Noticeboard

Noticeboard - 27 November 2025

This week's noticeboard includes Sue Harrison's weekly message; Updates on Finance and Equal Pay; a request to Help Shape the future of AI in Birmingham Schools, webinar opportunities and more.

This week's noticeboard includes: 

A Message from Dr Sue Harrison - Executive Director of Children and Families

Dear Colleagues

We’re really looking forward to welcoming school leaders to our webinar next week (4 December). While the session will be recorded, we’d love for as many of you as can make it to join us live. Click here to access the webinar: Webinar for Schools - Thursday, 4 December 2025 13:00-14:00.

We know daily life in schools is incredibly busy, and we truly appreciate everything you do. Surveys may feel like one more thing, but they are vital – they help shape future decisions that benefit everyone. Your input, and your support in sharing our SEND Lived Experience survey’s with children, young people, and families, really makes a difference:

SEND Lived Experience Surveys – closing date 12 December 2025

Our AI in Education survey is equally important. We know that AI is transforming education, and Birmingham schools have a chance to lead the way in using it safely and creatively. Your views really matter, so please take a few minutes to complete our AI in Education survey and consider joining our AI Steering Group launching in January. Full details are in the article below.

I wanted to share an important update from Birmingham City Partnership Board. At the recent meeting on 23 October, partners across the city agreed a  joint statement reaffirming our commitment to moving beyond racism and building a city where everyone feels safe, valued, and respected.

You can read the full statement on the council’s website here: Birmingham City Partnership Board statement - Forward Together for a City Beyond Racism | Birmingham City Council

Our children and young people are growing up in a diverse city. This statement reflects the shared responsibility we all have to promote inclusion and challenge discrimination. Together we can make Birmingham a place where every child feels they belong. Thank you for everything you do to champion equality and inclusion in your school community.

As part of National Care Leavers’ month I was delighted to hand my weekly directorate newsletter over to Jasimine Iqbal, Joint Chair of Birmingham’s Corporate Parenting Board. I’m pleased to share it here: Valuing the Voices of the Next Generation: How you can help!

It’s a powerful reminder of why our role as corporate parents matters, and how we can make a real difference. From challenging stigma to creating opportunities, each of us has a part to play. I’m so proud of our young people, whose inspiring voices are shaping Birmingham’s future.

Thank you and my very best wishes for the weekend ahead.

Sue

Schools Finance Update

Budget Setting Guidance for Maintained Schools 2026/27

For financial year 2026/27, guidance for setting budgets for maintained schools is now available.  It aims to help schools understand and prepare an annual budget or a sequence of budgets to cover a number of years. The guidance includes details of the national funding formula rate for 2026/27. However, the final funding rates will be confirmed once the budgets have been approved in January 2026. Recommended inflationary rates have also been provided and we advise that these are used by maintained schools when setting budgets for 2026/27. Should the inflation rates change, schools will be advised.

The deadline for final budget submission is 31 May 2026, however schools should begin to draft budgets now to ensure they can be discussed in detail with the full Governing Body of the school. If you are a school in deficit, please refer to the deficit recovery procedure for further guidance. All budgets must be submitted in Consistent Financial Reporting (CFR) format to schoolsfinance@birmingham.gov.uk. A three-year CFR budget plan report is available on Access and we request that this report be used for submission. 

Guidance is available here: https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/downloads/file/31094/maintained_schools_budget_setting_guidance_2026-27

If you have any queries or require further assistance, please contact schoolsfinance@birmingham.gov.uk.

Banking with Barclay’s

Online Event - 11 December 10:30-11:15 - 'Tis the Season to Stay Secure

Schools are invited to an upcoming fraud webinar hosted by Barclays. The session will cover key strategies for protecting your school from evolving fraud threats, including real-world phishing techniques, common card fraud types, and practical steps to keep your school secure.

Please register your attendance at this link, and feel free to share with anyone you feel may benefit from attending. (Your Barclay’s contact name is Amy).

Schools' De-delegation Consultation 2026/27

Schools' Forum members for Primary maintained schools and Secondary maintained schools must as set out in The Schools Forums (England) Regulations 2012 decide separately for each phase whether the service should be provided centrally. 

The decision will apply to all maintained mainstream schools in that phase. The responses received from this consultation will be used by School's Forum to inform their decision on the de-delegation of each service. The consultation can be found here: Schools' De-Delegation Consultation 2026/27 – Fill in form

The consultation will end at 5pm on 19 December 2025. If you have any queries regarding this consultation, please contact SchoolsFinance@Birmingham.gov.uk.

Deficit Recovery Procedure

Schools with a deficit of more than 5% of their Section 251 budget are required to complete and submit a robust deficit recovery plan (DRP), with a view to clearing the deficit within three full financial years. Please refer to the links below which outline the procedure for schools who fall under this category, as well as the role and responsibilities of schools and the DRP template to be completed. Please complete and return the DRP to SchoolsFinance@birmingham.gov.uk. Thank you! 

Mainstream Schools and Academies Split Site Funding 2026/27

The split site factor was introduced in 2024/25 and is compulsory for all local authorities, ensuring that split sites funding will be allocated consistently and fairly across the country.

The basic eligibility criteria for split sites funding requires additional sites to:

  • Be part of the main school, that is, to share the same unique reference number (URN) with the school’s main site.
  • Be separated from the school’s main site by a public road or railway.
  • Have a building on them which is maintained by the school, and which is primarily used for the education of 5 to 16- year-old pupils in mainstream education. This excludes playing fields, ancillary buildings and buildings leased out full time by the school to another entity.

Funding for the distance element should be allocated through a tapered approach, beginning at 100 metres, with allocations increasing linearly up to 500 metres, from which point schools should receive the total maximum funding allowed.

The number of additional sites that schools can receive funding for should be capped at three per school. If a school has more than three additional sites, the distance funding should be calculated based on those that are furthest away from the main site.

To enable the local authority to calculate split site funding as part of the 2026/27 schools budget setting process, we require all mainstream schools and academies to complete the split site data collection template – Maintained school and academy split site funding 2026 to 2027 | Birmingham City Council and return to SchoolsFinance@Birmingham.gov.uk no later than 12 December 2025.

If you have previously contacted us about a school with a split site, then unless that specific school’s circumstances have changed, you do not need to provide this data again.

You can view the DfE held list of schools eligible for split site funding: Schools block national funding formula: split sites funding - GOV.UK

You should complete the form if:

  • There is a new/not previously submitted split site that should be eligible for funding but is not included in the split sites funding spreadsheet.
  • The circumstances of a previously submitted split site has now changed, such as there are fewer sites than it did for 2025/26 funding allocations, or it has ceased to be a split site school.

Schools in Deficit - Monthly Monitoring Returns and Three-Year Forecast Update

We fully appreciate that schools have a lot to manage at the moment, particularly with the ongoing equal pay work. For this reason, Schools Finance has taken the decision to remove the mandatory requirements for deficit schools to provide monthly monitoring reports to the Council and for all schools to submit their three-year forecast by 31 December for this financial year only. However, if you would still like to share your monitoring or forecasts with us, we would be more than happy to receive them, as they help us understand your current position.

Thank you for your continued support and engagement. 

Equal Pay Programme Update

Pay and Grading Implementation

Confirmation Return

Please complete the Microsoft form to let us know when you have implemented reshaped pay and grading: Pay and Grading Completion Response – Fill in form

If you have any queries or would like further support to implement the reshaped pay and grading structure, please contact eppschools@birmingham.gov.uk

Thank you in advance for your support with this at what we know is an immensely busy time for schools.

Pay and Grading Grant Funding

We are preparing communication about the process for BCC pay and grading grant funding to ensure this is managed in a timely fashion.

Details will be issued next week.

JDPS Review

Thank you to colleagues working through JDPS Review fort Batch 1 Administration & Finance roles.

Further regular updates will be sent to you directly from EPPschools@birmingham.gov.uk, including a link to surgery slots from next week.

Bring it on Brum! is back for Winter 2025!

Exciting programme of FREE holiday clubs for children and young people aged 4-16 eligible for benefits-related free school meals

These clubs are available throughout the Winter holidays, from Monday 22 December to Friday 2 January 2026 (excluding weekends and Bank Holidays), and are open to those eligible for benefits-related free school meals. Bookings will open on Monday 1 December 2025 via the Bring it on Brum! website at www.bringitonbrum.co.uk.

Schools have been provided full details, via a separate email, including documentation on:

  • Parent/Carer letter template
  • Bring it on Brum Code by School
  • Mail merge guidance
  • Digital Poster

For any questions about the distribution of information to parents and carers, please contact SchoolCensus@birmingham.gov.uk.

For general enquiries about the Holiday Activities Programme, please email Birminghamholidayactivities@streetgames.org.

Help Shape the Future of AI in Birmingham Schools

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming education – from streamlining school operations to enhancing teaching and learning. Birmingham schools have a unique opportunity to lead the way in using AI safely, effectively and creatively.

We want to hear from you. By sharing your experiences and ideas, you’ll help shape a city-wide approach that supports every school and every learner. Your voice matters – whether you’re already using AI or just starting to explore its potential.

To make this happen, Birmingham City Council is launching an AI Steering Group. This group will coordinate support, share best practice and ensure AI is used responsibly across our schools.

Take Part in Our Survey

To shape the agenda for our first meeting in January 2026, we’re inviting all schools to complete a short survey: Birmingham Schools – AI in Education Survey

Closing date: Friday 19 December 2025

What is the survey about?

  • Operational use – how AI supports school management and administration
  • Curriculum use – teaching, learning and employability

Who should complete it?

The survey is aimed at senior leadership. Headteachers may delegate completion to the most relevant colleagues, such as:

  • DSL or safeguarding lead
  • Digital or IT lead
  • Curriculum or CPD lead

Why take part?

Your feedback will directly inform Birmingham’s shared plan for AI in education, ensuring it reflects the needs and priorities of our schools.

If you’d like more information about the steering group, want to get involved, or have a question about the survey, please contact: AIEducation@birmingham.gov.uk

Thank you for helping us build a collaborative, school-led approach to AI in education.

Educational Psychology Traded Services Delivery 2026/27 – New Ways of Working 

The Educational Psychology Service has been reviewing its traded service delivery to schools and would like to share our thoughts and proposals for new ways of working for the upcoming traded year (2026/27), starting April 2026.

We are hosting webinars to provide an overview of these changes and what they mean for you. Please do attend to find out more – simply click on the appropriate link below to join the session. We very much look forward to seeing you.

Webinar dates:

Healthy Schools Lunch & Learn: 24/7 Mental Health Support Text Service in Birmingham & Solihull

Date and time: Wednesday, 3 December 2025 at 12:30

This is a Mental Health Innovations information session on Shout’s 24/7 clinically led text service. The Shout clinical model can be accessed by anyone in Birmingham & Solihull by texting ‘SPACE’ to 85258 where support will be provided by a mental health professional. The service is off-bill, anonymous and free to text from all major UK phone networks. It is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year.

The session will cover:

  • Who Mental Health Innovations (MHI) and Shout are
  • The clinical model, how it works and how it relates to Birmingham & Solihull
  • How school-based staff can help promote the mental health support text service
  • Q&A.

Register for the webinar here: 24/7 Mental Health Support Text Service in Birmingham & Solihull

For queries or further information please contact: healthyschools@birmingham.gov.uk

Free Birmingham Healthy Schools Framework

The free framework for the Birmingham Healthy Schools Approach is now available to schools!

The framework supports your school to create a culture that promotes health and wellbeing for pupils and staff. It focuses on seven areas: staff wellbeing, pupil voice, parental engagement, social-emotional and mental health, physical activity, food and nutrition, and PSHE. You can use the Healthy Schools Framework to self-assess your school, identifying its strengths and areas for improvement. You can then use the resources and action plan template to work towards being a healthier school. The aim is to foster lifelong healthy habits, improve attendance, and enhance school culture.

To access the framework, complete an Expression of Interest form here: Birmingham Healthy Schools Approach - Expression of Interest.

Access to the framework is on a first come, first served basis – sign up today! Participation is flexible and schools regularly participating in the Healthy Schools Approach can use the programme logo. More information can be found in the Birmingham Healthy Schools Information Pack.

Not ready to sign up? You can still use the online resource hub and email HealthySchools@birmingham.gov.uk to receive our newsletter and information about our free Lunch and Learn webinars.

To unlock the full benefits, sign up today!

Free Air Quality Monitors for Schools – Apply by 31 March 2026

We’re offering Birmingham schools the chance to receive a free air quality monitor, supplied by EarthSense, as part of the updated Schools’ Air Quality Monitoring Programme.

What’s included?

  • A free air quality monitor with real-time data access
  • Training webinars on using the data dashboard effectively
  • Classroom resources: lesson plans, activities, and educational materials
  • Tools to compare air quality data with other Birmingham schools

Why is this important?

Poor air quality is the biggest environmental risk to public health, and children are especially vulnerable—particularly at the school gate. By joining this programme, you’ll help tackle air pollution and support sustainability initiatives such as:

  • Physical activity and active travel
  • Modeshift STARS accreditation
  • Anti-idling campaigns
  • Climate change education

How to apply:

Email SchoolsAQMonitors@birmingham.gov.uk with your name, school, and job title. We’ll be in touch to arrange installation.

Need more info?

Mental Health and Relationships Transition Study

FAO: Staff at all-through and secondary schools and colleges  

Schools and colleges are invited to take part in new research exploring how family and friend relationships impact young people’s mental health as they transition beyond year 13.

Launching in February 2026, and aligned with the Breathe Wellbeing Annual Census, the research invites input from young people (aged 17 to 18 in Year 13/their final year at school or college) and their parents/carers, aiming to capture diverse voices and experiences during this key life transition.

School/college involvement is vital in helping shape future support for young people and families. Together we hope to build a clearer picture of what young people need as they take their next steps.

To find out more or to sign up to the study, please email Denisse Levermore (Post Graduate Researcher) at denisse.levermore@warwick.ac.uk.

This entry was posted by Dawn Evans on 25/11/2025.

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