Helen Jones

Labour Party | Warrington North

SCHOOLS IN WARRINGTON

One of the parts of my job which I enjoy the most is visiting schools,  particularly primary schools.  That’s because young children have a knack of asking the questions which adults often don’t dare to ask or of making comments which we wouldn’t make.  On various occasions I’ve been told that I’ve got the wrong shoes on (yes,  they were totally unsuitable for planting a tree in the rain!),  asked if a sparkly broach was a real diamonds and told by one little boy,  who heard his class had a special visitor,  that I was the Queen!  I must have had a bad week if I looked 70 plus!

Yet the real purpose of these visits is to look at some of the excellent work being done in our schools.  Teachers and support staff have worked extremely hard in our local schools to raise standards and to give our children the best possible start in life.  What impresses me is that they have not only raised standards of literacy and numeracy but that they have done this while carrying on with the creative work which is also vital to a child’s education.  I have seen some excellent creative writing and art work in local schools and I’m always particularly impressed by the art because I was so hopeless at it myself.

The work done in my constituency was recently recognised when 17 Warrington North schools received school achievement awards.  The value of the awards relates to the size of the school and ranged from £2,500 to £9,500.  These awards provide an opportunity to reward all staff,  not only the teachers,  for their contribution.  Schools can be proud of winning such recognition and I think it is important to publicly highlight and congratulate them on doing so.  I was pleased to visit one of the award winners,  St. Bridget’s Primary School,   last week to take part in their reward assembly and to personally congratulate all involved.   In today’s society we are quick to complain and criticise public servants.   We are,  perhaps,  not so fast at praising and congratulating them for jobs well done.

You can contact Helen Jones MP in the following ways -  by letter to Gilbert Wakefield House,  67 Bewsey Street,  Warrington,  WA2 7JQ ;  by phone  01925 232 480 ;  by fax  01925 232 239  ;  or by e-mail  jonesh@parliament.uk