Solihull Health and Wellbeing Board partners have unanimously agreed to support a call encouraging parents to get their children vaccinated against measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR).

Children’s vaccine uptake has been slowly decreasing across England since 2012-13, meaning that children have missed out and may remain vulnerable to serious or even fatal infections.

In Solihull, almost 5,500 children aged 1-18 have either had no MMR vaccine or been under-vaccinated because they have only had one of the two recommended doses.

The free MMR vaccine is a safe and effective way of protecting against measles, as well as mumps and rubella.

The first MMR vaccine is given when the child is 1 year old, with a pre-school booster at 3 years 4 months of age. Both doses are required to achieve maximum protection. If children and young adults have missed these vaccinations, it’s not too late.

Parents should check their child’s red book to see if they’ve received MMR vaccinations as scheduled, or speak to their GP surgery if they are unsure.

Young people aged 15-25 are also being encouraged to check that they are covered as they attend their first festivals, travel to countries with ongoing measles outbreaks or start university.

Please share this information with parents, staff, and students (as appropriate) at your school or college. You can also read the full press release here.

Solihull Council has been given the green light by the Department for Education to establish a special free school to support children with autism.

The new school, which is likely to be open in two years, will have up to 100 places for children and young people with autism aged between seven and 16 years old.  The Council’s preferred option is for a dual site school with locations in both the north and south of Solihull.

It will provide an outstanding education for pupils attending the school together with support for children with autism at mainstream schools through an assessment centre based at the new site.

Councillor Ken Meeson, Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Skills, said: “This is fantastic news for children and families across Solihull.  We know we have comparatively high rates of autism diagnosis in the borough.  This funding means we can take an important step in delivering the Council’s ambitious programme to provide an exceptional educational environment which fully understands and caters for the individual needs of children and young people with autism.

He continues: “For those pupils with more complex needs, creating a special free school will mean we can better meet current and future demand for places, whilst also extending local choice.

“On a practical level it also means we can educate more children and young people nearer to their homes.  Spending less time being transported to and from school means they should receive a better learning experience.”

In line with Department for Education guidance, the Council can now start advertising the opportunity for potential trusts to apply to establish the new school.  The specification has been published on Solgrid and can be seen by selecting this link.

Please see attached letter and supporting paperwork below for summer term dates.