Educational Opportunities in Semi-rural Areas

Matt Rodda Excerpts

Wednesday 7th May 2025 Westminster Hall

[Josh Dean (Hertford and Stortford) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the matter of tackling barriers to educational opportunities in semi-rural areas.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Edward, and it is a privilege to secure this debate on behalf of young people in Hertford and Stortford, along with our school leaders, teachers and support staff. It is the honour of my life to represent the community where I grew up and where I call home, Hertford and Stortford. Ahead of today’s debate, I reflected on my journey through the education system. I did not follow a traditional route into politics; I left school at 17, dropping out of sixth form to work in Hertford town centre. I felt that traditional education was not for me and wanted to follow a different path, but I was left feeling directionless, struggling to connect with the right opportunity.

For too long, young people in semi-rural communities such as mine have been overlooked and the challenges that we face have been left unaddressed. Since my election, I have visited almost half of the 50 schools in my constituency. I have held two roundtable discussions with secondary headteachers here in Parliament, and I will shortly be hosting similar discussions with heads from local primary schools. There is no end to the ambition of our teachers to deliver a thriving education for our children, but I hear regularly from school leaders about the challenges they face in recruiting and retaining staff.

In semi-rural communities such as Hertford and Stortford, the high cost of living makes it difficult for primary schools to attract early-career teachers. This challenge is reflected across the education sector in our community. Spiralling house prices and a lack of single-person properties or starter homes for young families offer little incentive for early-career teachers to settle in our community and teach in our schools, which presents an acute challenge for communities like ours. Our secondary schools and sixth forms are key to connecting our young people with opportunity, and it has been a privilege to visit many of them and to welcome some of their students here to Parliament.

[Matt Rodda (Reading Central) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. I share his concern about the lack of affordable housing for many school staff and other public sector professionals in southern England. It is a serious issue in my Reading constituency, despite the council working at pace to try to provide more council houses, so I hope we get to discuss this further.

[Josh Dean]

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention; I completely agree that this presents an acute challenge in many semi-rural areas like ours.

Spiralling house prices and a lack of single-person properties are a real challenge, and our sixth forms and secondary schools are key to connecting our young people with opportunity. I have had many conversations with school leaders about the erosion of external services under the previous Government, which decimated services previously provided by the local authority, including mental health and family support services. This has left our teachers picking up the shortfall. They are now on the frontline of providing that essential support, taking on responsibilities well beyond their job description.

I know from my own experience that a traditional path through education is not always the right one, but a lack of post-16 provision in semi-rural communities can also hold young people back. I am proud that my community is home to Hertford regional college’s Ware campus, which I have had the pleasure of visiting a number of times since I was elected. However, it is the only further education college in my constituency, and I understand that Bishop’s Stortford is the largest town in the country without an FE college.

Similarly, limited access to apprenticeships, work experience and industry placement opportunities holds our young people back. That is a particular challenge for T-level students, whose placements have to be subject-specific, but it also applies to subjects such as digital, science and engineering. That lack of provision leaves many young people limited in choice and struggling to connect with the right opportunity for them.

I turn to three specific challenges facing semi-rural communities in Hertford and Stortford. The first is transport and connectivity. In Hertford and Stortford, the cost and frequency of public transport presents an ongoing barrier to our young people’s access to educational opportunities.

--- Later in debate ---

[Matt Rodda (Reading Central) (Lab)]

It is an absolute pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Edward. Thank you for fitting me into this important debate.

I want to take a few moments to elaborate briefly on the concerns I raised earlier about recruitment and retention in the Reading area and Berkshire for school teachers and other school staff, but also staff in other parts of the public sector and our public services more generally. The basic problem in our area is that house prices are very high, but sadly national pay scales do not always reflect those additional pressures. That is a particular issue for a small number of areas; I am certainly aware that parts of Oxfordshire have similar problems to Berkshire, and there may well be other scattered issues across certain parts of England. Now that I have raised the issue, I hope the Minister might be able to look into it for me. I know that the Government are working extremely hard to raise standards in education and invest in the education system.

I wanted to give the example of a local comprehensive school whose former headteacher told me recently that it had had issues with recruitment and retention with certain subjects. That issue occurs across the country with certain shortage subjects, possibly in the case of science, technology, engineering and mathematics or English teaching, and maybe one or two other disciplines within large secondary schools. However, because of the increase in house prices and the cost of living pressures more generally, the situation has changed over the last few years and got progressively worse while the last Government was in office.

Last year, things reached a point where it was extremely difficult to recruit any teachers. Often, there was only one applicant for any advertised vacancy. That is a challenge for any leader in any organisation, and particularly for teachers and heads under extreme pressure. I appreciate the work that the Government are doing; I thank Reading borough council for its work on council house building, which I mentioned earlier, and the University of Reading for its excellent teacher recruitment work, but it would be wonderful if the Minister could look into this issue.

[Sir Edward Leigh (in the Chair)]

We have got everybody in. I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

Creative Arts Education

Matt Rodda Excerpts

Wednesday 18th December 2024 Westminster Hall

[Jess Brown-Fuller (Chichester) (LD)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered creative arts education.

It is a pleasure to open this debate about the importance of creative arts education. I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, both as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on performing arts education and training and as trustee of Chichester Festival Theatre.

Throughout December, my diary, like those of all Members across the House, is jam-packed with wonderful occasions that feature a celebration of the arts—be they carol concerts in local churches, school plays or pantomimes. I have loved the live music on my high street at the Chichester Christmas market. I had a fantastic time as the guest judge at the Priory Park pantomime, and once the House rises I will be off to enjoy the Chichester Festival Youth Theatre’s production of “Cinderella”—a professional production on the main stage—with my family. I had the privilege of performing on that stage as a member of that very same youth theatre: an experience that I still treasure as an adult, and one that encouraged me to continue my education in the creative arts.

After studying drama at GCSE and A-level, I went on to the University of Chichester and obtained a degree in performing arts. Before this giddy world of politics ensnared me, I had the privilege of teaching the next generation performing arts at various organisations and in schools. I am living proof that a creative education can lead anywhere, including to this place.

The arts and cultural sector contributes well over £8 billion to the UK economy each year. It puts £2.5 billion directly into the Treasury through taxation, and the creative industries as a whole generated £125 billion in 2022. They account for almost 6% of the UK economy, create 2.5 million jobs and have a huge impact on the tourism economy, with one in 10 tourists to the UK visiting a theatre. Theatres sell 34 million tickets a year across the UK.

[Matt Rodda (Reading Central) (Lab)]

The hon. Lady is making an excellent speech, and I commend her for her work in this area. Does she agree that many wonderful venues could be developed across towns and cities in this country? In my area, Reading Gaol has incredible potential. It has been derelict for some time, although it was bought recently. We are trying to see what arts provision can be offered there. Is there not enormous scope for developing more theatre and art space across the country, which can provide incredible value to local communities?

[Jess Brown-Fuller]

I thank the hon. Member and commend him on his work in trying to get Reading Gaol opened as an arts space.

A project in Selsey in my constituency is trying to restore a beautiful old pavilion, which used to hold many events but was then left to go to rack and ruin. The Selsey Pavilion Trust is working tirelessly to try and get that venue up and running so that the Selsey community can once again enjoy arts in their own town.

As a country, we have a duty to ensure that the next generation of employees is suitably equipped to join a sector that can drive the growth and innovation that the UK needs now more than ever. We must ensure that a career in the arts continues to be seen by our young people as a viable and valuable choice well into the future.

I remember having that debate with my mum, in an Italian restaurant at the age of 18, after I had been accepted to go to university to study business. I confessed that I was following that path so that I could get a proper job, and that I did not believe that she could possibly support me in following my real desire: to study theatre. Luckily, she did, and it paid off—I turned down that place at university, and a year later went to the University of Chichester to study theatre. My degree not only taught me the craft of performing arts, but developed valuable personal and employment skills, such as collaborative working, demonstrating initiative and problem solving.

To be clear, the creative arts are a broad field that includes many artistic disciplines. Although my background is performing arts and drama, when I talk about a lack of creative arts in our education system, I refer not just to drama, but to music, dance, visual arts, creative writing, textiles, and the design and technology subjects.

In this debate, I want to focus on the structure of the English baccalaureate, and the failure to include arts subjects in it. This is putting arts education in the UK in an urgent state of crisis, and will have a wider impact on the creative sector if not addressed by this Government. The English baccalaureate requires children to take up GCSEs in several subjects, none of which is in the arts. Since its introduction in 2010, arts subjects have seen a drastic decline in the number of students taking them further in their education: a 29% decrease in drama, a 24% decrease in music, and a 65% reduction in the six design and technology subjects. Compare that with geography, which has seen increase of 42%; history, which has seen an increase of 33%; and the single sciences, which are up by 38%.

The issue is very apparent in my constituency. Chichester College is investing in a state-of-the-art science, technology, engineering and maths building, which is due to open shortly—I applaud its work in getting that building up and running—while cancelling its drama A-level for new students this coming year, because of a lack of take-up. That has upset many students in the Chichester constituency.

Oral Answers to Questions

Matt Rodda Excerpts

Monday 9th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

I do accept that academics should be free to express a wide range of views, and there will be views that people sometimes find challenging, but it also matters that we have legislation that is workable. I am afraid that the legislation the right hon. Lady’s party set out just did not achieve that, and we have had to consider so many challenges raised by minority groups. The former Universities Minister herself said that she was concerned about what it would mean for Holocaust denial on campus. We need to get this right.

[Matt Rodda (Reading Central) (Lab)]

T4. For 14 years, Governments have criticised teachers, and this has had a dreadful effect on recruitment and retention. Will the Minister please update the House on the measures she is taking to tackle this serious problem?

[The Minister for School Standards (Catherine McKinnell)]

May I, too, take this opportunity to wish a merry Christmas to all of our teachers and school support staff when they finally get to the Christmas break?

We are working at pace to recruit 6,500 new teachers. We have fully funded the 5.5% pay award, we have removed reductive headline Ofsted judgments, and we are working to reduce workloads and ensure more flexibility. We have announced a £233 million package of recruitment incentives, and we are very committed to supporting our teaching workforce.

SEND Provision

Matt Rodda Excerpts

Thursday 5th September 2024 Westminster Hall

[Catherine McKinnell]

I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. I think she speaks for many here today, and many of those watching this debate as well. We are listening; we are committed; we want to work across the sector and with everyone here in order to turn this around. More than 1.6 million children and young people in England have special educational needs, and we know that, for far too long, too many families have been let down by a system that is not working. As mentioned already, the former Secretary of State for Education described the system as “lose, lose, lose”, and I know there is agreement in this room that that is very much the case.

[Matt Rodda (Reading Central) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for giving way; she is being very generous with her time. Would she agree that a part of the serious problems in many of our local areas was the delay in building new SEND provision under the previous Government? That certainly had a serious effect in Berkshire, and there are huge pressures on families and vulnerable children in my area. I just wanted to relay that point to her again.

[Catherine McKinnell]

I appreciate my hon. Friend’s concern, and this Government are absolutely committed to strengthening children’s entitlement to excellent provision that meets their needs and that is readily available, locally wherever possible. That is a key focus of any changes that we wish to see made in this area.

School Attendance (Duties of Local Authorities and Proprietors of Schools) Bill

Matt Rodda Excerpts

3rd reading
Friday 17th May 2024 Commons Chamber

[Seema Malhotra (Feltham and Heston) (Lab/Co-op)]

I congratulate the right hon. Member for Chelmsford (Vicky Ford) on her Bill and her speech. I think we all agree that the current poor attendance constitutes a crisis that must be addressed as a matter of urgency.

Earlier this year, Labour tabled an Opposition day motion containing a range of possible ways to address the problem, but it is unfortunate that the long-term plan to deal with the school attendance crisis was voted down by Conservatives. Labour supports the Bill but, as the right hon. Lady acknowledged, it is a first step and not a magic wand. She is right to lay out the impact of absence on attainment, why we need to be concerned about that and the long-term impact of absence on children’s opportunity. It is important that our systems all work together to support children to stay in school, which is why we welcome clause 1, which introduces a duty on local authorities and clarifies their role in promoting regular attendance and reducing absence. Clause 2 is also important, as it includes particulars that schools must include in their attendance policies, with guidance on how they should be issued and communicated to parents. The measures are welcome and I hope that they will have a positive impact on the situation in our schools. I pay tribute to the think-tanks and mothers who have been involved in many discussions on how we tackle this issue across the House.

The right hon. Lady also mentioned some ways in which there could be variations in the school holidays, which could support greater attendance where holidays may be part of the challenge. In my constituency, I have talked to schools about the variation they have had, with two weeks for an extended half-term in autumn and one week less in summer, which they say has had a positive impact on engagement and support for learning.

Proper interventions are vital to get children back into the classroom. As the right hon. Lady mentioned, the figures are stark. Last year, under this Government, 21.2% of children were persistently absent from school. That is more than one in five, and double the figure just six years earlier. The number of children missing half their lessons has rocketed, too. In my local authority of Hounslow, it has more than doubled in just six years. Other areas have even higher numbers. How can we properly set up a child for the future if they are missing every other lesson in school?

The Labour party firmly believes that every child matters and that every day at school matters. Fixed-penalty notices for school absence must be a part of the system, but they are not the answer alone. There is a view, which the right hon. Lady may have, on guidance in relation to penalties where children may be undergoing assessments for education, health and care plans, but it is important that we look at the wider support. That is why we in the Labour party have set out a long-term plan that looks in the round at the issues causing absence and persistent absence, including supporting schools with the recruitment, which we have announced and committed to, of 6,500 new teachers. We will roll out free breakfast clubs in every primary school. Evidence shows that they improve children’s learning and development, and they have a positive impact on attendance and behaviour.

It is also vital to address the mental health crisis that our children are facing. Mental ill health is a key barrier to learning and attendance, yet children are remaining on long child and adolescent mental health services waiting lists, unable to access the support they need. The waiting list for assessment is over two years in many instances. We would recruit thousands of new staff to bring down those waiting lists and put specialist mental health professionals in schools and community hubs, so that children can get the help they need, solving problems before they get worse.

[Matt Rodda (Reading East) (Lab)]

I commend my hon. Friend for her support for further interventions to support children and young people facing mental health difficulties. It is an issue raised frequently in many MPs’ surgeries, including in mine, so I am very grateful for her support in this important area.

[Seema Malhotra]

I thank my hon. Friend for that point. The broader point he is also making is that schools must have that support, because it is a part of how they can tackle absence in schools. That is why we need to tackle this issue head-on and not let it spiral further out of control.

Children are not engaging with the curriculum and assessment system, which has been described to us —I also speak on behalf of the shadow schools Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North (Catherine McKinnell)—as “joyless” and “narrow”. The UK now has the second lowest average life satisfaction of 15-year-olds in the OECD. Opportunities for music, art, sport and drama, as well as for discussion and debate, are often squeezed. Our curriculum and assessment review would look at delivering a broad curriculum that prepares children for the future, reflecting children’s desire for learning, as well as reflecting issues and diversity in our society.

Children’s early speech and language development has also suffered over the past few years, and covid contributed other stresses and anxieties. Getting it right at an early stage will lead to better engagement throughout school life. We would equip primary schools with funds to deliver evidence-based early language interventions. Finally, we would introduce a “children not in school” register to ensure that children who are not being taught in a school environment do not fall through the gaps.

Today’s Bill is extremely important and I again congratulate the right hon. Member for Chelmsford. I wish it well as it moves through the other place, but it is important to acknowledge that it shines a spotlight on the Government’s lack of action to deal with the crisis in our schools. Significantly, that was highlighted by Sir Kevan Collins when he resigned as education recovery commissioner in 2021. In describing the Government’s catch-up plan as “feeble”, he highlighted how there was not the intervention that we need to secure our children’s future effectively. That is why we need much more urgent action from Ministers on how they intend to tackle this problem. Tinkering around the edges simply will not do. We need a proper long-term plan, and if the Government will not deliver it, despite the right hon. Lady’s best efforts, the next Labour Government will do so.

Oral Answers to Questions

Matt Rodda Excerpts

Monday 11th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Gillian Keegan]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is a dreadful policy and it will have exactly the opposite impact. It will probably actually cost money and mean children moving schools, and all because the Labour party just plays the politics of envy.

[Matt Rodda (Reading East) (Lab)]

I offer my deepest condolences to the family of Ruth Perry. Following the inquest last week, will the Secretary of State now consider the removal of the single-word judgment from Ofsted inspection reports?

[Gillian Keegan]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question, and for arranging the initial meetings with Julia Waters—Ruth’s sister, who I know is his constituent—and attending the first few. I will be working very closely with the new chief inspector of schools when he starts three weeks today to see what more we can do, but we must remember that Ofsted plays an important role in keeping children safe and standards high.

Children's Access to Books

Matt Rodda Excerpts

Tuesday 6th June 2023 Westminster Hall

[Alexander Stafford (Rother Valley) (Con)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the matter of improving children’s access to books.

It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. It is undeniable that books should form part of our children’s holistic education curriculum. What is less clear, but no less true, is the impact of literacy and reading rates on their personal life, their education and their future career. There is no better skill to give our children than a love of reading, and there is no easier way to do so than by ensuring good access to books.

Members will be aware that I recently secured a similar debate that sought to promote school libraries, which are an excellent way to improve children’s access to books. To capture the benefit of literacy that reading gives to children, we must have a comprehensive strategy that includes making sure that books are accessible to every child at every stage of their education.

Books play a vital role in our cultural heritage. It might seem trivial to an outsider, but it seems particularly British to me that there was a national outcry against retrospectively modernising Roald Dahl’s children’s classics. These stories and books bring home the respect and love we have for our books of all varieties.

Books not only have value as a cross-generational medium or because of nostalgic personal value, but because we all know, deep down, that reading is good. It is a simple fact that reading for pleasure bestows unlimited returns for a child’s education, their future vocation and their life in general. The best way to give our children the success and opportunities that come with reading is to cut away the barriers that obstruct them from accessing books.

As those present at my previous debate will remember, Yorkshire and Humber, which includes Rother Valley, has the unfortunate accolade of being the worst area in the UK for children’s book ownership, with nearly 10% of children, primarily from lower-income households, reporting that they do not own a single book. It would not be unreasonable to think that children with books at home are slightly more likely to enjoy reading and perhaps have marginally higher reading skill than their peers who do not have books at home, but the size of the gap is far larger than could possibly be imagined. The gap is perhaps most starkly characterised by the statistic that children with books at home are twice as likely to say they enjoy reading as those who do not, and are six times more likely to read at above the level expected for their age.

We also might not take account of the impact of these statistics on the rest of children’s lives. Literacy has a stark, direct impact not only on education but on standards of living, job prospects and even life expectancy. For example, those with a lower literacy rate earn roughly 7% less than those with an average literacy rate, and 75% of women with a low literacy rate have never received a promotion. Perhaps the most shocking statistic is that the disparity in life expectancy can be up to 20 years, depending on the literacy rate in the area in which a child was born.

Sadly, it may soon be too late for some. Low rates of book ownership, combined with a global pandemic that disrupted education, means that some children may never be able to develop a love of reading. This is clear from official statistics. For example, key stage 1 SATs results for English literacy fell from 76% to 59% between 2019 and 2022.

[Matt Rodda (Reading East) (Lab)]

The hon. Gentleman is making an excellent speech highlighting the vital importance of literacy and the importance of children having books at home. Does he agree that those statistics indicate and support the need for a much greater catch-up programme for children in school?

[Alexander Stafford]

I have been clear that more must be done, at all levels, to make sure that literacy rates catch up. Of course, access to books is one answer, but we should also introduce measures so that those children who do not have access to books can catch up. Nevertheless, without books at home, at school or at a library, children will always struggle to catch up, so we must deal with the root causes

--- Later in debate ---

[Sir Christopher Chope (in the Chair)]

I call Matt Rodda.

[Matt Rodda]

Sorry, Sir Christopher—I just wanted to intervene on colleagues, not make a speech.

[Sir Christopher Chope (in the Chair)]

In that case, I call Jim Shannon.

--- Later in debate ---

[Stephen Morgan (Portsmouth South) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I thank the hon. Member for Rother Valley (Alexander Stafford) for bringing forward this important debate. Books are the cornerstone of our education system and how we learn, so it is a pleasure to speak on how we can improve access to books, close the literacy gap and ensure that every child has the opportunity to thrive.

I would like to open my remarks by paying tribute to all English teachers, librarians and literacy charities across the country, from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to the Pompey Pirates in my constituency. Behind school libraries and bookshelves is the hard work by teachers, teaching assistants, librarians, parents and volunteers to support child development and literacy attainment. The hon. Member made some helpful points on the value of reading, owning books and the importance of storytelling. I echo the remarks about his advocacy for reading. We have heard a number of interventions and speeches on investing in catch-up, the variety of forms books can take, the value of reading to children, and the importance of independent bookshops and libraries in our communities. I thank all Members for their good-spirited contributions to the debate.

As we heard, books are fundamental to a child’s journey in learning how to read and write, but they do not serve that purpose alone. Books open the door to our entire education system: to a world of learning from geography, history, English, physics, maths, music and beyond. Books enrich all aspects of our lives. They educate us, motivate us and inspire us. They open new worlds of exploration and imagination.

For many of us, it is hard to imagine a world without books. It is hard to imagine how we would function without the ability to read or write. Unfortunately, the National Literacy Trust has found that one in four children are still leaving primary school unable to read at their expected level. It also found that one in six adults in England have literacy levels below level 1, considered to be very poor literacy skills. It has been shown that lower literacy can go on to impact every aspect of an individual’s life, with negative impacts on personal relationships, wellbeing and further education, as well as a greater risk of unemployment or being in low-paid work. It is a skill as crucial as understanding road signs or price labels, dosage instructions on medicine, filling out a form or making sense of a bus or train timetable.

Unfortunately, in the past decade, it has become increasingly difficult to access books. Britain has faced the closure of almost 800 public libraries since 2010, a decade that saw local authority finances slashed. We know that in schools when budgets get tight, library resources are often among the first to get cut. Recent research by Penguin Books UK shows that one in eight schools in England do not have a library or dedicated reading space. That jumps to one in four schools in the most deprived communities in our country. Teachers up and down the country are using their own money to buy books. The problem is even bigger in primary schools, where one in seven state primary schools do not have a dedicated library or library space. That translates to 750,000 children in the UK who do not have access to books to read through a school library at a crucial age when children need to learn to read, a point made by the hon. Member for North Swindon (Justin Tomlinson).

It is no wonder that schools are being forced to make difficult choices when their real-terms funding still remains below 2010 levels. Yet again, it is the most vulnerable who are paying the price for this Government’s decisions. While better-off families may be able to provide home-purchased books, those from poorer backgrounds do not have the same luxury. One in three parents who are struggling financially because of the cost of living crisis have said that they are buying fewer books for their children as a result. Experiences of financial strain have a direct impact on literacy, with families not being able to afford books and having less time and energy to spend on reading. Two in five disadvantaged children leave primary school unable to read at the expected level.

The Government claim that literacy is a priority. Their levelling-up White Paper

“set a new national mission to ensure that 90% of children leaving primary school in England are reaching the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths by 2030.”

Yet the share of pupils leaving primary school meeting literacy and numeracy benchmarks fell from 65% in 2019 to 59% in 2020. The Government’s target is a far cry from reality. Children are moving backwards in their achievements, and the attainment gap is growing.

The problem is compounded by crisis in the recruitment and retention of teachers and the lack of budget available for specialist school librarians. Last year, more teachers left our schools than joined initial teacher training courses. The Government fell 16% short of their target for English teachers, and this year, the National Foundation for Educational Research predicts that the Government will fall 30% short of their targets.

[Matt Rodda]

My hon. Friend is making an excellent point. A headteacher in my constituency, which may be typical of many parts of the south-east of England, recently told me that she had one applicant for a job. Unfortunately, that is the level of difficulty that our schools face. I am grateful to my hon. Friend for making that point, and I look forward to the Minister’s response and to hearing more about how the Government will tackle this severe recruitment and retention crisis.

[Stephen Morgan]

My hon. Friend is a tireless champion for schools in his constituency, and we absolutely have a teacher recruitment and retention crisis in our country. We need to look very boldly at some of the solutions to address that crisis.

The first step to addressing the problem is to ensure that children are taught how to read and write properly. That fundamental skill must be given the attention it deserves, which means schools having the necessary resources to do so, with children being taught by experts, not by overstretched teachers covering for their colleagues. That is why Labour has committed to ensuring that every pupil is taught by specialist teachers in each subject, including English. We will do that by recruiting thousands of new teachers across the country, making sure that schools are not understaffed, that English classes are not being taught by cover staff or other subject specialists, and that teachers are not burned out by doing multiple people’s jobs. Once in our schools, we will also support teachers with an entitlement to ongoing training.

We want every young person to have the opportunity to succeed academically and in life. As has been outlined today, central to that is developing their reading and writing skills, which open the door to our education system and to a world of further learning. Their ability to read and write is a bridge to the ability to explore, create, innovate, imagine and thrive.

As we have heard, all children deserve to have their lives enriched by books, for their health, for their future and their future life chances, and for their enjoyment. The importance of access to books to literacy levels is simply too great to be met with empty targets and empty rhetoric. In his response, I therefore hope that the Minister will outline what his Department is doing to improve children’s access to books, to decrease the number of children leaving primary school without the required standard of literacy, to recruit its target number of English teachers, and to retain the brilliant English teachers already in the profession.

I look forward to hearing the Minister’s remarks, and I restate my thanks to all Members who have contributed to this debate.

Oral Answers to Questions

Matt Rodda Excerpts

Monday 17th April 2023 Commons Chamber

[Nick Gibb]

As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said, this morning she, the Prime Minister and I visited the London Screen Academy in north London and saw some of its excellent facilities for 16 to 19-year-olds studying the technical side of film making. I understand why my hon. Friend the Member for Walsall North (Eddie Hughes) is so passionate about this bid. All applications for new free schools are currently being assessed, with successful bids being announced before the summer.

[Matt Rodda (Reading East) (Lab)]

I pay tribute to my constituent Ruth Perry, the former headteacher of Caversham Primary School. She was a much-loved member of our local community. Will the Secretary of State consider the very serious local concerns when she looks into this matter, and will she agree to meet me, local headteachers and Ruth’s family to discuss this important issue?

[Gillian Keegan]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question, and of course I would be happy to meet. This is a tragic case, and I send my heartfelt sympathies to Ruth Perry’s family and friends, and all of the school community in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency.

Racial Discrimination in Schools

Matt Rodda Excerpts

Wednesday 8th March 2023 Westminster Hall

[Matt Rodda (Reading East) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for her excellent work in securing the debate and campaigning on this important issue. Does she agree that the Government can learn from some of the successes under the last Labour Government, in particular in London during the roll-out of London Challenge, and many other policies? They should revisit the guidance to which she refers, which clearly seems to be a mistake.

[Janet Daby]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. There are many lessons to be learned, and the Government could take heed of them and respond. As I have mentioned, there are things on which the Government have gone backwards, rather than going forward. 

This week, a new survey by a young persons movement called I Have a Voice, found that one in four students say that they have experienced racism in their place of education. That is not the only survey showing alarming figures on racial discrimination in schools. The Government need to uphold the principle that the welfare of the child is paramount. That begins by accepting that their guidance in 2012 and 2017 was wrong. Will the Minister commit to reviewing those decisions, so that data on racist incidents in schools can once again be collected and acted on?

As we have sadly seen in the last month, discriminatory incidents can sometimes be violent. In those situations, headteachers and school staff should be able to intervene confidently and safely to safeguard children. The Education and Inspections Act 2006 outlines the fact that all members of school staff have a legal power to use reasonable force. That might include standing between children during an altercation or, in the most extreme circumstances, bringing a child under control.

While school staff are permitted to use reasonable force, there is no requirement on schools to provide a policy on the use of force. Schools are left to make their own decisions on this, which I find wholly unacceptable. I recognise that the use of reasonable force may not always be appropriate, but there are occasions when it is necessary in order to safeguard children. On those occasions, headteachers and school staff must know how to use that power. Will the Minister agree to update guidance on the use of reasonable force to include a requirement for schools to have a policy on it, and for it to be part of the training which school staff receive? Members will know that the issue of racial discrimination in schools is much deeper and broader. More needs to be done in schools to reduce the fear that some children may feel about one another.

Oral Answers to Questions

Matt Rodda Excerpts

Monday 4th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Walker]

I recognise that the hon. Gentleman has also pressed the case for Lydiate Primary School previously. The Department has engaged with the school and Sefton local authority, and we are aware that it was disappointed not to be included in the first two rounds of the rebuilding programme. All local authorities, including Sefton Council, were contacted about how they can nominate schools for the next round. We do expect to announce schools that were successful later this year, but some of them will be informed sooner.

[Matt Rodda (Reading East) (Lab)]

4. What steps he is taking to ensure that childcare is (a) affordable and (b) accessible.

[The Secretary of State for Education (Nadhim Zahawi)]

We are committed to improving the cost, choice and availability of childcare. We have spent more than £3.5 billion in each of the past three years in the Department for Education on both education and tax-free childcare. On the childcare element of universal credit, we spend between £4 billion and £5 billion each year. Today, we have announced further measures to increase take-up of childcare support and to reduce the cost and bureaucracy facing both parents and providers.

[Matt Rodda]

The Secretary of State has described the Government policy very eloquently, but given the soaring cost of childcare and the enormous pressure on parents and, indeed, on the sector, would it not be so much better to introduce a childcare recovery plan to invest properly in the sector, giving it the resources that are needed and substantially increasing the funds available, rather than cutting costs and looking at staff to child ratios? Will he also look again at the funding of specific parts of the sector, such as the excellent maintained nursery sector; we have three excellent maintained nurseries in Reading. Will he also consider an independent review into this important sector?

[Nadhim Zahawi]

On the maintained nurseries, the hon. Gentleman is quite right. When I was children and families Minister, I saw the great work they do. We have announced £10 million of additional support for maintained nurseries. We are investing up to £180 million specifically on early years recovery to address the impacts of the pandemic. That includes £153 million investment in evidence-based professional development for early years practitioners, which are equally important for the sector, because, clearly it is a tight labour market at the moment.