside of Birmingham should make enquiries with the relevant local authority regarding the operation of waiting lists and their process for submitting appeals.

Late applications received after the final closing date will be processed in date order. If you are aware of any families who have not submitted an application for their child to start reception class in September, please advise them to apply online as a matter of urgency by visiting  www.birmingham.gov.uk/schooladmissions

Reminder – offers for normal rounds of Admission

Birmingham City Council operates a co-ordinated admissions scheme Determined scheme for the coordinated admissions to schools and academies 2025 to 2026 | Birmingham City Council in line with the School Admissions Code (2021). This means all applications and refusals for the four transfer rounds must be made through the local authority until the start of term. Any offers that are made outside of the scheme will be retracted in line with the School Admissions Code (2021). Where there are repeated instances of non-compliance, a referral will be made to the relevant body for further action. Thank you for your continued support, and if you have any further queries, then please do not hesitate to email admissions@birmingham.gov.uk

School Term Dates

After thorough consultation with various stakeholders, including Headteachers, MAT CEOs, school staff, and trade unions, we have decided not to alter the structure of the school year at this time. This decision aligns with those made by our neighbouring local authorities.

We greatly appreciate the feedback and contributions from everyone involved in this process. Your insights and perspectives have been invaluable in helping us make an informed decision that best supports our schools, pupils, and staff.

While we have chosen to maintain the current structure for now, we remain committed to exploring opportunities for improvement. We are open to collaborating with other Local Authorities (LAs) in the future to ensure we continue to provide the best possible environment for education and growth.

Thank you once again for your engagement and support. Together, we can achieve great things for our community.

Should you have any queries or require further information, please don’t hesitate to contact the team at school.support@birmingham.gov.uk

Education Infrastructure: Traded Service Offer for 2025/26

We are pleased to announce the publication of our new Traded Service Offer for 2025/26, providing a comprehensive range of advice and support on property-related matters for schools, academies, and early years settings.

Find out more: Education Infrastructure | Birmingham Education Support Services

Download our latest offer: Education Infrastructure Traded Offer 2025/26

Key Updates:

  • The annual charge has been reviewed and simplified to a single option. Subscribers can add additional services at a discounted rate.
  • Existing subscriptions will be automatically renewed from 1 April 2025.
  • New subscribers can register now.
  • To unsubscribe, please notify us by 14 April 2025. Charges may apply for late notifications.
  • Invoices will be issued from 1 May 2025 onwards.

Submit your subscription response here: Education Infrastructure's traded service 2025/26 - Subscription request

We look forward to supporting you in your estate management over the coming year.

Contact: edsi.enquiries@birmingham.gov.uk

Calling all Secondary Schools! Can you help with focus groups for a Birmingham Youth Strategy?

At Birmingham City Council, we are developing a Youth Strategy for Birmingham, seeking to improve outcomes for young people aged 13-25 years. We want the Strategy to be driven by young people, focused from the outset on what they tell us matters most to them.

April 2025 is our ‘Youth Strategy Month of Action’! Over the month (before and after the Easter holidays) we want to hold focus group discussions with 13-18-year-olds about life as a young person in Birmingham and their strengths, priorities and concerns. We would like to chat to 5-10 of your pupils, ideally for anywhere between 30-60 minutes, but we can be flexible to suit your requirements. All points raised in discussions will be anonymous and not traced to individual schools when written up in the Strategy. We will provide a certificate in recognition of your setting’s participation in this important work.

If you think your setting could contribute, or if you have any queries, please contact Sandhya Santharam at sandhya.santharam@birmingham.gov.uk as soon as possible, and by no later than Friday 11th April, so that we can give you more information and get things arranged.

Thanks in advance! This is a fantastic opportunity for your young people to have their voices heard, and to meaningfully contribute to a vital Strategy to improve the lives of all young people in Birmingham.

Birmingham SENCo Noticeboard

The next half termly update for all SENCos and SEND leads across the sector has been issued today, sharing messages and information around SEND as part of our improved SEND communication framework SENCO noticeboard. Previous issues of the SENCO Noticeboard can also be found at this link.

If your SENCo/SEND lead has not received an email alert from the Local Offer taking them to the SENCo Noticeboard, then please get in touch with Heather Wood heather.wood@birmingham.gov.uk to make sure they are added to the circulation list.

Early Education Entitlement

2 Year Funded Place

2 year old children from families who have no recourse to public funds (NRPF) may be eligible to access a EEE place. As these are some of our most vulnerable children we really need your help to make sure these children can access their funded childcare place as soon as possible - the earliest they can start is the term after their 2nd birthday.

Parents who have a status of ‘no recourse to public funds’ cannot claim any benefits, so will not be eligible for 2 year funding via the universal credit route or other benefit route. These parents may be receiving support under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989, they may be asylum seekers, they may be here on work or student visas, or may have no immigration status.

If a family, or a professional supporting a family, approaches you for a childcare place these are the things you should do. Firstly, if the parent hasn’t already tried to get a code please help them to complete the on-line application. The eligibility application will say that the parent is not eligible because the parent will not show up in the benefits system, so then you will need to do the following:

  • There are NRPF guides on EYMIS - please read them
  • Ask the parent or professional to show you evidence that they have ‘No recourse to public funds’ – this could be a Biometric Residence Permit (card) or a letter from a Social Worker supporting the family.
  • You will need to make sure that the family does not exceed the financial threshold - £26,500 for families with one child or £30,600 for families with two or more children and they must not have savings or investments that exceed £16,000.
  • There is an application form that needs completing (on EYMIS) and you should complete this with the parent – please don’t send them away with the form as some parents may not understand what to do. You keep this form on file for when we audit you.
  • Once you have confirmed that they have NRPF and have not exceeded the financial threshold you can email us with their code and confirm they meet NRPF criteria and we will update the code to eligible.
  • You can either then add the child to your headcount claim or if they have never accessed a funded place before and headcount has passed you can submit a flexible funding request arranging for them to start asap.
  • You will need to complete a parent declaration form as you do for all funded children

If in doubt please contact us and we can advise you - earlyeducation@birmingham.gov.uk

Free School Meal Claims

FSM is now available for eligible 2 year olds attending in line with the terms and conditions.

Do you claim Free School meals for eligible early years 2, 3 and 4 year olds?

In order to claim Free School meals for eligible 2, 3 and 4 year olds you must be delivering their funded place in line with the terms and conditions of funding which state:

To access a FSM the child must be attending their EEE funded entitlement for a minimum of 5 hours during core hours (9am to 3pm), and parents/carers must be in receipt of specific benefits.

You must complete an eligibility check so that you have an eligibility code. Please note that the checker cannot always confirm that the child is eligible, so in this instance of the parent believes that they are eligible you should view evidence of eligibility and contact us to let us know - we can then override the code to eligible.

Eligibility checks can be completed here: https://www.cloudforedu.org.uk/oefe/birmingham/provider

You can do them on behalf of the parent with their permission.

Apprenticeship Development Opportunities

The Early Careers team at Birmingham City Council are eager to work with schools offering training, development and hiring opportunities via apprenticeships.

We aim to ensure that our workforce has the right knowledge, skills and behaviours ready for the future.

As an employer we pay 0.5% of our annual wage bill into an apprenticeship levy. This Levy can only be used to provide training through apprenticeship standards. We have the opportunity to use the funds to support training and development of all staff or provide opportunities for new hires.

We have a large number of procured training providers who are delivering apprenticeships aimed at school staff or schools looking for new staff. These include the below apprenticeships and many more:

  • Early Years Practitioner Level 2
  • Cleaning Operative Level 2
  • Teaching Assistant Level 3
  • Human Resources Support Level 3
  • Operations Management Level 5
  • Teacher (Degree) Level 6

Anyone can complete an apprenticeship and the training costs are covered by the apprenticeship levy, there are also additional grants available for new teaching staff.

We want to meet and discuss the best options for you and your school. If you are interested in finding out more, please get in touch with us at earlycareers@birmingham.gov.uk

Healthy Schools Lunch & Learn - Vaping information sessions

The Birmingham Healthy Schools Lunch & Learn series are online information/training sessions, around 20 minutes long, aimed at school staff.

We have two upcoming sessions about Vaping, children & young people: an information session for schools. They will take place on Wednesday 2nd April at  4pm and Thursday 3rd April at12.30pm. Both sessions will cover the same content, so please join the one that is most convenient for you. They are available to all school staff interested in the health and wellbeing of their students.

During each session, staff from the Aquarius Young People's Substance Use team will cover the following:

  • Information & advice - Discover what's inside a vape, how to spot an illicit vape and emerging local trends in vaping.
  • Accidental overdose - Learn about how to respond to a possible spice spiked vaping ingestion in school.
  • What’s next & questions - Find out about indicators of further substance use, how to access support from Aquarius and ask any questions.

To register for a session, follow the link below:

Improving Children’s Healthy Eating in Primary Schools

FAO: All primary school staff, including teachers, teaching assistants, and lunchtime supervisors

Your Chance to get Involved!

The University of Birmingham, Aston University and the Food System Team at Birmingham City Council are running a project that explores strategies to improve children’s healthy eating in primary schools. The project team are looking to gain insight from school staff to create recommendations and future actions.

How to take part:

Primary school staff are invited to take part in two focus groups. The first group will capture your ideas and challenges schools experience around healthy eating. In the second group, you will get to feedback on solutions the project team develop. Further details are below:

Who can get involved? Primary school staff, such as teachers, teaching assistants, and lunchtime supervisors.

Where will the focus groups take place? Water Mill Primary School, Selly Oak, B29 6TS

When will the focus groups be? The first group will be on 9th April from 4pm - 5.30pm and the second group will be on 19th May from 4pm - 5:30pm.

Everyone who attends will receive £25 after each focus group to thank you for your time and you can also claim reasonable travel expenses. Light refreshments will be provided.

If you’re interested in taking part, please contact Katie Edwards (project lead) at k.l.edwards@bham.ac.uk.

Peaceful Leadership Course for Secondary Schools

Bursaries available to fully-fund this 10 week course

This 10 week-course is designed for voluntary participation by students in Year groups 10 to 13. Delivered through 60-90 minute after-school sessions over the Autumn term, the course culminates in a student-led project to share their learning with the school community.

Participants will develop essential peacebuilding skills, including emotional literacy, conflict exploration, creative conflict resolution, critical thinking, cooperation, and group work. They will also recognise their hidden strengths, have their voices heard in society, and model 'peace as a way of being' to their peers. The training includes a mix of theory, discussion, skills practice, action planning, and small group work.

Year 12 participants have shared positive feedback: "It provided fresh air to the stress we go through due to A Levels," "I enjoyed the interactive nature of the course and how we could form groups to voice our opinions. I also enjoyed the games we played," and "I found it really engaging as they made conversation with us instead of just speaking at us."

For queries or further information please contact: Libbs@peacemakers.org.uk or phone 0121 236 4796. 

Celebrate Maths in Preparation for Square Root Day

Free online workshops for upper primary classes

Primary schools across the UK are invited to prepare for Square Root Day, the very special mathematical day which only occurs nine times each century.

Join mathematical super star Nira Chamberlain OBE live on Zoom to find out all about it. Take part as he guides your class through a series of fun mathematical challenges designed to inspire, excite and prepare students for the upcoming Square Root Day on 5 May 2025!

During these 50 minute digital events, your class will:

  • Discover what square root day is all about
  • Take part in fun square root challenges (only pencils and paper required) – linked to the Lower and Upper KS2 Maths Curriculum
  • Hear about Nira’s incredible career in maths
  • Have the opportunity to ask their questions
  • Learn from other young people across the UK as you take part together

To book a free place for your class please follow the appropriate link below:

For more information visit https://www.big-ideas.org/live-projects/my-first-love-maths/ or email maths@big-ideas.org

My First Love: Maths is partnership between Big Ideas and Royal Air Force Youth & STEM

Free Health & Safety Training Webinar – 7th May 2025 

Menopause Awareness

The focus of this webinar is to raise awareness about the menopause.

Everyone's experience of menopause is unique with everyone experiencing differing symptoms, in differing severity, having different medical histories and differing views or philosophies about how their symptoms should be managed.

For those experiencing symptoms, the aim is to help identify what's right for them, and for those providing support or workplace management, the aim is to provide knowledge and understanding around the menopause, where to signpost for help and how to offer effective management support. 

As a manager or supervisor supporting those experiencing menopause is crucial. Offering support to colleagues with menopausal symptoms that are impacting on their work will help to improve team morale, retain valuable skills and talent, and reduce sickness absence.

The session’s will be approximately 1 hour long.

Covering the following key areas:

  • Why we need to talk about menopause
  • What menopause is, why it happens and when
  • Signs and symptoms
  • Managing menopause
  • Discussion points …
  • Where more information is available
  • Summary

Dates: Wednesday 7th May  - 15:00-16:00hrs - Click here to register

This event is free but anyone wishing to attend will need click and register. General Enquiries please Email: schoolsafety@birmingham.gov.uk

Reflections Training Academy and Next Level Training

Join Reflections for their Open Day on Thursday, 17 April 2025

  • Next Level Training – 10:00hrs: book by calling 07717 376 008
  • Reflections Training Academy – 13:00hrs: book by calling 0121 643 2147

Discover exciting opportunities in Hairdressing, and Barbering.

Tour the facilities, meet expert tutors, and find out how Reflections can kickstart your career!

For further information visit: www.reflectionstraining.co.uk/

This entry was posted by Jaspal Shambi on 21/03/2025.