Dear Parents

Today we break up for half term.

We have held KS1 and KS2 assemblies.

We have given out hundreds of certificates for 'Good to be Green' behaviour, to children who demonstrate the very best learning behaviours almost all of the time, 99 club certificates for children who are developing their times table knowledge and reading champion certificates and badges for children that are reading regularly at home.

If your child brings a certificate home please make a big fuss of them and congratulate them on their achievements. 

I wish you all a happy and sunny half term. We look forward to seeing you back on Monday 5th June. 

By the way.. we have raised £1,978.67p from the sponsored walk...I wonder if we'll manage to reach £2000 after half term? Only £21.33p needed!

Thank you again for your continued support.

Reminder:

Please book your appointment for Parent/Teacher Consultation on 22nd March if you haven't already done so. Follow the link that has been sent to your email address and Xpressions account. 

School will be closed today. The school site is unsafe and travelling is difficult. Apologies for the inconvenience.

Dear Parents of Year 5 and Year 6 children,

Once again we are in  a position where children's use of mobile phones and social media group chats is causing significant issues in school, and more worryingly, is causing huge upset for many children. 

Yr 5 and Yr 6 children have been in an assembly with Miss Carroll and spoken to about the dangers of social media, how to keep themselves safe and what they should not be doing. These messages are repeated regularly by all staff in school. 

I am incredibly concerned about the lack of parental supervision and monitoring that takes place for some children. Many parents do not know which social media sites their children are using, who they are in groups with, what messages, voice messages and images they are sending or receiving. 

In school, we can advise the children, but we are not able to monitor their activity at home. It is your responsibility as parents to keep your child safe online. Complaining to school when your child has received unkind messages or images is too late to protect your child, The only way that this can be done is if you monitor their use closely every day, or simply remove them from social media altogether. It is clear that many of the children are not mature enough to use it sensibly and safely. 

None of them are legally old enough to even have these social media accounts. You should be aged 16 to have Whatsapp and 13 to have Snapchat.

Once again, I implore you to take control of your child's use of their phones and in particular social media. We simply do not have the time in school to spend on sorting these issues out that are caused at home. The children should be in school concentrating on being happy and enjoying their learning, not worrying about social media issues. If you are a parent that already has this under control and restricts or prohibits social media use, well done and thank you. 

Please find information below about how to access The Birmingham Household Support Fund if you are experiencing financial difficulties. 

The Household Support Fund is open as of yesterday. It will be working slightly differently this time. Please direct households to the BVSC website, where they can fill in a form to determine suitability for the grant. They will then be emailed about the outcome and next steps to apply if suitability is determined. 

The eligibility criteria are as follows:

• You must be a Birmingham Resident

• You must be experiencing hardship, particularly with regards to covering costs linked to food and energy

• You must not have received a hardship grant payment since June 2022

   

Proof of address and proof of means-tested benefits (if in receipt of them) will also be needed if invited to apply.