Letter to Secretary of State from Cllr Jayne Francis, Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Culture

Please find at this link a letter that was sent to the Secretary of State Gavin Williamson MP from Cllr Jayne Francis earlier today.

The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee additional bank holiday in 2022 - Birmingham Term Dates

You will have no doubt have heard the announcement made confirming that an additional bank holiday has been agreed on Friday 3rd June 2022 in celebration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.  Birmingham schools will already be on their summer half-term holiday on this day. The additional one day holiday will therefore be taken on Friday 22nd July 2022, meaning that the Summer Term 2022 will now end on Thursday 21st July 2022. 

This date will be amended on the BCC website but schools may wish to let their school communities know.

Birmingham Violence Reduction Unit webinars

The West Midlands Violence Reduction Unit is running a series of webinars stemming from its Education Toolkit which launched late last year. The toolkit brings together the expertise of various disciplines across the education sector including Public Health, Educational Psychology, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Early Help. It has been co-produced by a number of Education professionals across the region to improve understanding of trauma and to provide guidance and support on how to help young individuals overcome difficult situations. The webinars will unpack some of the themes explored in the toolkit, with key speakers delivering the sessions listed below:

• Contextual Safeguarding and Exploitation | 5th July 9am – 12pm: http://bit.ly/vruexploitation
• Alternative Provision / PRUs and VRUs | 9th July 10am – 12.30pm: http://bit.ly/VRUAP

More information is available at https://westmidlands-vru.org/education/resources-and-guidance/

Youth Endowment Fund toolkit

The YEF has launched their new Toolkit, which shows what works - and what doesn’t - to reduce youth violence. It is easy to understand, free and online. The tool is there to help police forces, local authorities, youth charities and school leaders and others use the evidence to decide what support to provide to children at risk of involvement in violence. 

Founded in 2019 with a £200 million endowment from the Home Office, the YEF is here to make sure every child gets to live a life free from involvement in violence. 

To access the Youth Endowment Fund’s Toolkit, please visit: www.youthendowmentfund.org.uk/toolkit