Alex Mayer: Supporting working families
Monthly column by Alex Mayer, MP for Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard constituency.
September is always a big month for families. Social media fills up with first-day-of-term pictures of children heading back to school dressed in shiny new uniforms, while others are apprehensively dropped off at nursery for the very first time.
Supporting families is one of this Government’s priorities. So I’m pleased about the expansion in free childcare this year. Parents who previously received 15 hours are now entitled to 30 which is a real saving and a welcome help to an estimated 2,000-plus working families across the constituency.
Whenever I visit schools, I’m struck by the dedication of teachers and support staff. After years of pressure, they deserve proper backing. That’s why I welcome the extra £2.3 billion going into schools nationally, funding more teachers and raising standards.
Locally Gilbert Inglefield Academy, Old Bank School and Leedon Lower School as well as Beecroft Academy, Weatherfield Academy, All Saints Academy and others have received cash to improve buildings and provide tailored support through the Condition Improvement Fund and other programmes.
Breakfast Clubs are being introduced. Sensibly, these are being tested before the big roll out. There’s one up and running already in the constituency, and we’ll be using the lessons learned to make sensible tweaks and changes, until by the end of this Parliament, every primary school aged pupil will benefit.
But I know we need to go further.
September also means MPs returning to Westminster. There I’ll be voting for new laws including on school uniforms. Look, I believe in uniforms: they put children on an equal footing, reduce pressure to keep up with fashions, and foster pride in school life. But they can be expensive. One of my new term tasks is to fix that, so by next September there will be a cap of the number of branded items – at just three - easing the financial burden for parents.
In Parliament, I’m also backing new laws to make paid parental leave a day-one right and to strengthen flexible working. These are practical steps to help mums and dads balance work and family life as support for parents doesn’t end at the school gates.
Change doesn’t happen overnight. But, step by step, we’re making sure more children and families get the support they need to succeed.