Mansfield headteachers raise concerns with Schools Minister in online meeting

Mansfield MP Ben Bradley MP hosted the online gathering so heads could raise raise education concerns with the Minister of State for School Standards, the Rt Hon Nick Gibb MP, on Monday (June 15.)

Mansfield primary heads were invited to take part and questions ranged from asking about plans for summer holidays to social distancing measures and track and trace.

The Minister said that schools would not be expected to open over the summer, but that the Government wants to support schools to do what they feel is necessary where they want to open. The Minister also stressed that it will be a “long-term approach” to supporting children to ‘catch up’, rather than a “quick solution” in the coming months.

Ben Bradley MP said:“I am so grateful to all of the headteachers and teaching staff across the district, who have had faced huge challenges over recent months. I am pleased that I was able to arrange a meeting for heads to discuss their main concerns directly with the Schools Minister.

“I’ve been doing everything I can to ensure schools receive help from the Government to allow them to support local students. Last week, during the Education Statement, I received assurances from the Education Secretary that there would be a push to help as many children as possible to go back to school where there is the required space and staff.

“It’s great to see so many children are already heading back to school across Mansfield and Warsop and the Department for Education has confirmed that, where schools have the capacity to bring students back, the Department and Local Authority will work to help them to do so.”

Bill Lewis, Headteacher at St Philip Neri, said: “I really appreciated the opportunity to speak to the Rt Hon Nick Gibb. It was an amazing chance to get to ask frank questions to the Minister to which he responded with very honest answers. It was a fantastic opportunity for headteachers to pass on their concerns.”