Some of these residents are vulnerable pensioners with no access to the internet, so it was understandably distressing. If you still have not received your calendar, please let me know at lee.anderson.mp@parlimanent.uk
I get lots of parents contacting me about the cost of the holidays during school holidays. So once again I am looking for feedback. Do you think the law should be changed to allow parents to take their children on holiday, at a much cheaper price?
Last Friday, I had a full day of constituency visits. I met with members of Kirkby Bowling Club in the morning, at Titchfield Park. They are a fantastic group that work their socks off to make the green one of the best around. It was wonderful to see the improvements that have been made with funds that I lobbied for. I then popped into the very busy Ocean Blue chippy on Kirkby Road in Sutton, in honour of national fish and chip day. It was great to see Panni and to have some delicious fish and chips. Later in the afternoon, I had a guided tour around Fountaindale School. The headteacher has really turned the school around with his wonderful team of staff. Brilliant youngsters, staffs and facilities. What a great asset to have in Ashfield.
Disappointingly, I had to write to the National Education Union at the end of last week, to express my outrage at the shameless action taken by the NEU, to call for strike action for six days in June, during the GCSE exam period.
This union has shown no regard for our children. 14 schools of the Outwood Grange Academies Trust will be affected, including Outwood Academy Kirkby. I fought tooth and nail to secure the funding for a total rebuild of Kirkby College, which was a complete mess when I became an MP in 2019.
In 2022, Kirkby College was then fortunate enough to be taken over by the Outwood Grange Academies. Several teachers are going to be unavailable during the GCSE period – this is unforgivable. What sort of message does this send to students at this school who have been working so hard? I’m glad that Outwood Academy Kirkby has been able to remain open to all pupils up to now and I thank the staff for going above and beyond to keep the school open, and to give the pupils the outstanding learning experience they deserve.
Unions like the NEU claim to be on the side of workers, on the side of disadvantaged people. Well, I hope they feel content knowing they have helped to disrupt the education and crucial exam period of students in Kirkby.