Category Archives: Youth

Another Successful Walton Heritage Day

On Saturday, I attended another successful Walton Heritage Day organised by Walton on Thames Trading Alliance (WoTTA). WoTTA do a great job running local community events throughout the year to promote Walton-on-Thames. This year’s Heritage Day was no different and was packed with things for all ages to enjoy.

The fair on Bridge Street was full of stalls from local businesses and charities. It was also great to see the Walton Sea Cadets march. Events continued all day right across Walton, including a dog show, a tow truck competition, boat trips along the Thames run by Sunbury and Walton Sea Cadets​ and a duckathon.

Many thanks to Alan Palmer and the WoTTA team bringing together a great day.              

Visit to Three Rivers Academy

Today, I visited Three Rivers Academy to congratulate the school on their new Ofsted rating of Good. This is really well-deserved, and down to the leadership of headteacher, Anne-Louise Payne, and the hard work of all the teachers, support-staff and pupils to raise the standard. With their new ranking and new investment, the school is set to go from strength to strength.

All our state secondary schools in Esher and Walton now have an Ofsted rating of Good or Outstanding, which is good news for local families.

I took the opportunity to talk to a classroom of pupils – of all ages – about my role as their local Member of Parliament. They asked some great questions and we discussed mental health issues, climate change and the school curriculum.

Kingston and Elmbridge Junior Snorkelling Club

Last night, I went along to a reception at the House of Commons to congratulate Nick Stevens and Adam Curtis of Kingston and Elmbridge Junior Snorkellers Club (KEJSC) on their £10,000 award from the Aviva Community Fund.

The Club was awarded the money last year and the prize money will allow KEJSC to buy a much-needed safety boat for use in open water safety training, as well as purchasing other safety measures such as life jackets and rescue equipment.

The Club was founded in 1974, and is run entirely by volunteers. It now has around 50 members, meeting every Tuesday at the Xcel Leisure Centre in Walton, with annual trips to Dorset so that the more senior members can enjoy snorkelling in the sea.

Snorkelling is a fun activity that people of all ages and abilities can become involved with and the junior snorkellers gain confidence and qualifications by undertaking new experiences and adventures. 

You can read more about KEJSC here, and more about the funding they received from the Aviva Community Fund here.

Catch-up with Browns Community Services

On Friday, I met with Angeline Gore (pictured) and Charlotte Waldron from the inspirational not-for-profit social enterprise Browns Community Services.

Ms Gore, the Chief Executive, briefed me on how the organisation provides bespoke social care for vulnerable adults across Surrey and Berkshire, including here in Elmbridge. Browns works with individuals – from young victims of grooming to ex-offenders – to build-up their confidence, help them to address any substance abuse or personal challenges and support them back into work and training.

The group runs a number of programmes, including the ‘Rebuild Project’, which supports families by providing vulnerable children, teenagers and adults with a 26-week course of counselling. It also operates the ‘4Es to Employment Course’, which has an impressive 98% success rate for getting ex-offenders and the long-term unemployed into one of paid work, volunteering or education. The Rebuild Project has recently won financial backing from the National Lottery Fund, which has enabled Browns to appoint a dedicated Rebuild Child Exploitation Parent Support Worker to work one-to-one with families.

Ms Gore also introduced me to a local resident who has benefited from the Rebuild Project. She told me first-hand about the invaluable support she and her family had received from Browns.

You can find out more information about Browns here.

Talking to Pupils at Chandlersfield School

Today, I visited Chandlers Field School in West Molesey. I was met by head teacher Mrs Lynn Williams and Dave Jupp, one the school governors, and went to see the Forest School area which is used to teach pupils about nature whilst enjoying the outdoors. Chandlers Field was one of our great local schools that vastly improved its Key Stage 2 results in English and Maths this year, and it was good to have the opportunity to congratulate the teachers and pupils in person on their achievements.

After the tour, I spoke to the School Council about my role as an MP and why I got into politics. I  took questions from pupils on Parliament and local issues in Molesey.  My thanks to Dave Jupp for organising the visit.

Talking to Students at Esher College

On Friday, I went to Esher College to talk to a full theatre of students at Esher College, including over 100 politics students. I spoke to the pupils about why I went into politics, my optimistic vision of a post-Brexit Britain and ways to make the economy work for everyone, including raising the national insurance employees’ contribution threshold and cutting the basic tax rate of income tax.

I took questions from students on the economy, free trade, the environment, LGBT rights, Brexit and workers’ rights.

My thanks to Meir Shabat, Head of Government and Politics at Esher College for the kind invitation. It was great to have an opportunity to engage with the next generation of voters, and hear their views.

Visiting Cobham Free School

Today, I visited Cobham Free School headteacher Michaela Khatib and Chair of Governors, Howard Morris at their new site in Cobham. They talked me through their plans to introduce the Sixth Form to the site this September, and gave me a tour.

I share their frustration at the length of time it is taking to move the rest of the school in from their temporary site. I have raised the issue with Ministers, and will now take it up with Education Secretary Damian Hinds. Once completed, the new site will be home to a great school serving Cobham families, and it is part of my wider drive to make sure we provide enough top quality school places right across Elmbridge.

Improving Results in our Local Primary Schools

This week, I was delighted to learn that 10 of our great local primary schools in Esher and Walton have seen an increase in the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard (or above) in reading, writing and mathematics at Key Stage 2 level (Year 6).

These great results are a testament to the hard work of both staff and pupils, especially given the new reformed, and more exacting , testing criteria. The majority of our 10 local primary schools have achieved well over the national average – with a special mention to Ashley CofE Aided Primary School in Walton-on-Thames where 90% of pupils achieved the expected standard of reading, writing and mathematics, an increase of 22% from 2017.

You can find out more about the results of all schools in the constituency here.

Tree Planting at Claygate Primary School

Last Friday, I went to Claygate Primary School to help pupils plant five saplings which were donated as part of the Queens Commonwealth Canopy initiative.

The Queens Commonwealth Canopy is a collaborative effort, set up by Frank Field MP, Sainsbury’s and The Woodland Trust to establish a network of forest conservation projects across the Commonwealth, and over 500 MPs signed up to the fantastic scheme. You can read more about the Queens Commonwealth Canopy here.

My thanks to Helen Cocker at Surrey Countryside Partnerships Team, Mrs Cunningham, Head Teacher at Claygate Primary School and to the green-fingered pupils who did such a splendid job of planting the trees.

Elmbridge Support for Refugees

Last week, I met with local community group Elmbridge CAN, who are helping refugees to find their feet in Elmbridge.

The group has supported the resettlement of five Syrian families in the borough, including nine children. I was impressed how people from across the community have come together to offer their support, helping with donations and by volunteering their time.

Elmbridge CAN is also providing English language support, which is helping the refugees to make good progress with their language skills. It was great to hear that some of the refugees and asylum seekers supported by Elmbridge CAN are now therefore volunteering as part of the organisation.

Elmbridge CAN is just one of hundreds of community groups across the country doing inspirational work in supporting refugees and vulnerable families fleeing persecution.

I look forward to continuing to support Elmbridge CAN’s work, and you can find more information about them here.

To find out more about the government run scheme for helping resettle refugees is working in Elmbridge, click here.