PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MPFRIDAY 26TH JULY 2024FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Alistair Strathern secures commitment from Education Secretary to end school tier transition nightmare
Just two weeks into the new Parliament, Alistair Strathern, the Labour MP for the new Hitchin constituency, has won action from the government on the three-tier to two-tier school transition that is causing a headache for parents and children across Bedfordshire.
At Business Questions in Parliament yesterday [Thurs 25 July], Mr Strathern secured a commitment for the Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, to make a statement to the House on how her department can support Central Bedfordshire Council to finally complete its long running and often stalled transition from a three to two-tier educational system.
The tiering system nightmare has caused havoc and confusion for local teachers, parents, and children, with schools yet again left facing an uncertain future and local communities having to contend with the chaos of a mixed system as the transition paused halfway through.
Mr Strathern has hit the ground running making good on the pledge he made during the election campaign to make the towns and villages across the new Hitchin constituency the best place to grow up.
Commenting, Alistair Strathern MP said:
“From Stotfold to Shefford, parents, pupils and schools have been left in limbo as Central Bedfordshire Council presided over a botched transition from a three-tier school system to two-tier.
“This uncertainty, coupled with national pressures on school capital spending, is pushing schools and parents to breaking point.
“I was pleased to secure a commitment from the Education Secretary to make a statement on how we can work together to take the breaks off the transition and put an end to the nightmare.
“It’s a step change from the last Conservative Education Secretary whose department failed to take even one meeting with CBC last year. I will continue to meet with both CBC officials and headteachers, to help create a plan for schools which can finally be delivered with confidence.”
Notes to Editors:
You can see the exchange here.
List of schools affected can be found here.
The Department for Education confirmed on 22nd April that no ministerial meetings have taken place with CBC in 2023 or 2024, see the answer to the Written Parliamentary Question here.
Mr Strathern met with Bridget Phillipson MP, now the Secretary of State for Education, on a visit to Hitchin earlier this year (photo attached).
Mr Strathern previously worked as a maths teacher before elected as an MP.
ENDS
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