As the academic year draws to a close, staff across all our educational institutions – from nurseries to universities - will be looking forward to the summer holidays and a deserved break.  

This has been an important past few weeks for educators too with some major announcements from the new Government.

Firstly, we all know how important it is to provide young people with the tools to equip them for the next stages of life, particularly in their early years. 

Earlier this month, it was announced that we would see the introduction of Best Start Family Hubs, to build on the legacy of Sure Start. I still hear today from parents who interacted with Sure Start centres in the early 2000s about the huge positive impact they had on them and their children. 

It is incredibly welcome that we are building on this legacy with Best Start Family Hubs which will provide support on a wide range services including housing support, health visiting, infant feeding support, activities for children aged 0-5 and so much more.

New parents have a huge amount to coordinate in the first years of their child's life and having these Family Hubs as a one stop shop for support will help ensure that parents can access help they need and know what support is available to them. 

 Earlier this week, we also saw the announcement of a £500 million Better Futures Fund, the largest fund of its kind in the world, which will create new Social Outcomes Partnerships across the country.

These partnerships will deliver services which address social issues so could fund support in schools to improve attendance, behaviour and overall achievement of pupils, intervening to free children from a life of crime, and offering employment support to secure their futures. 

It is a further welcome investment into our next generation to ensure they have the support they deserve. 

Returning to the end of the academic year, I want to pay tribute to the pupils, their parents and guardians and of course the teachers across all our schools for all the hard work, support and guidance they will have provided this last year.

 Pupils have worked hard through another school year with many of you having sat exams in recent weeks and months. Congratulations on completing another year of your education, and for those of you moving to a new school, college or entering the world of work or starting university, I wish you the very best with your next steps and an enjoyable summer. 

Parents and guardians across the constituency will have provided endless support to their children and helped guide them through another year of education. Thank you for all you do. 

 I have been lucky to visit a number of local schools, both primary and secondary, in the last year and the dedication and commitment of the teachers and support staff I have met never ceases to inspire me. Thank you for everything you do for the next generation. I hope you can enjoy some rest over the summer.

As always, please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any issues or concerns you would like to raise with me. I can be reached at [email protected] or on 01926 882006.