Entries tagged with “education” from Working For Walthamstow
Waltham Forest Labour MPs John Cryer and Stella Creasy today expressed their anger at the Tory and Liberal Democrat Coalition Government plans to stop investment into the programme to rebuild the borough's schools. Following an announcement by the secretary of State for Education Michael Gove on the future of the BSF schemes in Waltham Forest they issued the following joint statement:
"We are outraged at the Government's decision to cut this much needed investment in our borough's schools without any consultation with parents, pupils, governors, teachers or councillors. We've seen the difference new school facilities such as those at Frederick Bremer and Kelmscott make - and as the local MPs we want those resources for every child in our borough. Time, money and energy has gone into putting together plans to rebuild schools like Leytonstone, William Morris or Willowfield. Now with the swing of Michael Gove's axe that's all wasted and we have no idea how they plan to meet the urgent need for school places we have here either. Today's announcement also raises other questions about fairness in education as this Government channels funding into proposals for academies and free schools. We are determined to fight against the two tier system they seem to want to create which could leave thousands of young people in our borough without the schools and quality learning opportunities they need and deserve."
John and Stella have already co-authored a parliamentary Early Day Motion condemning these cuts and will be seeking clarification about what these will mean for investment in education in Waltham Forest in the current financial year.
Notes
1. The following early day motion has been tabled by John and Stella today:
"that this house condemns the government's decision to cancel the Building Schools for Future programme for a number of schools in the London Borough of Waltham Forest; notes that parents, pupils, governors, teachers and other staff have often worked hard and valiantly under difficult conditions and over many years; that the BSF programme promised new buildings and vastly improved conditions for staff and students and that this announcement will be a serious setback for education in Waltham Forest."
2. Building Schools for the Future (BSF) was the biggest-ever school buildings investment programme. Some 180 schools have been rebuilt or revamped since the programme was introduced in 2004. And building is about to start in a further 231 schools.
3. Originally under Labour's Building Schools for the Future Programme all of England's 3,500 schools were to be revamped by 2023. The plan was to replace out-dated buildings with facilities that suit modern education.
4. The Secretary of State Michael Gove announced today plans to stop the proposed rebuilding of 715 schools across the country. For further details please visit www.education.gov.uk.
5. The following Schools in Waltham Forest have now had their plans for investment cut:
· Belmont Park
· Brookfield House School
· Chingford Foundation
· Connaught Girls
· George Mitchell
· Heathcote
· Highams High
· Holy Family (RC) (QW deducted)
· Joseph Clarke
· Lammas
· Leytonstone
· New Provision
· Norlington Boys
· Rush Croft Sports College
· Tom Hood
· William Morris Special
· Willowfield
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for allowing me the opportunity to make my maiden speech. I hope to have learned from my experience in local government when making this speech, in that it does not matter what someone says as long as they are brief, because then people will like them. I congratulate everyone who has made their maiden speech this evening, because we have heard wonderful contributions demonstrating real passion for the home territories of hon. Members, and I hope that my speech can do the same.
I wish to start by paying tribute to my predecessor as the MP for Walthamstow, because I know that I have a hard act to follow. In E17, we have a fine tradition of MPs who have embodied the best of my party and the best of our politics, not only in London but nationally. Just like another previous incumbent, Clem Attlee, our MP Neil Gerrard fought tirelessly for the ideals that brought him into political life with independence and with honour. I am reliably told that he is a man who was a Whip's delight, taking up the causes that others often shied away from. He was a tireless advocate for a better and more humane approach to asylum and immigration, for the need to support action on HIV and AIDS, and for prison reform. He has also been a powerful voice for my home of Walthamstow, and I have been honoured to work with him.
Neil and I have campaigned together for many years on local issues that matter to the future of our area and to the community in which we live. We have called on London & Quadrant Housing Trust not to leave our iconic local dog track derelict for six years and instead to name its price so that we can bring it back into use. We have called on the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God not to leave the beautiful EMD cinema derelict and instead to work with the McGuffin Film and Television Society and local residents so that we can have cinema in Walthamstow. We have fought for more investment in our local Whipps Cross hospital and for local school places. We have stood up for human rights in Sri Lanka, Kashmir and Palestine. The Whips may be horrified to learn that Neil has been an inspiration to me, and I promise in this Chamber to follow his good work for the people of Walthamstow.
I know from my work with the people in Walthamstow that we are not a community short on ambition. We put our money where our mouth is, organising and mobilising for a better future for our families, wherever in the world they may be. Whether we are talking about the Senior Citizens Asian group, our local Somali, Anatolian and Tamil communities, the mum and dads in our Sure Start centres in Lloyd Park, Sybourn or Church Hill, our local toy library, or the many local youth projects with which I am proud to work, including the Active Change Foundation, Pak Cultural Society, the X7eaven Dance Group, the Woodcraft Folk or even the Scouts, Walthamstow is full of people with ideas and dreams about what they want to do and with the passion and commitment to each other to work together to achieve it.Indeed, I contend that because Walthamstow has always been full of people like that, our area has played a key and yet too often unacknowledged part in shaping the lives of everyone in this Chamber. I want to try to change that this evening. Hon. Members may not be aware that Walthamstow and the Lea valley were the original base of British aviation and motoring. Our area also has a proud history in the creative industries, which ranges from its being part of the original British film industry and having Turner prize winners as residents, to holding on to William Morris and even the grime music scene. We lay claim to helping put a man on the moon, to England football team greats, through David Beckham, to even the kinder Conservatives, through Disraeli, and to the best of British rock, through Ian Drury and the Rolling Stones. I am proud to share with Keith Richards' grandmother the honour of having served as mayor of Waltham Forest.
Yet for all that we have contributed to this country, we in Walthamstow know that we still live in a world in which too often it is where someone lives, rather than what they are, that defines whether they have the opportunity to realise their potential. I am so proud to represent Walthamstow, and therefore so determined that that situation must change. I know that it is worth our while. If we can unlock the talent of Walthamstow's residents, Britain will benefit even more than it has done already from the creativity of previous generations. That is why I wanted to speak in today's debate and why I want to draw the Government's attention to how their education plans will hinder, not help, young people in places such as Walthamstow.
Following on from what the Secretary of State said, I want to prick the Government's conscience: if they can find the money for marriage, they can find the money for the programmes that actually work for our families. Political leadership is about the ability to think long term. I urge the new Administration to rethink their proposals for child trust funds, and instead to recognise the investment in the future that this scheme represents. For the 8,000 young people in Walthamstow who have one, they offer the kind of opportunity that too many in previous generations have been denied. They are a launch pad for a leap into further and higher education; the start of funding for a down payment on a house; or money to help pay for training or start a business. Do not listen to me; listen to the 30% of poorer families topping up their child trust funds as we speak.
The same could be said of the future jobs fund. For many young people in Walthamstow this has been a lifeline, getting them into employment and on to the first steps of their career ladder. They are not the young people who have the networks and connections that mean that success is assured, but they have grabbed with both hands the start that this scheme offers. I also urge Ministers: if they say they care about social mobility, they should rethink their planned cuts for universities. I can attest that it is in places such as Walthamstow that those kinds of policies, over the past 13 years, have transformed the life chances of young people.
When the previous Government started to increase the number of places available in higher education, Walthamstow's children took the opportunity it represented. In the past 13 years, the numbers of young people from my constituency going to university have rocketed by 87%, and the evidence shows that they are the children from poorer backgrounds. Our young people in Walthamstow do not lack ability. We have the top-performing economics department in the country, at Sir George Monoux college, and we have pupils who have benefitted from the Building Schools for the Future fund, in schools such as Walthamstow School for Girls and Frederick Bremer school, and we are concerned about what will happen if we hang the axe over projects such as the one for Willowfield school in Walthamstow, because we see the difference that such investment makes.
I urge the Government to ensure that they will guarantee the Building Schools for the Future funds that have already been committed. Above all, this programme shows that these things happen not by accident, but by design. The Labour party understands that when we invest in the future of every young person in Britain, wherever they live, we all benefit. That is why I give notice to those on the Government Benches: on behalf of the people of Walthamstow and their families, I intend to fight for every place, every opportunity and every chance that my community wants and deserves; to challenge the Government's proposals that will mean a bleaker, not a brighter, future for them; to use my place in the House to be a voice for those who will be forgotten by the Government's proposals; and to argue that there is not simply opposition to the Government, but an alternative. The potential that we have in Walthamstow to contribute to the future prosperity of this country demands nothing less.
This is the fourth such event I have organised in this series to make sure Walthamstow's residents have a direct opportunity to discuss children and young people's services. Our special guest will be the Rt Hon Ed Balls MP, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families and it is the fourth such event we have organised to bring Government ministers directly to Walthamstow to listen to our views on these issues.
This free event will be held on Thursday 25th March between 6.00 pm and 8.00 pm at the Queens Road Community Centre, 215 Queens Road, Walthamstow, London E17 8PJ. The evening will be very relaxed with no long speeches and you can drop in anytime during the two hours to take part. It is Walthamstow's chance to meet the man responsible for schools and for policies affecting children and families and to tell him directly what we would like the Government to do for our children. Local teachers, school governors and youth workers are also invited to attend so that they can inform the discussion.
Light refreshments and children's entertainment will be available and the event has kindly been sponsored by our local trade union Unison. The founder of a new local Origami Club, Yoko Mihara Neckles, will be on hand to teach children the Japanese art of paperfolding so do please bring them along for some fun and to give their thoughts as well.
If you would like to attend, please RSVP to amy@workingforwalthamstow.org.uk or call 07530 707515 to help us ensure we are able to cater for the numbers of people who wish to participate.
There are currently 10 places left or 14-19 year olds working or studying in Waltham Forest. The course started this week and will run from 4 -7pm for the next 8 weeks. There'll also be some additional workshops scheduled. Anyone who is interested can call Streetlife FM on 020 8520 6515.
As a local school governor, I know our kids are talented and capable. But sometimes practical barriers prevent them achieving their potential. The Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) supports learners from low income households to continue in learning. The scheme gives weekly payments of £ 10, £20 or £30 - depending on family income. No other household benefits are affected and young people can also still have a part-time job and claim. Those receiving EMA must sign a contract with their school or college - and payments are linked to attendance and behaviour. Across the UK half a million children received it in the last year - 3,085 in Waltham Forest alone.
A recent independent study by the Institute of Fiscal Studies shows EMAs have encouraged thousands of young people to stay on in education, who would not have done so without the financial support and incentive. There's now even better news as, from 2008/09, a learner will be eligible for EMA at the same amount for a period of up to three years. This "EMA Guarantee" will be a minimum level of support even if their household income changes and represents a security in funding which will allow them to look ahead to completing their programme of study and progressing into employment or Higher Education.
More information about how to claim EMA can be found by visiting www.direct.gov.uk/ema or calling the hotline on 0800 121 8989.
The Diplomas are being introduced in stages so from September this year students in Waltham Forest will be able to undertake a Creative and Media Diploma and from September 2009 pupils in Waltham Forest will also be able to choose to take diplomas in hospitality and catering, society, health and development and for construction and the built environment.
GCSEs and A-levels are also being updated, a new International Baccalaureate is being introduced and the number of Apprenticeships is increasing. These changes will mean that all our young people can now choose a qualification which suits their interests and learning style and allows them to fulfil their potential. If you want more information on these changes or if you're a young person with ideas about these courses and what else should be provided in the schools please do get in touch.
Walthamstow
is a hub of artistic people and not least among our younger generations.
Recently, the children of Stoneydown Park Primary School have painted four
North London Line railway bridges in High Street ward with huge murals.
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