School holds monthly parties for birthday pupils

Head teacher Leanne Bridgwood said the parties would allow pupils to "forget about Covid and English and Maths for an hour "

Monthly birthday parties for primary pupils are being held at a school so they do not miss out on celebrations.

Goldsmith Primary Academy in Walsall, West Midlands, is hosting the parties on the last Friday of each month.

Head teacher Leanne Bridgwood said they wanted to fill the gap so children at the school did not miss out on their birthdays.

The first one on Friday will celebrate all 65 pupils who had birthdays in September and October.

The children get to celebrate with their friends at school

The idea is so children who have had their celebrations muted due to Covid-19 restrictions do not feel like they are missing out.

"It has been phenomenally well received both through parents, pupils and social media in general," she said.

The school wrote about the idea on Facebook and thousands of people shared the post

Mrs Bridgwood said: "They get to celebrate with all their friends and have a really good time and it is just a nice point of well-being.

"It is is a time when we can forget about Covid and English and Maths for an hour and really enjoy ourselves and put back something so they don't miss out on that key milestone that is so important to them."

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The post on Facebook has led to teachers from other schools getting in touch with Goldsmith Primary to ask about the idea.

"We have had a lot of schools asking us how we run it and asking for risk assessments and I am really hopeful it will snowball and there will be lots more children benefitting from this," Mrs Bridgwood said

She said she was not sure exactly where the idea came from but they may have borrowed it from another school.

A school in Wales held a belated birthday party in October for its pupils to mark their missed celebrations during lockdown.