See here for the latest news and updates

• Shielding Advice suspended after 1 April 2021

  Fri 19 Mar 2021 Department of Health & Social Care

  Press release

  Shielding advice for the clinically extremely vulnerable to stop from April

  More than 3.79 million clinically extremely vulnerable people in England will be informed they are no longer advised to shield from Thursday 1 April 2021.

  From:

  Department of Health and Social Care

  Published:

  18 March 2021

  • Advice to the clinically extremely vulnerable to shield ceases from Thursday 1 April, as virus infection rates continue to fall
  • People on shielded patient list will receive letters from today with updated guidance on steps people can take to reduce their risk
  • More than 9 in 10 clinically extremely vulnerable people have been vaccinated with a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine

  In line with the government’s COVID-19 Response - Spring 2021 roadmap published last month, those on the shielded patient list can begin to follow the national restrictions alongside the rest of the population, but are still advised to take extra precautions to keep themselves safe from COVID-19.

  Letters to patients with updated guidance will be arriving from today and over the next 2 weeks. These set out practical steps people can follow to reduce their risk of catching the virus, including continuing to maintain strict social distancing and to keep their overall social contacts at low levels, such as working from home where possible.

  The move follows the steady decrease in the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalisations across the country for the last couple of weeks.

  Senior clinicians, including the Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England, Dr Jenny Harries, have recommended that shielding advice is paused nationally from 1 April onwards, as supported by the latest scientific evidence and advice.

  With the success of the UK’s COVID-19 vaccination programme, more than 9 in 10 clinically extremely vulnerable people are now vaccinated with their first dose, but it’s still important people continue to follow the national rules and take the additional precautions set out in the guidance to keep themselves as protected as possible.

  Local councils and supermarkets will continue to provide support for those shielding until 31 March. If people have already registered for priority access to supermarket delivery slots, they will continue to be able to access these until 21 June 2021.

  Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England, Dr Jenny Harries, said:

  Shielding has always been an advisory measure to safeguard those who are the most clinically vulnerable in our communities. We recognise how difficult this period has been for so many and the impact it has had on people’s wellbeing.

  With the prevalence of the virus in the community continuing to decrease now is the right time for people to start thinking about easing up on these more rigid guidelines.

  If you have been shielding, we strongly urge you to take extra precautions following 1 April to keep yourself as safe as possible, such as continuing to observe social distancing and working from home.

  We will continue to monitor all of the evidence and adjust this advice should there be any changes in infection rates.

  People are still advised to continue working from home where possible, but if people are unable to do so, employers are required by law to take steps to make workplaces COVID-19 secure and should discuss this with their employees.

  In February 2021, the government announced a new predictive risk model that helps clinicians identify additional people who may be at higher cumulative risk from COVID-19 due to the combination of their underlying risk factors.

  Up to 1.7 million vulnerable individuals were identified by the tool, taking the total number of people in the shielded patient list up to 3.79 million people, as of 6 March 2021. As a result, over 800,000 more adults have been prioritised to receive a vaccine that weren’t already in the top four priority groups for phase one of vaccinations.

• Post-19 Transition Information for Year 12 & 13 Families

  Wed 10 Mar 2021 Andrew

  Some of you may know that we usually have a 'Transition Morning' in school around this time where colleges etc come in to share information with families of years 12 & 13 students. This is not possible because of Covid so we are sharing 2 information folders with you instead.

   

  The first folder contains videos about the transition process, things to consider and information about different colleges and day care centres available. Please visit this link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-FoPqCbu_4IEcSEnbxKdmGf9o-uuJmGD?usp=sharing

   

  The second folder contains booklets, prospectuses and forms for each placement that you will need to fill in when you apply in the future. Please visit this link:

  https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fXhy-31l5h3jU85jhi5y0m86Ae4HW-21?usp=sharing

   

  Year 13 EHCP reviews will be in May this year (you will get a letter soon) so it would be good if you have some firm ideas for September 2022 before then so we can discuss these further.

   

  If you have any questions then please contact your class teacher, myself or Dave Hooley.

   

  Thanks

  Andrew

• Friends of Victoria Newsletter

  Tue 09 Mar 2021
  Welcome back to school everyone. Please take a few minutes to read the Friends of Victoria Newsletter in the Community Section of the Website. Thank you

• Full School Re-opening on 8 March 2021

  Wed 24 Feb 2021 Julie Fardell
  Dear Parents and Carers,
  Following the PM's statement on Monday, I am pleased to advise that Victoria School will be open full-time to all pupils from 8 March 2021. Please contact your child's class teacher today or tomorrow to confirm whether or not you will be sending your child back to school on this date, and specifically whether they will need Special School transport. Transport requires 7 days' notice to add runs or to add pupils to existing runs. 
  Pupils who are shielding on medical advice because they are clinically extremely vulnerable, are advised to continue to shield according to the written advice you have received - probably until 30 March 2021.
  Children must not attend if they or a member of the household has COVID symptoms or have tested positive to COVID in the past 10 days. Children who are ill with non-COVID symptoms should not attend school until they are well again.
  The Hydrotherapy Pool, Snoezelen Room and Soft Play will remain closed until further notice. We will continue as far as possible to  keep children in  designated "bubbles". We will also try to maintain social distancing, but this is often impossible given the number of children in each class, their needs and the size of our spaces. Staff and secondary pupils will be required to wear a face covering when in public areas and when social distancing cannot be maintained. Staff will wear full PPE (Face Shield, Gloves and Apron) when providing personal care.
  At least 163 members of staff have now had the first dose of COVID vaccine.
  Approximately 154 staff and several secondary pupils are undergoing Rapid Result (Lateral Flow) testing, twice per week.
  As more detail comes to hand, I shall keep you informed but we are looking forward to welcoming back the pupils as soon as possible.

• Open Theatre Project - 'Unbounded': Releasing Birmingham's Creativity

  Mon 22 Feb 2021

  An Opportunity For...

  young people with learning disabilities and/or autism,

  aged 5-25, to join a new physical theatre group in Birmingham!

   

  Unbounded is a project that enables
  young people with learning disabilities and/or autism
  to creatively connect in their local communities.

   

  DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO...
  -  Has a learning disability and/or autism  -
  -  Is between 5 and 25 years old  -
  -  Enjoys being creative  -
  
  ...AND LIVES IN ONE OF THESE AREAS
  Selly Oak
  Edgbaston
  Northfield
  Hodge Hill
  Erdington

   

  We will be running FREE weekly online sessions from March to May,
  with a creative sharing at the end of the project.

   

  Email for more info:

  info@opentheatre.co.uk

• Raise Money for us every time you shop online.

  Wed 17 Feb 2021

  Do you shop online, if you do you could help raise valuable funds each time you shop.  Either through Easy fundraising or Amazon Smile or both. The links are below:

   

  Amazon Smile:

  https://smile.amazon.co.uk/ch/512758-0

  Easy Fundraising:

  https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/fovbirmingham/

  Further information on the Community tab. Thank you for your support.

• Thank You Victoria School

  Fri 12 Feb 2021

   

  One of our young people leaves us today after attending Victoria School for 12 years. This is a lovely message from their parents:

   

  We have not got the right words to adequately express how grateful we are to every single member of the team at Victoria School. Our young person has had an absolutely wondrous time with you all and we are profoundly grateful for the exceptional love, care, creative input, nurture, growth, laughter and joy each of you have shown him. He has loved his time with you and has grown up from a tiny young three year old when he was first given a place in nursery right up til today when he is growing into a wonderful young man. When he started in the nursery, he was very ill often and spent so much of the next few years in and out of Birmingham Children's Hospital. Every time our young person came back into school, we were blown away by the love and care he was given. Whenever we brought him over and crept into an assembly or a classroom, it made us cry with gratitude that he was part of such a wondrous community. We often used to sit in the car park after dropping him off and take a moment to gather ourselves as we felt we had stepped into a truly exceptional place.
  
  When he was younger, there were many times when his medical team did not think he would make it. He was so ill and in hospital for months and months on end. Coming back into school each time was made smooth by the collaborative work across the whole team.
  
  Every single member of the school from the support team, office team, those making and serving dinners, teaching staff, physiotherapists, speech and language specialists, nurses and leadership teams all work together to create a place where each and every child is loved, valued, nurtured and grown. We can only imagine the sacrificial investment each of you make each and every day.
  
  Our young person has grown up in this school community. He loves each of you so very much and we weep with gratitude as we write this note. Thank you for every single moment you have poured out into his and each child's life. There is nowhere quite like Victoria School and we feel deeply privileged that he has been able to be part of school life over the past twelve years. You have helped him to find his place in the world and be confident in who he his. That is a rare and beautiful gift.
  
  He is going to 'college' now to continue his development as a young man. He calls it Monsters Inc University where he is going to study his favourite subject, the iPad.....as you know, he would love to hug each and everyone of you before he goes as would we. We would love to be able to say face to face how grateful we are (though I think we would weep and not get the words out!!). We are so looking forward to when he can come back into the school when this wretched pandemic eases, and give you high fives, fist bumps and perhaps even a quick hug.
  
  We started this saying words are inadequate and we end it feeling exactly the same. No gift that we could buy or words that we can find would even come close to expressing our deep thankfulness. But perhaps the best gift we can give you is seeing where our young person is today - a wonderful young man full of cheekiness, love, fun, humour and kindness. You have each played a huge role in that.
  
  With our love and gratitude.

   

   

• February Letter from the Chair of Governors

  Thu 11 Feb 2021 Clare Mills

  11 February 2021

   

  Dear Parents, Carers and Families,

   

  May I begin by thanking all of you for your resilience and support during this difficult year. I know that many of our children across the Federation have missed so much time at school and you have had to shoulder the burden of supporting their learning remotely whilst often having to pursue your own work commitments and care of other family members at the same time. Let us hope that the vaccine will mean that our schools can open fully again in March and that our Staff and Students can enjoy a more normal learning environment.

  Another reason for my contact is to keep you up to date with some important changes within the Leadership of the Federation.

  Mrs Julie Fardell has decided to tender her resignation and retire back to her homeland in Australia at the end of this academic year. It has been a tough year for her and throughout personal tragedy and a global pandemic she has kept smiling and delivered an exceptional level of leadership and direction for all of our stakeholders.

   The Board of Governors is now faced with the difficult task of recruiting a new Executive Head Teacher to lead the Federation and continue the excellent work that Julie has done.

  We hope to recruit for September to avoid disruption for students or staff and have already begun the process following extra-ordinary meetings of the Board and have a team of Governors driving the process.

  I would like to thank the Governors, on your behalf, for all of the extra time they have given and will give to ensure that we make the right appointment.

  Should this letter cause you to have questions or if you wish to raise any concerns I can be contacted by email

  c.mills@victoria.bham.sch.uk

  We continue to work on your behalf to achieve the very best we can for all of our children.

   

  Regards,

   

  Clare Mills     BA. Hons, PCGE, NPQH.

  Chair of Governors.

   

   

• ONLINE SURVEY - Experiences of Young People aged 16-24 during the Covid-19 Pandemic

  Mon 08 Feb 2021

  Are you aged between 16 and 24, and living in Birmingham? Birmingham City Council has launched an online survey to find out from young people how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected your life – focusing on the impact on your mental health, personal finances and plans for the future. All answers are anonymous, and will help us to make sure that young people get the services and support they need to succeed. Everyone who completes the survey will be entered into a prize draw to win £500!

   

  Fill out the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/BCCYouthSurvey2021

   

  The survey closes on 18^th February.

• New COVID Varaiant found in Frankley Great Park and south Northfield

  Thu 04 Feb 2021 Julie Fardell
  We have been advised that  the South African Variant of COVID has been found in Frankley Great Park and south Northfield, However, critical workers are permitted to attend work.

   

  People aged over 18 and living in these areas are strongly encouraged to get a PCR test done at one of the testing centres in the area eg: St Modwen at Longbridge. You do not need an appointment. For further information, please go to:

   

  https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/news/article/805/extra_testing_in_frankley_great_park_and_parts_of_south_northfield_due_to_covid-19_variant