This week, there has been a heavy emphasis on education in Parliament, with a backbench business debate on Monday and the return of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill on Wednesday.
There is always a challenge with timing when the House first sits after recess, and Monday was not helped by the government putting on four statements on Monday afternoon, which meant the SEND debate was very much squeezed for time.
This is such an important issue, and I know colleagues have seen an increase in constituents reaching out regarding challenges with assessments and myriad other issues. This is why it was very disappointing that the debate on Monday did not start until nearly 8pm, and, as a result, there was an immediate five-minute time limit on backbench contributions.
As expected, it was a very heavily subscribed debate, and as the Chair of the Education Select Committee highlighted, SEND support is the single biggest challenge in our education system.
I was pleased to host a visit to Westminster last month by a constituent, who brought her daughter, who struggled in mainstream school, to Parliament as part of an education visit. There are more and more parents forced into home education because mainstream education does not work for their children. I am not assigning any blame for that, but it is a reality that the system will have to address. We need to ensure that the home-educated cohort receives the support they need and that their children access a good standard of education.
On the issue of education, we see the Schools Bill return on Wednesday, and the Lords have made several very significant amendments.
No doubt the highest profile amendment has been around access to social media and smartphones.
I do know that several local schools are grappling with smartphone bans, and one Headteacher braced me for a rash of complaints from parents after introducing a smartphone ban at their school. He anticipated that parents would complain to me that the ban was heavy-handed and not needed.
Interestingly, I have received not a single complaint, which perhaps speaks volumes about parents recognising the need to keep their children safe online.
I am writing this ahead of Wednesday, so I cannot predict what will happen when this issue is voted on in the Commons, but I am very well aware that this is an issue which has provoked the biggest postbag for me so far this Parliament.
By MP Caroline Nokes
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