Noticeboard

Noticeboard - 28 November 2024

This week's Noticeboard contains a message from Dr Sue Harrison, the Oracle Transition for Schools Update; information on the Birmingham Healthy Schools Lunch and Learn Sessions, Early Education Entitlement, and more.

This week's noticeboard includes: 

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

Dear colleagues

As we near the end of another busy week in schools, I’m sure you’ll all be looking forward to a well-deserved weekend.

The latest Oracle Transition for Schools update is now available: Oracle transition for schools, updates, questions and answers. Please take the time to review this update, as it contains important information on the three key areas affecting schools:

  • Conversion to full chequebook status
  • Procurement of new HR and Payroll Providers
  • The future of Schools Financial Services

The team remains on standby to support you. Any queries can be directed to oracleschoolsrelationship@birmingham.gov.uk.

On Wednesday, I chaired our inaugural Education Board meeting, a pivotal step towards fostering continuous improvement and innovation in our education system. The meeting was exceptionally well attended, and I’m immensely grateful to colleagues who dedicated their valuable time to participate. We successfully agreed on the crucial Terms of Reference, ensuring everyone is aligned with the meeting's ethos and purpose. Additionally, we shared our vision for Birmingham and outlined our next steps. I very much look forward to keeping you updated as we progress and am sure this is the beginning of a transformative journey for our education system. We will be sharing the agendas, papers and notes of the meeting with you in the near future. Together, we can achieve great things for the future of education in Birmingham.

As part of the Winter Bring it on Brum! programme, families have the opportunity to request a winter food box. These food boxes complement the face-to-face holiday activity clubs, which can be booked on the Bring it on Brum! website. Please remind our most vulnerable families that bookings for the programme open this Monday, 2 December 2024. The food boxes will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis, with one box per eligible household. For further information or queries regarding the Bring it on Brum! programme, please contact the team at Birminghamholidayactivities@streetgames.org.

Let's ensure every eligible family benefits from this fantastic programme by spreading the word and encouraging families to register early to avoid disappointment!

The Healthy Schools Lunch and Learn sessions organised by Public Health colleagues are proving popular, offering perfectly timed 30-minute briefings on a variety of topics. These sessions also include a short Q&A, providing valuable opportunities for colleagues to engage and learn. The article below provides full details on the upcoming sessions, including those on PE, School Sports and Physical Activities Initiatives, and an introduction to the Child Bereavement UK service. Please make sure to register for the sessions and share this information with any colleagues who may be interested.

Thank you for your unwavering dedication to our children, young people, and families.

With my very best wishes

Sue

Oracle Transition for Schools Update

The latest updates can be found here: Oracle transition for schools, updates, questions and answers.

Archived Q&A can be found here: Archived Oracle Transition Q&A.

For any queries or further information please contact the team at oracleschoolsrelationship@birmingham.gov.uk

Thank you for your ongoing support. 

Bring it on Brum! is back for Winter 2024!

Full details on the Winter Holiday Club Activities have been sent to schools, including:

  • Bring It On Brum Code by School
  • Comms from schools to families – Winter 2024
  • Comms from schools to families – Enrichment offer – Winter 2024
  • Mail merge guidance

The Bring it on Brum! holiday clubs will run from Monday, 23 December to Friday, 3 January (excluding weekends and Bank Holidays), for young people aged 4-16 who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals.

Bookings for Winter holiday clubs will open on Monday, 2 December 2024 at: www.bringitonbrum.co.uk

Updated Permanent Exclusion Referral Form and Notification Request

FAO: School staff who notify the Exclusions Team of permanent exclusions

To assist the LA in providing interim online educational provision for permanently excluded young people from the 6th school day, it would be very helpful if you could stop using any existing COBS referral forms you have and replace them with the most up-to-date version here. This version now contains a new field for family email contact details.

Additionally, DfE Exclusion Guidance advises schools to notify the LA of any permanent exclusions “without delay”. To avoid the ambiguity of this term, it would be extremely helpful to return to the previous expectation of notifying the Exclusions Team “within one school day”.

Many thanks for your continuing support.

Birmingham Healthy Schools Approach – Lunch and Learn Sessions

Session Title: PE, School Sport and Physical Activity Initiatives

This session will provide current updates on PE, school sport, and physical activity initiatives delivered by Sport Birmingham in partnership with key local and national agencies. These updates will cover the PE and Sport Premium funding, the Pathway to Podium initiative, Birmingham School Games, and connections with National Governing Bodies of Sport.

The session will be delivered by the Sport Birmingham Education team, including Lauren Davies, Education Development Manager, and Jayne Piller, School Sport Advisor. They collaborate with local, regional, and national partners to coordinate and deliver physical activity opportunities for young people, helping them achieve the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity. Programmes such as the Birmingham School Games, Pathway to Podium initiative, and the Opening Schools Facilities Fund are part of these efforts.

Separate sessions will be held for primary and secondary schools. Please book your place by clicking on the appropriate link below:

Session Title: Child Bereavement UK (Birmingham) Supporting Families and Schools

The session will provide an introduction to Child Bereavement UK Birmingham Service. It will cover what support they will be offering for children, families, Schools and professionals, including information on how they can support School's with bereavement.

The session will be delivered by Matt Jackson, Bereavement Lead for Child Bereavement UK. Matt has 12 years’ experience working in Palliative care, Hospice and Bereavement services as a Counsellor and Manager. He is passionate about supporting families who are grieving.

Please book your place here:

Early Education Entitlement 

30 Hours Places for Foster Children

Foster parents can apply for 30 hours extended entitlement for their 3 and 4 year old foster children, if they are in paid employment outside of their foster care role.

These applications cannot be made via the usual route of the Childcare Choices website and have to come directly to the local authority. The foster carer or social worker should email earlyeducation@birmingham.gov.uk for an application form. The Social Worker and Birmingham Virtual School Advisor have to be in agreement that the application is in the best interests of the child.

The same deadlines apply - they must have a code by 31st August 2024 in order to access 30 hours from September 2024 for Autumn term. If you are aware of any looked after children that might be eligible for 30 hours extended entitlement please signpost them to earlyeducation@birmingham.gov.uk

As with all working hours codes you will still need to validate the code on ECS before agreeing the 30 hours start date. You must do this by entering the code on ECS and then check the validity start date of it to make sure it is eligible for the current term: https://www.cloudforedu.org.uk/oefe/birmingham/la/schools  

Further information about 30 hours and validating codes can be found on EYMIS: www.ted-birmingham.org.uk

  • Username: PVI2 (please note this is a capital i not the number one)
  • Password: PVI2year (please note this is a capital i not the number one)

If you have any queries regarding 30 hours extended entitlement please email earlyeducation@birmingham.gov.uk

Working Hours Places

For children to access a working hour funded place in Autumn 2024 parents must have received an eligible code on or before 31st August 2024.

The local authority cannot fund codes that have a validity start date on or after 1st September 2024.

It is the childcare providers responsibility to check the date on the code before offering a 30 hour place or part of a working hour place. Please do this by entering the code on ECS and then check the validity start date to ensure it is eligible for the current term: https://www.cloudforedu.org.uk/oefe/birmingham/la/schools  

Please check the date before allowing the child to access a 30 hour place this term.

Further information about working hours and validating codes can be found on EYMIS: www.ted-birmingham.org.uk

  • Username: PVI2 (please note this is a capital i not the number one)
  • Password: PVI2year (please note this is a capital i not the number one)

If you have any queries regarding working hours extended entitlement please email earlyeducation@birmingham.gov.uk

Share your views on the New Mental Health Plan for Children and Young People

Health and care services in Birmingham and Solihull have been working together to improve mental health care for children and young people in our area and are calling for comments on their proposed plans.

The deadline for providing comments on the plans has now been extended to Friday, 20 December.

For any queries please contact the team at bsmhft.jointcommissioningteam@nhs.net

Winter Preparedness

During winter, schools may experience more infectious disease incidents or outbreaks.

Schools can prepare for winter by reducing the chance of outbreaks in the first place. The ‘Winter Preparedness Information’ document lists key actions and messages for schools to prepare for potential spread of illnesses, and checklists and resources to support with winter planning.

The ‘D and V Outbreak Guidance’ document lists key actions for schools to manage outbreaks of diarrhoea and vomiting, and provides action cards for each stage of the outbreak.

Schools should report any outbreaks or incidents to the UK Health Security Agency through the following survey - https://surveys.phe.org.uk/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=l7K288l02

Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness 

World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week (WAAW) took place last week, 18 to 24 November. 

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) happens when certain medicines (such as antibiotics) are no longer able to treat diseases. The impact of AMR affects all of us, and we can all play our part to Keep Antibiotics Working.

The e-Bug website has resources available for schools, with resources suitable for age groups from 3-16 years old. This WAAW, we encourage you to use the e-Bug AMR lesson plans that are accredited by the Association for Science Education (ASE) and mapped to the National Curriculum. Teachers and students can also pledge to become an Antibiotic Guardian.

Occupational Therapy Service

FAO: Headteachers/SENCOs

BCHC Plus Occupational Therapists time can be purchased by schools to work with children and young people in mainstream and specialist settings to help them achieve their full potential in activities of daily living that they need, want, or are expected to participate in. These activities include washing, dressing, feeding, toileting, school-based activities such as handwriting and play based activities. We provide additional services supplementing those currently available through locally commissioned NHS provision. Therapists are able to upskill staff in the classroom and support with embedding strategies to meet the needs withing your setting.

BCHC Plus can provide universal support through whole school approach to training and improving occupational performance/environmental assessments; targeted support via group work/parent workshops/classroom observations and specialist 1:1 assessments and interventions of identified priority children.

Commencement dates depend on customer demand

To find out more about how BCHC Plus can benefit your setting, pupils, families and staff, please visit the BCHC website https://www.bhamcommunity.nhs.uk/bchc-plus-occupational-therapy or contact the BCHC Plus team on 0121 466 6266 or bchc.bchcplus@nhs.net.

AJ Bell Junior & Mini Great Birmingham Run 2025

Date: Saturday, 3 May 2025

Venue: Alexander Stadium

Who said grown-ups should have all the fun? The AJ Bell Junior and Mini Great Birmingham Run sees the smallest Brummie runners (aged 3-8) take on a 1.5km dash, while Junior runners (aged 9-15) tackle a supercharged 2.5km sprint. NEW for 2025 – the event will take place on Super Saturday, 3 May, at Birmingham Alexander Stadium giving the younger runners the chance to take centre stage before the main event the following day.

Expect a fun route, photo opportunities, local spectators, and lots of family fun. Whether it’s racing, fundraising or being your best – discover your superpower at the Junior & Mini Great Birmingham Run. Entries are open – secure your place today!

Bookings can be made here: AJ Bell Junior & Mini Great Birmingham Run | 3 May 2025

Please Note:

  • Mini entrants (3-8 yrs) must run with a parent, each child should be entered into the event.
  • Junior entrants (9+) do not need to be accompanied by an adult although this can be requested upon entry if required, each child should be entered into the event. 

This entry was posted by Jaspal Shambi on 22/11/2024.

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