Family Support

Household Support Fund

The Household Support Fund is now open. 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.

As a known professional you are also able to apply on their behalf, though to make clear there are no shortcuts through the process above, for example by calling the Edgbaston HSF phoneline.

Family Support:

We appreciate times can be hard and as a school we strive to work together with parents to ensure students get the best possible outcomes not only at school but at home also. Please see below how the following services can offer support as a family:

School

General queries or concerns about your child can be first sent to the Form Tutor, Assistant Head of Year or Head of Year.

If you need support regarding attendance/travel issues, contact the Pastoral Manager - Mrs Conlon.

If you are concerned regarding a safeguarding matter, you can speak to one of the DSL’s, our Designated Safeguarding Lead is - Mr Keelan.

If you want guidance around mental health the mental health lead in school is - Emma Piddock (Deputy Mental Health Lead) and Gregory Caines (Senior Mental Health Lead).

Early Help

Early help is always voluntary, and it aims to support families to develop strategies and strengths, resolve difficulties and prevent problems escalating to an extent that specialist services are required. Early help can go beyond the support offered by universal services such as the GP or school. School can support in making an Early Help referral.

Family Connect

Some families need support from more than one professional, working together to support families, continuing to build relationships and supporting a range of needs of all family members. School can support in making a referral or alternatively you can self-refer:

RMM - Public Form (ecdesk.org)