After leaving university, I spent the first two years of my career as a Maths Teacher. No experience could more vividly demonstrate to me how vital education is, and the opportunities it can provide.

We owe it to all students everywhere to ensure we are providing them the best possible education. That is why making our area the best place to grow up is a top priority for me.

Education can take a child anywhere, to any future, any career, any part of the country or the world. Nothing is a bigger determiner of any economy and society’s strength and long-term outlook than the state of its education.

Over the last 15 years, standards have dropped and problems within teaching have expanded and expanded. Staff retention, behaviour, classroom resources, school infrastructure and child wellbeing have all grown and grown as issues.

I am glad to see progress from the Government on these problems. The Government has launched childcare and breakfast club pilots that will lead to every single primary school child having a nutritious meal before school and access to mental health support.

Our upcoming implantation of VAT on private school fees is projected to raise billions, and every penny will be spent uplifting our state schools. This VAT decision was not an easy one, but necessary to level up our schools.

Beyond these issues, an absolutely critical one I have been getting stuck into is the provision of Special Educational Needs education (SEND).

Nationally, the picture is bleak with most of the country reporting staffing shortages, a lack of provision and long waits for Educational, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) for individual children.

Locally, the issue is even more acute. I recently held a Westminster debate on SEND provision in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire. It was fantastic to be joined by a cross-party group of MPs who contributed to our debate, and provided a productive discussion.

In preparation for this, my office asked our community for testimony and experiences. The response was both overwhelming and heartbreaking. We had well over 100 families reach out to tell their stories. As always, the result of national and local failings is personal struggles.

So many children, so capable of extraordinary things, are let down by being caught between bad options that do need met their needs. And every day they are stuck at the wrong school, or at home, or on a waiting list for their dream school, is a day they are missing out on the development that will be vital for them all their lives.

It was clear from the correspondence that would be last-resort actions, have to be done by so many in our communities. Increasingly commonly, parents take the local council to court to prove their child has special needs to get the necessary support, incurring high costs and stress. 

I have heard many stories of parents quitting jobs and putting their careers on hold, to home school their children because they could not find a suitable school that could take their child. The economic and social impacts of this cannot be understated. 

An absolutely heartbreaking trend was the rate of children with serious mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety, developed by being in the wrong school or out of school. My heart goes out to them, and I will keep doing all I can for these children.

Last week myself and a cross-party group of MPs wrote an open letter to Hertfordshire County Council highlighting our urgent concerns, and calling for a quarterly MP-council forum to make and track progress.

I am determined to better the situation for the countless families who are losing hope that our education system can work for their child. That can never be right.

If you are affected any of these issues, please do contact me. My office has been progressing dozens of cases supporting families get the support they need. Please do not hesitate to reach out – alistair.strathern.mp@parliament.uk