Column: Children in our area deserve nothing less than the best start in life

We have absolutely fantastic schools here in Hucknall that we should all be proud of. That is why I am working with the Government to ensure they get the support they need.

Aiming to visit all Hucknall schools, I have so far visited the Holgate Academy, Leen Mills Primary School, Edgewood Primary School and Butlers Hill Infant and Nursery School.

Labour’s Children’s Wellbeing & Schools Bill takes important steps to ensure we get excellent, qualified teachers at the front of classrooms in Sherwood Forest, teaching children a cutting-edge curriculum.

As well as being the single biggest piece of child protection legislation in a generation, the Bill will save some families £500 a year through free breakfast clubs and cheaper uniform costs.

But we haven’t stopped there.

We’ve scrapped Ofsted’s blunt headline judgements, which meant high stakes for teachers and low information for parents.

Now we’ve launched a consultation on what comes next: School Report Cards, designed to give parents a more rounded view on where a school is doing well and where it can improve.

Topics that were previously neglected will now be brought to the front – inclusion for children with SEND, something so desperately needed here in Hucknall.

Parents will also benefit from a new one-stop shop for all you need to know when choosing your child’s school, in the form of digital school profiles, modernising our system.

This news came in the Education Secretary’s recent landmark speech, where she set out her vision to drive high and rising school standards.

She identified ‘stuck schools’ – those coasting despite receiving consecutive poor Ofsted reports – as the new front in the fight against low expectations.

We have 90 of these schools in the East Midlands, so I was keen to understand how the Government intends to make things better for the children who attend them.

I’m pleased to say the schools will be the focus of new ‘RISE’ teams, who will spearhead a stronger, faster system of improvement.

The teams will be led by experts with a proven track record of delivering for children and backed by £20m in investment, up to £100,000 per school.

Children in Sherwood Forest deserve the best start in life, nothing less. That’s why I’m backing the steps this government is taking, through the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, to break the link between background and success.

That means that where you’re from shouldn’t determine where you end up.