Steve Yemm column: Helping all children to thrive and learn is our national mission

​The reality is often one of despair, with many feeling like they’re not being listened to and that their children’s needs are not being met.

The Labour Government was elected on a manifesto that promised to tackle this issue, which had gone unaddressed during the entire terms of successive governments.

It’s part of our national mission to break down barriers to opportunity so that all children can learn and thrive.

I set out locally that my mission was to ensure we were providing young people with better skills so that they could access high quality employment which would be attracted here by the supply of talent we produce.

At present, many young people seek employment away from our town or must settle for less if they want to stay close to home and workplace.

I’m not settling for that. As a lifelong resident of Mansfield, I know our town can become a great place to live, learn and work.

But the foundation of further education and the world of work must be an education system that works for everybody, including those with specialist educational needs.

It’s why I’m encouraging Mansfield residents to engage with the SEND consultation that is being undertaken by the Education Select Committee, which is being chaired by my colleague Helen Hayes MP.

Helen has visited Mansfield, and I hope that she might be here again soon to hear about the experiences of Mansfield families directly.

I’d like to thank those who have already submitted their supporting evidence and accounts.

Throughout the course of the submission window until the end of this month, I will be continuing the conversation around SEND and will be conducting visits suggested by constituents, so please feel free to follow my social media to keep updated.

If you have a SEND issue or submission, please email me at [email protected]