Oral Answers to Questions

Martin Vickers Excerpts

Thursday 23rd May 2024 Commons Chamber

[Martin Vickers (Cleethorpes) (Con)]

5. What recent assessment the Church of England has made of the impact of Church schools on the level of educational attainment in (a) Cleethorpes constituency and (b) England.

[Andrew Selous]

The Church of England educates more than 1 million children in its 4,700 schools in England. My hon. Friend must be particularly proud of the fact that all Church of England schools in his constituency are currently rated “good” by Ofsted.

[Martin Vickers]

I recently visited three of the Church schools in my Cleethorpes constituency, and I was impressed by how they are influenced by their connections with the Church. The website of New Holland Church of England and Methodist Primary School says:

“As a church school, New Holland…seeks to live out the church’s philosophy of ‘Valuing all God’s children’ paying particular attention to our Christian Vision, ‘Looking forward with hope. Flourishing. Doing all the good we can’”

and staying true to

“our core Christian values”.

Does my hon. Friend agree that those words exemplify the values of Church schools and what they can bring to their local communities?

[Andrew Selous]

The fact that those three Church schools are rated “good”, including New Holland primary, which my hon. Friend has visited, shows that they provide not just excellent teaching, which is really appreciated by parents—such schools are generally oversubscribed—but a caring and nurturing environment, as he rightly says. That is well encapsulated by the values of New Holland primary school, which he read out just now. I am grateful to him for highlighting their excellent record, and I think that we all pass on our thanks to those schools.