A message from the Kings Heath BID regarding Schools in the BID district.
The Kings Heath BID went through a renewal process five years ago and the boundary was extended to include a number of schools which hadn’t previously been part of the BID.
Here is some of the work that the Kings Heath BID has done with schools over the last 12 months:
- Met with head teachers or senior staff at all of the schools to ensure that they are fully aware of what the BID is, how it works and how they can gain benefit from working with them.
- Arranged for business leaders to carry out mock interviews with Year 10 students.
- Advertised work experience requirements and asked businesses to consider taking placement students on.
- Introduced schools to the Job Centre in Kings Heath to further facilitate work-readiness training.
- Introduced the schools to certain businesses and market organisers to facilitate students selling crafts at markets.
- Had representatives from schools attend our business networking meetings, creating further links between them and other businesses in the BID area.
- Helped one of the schools’ eco clubs organise a litter pick with our volunteer litter-pickers group.
- Introduced them to Birmingham Civic Society, specifically with regard to their young peoples’ programmes.
- Attended, on many occasions, St Dunstan’s, since it became part of the safer roads for schools programme, offering uniformed enforcement support – and have worked with the police to ensure their presence as well.
- Achieved having Queensbridge, as a Stonewall accredited school, involved with the Queens Heath Pride event in early May.
- Held a walkabout with the Queensbridge Police Cadets, police officers and teaching staff along the high street, helping them to understand the benefits and issues that the teenagers of our area bring.
- Shared Christmas, Easter and Pride colouring leaflets for the younger children – the Christmas ones were returned to us for us to share with old people’s homes in the area.
- Worked with Uffculme School for their students to do a Mystery Shop of our high street and are arranging for businesses to go and talk to their students about different types of jobs.
- Investigated further volunteering opportunities for young people in businesses across the BID area.
- Facilitated further direct introductions between the schools and specific businesses where interests and opportunities overlap.
- Worked with school staff on the rare occasions where a small number of students have caused problems on the high street.
- Met with and supported both the Camp Hill schools, even though they are outside of the BID area.
Schools being in the BID is not new – this is five year old information. The BID levy for the schools is paid for by Birmingham City Council and does not come directly out of the schools’ budgets.
Kings Heath BID, while set up to support the business community of the BID area, is entirely embedded within the community. This includes strong engagement with the resident population which, very much values the business area, as well as certain of the parks. All elements of Kings Heath community work increasingly well together to keep Kings Heath one of the nicest and most desirable parts of Birmingham.