If you look at all the great things that our country has achieved throughout its history the foundations have always been education. It’s why so much credence is paid to international league tables for education. And all of the data out there shows a direct link between the prosperity of a country and its people, and the quality of education.
That is why education has always been a fundamental building block in my mission to level up across Burnley and Padiham.
And so alongside securing the huge amounts of investment to transform the look and feel of our borough, I’ve placed a big emphasis on how we turbocharge the education offering, not just for school age children but for everybody. It’s why the centre of our Levelling Up Fund bid was UCLan’s expansion in the town centre; why I work with Burnley College to secure the funding and innovations they need, and why I visit our schools every week, and have ensured that funding per child has increased to its highest ever level.
All of this starts with early years. Whilst Government is looking at rolling out a new model of Family Hubs I don’t think we can wait. That’s why I launched the Burnley and Padiham Imagination Library, delivering free books to nursery age children who need it most. And it’s paid for by donations and sponsorship – not a penny from the taxpayer.
It’s once we have children in school where we can make the biggest difference though. Most weeks I visit a local school to talk about my role and hold ‘mock parliaments’. This for me is about instilling a sense of confidence in our young people that they can achieve anything they put their mind to and overcoming the fears that come from public speaking. And whilst this may be a small act in their overall education, it’s a lesson that I know sticks with children as they progress. There is, after all, a reason why so many independent schools teach debating as a topic.
And then there are the improvements at UCLan and Burnley College as our Higher and Further Educational Providers. Both are receiving millions of pounds of Government funding to allow them to expand, offering new and innovative courses to ever growing numbers of students. All whilst creating deep and lasting links with local employers.
And finally, it’s why this week I asked the Ministry of Defence to work with me on linking up the new, Lancashire-based, National Cyber Force with our educational institutions.
