Dear Parents/Guardians
I wanted to update you on the work that the ‘Make a Difference’ (M.A.D) Team are doing in and out of school. We previously wrote to you to explain about the new scheme that was launched in Birmingham to help keep children and young people safe on their journey to and from school.
“Step Together” is a Home Office project initially partnered with Erdington Academy in Birmingham, which enables youth workers to be based along routes to school, acting as trusted adults and a point of contact. Their job is to de-escalate potential concerns and to build positive relationships. Schools, young people and community members have helped to identify where along the route the youth workers would make the most difference. Whilst the scheme is launching in Erdington, seventeen other routes across the West Midlands will also open in the near future and will operate until the end of the school year. We are really proud to be the first school nationally to start this initiative and this is a sign of our proactive approach to community
engagement and student safety.
We have also recruited the ‘Make a Difference’ (M.A.D) Team to support during break and lunch times to ensure pupils see many staff supporting them at these moments during the day. We have taken these steps to ensure pupils see familiar faces before/after school and during the school day. This should further help with pupils feeling safe in and out of school. The ‘Make a Difference’ (M.A.D) Team also support pupils through mentoring daily. This service helps some of our most vulnerable pupils, ensuring they feel supported in the academy. The team have made a positive impact in school and their reputation is growing amongst pupils.
Hopefully, we will continue to make great strides as an academy, by continuing to make strong links with external providers.
Yours sincerely
Kav Pawar
Vice Principal
