Evening Star Column - 14th February 2012

"It was National Apprenticeships Week last week. In Suffolk Coastal, 790 people were in apprenticeships up 55% fromthe year before. I took the opportunity to visit the Adam and Eve salon to meet young Antonio Tella who was doing the tricky task of colouring the hair of Laura Brightman, under the careful tutelage of co-owner Reginaldo and WS Training. Apprenticeships are not confined to the service sectors. Both BT and EDF have hotly-contested apprenticeship schemes, Itron in Felixstowe and Brafe Engineering in Woodbridge have all taken on apprentices in the last 12 months. National Apprenticeship Week is a great opportunity to congratulate apprentices across Suffolk Coastal on the fantastic work they are doing and to highlight the huge benefits apprenticeships bring.

Last week also saw National Libraries Day on the Saturday. I visited two libraries and the experience was very different. One was pretty dead, the other had been thriving throughout most of the day with the support of community groups. Around the same time, the new structure for all libraries across Suffolk came into being. It so happened my select committee started its inquiry on library closures. I could not be there for the evidence session but watched it again on BBC Parliament. It was an interesting discussion with footfall down, spending on IT growing and being more than that spent on books. It begged the question what does the library do? If the biggest growth is in reading and library campaigners felt they had a vital role in supporting the reading of children then the question then grows about the role of literacy in our schools, nurseries and Sure Start. There were also views expressed about the balance between books and buildings – what is more important? Clive Fox from Aldeburgh is the Chairman of the new IPS for Suffolk libraries and I wish him great success. I think that the combination of community involvement while keeping the mobile library service going is a model that may well be copied across the country.

I am continuing to visit schools across the constituency, though I need to visit a few more in Felixstowe, and to hear about the success and challenges in our schools. We all have to work hard to increase the aspiration of our youth and to step up attatinment levels across the board. Though I don't think money is the only solution to helping that, I do think Suffolk schools should get a fair share on funding. Over time, the rurality element of school funding (reflecting the population sparsity) has declined and I think it is time to reverse that trend. I spoke up for Suffolk schools last week in a debate on the future of small rural schools. Suffolk chose to keep small schools open. It can lead to wide age ranges within a class but I support the wishes of parents and local communities. Some schools like Peasenhall and Middleton share a headteacher and also move children about during the day on one or two days of the week to support learning. Both have outstanding Ofsted grades. I am doing more research on this at the moment and I accept that if Suffolk schools again, other areas will lose out. Well, I do believe in fairness and have contributed to the consultation on funding formula."

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