Shadow Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson MP, visited Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School today in a trip to discover what is needed to improve education as the country exits the Covid-19 pandemic.

Travelling down from Sunderland, where she is a Member of Parliament for Houghton and Sunderland South, Mrs Phillipson was treated to a tour of science, PE, and politics classes.

Having only been appointed Shadow Secretary of State in November 2021, Mrs Phillipson was keen to give thanks to those students and staff who have had to navigate a difficult 18 months of education.

Speaking after the tour of Hugh Faringdon, she said: “It’s so good to see what is going well in many of our schools, and to meet so many of our young people and dedicated staff who have worked so hard throughout the pandemic to provide for children and keep them learning.

“It is also a great opportunity for me to hear how we need to do things differently.

 “I don’t think education has been given the priority that it deserves from the government, our children have just been an after-thought during the pandemic.

"I want to hear directly from the amazing young people and staff about how we can allow them to succeed and thrive.

"It’s been great to meet with school staff and young people who have been through a really challenging period, but I know they are really optimistic about the future.

“The Government haven’t had a plan for a number of years, and it needs putting right.”

 

Reading Chronicle:

Above: Bridget Phillipson MP, with some Hugh Faringdon students

 

Her visit comes less than 24 hours after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that Covid-19 plan B measures are to stop, including the use of face coverings in a school setting.

Mrs Phillipson welcomes the news, however insists that an increase in ventilation is a must if we are to continue to head out of the pandemic.

She continued: “Face masks have been one means that we’ve used to reduce the transmission of Covid, but alongside that my concern has been ventilation.

“We had the announcement of 7,000 purification units yet we have got hundreds of thousands of classrooms across our country.

“This will also be essential to reducing the transmission of Covid, alongside testing.

“The government has to look at the available evidence, but where you have last minute announcements it can become challenging.

“We have asked an awful lot of school staff over the last couple of years, and that is why we have to look to the future.

We need to have a real plan, with children being at the heart of our recovery from this pandemic.”