Jubilee Card Competition
After 14 schools entered over 1000 cards for my Jubilee Card Competition I had the very difficult task of picking out a winner. With so many entries this surpassed my Christmas Card competition last year. It’s great to see so many students wanting to wish the Queen a happy Platinum Jubilee.
This was obviously a really hard decision to make as we have so many fantastic artists in Ipswich. We had cards of all styles with some bright colours and different ideas for designs. With much deliberation I am pleased to announce that Freya-Nicole, a Year 6 pupil at Ranelagh Primary school has won the competition.
I was pleased to present Freya-Nicole with her own personal version of the card that will be sent to her majesty on behalf of myself and all the people of Ipswich. With so many great entries, many students who entered will be getting certificates to congratulate them on their great efforts.
Whilst at Ranelagh Primary, I met many of the pupils who also sang a song for the Queen on this special occasion. I’m proud to see pupils in Ipswich feel so strongly about our Queen. Well done to all the pupils who entered!
It’s clear that Ipswich is gearing up for the Jubilee Celebrations next week to celebrate this incredible milestone!
Opportunities in Further Education for students with SEND
Today in the Chamber I asked the Minister for Skills about what the Department for Education is doing to improve opportunities in Further Education for students with SEND.
Thank you to Minister Burghart, Minister for Skills, for visiting Suffolk New College with me. When I revisited on Friday, I spoke to Trudi the inclusive learning lead about the importance of support for SEND students in post-16 education.
Our Further Education colleges prepare students for the work-place and for life.
At Suffolk New College on Friday I also met Sam, who initially struggled with self-confidence but is now leading a whole team at the college’s Chef’s White’s restaurant. This is a tribute to the fantastic work Suffolk New College is doing in their inclusion team, building confidence, independence, and practical skills in their students.
Supporting SEND students at Further Education level has a huge knock-on impact on confidence, life-skills and employability. That’s why I called the Minister to look at funding, Ofsted inspections, and the requirement for an inclusion team at every Further Education college.
Meeting Regional Schools Commissioner for the East of England
A meeting today with Johnathan Duff, the Regional Schools Commissioner for the East of England.
Johnathan has been newly appointed as part of the Government’s regional approach to education. He will be focusing on raising expectations, putting the best school leaders where they are most needed, and building schools into multi-academy trust frameworks.
Ipswich has been designated as a priority education investment area, and Johnathan anticipates Ipswich will benefit from targeted support where required. The teacher premium, to pay teachers more in the priority areas, is also something Ipswich will benefit from.
Since the pandemic disrupted Ofsted inspections, a huge programme of school inspections is underway to catch up on lost time. Hopefully we will see the new Ofsted framework making the much-needed move from focus on outcomes to an emphasis on positive difference made.
I was also pleased to hear that Johnathan will be getting an advisor on the board with special education experience. We share a vision of an education system which means no child is left behind. Johnathan and I will be working together to make sure Ipswich education keeps moving in the right direction.
Invitation to Public Accounts Committee session
Yesterday I was invited to the highly regarded Public Accounts Committee session on the green paper as an expert on the subject and as a member of the Education Select committee. To be invited to join this committee is a privilege and I was pleased to be able to add my thoughts on Special Educational Needs provisions.
I raised questions about the provision for those with learning difficulties in mainstream schools. I am very keen to ensure that all teachers who are not specialists in this area are able to get the support they need in order to teach those with special educational needs in mainstream schools.
I also wanted to highlight the positive work Matt Hancock’s campaign is doing to implement universal screening for dyslexia for primary school children. As someone who is both dyslexic and dyspraxic, I absolutely know the value of specialist teaching. It is something that must be expanded to all hidden learning difficulties so they can be given the same effective teaching as those without. Early identification is key in delivering the right support for every child and this is something I am keen to see put in motion.
Queens Speech Reaction
A few thoughts on the Queen’s speech. Will be making a speech about it on Thursday. It was an amazing experience being in the Royal gallery but sorry not to see the Queen who I know we’re all thinking about at the moment.
Primary School competition for Platinum Jubilee Celebrations
Today, on the Queen’s 96th Birthday and in celebration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, Ipswich Member of Parliament Tom Hunt is delighted to announce his new ‘Jubilee card for the Queen competition’ for all Primary Schools and Children aged 11 and under. Tom is asking for children across his Ipswich constituency to design their best card to send to the Queen to celebrate 70 years on the throne.
Whilst there is no limit to the design, it must be colourful and cheerful to reflect the spirit of the celebrations. Entries must be A4 size using pen or pencil and sent to Tom’s Parliamentary Office at ‘Tom Hunt MP, Houses of Commons, Westminster, London, SW1A 0AA’. Please don’t forget to put your name, age and address on the design to make sure we know how to contact the winner!
The competition ends on 17th May with Tom and his team judging the winner and all those who deserve a special mention.
Tom Hunt MP commented “I am really excited to announce my new ‘Jubilee card for the Queen’ competition for Children in Ipswich. This year we mark an incredible achievement by our Queen. 70 years of incredible and loyal service deserves a special celebration and I know with all the amazing young artists we have in Ipswich, this is a great way.
I am very much looking forward to judging all the amazing entries we are going to have and choosing which card will be sent to Buckingham Palace on behalf of myself, and all the people of Ipswich. Good luck!”
Education Select committee
Today the Education Select committee continued their series of sessions exploring why certain groups in society often underachieve academically in comparison to others. Previously, the committee did an inquiry on white working-class pupils, and today we were looking at the educational challenges facing children from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller backgrounds.
Sadly, the data speaks for itself and we do face specific challenges. Having representation from the Roma community on the panel this morning was insightful, so I was pleased that I was able to bring forward two of my constituents, Marius and Vasile, to share their experiences as teaching assistants and members of the Roma community.
As teaching assistants, Marius and Vasile work to promote integration of children from Roma backgrounds, increasing literacy and English language skills, and act as role models for young people in the Roma community. Vasile explained that some in the Roma community don’t really understand the education system here.
Often parents think that their child can have a day or two off without explanation and when the pandemic hit, the inability of some parents to use laptops made their child’s education very difficult. Working with parents through coffee mornings, Marius and Vasile are doing an excellent job building mutual trust between schools and parents from the Roma community.
Meeting with Chief Inspector of Education
This afternoon I held a direct meeting with the Chief Inspector of Education, Amanda Spielman, and the National Director (education), Chris Russell.
I wanted to talk about the Ofsted framework, and incentivising good provision of SEND. From being in contact with schools and headteachers, I’ve unfortunately heard quite a few negative reports about how the Ofsted reports framework have reflected on the work schools do for SEND.
However, I was pleased to hear reassurance in the meeting this afternoon, which highlighted the differences in the new framework, introduced in September 2019. Due to the pandemic, only about 20% of schools have yet been judged under the new system, however I am encouraged that this new framework steps away from results tables and towards judging the ‘positive difference’ made to students – this is particularly important for SEND pupils.
It was explained in our meeting that a school with a low SEND intake but high attainment in exams might not perform as well in Ofsted reports as a school which has a higher number of SEND students, for whom it makes a significant and positive difference, despite seemingly lower outcomes in a league table. What really matters is the positive difference made to the students and I am pleased to see that reflected in Ofsted thinking. I’m encouraged that once the new framework beds in properly, improvements will follow.
Co-Sponsoring the Dyslexia Screening Bill
Pleased to be co-sponsoring this really important ten minute rule Bill being led by Matt Hancock that will be heard this Wednesday.
It was only when I was diagnosed with dyslexia and dyspraxia that things changed for the better for me. I was 12 when I was diagnosed. At the time I had a reading and writing age of an 8 year old. Ideally I would have been diagnosed earlier but I was lucky to get the support I needed at school and ended up doing well in my GCSE’s and A-levels. Sadly for many this isn’t the case.
There should be a requirement for all pupils to be screened for dyslexia and dyspraxia at primary school. Overall it’s thought that 1/10 have dyslexia in society. Worryingly 5/10 have dyslexia in prison. Which again goes to the importance of why this issue is so important.
Suffolk New College
Thanks to Suffolk New College for having me today.
Suffolk New College has just been announced as one of 39 recipients of the government’s £83 fund to increase post-16 capacity.
Today I chatted with some of their English as a Second Language students, studying maths and English, and was asked about my role as an MP.
The students raised topical and interesting subjects such as electric cars – and the rise of electric scooters, new employment opportunities and the ‘green jobs’ sector, and what kind of influence MPs have in Parliament.
It’s great to see the students engaging with the issues their generation face, and I hope to be hearing from many of these students in the future!