Rosie Duffield
MP for Canterbury, Whitstable and the Villages
A Brighter Future for Our Young
with more support for SEND in Schools.
I regularly visit our fantastic local schools and have seen first-hand the damage done by cuts to education over the past 14 years. Schools are understaffed and crumbling, with running costs soaring. As a former teaching assistant, I’m always deeply impressed at the hard work done by staff in all our local schools to provide the best possible education for children, but they desperately need more funding from Government.
SEND Reform
The SEND support system is broken and in desperate need of reform. I am working tirelessly to support parents who struggle to find school places for their children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Not only are there not enough school places for their children, but many also have to wait years before they even receive the right assessment. This is having a huge toll on entire families whose children are not receiving the appropriate form of education.
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I am in touch with teachers and parents from across Canterbury, doing what I can to support families and their children to ensure every child gets the education they deserve.
Safer Smartphones
I am incredibly concerned about the impact smartphones are having on our young people and their mental health. I believe this is one of the most important and urgent issues which voters are increasingly concerned about.
The evidence of the harms of smartphone use on young people is only getting stronger. It is vital that school leaders and parents continue this conversation and consider the benefits of a smartphone ban.
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I work closely with Whitstable Unplugged as well as working with Campaigners in Parliament to raise awareness of this issue and drive policy change. More must be done by Government and social media companies to protect children from harm.
ParentKind research has found that more than 9 in 10 parents think social media is harmful. They are increasingly worried about the impact of social media and smartphone addiction on their children.
