Last month in Rye News, I wrote about my commitment to ’levelling up’ because our beautiful coastal communities of Hastings and Rye have so much potential to unleash if they are given the opportunity to do so. ‘Levelling up’ must also be about releasing individuals from that which is holding them back, helping to set them up for success – to fulfil their full potential. Investment in people, in families, in education and skills, and in jobs – as well as investment in better transport connectivity – are all vital in achieving this, to combat poverty and level up.
In my contribution for this piece, I want to focus my attention on education and families. Education is a vital aspect of levelling up and we must not only ensure that everyone has equal opportunities, but that everyone has proper access to them. This means that for some children and young people, we need to ‘lift them up’ – ‘level the playing field’ to ensure that they have the ability to access opportunities that should be available to them. Huge progress has been made in the past few years on improving performance in local schools, including Rye College, but it is a fact that children from more disadvantaged areas are still much less likely to be taught by teachers who are described as ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’. Leadership, structure and high-quality teaching is what makes a school outstanding and excellent teaching gives children in more disadvantaged areas and from more disadvantaged homes a better chance of improving their potential.
I hear time and time again from schools, the NHS and local businesses of the difficulties in attracting and often retaining good staff. When it comes to teaching, projects such as Teach First are vital, as is the new £10 million funded pilot to improve the quality of teaching in certain areas. I shall be pushing the government to continue to evaluate and expand successful initiatives to attract high quality teachers and leaders to schools where they are most needed, including via the Hastings Opportunity Area Funding (HOA), which has benefited not only children in Hastings and St Leonards, but also Rye. Opportunity Area funding helps to improve educational outcomes and local job opportunities, and I am delighted that I secured a fifth year of HOA funding – but will be pushing for this to continue in order to reach the most disadvantaged and vulnerable children in our local communities.
I was motivated to get into politics due to my role as a local magistrate in both the adult criminal and the family proceedings courts. It was clear to me that education and getting children and families right is vital to a child’s future outcomes and social mobility. Since becoming an MP, I have consistently lobbied government ministers to deliver the 2019 Conservative manifesto commitment to strengthen families and will continue to do so. I am delighted that in autumn last year the chancellor announced funding to expand support for children and families including funding for the comprehensive family support Start for Life programme, funding to continue the Holiday and Activity Food Programme, as well as funding for the creation of a new network of family hubs in 75 local authorities.
Family hubs are centres which, as part of integrated services, ensure families with children and young people aged 0-19 (or 25 if special educational needs and disabilities ‘SEND’) receive early help to overcome a range of difficulties and build stronger relationships. Evidence shows that children and family services do not always work together as well as they should and all too often people do not know where to go to get the help and support they need. Family hubs are built on the tried and tested, but rather limited, Sure-Start or Home-Start models, and extend their reach to wider services and social care. This will deliver better outcomes for everyone involved.
There are already over 100 family hubs around the country and thanks to initial government funding, they are proving to be effective. The whole family approach – including ‘no stigma’ advice on debt, housing, job searching, relationship counselling, parenting, care for elderly relatives to name a few – providing much broader support proves effective. Importantly, family hubs are a partnership between local statutory and voluntary services – boosting the capacity of both. Many parents need support in their parenting or support in relationship advice. There is no shame in this; nobody teaches us how to parent or how to deal with difficulties in our family relationships. Supporting people to be good parents, helping parents share care and stay in work, minimising the adverse impacts of separation on children, and supporting children and parents’ mental health is vital.
I have been a bit of a pain to East Sussex County Council – perhaps a better phrase would be persistent – in advocating family hubs for Hastings and Rye. I am delighted that it has submitted its innovative bid for family hubs funding and am confident that it will be successful.
Education and strong families – in whatever form the latter takes – are the fundamental foundation and building blocks in a child’s development and I am determined that every child in Hastings and Rye has the very best of chances.
*Hot off the press* – as I finished this piece, the Department for Education has contacted me directly to inform me that East Sussex has been designated as an education investment area meaning it will attract extra investment including retention payments for the best teachers. Watch out for a press release on this! I am really very excited about this development.
Image Credits: Chris Lawson .
Teach First is a training programme which puts unqualified and untrained people into teaching in the classroom from day 1. This is the opposite of ensuring that underprivileged children have the best in teaching. What is more, I can’t think of a more stressful way of training to be a teacher; most Teach First recruits are straight from university or graduated a year or two earlier. There are no quick fixes to teacher shortages, or nurses or doctors. Grants to study, an appropriate salary and respect for the important job they all do is the way to recruit and retain.
I really don’t think this government has any idea on how to improve state schools or support people entering the teaching profession. They have substantially cut funding to university schools of education and eliminated bursaries for teachers whilst in training. Salaries for teachers are the lowest in Western Europe whilst cost of living is one of the highest. The demands placed on teachers and state schools during the pandemic were substantial but instead of real support, schools received criticism from the education minister for not doing enough.
To level up education start with increasing teacher salaries, supporting continued professional development for the profession of teaching, reduce class sizes where possible and increase teaching aides in the classroom. Providing more resources for schools in less affluent communities is essential to truly and honestly support state education. And, in my opinion, it’s time to stop treating private schools as a charity. I am not against private education but the taxpayer should not by subsidising them with charity tax breaks.
I am very sorry to see that Rye News has become a political outlet of the Conservative Party. I completely endorse Hilary Roome’s statement that there are no quick fixes to teacher shortages; likewise shortages of nurses or doctors. Sally-Ann Hart, more than likely following the doctrine of her flawed leader, speaks as though the Tories have just come into power when, in fact, they have been running our country into the ground for nearly 12 years. I really feel that Rye News needs a fact checker if these political statements are to become a regular feature.
What this article has omitted is that it was the Conservative party who slashed funding for Early Years intervention when they took over from Labour in 2010.
Between 2010 and 2019 funding from Children Centres reduced from £1.2bn to 0.6bn and more than 1000 Sure Start Centres closed. Many Holiday, Afterschool, Breakfast etc clubs were closed and Parenting training and support groups established across East Sussex were also greatly reduced.
Pretending that recently announced “Family hubs” and “Start for life” are new is an insult. It is infuriating when vital services are closed for political reasons and used for political gain.
All this talk about levelling up – it is a well known fact that a stark outcome from the pandemic is that the poorest are poorer and the richest richer. The divide in wealth has greatly increased.
The tories have been in power for 12 years, will there be a capable opposition to topple them in 2024, witnessing the labour party’s ramshackle party conference not so long ago,I do have my doubts, especially when a new tory leader emerges,who will know doubt level things up,after these turbulent times.
I can only reiterate what Professor Paul, Linda and Jane said.
For SAH to make it sound as if she has secured new monies for schools, better education and family help is ironic as it was the Conservative party in the last 12 yeas which cut and slashed all the money tha gave possibilities to help pupils and families in the first place as Jane describes.
There is no new money or new idea just replacing what they took away.
And another thing ; the supporters of BJ telling us it was him who saved us from a worse epidemic outcome/yes he bought the vaccine early but without the NHS and the army of dedicated community volunteers it would not have happened. And instead of the extra vaccine going to AFRICA OR INDIA it was dumped.
Years of cuts to services, lack of funding for further education, destruction of family support services and working families facing ever increasing bills. It has taken 12 years to reach the point where our NHS is at breaking point, shortages of nurses, doctors, teachers, mental health professionals, skilled workers…I could go on. Why? Under-investment in education, crippling student loans. Ordinary working people are being made to shoulder the burden of 12 years of incompetence an mis-management by a government concerned only with turning the UK into a tax haven for the the rich, while the rest of us can only stand by and watch as this corrupt Prime Minister and his toadies blatantly pretend to talk about levelling up. We are constantly being assured that the Conservatives are better with handling the economy, and yet the worse recession since the war occurred under a Conservative government, many people lost homes and jobs in the early nineties, unemployment rose to 3.5 million. The banking crisis in 2008 was a world crisis and yet we are led to believe it was solely the fault of the Labour government, the whole of Europe suffered as a result of toxic lending by greedy, irresponsible bankers. So please stop trying to pretend you are the nice guys Sally-Ann
Gosh this article has got everyone going!! Can’t we try and support our MP who during these very difficult times is trying her best! I certainly agree that there should be ways of attracting more teachers into the profession BUT I do believe that part of the problem is that some time ago it was deemed that parents could have a choice of where they could send their children to school! This of course means that schools with good results attracts the best teachers etc which in turn means other schools are left with limited resources and it becomes a downward spiral! When I went to school we went to the local school and that was it! Plus parents respected the teachers too! I do believe that every child has the right to a good education not just because they somehow get into the right school!
Lisa kerry is right, schools with best results, get the best teachers, many of us remember the demise of the Thomas Peacock School,where some say teachers left In their droves after appalling results there, I knew one teacher who taught maths,that couldn’t even subtract the score from a dartboard.
I agree that Lisa Kerry is right. Firstly, we should all support our MP (of whatever party). They do a difficult job. Secondly, she identifies the folly of parental choice (which sounded like a popular vote winner at its time). Local schools are best for children. Young people learn to grow up with local friends and a cross section of the population. It is easier for students to attend after school activities. It is easier for parents to support activities and support their local school. Less car journeys on the school run, equals less congestion and less pollution. Walking or cycling to school is better for health. It “sounded” like a good policy but, like most policies, it had plusses and minuses.
How do I support an MP who represents a government whose policies and moral standards I find abhorrent? No proper statement was forthcoming for taking the whip re the Patterson affair.
David, our MP represents her constituents. It’s a difficult job. Like most MPs she is also a member of a political party. That’s must make things more difficult but is how it works in this country. When we lived in Brighton we were represented, at various times, by MPs from both main parties. They each worked hard for the constituents they represented. Each also had to contend with scandal and bad behaviour in their respective parties. That must have made life even more difficult.
That’s how things work, with one government and four or five opposition parties. Opposing political points now joined by devolved governments.
The media adds to the problems?!?!
Remember the constant “bickering” about Tony and Cherie Blair? Remember the Blair/Brown split?
I’m surprised that our MP can find time to write such a long article when nearly two weeks ago I emailed her re the Prime Minister and asking if she still supported him. As yet I have had no reply.
What use is an MP who fails to engage with constituents on such an important matter?