Aylesbury MP backs landmark education legislation to save families £500 a year

The focus of the Children’s Wellbeing & Schools Bill is to make ‘child-centred government’ a reality through a series of reforms to deliver on the government's mission to break down the barriers to opportunity.

Central to the bill are a number of measures to cut the cost of sending children to school and make life easier for families in Buckinghamshire, notably including a cap on the number of branded school uniform items.

It comes as research shows almost half of parents are concerned by the cost of uniform and over 1 in 10 experience financial hardship as a result.

In her speech in Parliament, Kyrke-Smith said “One Broughton resident told me that seven branded items cost them £280 — seven items that their child will grow out of or lose before they knew it. They said that the costs are ‘crippling families, even more so in this current climate, and it is only getting worse’”.

The MP added, “We have heard those concerns, and are acting on them through the Bill.”

Accompanied by the government’s plan for free breakfast clubs in primary schools, to save families an estimated £450 per year per child, the bill contains measures that could keep a sizeable £500 in parents’ pockets.

In addition to steps to ease the burden on families, Labour have outlined a number of reforms to schools in order to drive high and rising standards.

This includes putting more qualified, expert teachers at the front of classrooms and rolling out a new, cutting-edge national curriculum designed to ensure young people are ready for work and ready for life.

In response to a number of shocking cases of children being failed by a disjointed system over recent years, the Labour government has also brought forward a number of measures within the bill to protect children at risk of abuse and stop vulnerable children falling through the cracks.

Laura Kyrke-Smith, MP for Aylesbury and the villages, told The Bucks Herald after her speech: “Measures in this bill will make a real difference to the household finances of families and the life chances of children across Aylesbury and the villages.

“From my regular engagement on the doorstep and at local surgeries], I know how much parents will value having a free breakfast club at their local primary and a cheaper back to school shop.

“I’ll back this legislation every step of the way to break down the barriers to opportunity for children in Aylesbury and the villages.”