Bournbrook and Selly Park

Observations

• Grounded in Selly Oak appears to be an emerging shared front door for wellbeing support

  The evidence directly shows that both Aquarius and Birmingham Mind use grounded. in Selly Oak for current wellbeing-related activity. Aquarius describes Grounded as a wellbeing café and hub offering therapeutic workshops, social activity, volunteering and employment training, while Birmingham Mind uses the venue for Talking Space crisis-support sessions. This suggests that one venue may be acting as connective infrastructure between early or informal wellbeing activity, social connection, employment support and more immediate mental-health support.

  Why it matters

  Shared venues can make a local support system easier to find and navigate, particularly for people whose needs do not fit neatly into one service category. It would be worth exploring whether people using one offer are aware of the other, and whether the venue is reaching groups who may be less likely to approach clinical or specialist services directly.

  Show evidence

  • Aquarius Evolve page and contact page:
    Aquarius states that Evolve operates at Grounded, Selly Oak, offering wellbeing activities, therapeutic workshops, volunteering and employment training.

  • Birmingham Mind Talking Space venues and 2025 leaflet:
    Birmingham Mind lists grounded. in Selly Oak as a current Talking Space venue.

• The ward has a visible life-stage chain of support, but the links between its stages are not yet evident

  The organisations currently reviewed include early-years provision at Selly Wick Pre-School and Selly Oak Nursery School, primary-school community fundraising through Friends of Raddlebarn School, inclusive play through Coronation Road Playcentre, youth development through InUnity and BAYC, and substantial student-facing infrastructure through the Guild of Students, Canvas, Chabad and Birmingham International Student Homes. This is more than a collection of age-specific organisations: it suggests that education and transition points structure much of the ward's civic life. However, the evidence largely describes separate organisations and sites, rather than pathways between them.

  Why it matters

  A place with provision at multiple life stages may have an opportunity to build continuity: for example, through family support, volunteering, mentoring, youth leadership or routes between local schools and university-linked civic activity. The more important question may be whether residents experience these as connected opportunities, or as separate systems that must be rediscovered at each transition.

  Show evidence

  • Selly Wick Pre-School Playgroup, Birmingham City Council childcare directory and Ofsted record:
    The evidence confirms an active early-years setting providing weekday sessional care and funded early-education places in Selly Oak.

  • Friends of Raddlebarn School and Birmingham City Council school directory:
    Friends of Raddlebarn raises funds through events for the school community, and Raddlebarn Primary School is identified as being in Bournbrook and Selly Park ward.

  • InUnity and Birmingham Association of Youth Clubs records:
    InUnity develops programmes for young people through sport, arts, youth development and training, while BAYC supports youth clubs, organisations and youth workers across the wider region.

  • University of Birmingham Guild of Students, Community Wardens and Selly Express:
    The Guild has a principal base on the Edgbaston campus but also delivers recurring community activity and a shuttle service in Bournbrook and Selly Oak.

• Student-facing and resident-facing civic life may be more connected here than in many university-adjacent areas

  The ward contains several organisations primarily associated with students, including Canvas, Chabad, Birmingham International Student Homes and the Guild of Students. Yet the Guild's reviewed activity is not confined to campus: Community Wardens work mainly in Bournbrook through street clean-ups, coffee mornings and planting, while the Selly Express connects campus with Selly Oak and Bournbrook. This suggests that student infrastructure is not entirely separate from neighbourhood life; at least one major student institution has an explicit role in the local public realm.

  Why it matters

  University-adjacent neighbourhoods can experience tension between transient and longer-term populations. The Guild's place-based work may be a useful bridge between these groups, particularly if it can connect with schools, faith communities, local venues and resident-led organisations. It would be worth investigating whether this bridge is recognised by non-student residents and whether other student organisations participate in it.

  Show evidence

  • Guild of Students, Community Wardens:
    The Guild states that its Community Wardens are mainly active in Bournbrook, bringing residents together through street clean-ups, coffee mornings, planting and other activity.

  • Guild of Students, Selly Express:
    The Guild runs a free evening shuttle service from the University campus to Selly Oak and Bournbrook.

  • Canvas Birmingham, Chabad of Birmingham Campuses and Birmingham International Student Homes:
    These organisations provide student-oriented community, faith support and accommodation from or near Selly Park and the University of Birmingham area.

• The ward's faith institutions may represent underused community infrastructure rather than only separate congregations

  The reviewed organisations include Christian, Muslim and Jewish institutions with locally based activity: Christ Church Selly Park offers worship, groups, halls and Warm Welcome sessions; Jalalabad Trust provides mosque-based prayer, education and community support; RCCG Covenant Restoration Assembly describes local outreach, welfare, counselling and mentoring; Chabad supports Jewish students; and Selly Park Community Mosque has stated objects including pastoral care, outreach and interfaith initiatives. The evidence shows a diverse set of faith-based capabilities, but little direct evidence of relationships between them.

  Why it matters

  These organisations appear to hold different but potentially complementary assets: buildings, pastoral relationships, food or welfare support, youth activity, cultural knowledge and community trust. The absence of evidenced cross-faith collaboration is notable because Selly Park Community Mosque explicitly includes interfaith understanding in its objects, while several other institutions have community-facing roles. This may be an opportunity for relationship-building rather than evidence of a problem.

  Show evidence

  • Christ Church Selly Park official website and Birmingham City Council directory:
    Christ Church runs recurring worship and community activities, offers active hall space for hire, and hosts Warm Welcome sessions with food, activities and accessible facilities.

  • Jalalabad Mosque and Islamic Centre official website and Ramadan timetable 2026:
    Jalalabad Trust Mosque in Selly Oak advertises prayer, Islamic education, funeral and marriage services, and community support.

  • RCCG CRA SellyOak official website:
    The church describes local evangelism, welfare support, home visiting, counselling and mentoring alongside regular worship in Selly Oak.

  • Charity Commission record for Selly Park Community Mosque:
    The charity's objects include prayer, worship, religious education, pastoral care, outreach and interfaith initiatives to promote understanding and peace.