See here for the latest news and updates

• Fireworks Safety

  Mon 02 Nov 2020 Julie Fardell

  Fire Work Safety - Helping Families to Make Safer Choices

  The cancellation of organised firework displays for bonfire night and Diwali in 2020 may mean that more parents do their own display at home.  It is predicted that 500 children and their families will join the growing number of people who will remember bonfire night for the wrong reasons. They will have been injured as a result of an accident with fireworks.

   

  We need to do all we can to highlight the risk to the families we work with. Did you know there are 4 categories of fireworks? They are:

  • Category One: Indoor Fireworks
  • Category Two: Are suitable for back gardens
  • Category Three: fireworks which require a minimum safety distance of 25 meters, which is far bigger than the average family back garden. they are designed for large displays and should not be used in back gardens.
  • Category Four: are meant for professional use only.

   

  You should only buy from reputable retailers and avoid pop-up shops; Only buy fireworks marked with safety standards (EN 15947 or BS 7114); and to follow the guidance on the following websites:

  • www.gov.uk  Firework safety from the office for product safety and standards.
  • www.rospa.com/homesafety   for a Firework code including sparkler safety and bonfire safety.
  • www.capt.org.uk/ for more information and guidance click here.
  • www.cbtrust.org.uk The Children’s burns trust also has statistics on accidents as well as good advice to share with parents.

• Thank You from B30 Foodbank

  Mon 02 Nov 2020 Andrew

  Dear All at Victoria School

   

  Thank you so much for your recent amazing donation of 257.3 kg of food to the B30 Foodbank. As you probably know we are a completely voluntary organisation, supported by the Trussell Trust.  We rely solely on donations from generous supporters and organisations such as yourselves to provide for people, including families, within our local community who, for whatever reason, find themselves in immediate crisis, and are therefore going without. Your gift will be used to help give our families in crisis enough food to make three meals a day per person for three days.

  This year has been a particularly difficult one for us and, as you will not be surprised to hear, the numberof local families needing our help has been steadily rising as the financial impact of the Covid 19 restrictions kicks in.

  Between March 27^th and  October 23^rd our volunteers worked alongside Birmingham City Council , The Active Well Being Society and Bournville Village Trust to put in place a system of emergency food deliveries to those local families who had been referred to us. From 23^rd October, however, we have been able to resume face to face distribution of food parcels (with appropriate Covid 19 safety precautions) at Cotteridge Quaker/Friends Meeting House on Watford Road.

   

  We would like to reiterate how important your donation will be in helping us to make a significant difference to individuals and  families who would otherwise go  hungry  and on their behalf we  thank you wholeheartedly once again for your support. As a token of our thanks I am attaching a Certificate of Appreciation, which I hope you will be able to print out and display somewhere where your students can see it.

  Kind regards,

  Christine Kearns

  (On behalf of the B30 Foodbank Volunteer Team)

• COVID-19 Coronavirus resources for B31

  Sat 24 Oct 2020 Andrew

  Variety of links dedicated to supporting different needs during the coronavirus outbreak for B31 residents, including food banks provided for Northfield by Digbeth Dining Club

   

  http://b31.org.uk/covid19/

• The Mix

  Fri 23 Oct 2020 Andrew

  The Mix is the UK’s leading support service for young people. We are here to help you take on any challenge you’re facing - from mental health to money, from homelessness to finding a job, from break-ups to drugs. Talk to us via our online community, on social, through our free, confidential helpline or our counselling service.

   

  https://www.themix.org.uk/

• Transition News

  Wed 21 Oct 2020 Dave Hooley
  Please find attached the Autumn Transition Newsletter from our Independent Transition Advisor, Dave Hooley.

  

• Children who require regular suctioning (Aerosol Generating Procedure)

  Tue 20 Oct 2020 Julie Fardell
  We now have one room in school that has received a COVID-safe certificate enabling 3 children from MSI to attend the school on a part-time basis. We have met with Acivico who will be installing the COVID-safe pods for AGPs. They have told us that these should be installed by Christmas. Once installed, all children who require regular suctioning should be able to return to school.

• Reminder - half term and training day

  Tue 20 Oct 2020 Julie Fardell
  Reminder: The half-term break is from 26.10.20 for one week, followed by a staff professional development day on Monday 2 November. So after this Friday, children do not return to school until Tuesday 3 November 2020.

• Harvest Boxes

  Mon 19 Oct 2020 Andrew
  A huge thank you to all our families and staff for the very generous harvest donations. They will be taken to a local foodbank tomorrow, who are very gracious to be receiving them.

  

• Drop and Collect Coronavirus Tests in Birmingham

  Fri 09 Oct 2020 Clr Paulette Hamilton

  Our ref: PH/REM/SM 091020

  9 October 2020

  Dear Parent / Carer

  Drop and collect Covid testing service In order to help keep communities safe we’re offering free, completely optional Coronavirus tests. Birmingham City Council staff and volunteers, supported by the RAF, will be visiting areas across the city. They drop off a test, tell you the details and come back within an hour. You may already have noticed these teams, or you may see them out and about in coming days and weeks. Please don’t be concerned. They are here to help communities by making it easier for people to get tested. The teams will be wearing high-vis jackets, clearly labelled as being from the city council. If you have any doubts about who they are, ask for identification. The RAF personnel have been really helpful in supporting this service. The city council simply doesn’t have the capacity to provide all the people needed to run this service, so the RAF is providing extra people on the ground to help us. They are not here in their military capacity.

  You can see more information about the service here: https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/news/article/701/drop_and_collect_covid19_testing_service_introduced_in_birmingham

  I know this is a really difficult time for everyone, but we are all working hard to keep communities safe. Together, we can get through this. Yours sincerely

• World Teachers Day

  Mon 05 Oct 2020 Andrew

  On World Teachers Day - to all teachers and teaching assistants - THANK YOU for the fantastic job you do. We can all remember a great teacher.

  To thank a teacher that's made a difference, visit: http://thankateacher.co.uk to send a LIMITED EDITION Thank You card for FREE.