Tag: Stockland Green

Posted on

BACK TO SCHOOL: Design your own Christmas card project at Marsh Hill Primary School

Words and pics supplied by Marsh Hill Primary School

Designs on Christmas cards and other festive items printed by School Print World

Festive fun has come early at Marsh Hill Primary, as children across the school get ready for a special ‘design your own Christmas card’ project to celebrate the autumn/winter term.

Teaming up with education print and fundraising specialists School Print World, the project will let the children’s imaginations run wild – and then see their designs on a personally designed Christmas card, which parents and carers can order online for the festive season.

A lot of fun and teaching children to have confidence with their own artwork, the schoolwide project is also a chance for Marsh Hill to raise extra funds – whilst encouraging creativity.

The cards are sold online (much cheaper than in the shops) and give families a chance to send something really special to their loved ones over the festive period.

School Print World work with schools across the UK, bringing innovative and art driven creative projects that support fundraising, and can print the designs on a range of festive items – including mugs, calendars, and even scented candles.

Marsh Hill Primary School Deputy Head, Mrs Leavey, told: “The design your own Christmas card project is about getting the children really engaged in creativity and art, producing something special for their families and loved ones.

“It’s a lot of fun and can be a great way to raise a bit of extra funds for the school during the festive season. We can’t wait to see what the children come up with.”

For more on Marsh Hill Primary School visit www.marshill.bham.sch.uk

Marsh Hill Primary School is part of the Erdington Local BACK TO SCHOOL programme, working together to celebrate school life from staffroom to classroom.

If your school would like to know more about going BACK TO SCHOOL with Erdington Local please email: [email protected]

Posted on

NEWS: “The goodwill is disappearing fast” as local community group chases council over rubbish in Bleak Hill Park

Words by Ed King / Pics by Ed King and Short Heath Fields Trust

Abandoned tents and rubbish on Bleak Hil Park / Short Heath Fields Trust

A prominent local community group has warned Birmingham City Council (BCC) “the goodwill is disappearing fast” after weeks of chasing a response over dangerous debris and hard rubbish left in Bleak Hill Park by squatters.

Initially reported in late August by Short Heath Fields Trust (SHFT) and Friends of Bleak Hill Park (FoBHP) up to four tents had been found on Bleak Hill Park – accumulating significant rubbish, akin to fly tipping.

Alongside the abandoned tents, the people who had set up camp on the green space – used regularly by local children and dogwalkers – left behind waste including sodden mattresses, old clothes, and even a microwave.

SHTF and FoBHP further reported “drug paraphernalia left in the bushes” where one tent had been pitched, proposing a hazard to any rubbish removal without proper equipment in case of discarded needles or items that could carry possible infection.

Abandoned tents and rubbish on Bleak Hil Park / Short Heath Fields Trust

Alongside seeking help from BCC over the clearing the refuse, SHFT reached out to the people camping in the park and contacted StreetLink on their behalf – a charity which connects people sleeping rough to support agencies and services.

In a strongly worded series of emails to the BCC Parks Department and several members of the council, SHFT Secretary, Paul Smith, challenged the “total lack of response” from Stockland Green Ward Councillors Jane Jones (Labour) and Amar Khan (Labour) – the elected officials responsible for the area.

Having initially been told the debris would be cleared by 28 August, after the BCC Parks Department raised an official incident report, Mr Smith continued to ask for the agreed help but found “the level of inactivity and lack of communication [from Birmingham City Council] increasingly frustrating”.

Short Heath Fields Trust logo

Mr Smith did receive some support from Councillor Robert Alden (Erdington Ward, Conservative) who is technically not responsible for Bleak Hill Park but referred the issue on to the Cabinet member for Environment and Transport, Councillor Majid Mahmood (Bromford and Hodge Hill Ward, Labour).

In the final email dated 21 September, Mr Smith, who is involved in other local community groups that help support Erdington’s green spaces and keep the streets clean, continued: “There are many proactive community volunteer groups operating in Erdington, who regularly pick up the slack when Birmingham City Council let its constituents down. but just occasionally we ask for your help.

“If we all ignored the issues we find in our communities, as you have done in this case, Erdington would be in a far poorer state.”

He added: “I sometimes feel it is only the commitment of hardworking community groups that is keeping Erdington afloat, but goodwill and hard work will only go so far.”

Save Short Heath Playing Fields campaign / Ed King

At the time of writing this article, the rubbish remains on Bleak Hill Park and no members of Short Heath Fields Trust or Friends of Bleak Hill Park have received any further communication from anyone at Birmingham City Council – nearly two months after it was initially raised.

Short Heath Fields Trust became invested in the upkeep of both Short Heath Fields and Bleak Hill Park after having successfully fought a council plan to build an 84 strong housing estate on the beloved green space.

Since stopping the development, SHFT have organised a series of well attended community events on the parkland – alongside organising regular maintenance of the grass and shrubs, and planting new trees with the Woodlands Trust.

The Trust also build a community Covid memorial by the pathway that connects Short Heath Road to Marsh Lane and are an active community group well known by the surrounding ward councillors and BCC Parks Department.

Short Heath Fields Trust Covid memeorial on Bleak Hil Park / Ed King

After being contacted by SHFT about the issue, Erdington Local reached out to both Jane Jones (Stockland Green Ward, Labour) and Cllr Amar Khan (Stockland Green Ward, Labour) for comment.

Cllr Jones responded: “I personally missed the emails from Mr Smith while on holiday in August and so did Councillor Khan who was out of the country with his family.

“After I had read the first two emails the gentlemen had departed the park (so we were told) and I admit that removing the rubbish was not my priority at that time as I had hundreds of emails to action.

“As councillors we receive many many emails on a daily basis and after a holiday the number was substantial.”

Short Heath Playing Fields / Ed King

She added: “My concern is for the gentlemen having to live in tents in the park along with the many homeless individuals on a nightly basis sleeping in doorways in the City Centre.

“Homelessness is a major crisis in the UK and urgent action is required as successive governments have failed to undertake the mass house building of social housing to help remedy the current housing catastrophe.

“Councillor Khan and I will work with the appropriate Cabinet Members to resolve the issue that has angered Mr Smith and apologise to him for our poor response to date.

“We will also visit the gentlemen who currently reside in the park to obtain their back story and see what help can be undertaken on their behalf.”

For more on Short Heath Fields Trust visit www.shortheathfieldstrust.godaddysites.com

Posted on

BACK TO SCHOOL: Marsh Hill reception children get hands on with nature

Words and pics supplied by Marsh Hill Primary School

Reception class children at Marsh Hill Primary started the new school year by getting hands on with nature, going outside to plant fresh herbs in the school’s garden and planters with Sunshines and Early Career Teacher Mr Glover.

Whilst putting their green fingers to good use, and learning more about the natural world, the children also planted young box bushes – a slow growing evergreen shrub that might start small but can grow to over two meters in height.

The children also got to explore the school’s outdoor garden and discovered a secret world of minibeasts that live in the undergrowth and under the soil.

From woodlouse to worms, and bugs to beetles, they unearthed animals and insects that are part of the precious ecosystem that keeps the garden alive and help to grow the herbs, plants, and shrubs.

Mr Glover told: “The children loved being out in the school garden and learning about all the wonderful minibeasts that help it thrive and survive.

“After planting some fresh herbs and box bush shrubs, the children will also be able to see these grow and better understand the natural world works.

“Plus, it is a lot of fun getting your hands dirty in the garden and it encourages children to play outside and enjoy nature.”

After the lesson, the children were full of questions about the minibeasts they found and were excited to explore the world around them and learn more about nature.

For more on Marsh Hill Primary School visit www.marshill.bham.sch.uk

Marsh Hill Primary School is part of the Erdington Local BACK TO SCHOOL programme, working together to celebrate school life from staffroom to classroom.

If your school would like to know more about going BACK TO SCHOOL with Erdington Local please email: [email protected]

Posted on

BACK TO SCHOOL: Celebrating the special people in our families at Marsh Hill Primary School

Words and pics supplied by Marsh Hill Primary School

Children at Marsh Hill Primary School have been celebrating the special people in their families with two events held in school for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.

Every family is different and the people who take care of nurture the young people in their lives can come in all ages, shapes, and sizes.

So, at Marsh Hill we opened up the traditional events to include brothers, sisters, aunties, uncles, and anyone who plays an important role in our children’s lives and who the children in turn wanted to show their love and appreciation for.

And what better way to do that on Mother’s Day than a fabulous afternoon tea, complete with scones, jam, butter, and a hug dollop of love.

Then on Father’s Day the children celebrated the important men in their lives by inviting them into school to share a cone of chips and play a variety of games.

A spokesperson for Marsh Hill Primary told: “It was wonderful to welcome all the families into Marsh Hill and to be able to share their special days with our children, it is amazing to see our young people be so excited and engaged that they can show their appreciation for the special people in their lives.”

They added: “We know all families are different, but the love that connects people is universal and it was a truly magical occasion to be able to celebrate that.”

For more on Marsh Hill Primary School visit www.marshill.bham.sch.uk

Marsh Hill Primary School is part of the Erdington Local BACK TO SCHOOL programme, working together to celebrate school life from staffroom to classroom.

To find out more about going BACK TO SCHOOL with Erdington Local please email: [email protected]

Posted on

BACK TO SCHOOL: Beautiful butterflies released by EYFS pupils at Marsh Hill Primary

Words and pics supplied by Marsh Hill Primary School

This term at Marsh Hill primary school, our EYFS pupils have been learning all about life cycles and nature.

The children have been caring for caterpillars in the classroom, nurturing them and keeping them safe, and have been excited to look after the insects.

The life cycle of the caterpillar will move from the larva stage, growing to be a caterpillar, through to it forming a chrysalis, and then transforming into a beautiful butterfly.

For the past few weeks, the children have been observing the caterpillars and have talked to their friends and staff about how they have changed, especially on how much bigger they got!

Then last week, there was huge excitement when the EYFS pupils spotted the chrysalis shaking – and finally the children were very lucky to see a couple of the butterflies emerge from their chrysalis!

This week the children released the butterflies into the wild. They have had so much fun and look forward to learning more about the wonders of nature.

For more on Marsh Hill Primary School visit www.marshill.bham.sch.uk

Marsh Hill Primary School is part of the Erdington Local BACK TO SCHOOL programme, working together to celebrate school life from staffroom to classroom.

To find out more about going BACK TO SCHOOL with Erdington Local please email: [email protected]

Posted on

BACK TO SCHOOL: Exciting new experiences as Marsh Hill children visit Sandwell Valley Riding Centre

Words and pics supplied by Marsh Hill Primary School

At Marsh Hill Primary School, we are passionate about providing as many rich experiences to our pupils as possible.

This term, we are giving every pupil the opportunity to visit Sandwell Valley Riding Centre to experience riding and grooming a pony.

Apart from being a great source of physical activity, pony riding offers a host of psychological benefits. It can boost confidence, improve concentration, and teach responsibility and empathy. It also encourages a connection with nature, helping children appreciate the outdoors.

Our pupils that have visited the centre so far and have had a fantastic time.

They have thoroughly enjoyed the visit and have been extremely excited to share what they have done at the centre with the staff and other pupils in school.

We are very proud of the confidence they have shown with this new experience.

For more on Marsh Hill Primary School visit www.marshill.bham.sch.uk

Marsh Hill Primary School is part of the Erdington Local BACK TO SCHOOL programme, working together to celebrate school life from staffroom to classroom.

To find out more about going BACK TO SCHOOL with Erdington Local please email: [email protected]

Posted on

NEWS: West Midlands Mayor Andy Street set to invest £400m in social housing in Stockland Green and across the region

Words and pics by Erdington Local editorial team

West Midlands Mayor, Andy Street, has secured £400m from Central Government in an ambitious new plan that will see the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) invest hundreds of millions in social housing across the region.

Mr Street announced the new policy at social housing provider Nehemiah Housing Association, an organisation based in Great Barr and with properties in the Erdington constituency.

Launching his mayoral election campaign at Stockland Green School on 21 March, the West Midlands mayor further identified Stockland Green as an area the WMCA will be looking at on “how to improve the housing stock”.

The plan, which was secured ahead of the mayoral election on 2 May, will be the first time the West Midlands Combined Authority has directly funded the building of social housing.

It became possible after Mr Street petitioned Government for £400m investment into the WMCA Affordable Housing Programme, which had reportedly previously only been allocated 50% of that budget, as part of the Deeper Devolution Deal agreed last year.

 

Having secured the multi-million pound social housing investment fund, which will be overseen by the West Midlands Mayor, Mr Street hopes the new plan will attract national media attention and become the blueprint for social housing provision across the country.

Mr Street told Erdington Local: “I want to do this because housing is key to solving so many problems in our region. People might find it strange a Conservative Mayor would care so much about social housing, but I know we could do so much more.”

He added: “The £400m I secured is key, it was a red line for me when signing the Deeper Devolution Deal with the Government.”

The chronic lack of quality social housing across Birmingham is a major factor why Erdington became a hotspot for Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs), assisted living properties, and exempt accommodation.

Now a widely reported and recognised national concern, Erdington Local first covered the frightening reality of those living in HMOs and Exempt Accommodation in August 2020 – with a series articles written by a reporter who has lived experience of the problems facing thousands across the country.

(Click here to read the first story in the series, titled ‘EXPLOITED: HMOs – when greed meets vulnerability, carving up communities for a profit’.)

Following the initial article published by Erdington Local, many other media outlets then covered the topic in depth – with titles from Birmingham Mail to The Guardian all shining a much needed light on the issue.

Mr Street continued: “This kind of plan is a real third term policy as we have been working towards this since I was first elected.

“Housing has always been top of my agenda, prompted by Erdington Local’s investigation into HMOs and assisted living I lobbied the Select Committee in Parliament to look into the problem.”

He added: “This policy is about building new homes, but we will continue to look at how to improve the housing stock in places like Stockland Green.

“This is about building quality social homes for rent for people who want to have a home to call their own – people like key workers, nurses, and young families.

“By partnering with organisations like Nehemiah, we will be building real communities too – that are nurtured by supportive housing associations.”

Despite securing the funding, the WMCA will not actually be building new homes or improving existing social housing themselves – but would instead partner with organisations who have experience in the sector, such as Nehemiah Housing Association, Witton Lodge Community Association, or The Pioneer Group on Castle Vale.

Using funding from the Affordable Homes Programme, Mr Street has promised to triple the current rate of 500-700 homes built by housing associations in the West Midlands to 1,700 per year by 2028.

Mr Street launched the policy at Nehemiah Housing Association, which the organisation’s website describes as providing ‘quality, affordable housing together with wellbeing services to ethnically diverse communities across.’

The housing association has more than 1,250 properties serving the multicultural African, Caribbean, Asian, Irish, and European communities across the West Midlands, including Erdington.

Martin Levermore, Vice Chair of Nehemiah Housing Association, said: “We are celebrating our 35th anniversary this year. Social housing is so important but Government policy changes so often it can be hard to keep up.

“It’s incredibly important that we build enough Social Housing, and the devolution of funding for Affordable Housing could be a game changer for the region. Housing associations like Nehemiah not only build homes, we build communities; so we look forward to seeing how we can play a role going forward.”

For more on Andy Street visit www.andystreet.org.uk

For more on the West Midlands Combined Authority visit www.wmca.org.uk

Click here to learn more about the West Midlands Mayoral elections on 2 May.

Posted on

NEWS: Andy Street announces £2.4m careers advisor fund during mayoral election campaign visit to Stockland Green School

Words and on location pics by Erdington Local

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street chose Stockland Green School to make his first major policy announcement of his election campaign.

Mr Street visited the Slade Road secondary on the first day of his official campaigning for the mayoral election to announce if re-elected on 2 May the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) will pay for 40 careers advisers for schools in some of the region’s most challenged areas.

The plan has been costed at £2.4m with funding already identified by the WMCA.

Mr Street announced the policy at Stockland Green School due to its successful careers programme, which was launched after the legacy of lockdown saw work experience plummet and face-to-face careers sessions with pupils drastically decline.

Mr Street told Erdington Local: “This school has been praised by Ofsted for its commitment to careers advice, but sadly across the West Midlands the same not can be said for all schools.

“There are still too many young people who are not getting the right opportunities and guidance during the critical years when they are deciding what to do for work.”

He added: “30 per cent of our children have not had work experience; one in six have never had face-to-face careers advice. And as usual it’s the schools in the most challenged areas which have these problems.”

Mr Street, who credits his economics teacher as the catalyst for his journey into the business world – which saw him run the department store giant John Lewis from 2007 to 2016, before entering politics – is concerned youngsters will turn elsewhere for crucial advice if denied access to careers experts.

He continued: “In a world where youngsters are getting their career advice from people like Andrew Tate on social media, having trusted local grown-ups in schools is more important than ever.

“I spoke to children in this school today and they all had a spark, a passion, and an idea what excited them concerning jobs – and for children like these, they need help to give them advice about how to get to where they want be and fulfil their aspirations.”

As announced today, if Mr Street is re-elected as West Midlands Mayor schools which score high on the pupil poverty indicators will be able to apply to the WMCA for funds to employ a dedicated careers officer.

Stockland Green School, which is part of the Arthur Terry Learning Partnership, was praised last year by Ofsted for the “tenacious” approach of staff in driving up student aspiration.

Assistant headteacher, Katerina Lee, is also responsible for the careers advice in the school. She said: “The pandemic caused so many problems with work experience, and with careers advisors not meeting pupils we wanted to do something about it.

“We work with local companies to get our pupils the routes to the jobs and careers they want. However, it is hard. And it would be wonderful to have a full time careers advisor… in fact we could do with lots, their work is so important.”

She added: “It is not like in previous years, where pupils would be given a pathway to industries which would open their doors for work experience and then a job offer would be at the end of it.

“We have to work hard identifying the needs of pupils, like our SEN (special educational needs) children, it is very important to identify their needs very early on.”

Headteacher Rebecca Goode began working at Stockland Green School 16 years ago before getting the top job in 2022.

She said: “Our pupils enjoyed telling Mr Street their aspirations and what they want to do when they enter the job market. Giving them access to careers advice is a really important part of making that happen.”

Mr Street, who won the previous two West Midlands mayoral elections, promised to keep the region’s youngsters and children at the top of his agenda. He believes improving their economic prospects is key in both their success and that of the wider West Midlands.

He added: “This is one of those areas where we just haven’t had the budget, powers, and responsibility to sort this until now. But I will get a grip of career education if I’m re-elected in May.

The West Midlands Mayoral election is being held on Thursday, 2 May. Candidates include the incumbent Conservative candidate Mr Street, Labour’s Richard Parker, Reform UK’s Elaine Williams, and Sunny Virk for the Liberal Democrats.

For more on Andy Street visit www.andystreet.org.uk

For more on the West Midlands Combined Authority visit www.wmca.org.uk

Click here to learn more about the West Midlands Mayoral elections on 2 May.

Posted on

BACK TO SCHOOL: Forest School at Marsh Hill

Words and pics supplied by Marsh Hill Primary

At Marsh Hill Primary School, we have been delivering Forest School sessions since January 2022 with a Forest School Practitioner from Forest Schools Birmingham to develop our pupil’s social skills, problem solving skills, taking risks and enjoyment for the outdoors.

Research in the UK into Forest School and its impacts on young children found positive impacts on children in terms of confidence, social skills, language and communication, motivation and concentration, physical skills and knowledge and understanding.

Our pupils complete a 12-week programme which covers all of the forest school rules, learning new skills and having fun along the way. After the 12 week programme, the children invite their parents/carers into school for a Forest School celebration assembly to share what they have learnt at Forest School and showcase their amazing achievements.

We are extremely grateful for the work we are doing with Forest School Birmingham and our children have an amazing time.

For more on Marsh Hill Primary School visit www.marshill.bham.sch.uk

Marsh Hill Primary School is part of the Erdington Local BACK TO SCHOOL programme, working together to celebrate school life from staffroom to classroom.

To find out more about going BACK TO SCHOOL please email: [email protected]

Posted on

BACK TO SCHOOL: Marsh Hill children swap Christmas cards with Polish school pen pals

Words and pics by Marsh Hill Primary School

At Marsh Hill, we are constantly striving to enrich our pupil’s lives by giving them a range of opportunities and experiences.

One exciting new initiative we have started this academic year is for Year 4 to make international links with a Polish school, Mlodziezowy Osrodek Socjoterapii in Pomorska Wies.

Year 4 were extremely busy before Christmas making festive cards to post to the children at Mlodziezowy Osrodek Socjoterapii. Our pupils were thrilled when they returned to school in January to see that they had received a special delivery from Poland!

Shown above are the Christmas cards they have received from the children in Poland. Our Marsh Hill children were very impressed with how their Polish pen pals had written the cards in English and are going to now learn how to write back in Polish with the help of Miss Matylda.

Over the year, Year 4 will continue to communicate and have links with the school children in Poland.

A huge thank you to Miss Matylda for giving our pupils this wonderful opportunity.

For more on Marsh Hill Primary School visit www.marshill.bham.sch.uk

Marsh Hill Primary School is part of the Erdington Local BACK TO SCHOOL programme, working together to celebrate school life from staffroom to classroom.

To find out more about going BACK TO SCHOOL please email: [email protected]