In Parliament today, I had the privilege of debating education recovery for children and childcare costs.  At a time when school children across the country are sitting exams for the first time in a number of years, it was important that MPs had the opportunity to discuss the challenges schools have been facing as they ensure that our plans for educational recovery are on track.

What is clear is that schools across the country are seeing more than adequate funding going towards maintained schools right across the country. As I outlined in my speech, we have seen an increase in the revenue balances held by schools while the levels of deficits in maintained schools have gone down. As shown in Governmental figures, the average balance held by maintained schools has risen over the last few years.

In an often overlooked fact, individual schools are well resourced allowing them to utilise funding in a way that suits each school’s specific needs.

Knowing this fact, I  choose to focus my substantive remarks in my speech on the benefits of early education, which are often overlooked. At this stage, schools can already determine how a child will perform in their later primary education. Therefore I urged the Government to provide greater funding for this sector to ensure the best possible outcomes for children.

I believe that these targeted measures exemplify what Conservatives in government do best: ensure that we deliver value for money for the taxpayer and exemplary outcomes for our children.