News
Many colleagues will be aware of the serious fire affecting our local community in Stourbridge.
We know that a significant number of Dudley Academies Trust employees live in and around the area affected, and we are also conscious that families from Greenfield Primary School are likely to be amongst those affected by, or living very close to, the incident.
Some colleagues may live close to the affected area, may know people who have been directly impacted, or may have friends, relatives or members of their wider community who are now facing an incredibly difficult and distressing time.
Our thoughts are with everyone affected, their families and the wider community.
At Dudley Academies Trust, our commitment to Respecting each other and our world means looking after one another when it matters most. We want colleagues to know that the Trust is here to provide both emotional and practical support.
We are particularly mindful of our Greenfield Primary School community, given its proximity to the affected area.
If your family has been directly affected by the fire, please make contact with us and let us know what you are facing. We recognise that every family’s circumstances will be different, and we will work closely with Greenfield Primary School colleagues to consider any practical support the Trust and school may be able to provide.
Support for Colleagues
Our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), provided by BHSF RISE, is available to every Trust employee and provides completely confidential, independent support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
Support includes:
- confidential counselling and immediate emotional support;
- specialist support following traumatic or distressing events;
- financial and debt advice;
- legal advice, including housing and property matters;
- 24/7 GP support; and
- online wellbeing and mental health resources.
BHSF RISE EAP: 0800 285 1538
Trust access code: The code has been provided by email – please contact us if you are unable to access this.
Please do not hesitate to use this service, whether you have been directly affected or are simply finding the events upsetting or difficult.
Practical Help from the Trust
We also recognise that some colleagues or their families may face very practical difficulties over the coming days and weeks.
Where a colleague has been directly affected, please speak to us.We will consider what practical assistance the Trust can provide based upon individual circumstances.
This may include:
Financial support – where losing access to a home, possessions, banking facilities or essential documents creates an immediate financial pressure, we will work with affected colleagues and, where appropriate, consider arrangements such as salary advances to provide access to funds while longer-term arrangements are put in place.
Support for families and childcare – we appreciate that dealing with temporary accommodation, insurance companies, emergency services, housing providers and replacing essential possessions can take considerable time. Where it would help an affected household or their immediate family, we will make free childcare places available at Sycamore Adventure for the remainder of the school holiday, subject to normal safeguarding and capacity arrangements. We hope this will give parents some additional time and space to concentrate on the immediate logistical challenges they are facing.
Flexibility and ongoing support – We recognise that many colleagues are currently enjoying a well-earned summer break and may not be in regular contact with their school or line manager. If you or your family have been affected by the fire, pleas let us know.
The Trust remains here to support our colleagues throughout the summer holiday, and we will work with you to understand your individual circumstances and provide whatever practical support and flexibility we reasonably can.
Please Reach Out
If you have been affected, please don’t feel that you need to manage everything alone or wait until you know exactly what help you need.
You can speak confidentially to your Headteacher, line manager or the Trust HR team in the first instance. Whatever you are facing, please know that we are here to help. If you have been affected in any way, reach out to us and we will do everything we can to support you and your family through this difficult time.
We also ask managers across the Trust to be particularly mindful that the impact of an incident such as this will not always be immediately visible. Colleagues may be supporting relatives, friends or neighbours, or may simply be distressed by what has happened within their own community.
Dudley Academies Trust is part of the Dudley community. At times like this, that sense of community and looking after one another is particularly important.
Our thoughts remain with everyone affected by the fire, and with the emergency services and all those supporting the community at this difficult time.
Dudley Academies Trust
