I always love to visit all our amazing schools in Colchester, especially when provided the opportunity to hold a talk with students. As Colchester's MP, standing up for our schools and colleges has always been a passion and main focus for me, and I will always stand up for their further investment. I have been working with local schools and colleges to campaign for additional funding from the Government. I am a firm believer in equality of opportunity and the power of education as a driver of social mobility. I worked with local headteachers, governors, teachers and parents on a petition to the Department for Education and the Treasury. I also spoke in several debates on Education funding and met with both the Schools Minister and Secretary of State for Education. It is so refreshing to see how many schools in my constituency have welcomed the Prime Minister's announcement of a funding boost to increase per pupil funding to the same level across the country, reaching at least £4,000 in primary schools by 2021/22 and £5,000 in secondary schools from next year.
I had a lovely afternoon at Montgomery Infant School and Nursery in Shrub End to talk about my role as Colchester's MP. I held a short presentation, which followed with some excellent questions from the children. It was also inspiring to meet their newly elected school council. I hope my talk inspired many of the boys and girls in the room to learn more about politics, both now and in the future.